Land Tables

Land use that results in a change from indigenous to exotic cover can cause biodiversity loss and reduce functioning of ecosystems. Using more land for agriculture, forestry, and urbanisation is the main driver reducing indigenous land cover across New Zealand.

Column headings:
area_ha = area of land cover measured in hectares

This dataset relates to the "Land use" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Farm size describes the area of large commercial properties (registered for goods and services tax) that farm crops and/or livestock. It is important to measure the extent of these agricultural activities because their size influences the extent of their impacts on soil health and water quality.

Column headings:
area_ha = total area of farming activity measured in hectares

This dataset relates to the "Farm size" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

UPDATED 21/04/2017
(See "Land domain updates" page for details; www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/environment/env...)

Different land uses put pressure on the land environment and can result in changes to soil health. Healthy soil supports the productivity of agriculture and forestry, and filters water to help prevent waterways becoming contaminated. Soils are considered healthy if they fall within the target ranges for the indicators of acidity, fertility, organic reserves, and physical status.

This dataset relates to the "Soil health and land use" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

For raw data see "2015 land aotearoa soil health data for release.xlsx" at data.mfe.govt.nz/x/LTBnRL

Land cover describes the extent of vegetation, water bodies, built environment, and bare natural surfaces (eg gravel and rock) across New Zealand. Measuring the composition and changes in land cover can help us better understand the pressures that different land uses are placing on the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems.

Column headings:
area_ha = area of land cover measured in hectares

This dataset relates to the "Land cover" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Livestock numbers reflect changes in the number of farmed beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep across New Zealand. Livestock farming is a widespread land use in this country. It is important to monitor this use because it can affect the indigenous biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

Column headings:
numbers = numbers of animals

This dataset relates to the "Livestock numbers" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Active sand dunes are distinct coastal habitats that sit between the land and marine domains. Characterised by their moving sands, they support a unique group of plants and animals. These plant and animal communities are threatened by human efforts to stabilise dunes for their own use.

This dataset relates to the "Active sand dune extent" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Livestock numbers reflect changes in the number of farmed beef and dairy cattle, deer, and sheep across New Zealand. Livestock farming is a widespread land use in this country. It is important to monitor livestock numbers, because concentrated numbers, or large increases in numbers, can affect the indigenous biodiversity, soil health, and water quality.

File contains total livestock numbers by region for each year over the period 1994–2015

Dominant land uses in New Zealand include conservation (eg national and forestry parks), forestry (eg for timber resources/wood supply), urban (eg built up areas and open parkland), and agriculture and horticulture. Each land use places different pressures on the land and on receiving environments such as waterways. These pressures can be both positive (eg increased productivity) and negative (eg biodiversity loss and reduced functioning of ecosystems).

This measure reports on agricultural and horticultural land uses by region.

Land (whenua) is taonga tuku iho (cultural property, heritage) and of special importance to Māori. As the whakapūmautanga (legacy for the future), whenua provides for cultivation and storage of traditional foods and plants – for customary use and mahinga kai, and helps sustain each generation.

We report only on the available data we have, which cover a subset of Māori land used for primary production activities. We report on the number of livestock on maori-owned farms for main livestock types (eg farmed beef and dairy cattle, sheep, and deer) for the years 2006-16.

Farm numbers describes the number of large commercial properties (registered for goods and services tax) that farm crops and/or livestock. It is important to measure the number of large farms involved in these agricultural activities because their extent determines their impacts on soil health and water quality.

Column headings:
num_farms = number of farms

This dataset relates to the "Farm numbers" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.