The New Zealand River Environment Classification (REC) organises information about the physical characteristics of New Zealand's rivers. Individual river sections are mapped according to physical factors such as climate, source of flow for the river water, topography, and geology, and catchment land cover eg, forest, pasture or urban. Sections of river...

Heavy metals occur naturally in estuaries, but high concentrations suggest contamination from another source. The metals can be transported along waterways from urban environments (and, for cadmium, from farmland) and accumulate in estuarine and coastal sediments. They are toxic and accumulate in fish and shellfish. We focus on four heavy metals: lead,...

The REC groups rivers and parts of river networks that share similar ecological characteristics, including physical and biological. Rivers that share the same class can be treated as similar to one another and different to rivers in other classes. The REC classification system groups rivers according to several environmental factors that strongly...

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...

New Zealand has been divided into 500 land environments. These have been defined by their unique climate, topography, and soils. The extent to which indigenous vegetation is represented in these land environments, and how that vegetation is formally protected, is described by threatened environment categories. These can be monitored to understand the...

"The rates of establishment (recruitment) of indigenous tree species vary across New Zealand. Changes in the state of the environment (such as from browsing pests, large-scale weather events, or climate change) may change the rates of recruitment of particular tree species. This in turn may alter forest processes. Repeated surveys of the distribution of...

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...

Seabed trawling is the practice of towing fishing nets near or along the ocean floor. The towing process can physically damage seabed (benthic) habitats and species. It can also stir up sediment from the seabed. This creates sediment plumes that change light conditions. This can affect marine species (for example by limiting their capacity to generate...

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...

The New Zealand River Environment Classification (REC) organises information about the physical characteristics of New Zealand's rivers. Individual river sections are mapped according to physical factors such as climate, source of flow for the river water, topography, and geology, and catchment land cover eg, forest, pasture or urban. Sections of river...

Marine mammals, seabirds, and shorebirds are indicator species for the state of our marine environment. A decreasing population can indicate that the ecosystem is degrading. New Zealand has a diverse range of marine species, many of which are endemic to (only breed in) New Zealand. They are apex species (near the top of the food chain) and can thrive only...

Deer, goats, and possums are animal pests in New Zealand. These pests prefer to eat some tree species more than others. In the long term, the targeted species may become locally extinct and nationally much rarer than less palatable species. Resulting changes in forest composition may have profound effects on other plant and animal species. The pest...

"The rates of death (mortality) of indigenous tree species vary across New Zealand. Changes in the state of the environment (such as from browsing pests, large-scale weather events, or climate change) may change the rates of mortality of particular tree species. This in turn may alter forest processes. Repeated surveys of the distribution of mortality...

"The rates of death (mortality) of indigenous tree species vary across New Zealand. Changes in the state of the environment (such as from browsing pests, large-scale weather events, or climate change) may change the rates of mortality of particular tree species. This in turn may alter forest processes. Repeated surveys of the distribution of mortality...

Total suspended particulates (TSP) consist of all solid particles and liquid droplets up to 100 micrometres (μm) in diameter (ie when compared with PM10 and PM2.5, TSP is the equivalent of PM100). TSP can be emitted from the combustion of fuels, such as wood and coal (eg from home heating and industry) and petrol and diesel (from vehicles). Natural...

Data on the economic performance of the agriculture industry describes agriculture’s contribution to the New Zealand economy. It provides supporting information for the land, atmosphere and climate, and freshwater domains. This dataset relates to the "Economic performance of the agriculture industry" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao...

Ozone occurs in two regions of Earth’s atmosphere – at ground level and in the upper atmosphere. Ground-level ozone is a gas formed by chemical reactions involving sunlight, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides (the main source being vehicle emissions). It is linked to increased health risks, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases....

Note: Nitrogen dioxide concentrations are given in micrograms per cubic metre of air, or µg/m3. Source: Auckland Council, Wellington Regional Council

The marine trophic index (MTI) measures the changing abundance and diversity of demersal fish species (living and feeding on or near the seabed) in fishery catches. The Chatham Rise has more than 180 species of fish. It is one of the most productive areas of our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and an important fishing ground. We calculate the Chatham Rise...

"The rates of death (mortality) of indigenous tree species vary across New Zealand. Changes in the state of the environment (such as from browsing pests, large-scale weather events, or climate change) may change the rates of mortality of particular tree species. This in turn may alter forest processes. Repeated surveys of the distribution of mortality...