| Native land cover class | Area (hectares) | Percentage difference (%) | Area legally protected in 2006 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2002 | Hectares | Percentage of 2002 area (%) | ||
| Alpine grass/herbfield | 224,400 | 224,400 | 0.00 | 181,100 | 80.72 |
| Broadleaved native hardwoods | 546,200 | 539,600 | –1.22 | 199,500 | 36.97 |
| Depleted grassland | 250,500 | 250,500 | 0.00 | 33,300 | 13.29 |
| Fernland | 51,800 | 51,700 | –0.15 | 8,200 | 15.82 |
| Flaxland | 6,500 | 6,500 | 0.00 | 3,600 | 55.83 |
| Grey scrub1 | 72,500 | 72,400 | –0.06 | 9,800 | 13.52 |
| Herbaceous freshwater vegetation | 88,800 | 88,700 | –0.13 | 41,400 | 46.71 |
| Herbaceous saline vegetation | 19,300 | 19,200 | –0.45 | 6,700 | 34.8 |
| Native forest | 6,459,400 | 6,457,000 | –0.04 | 5,136,600 | 79.55 |
| Mangrove | 26,000 | 26,000 | 0.00 | 2,600 | 9.8 |
| Mānuka and/or kānuka | 1,191,600 | 1,186,200 | –0.45 | 362,800 | 30.59 |
| Matagouri2 | 29,500 | 29,500 | –0.02 | 3,100 | 10.32 |
| Sub-alpine shrubland | 385,400 | 385,400 | 0.00 | 314,200 | 81.53 |
| Tall tussock grassland | 2,397,100 | 2,394,600 | –0.10 | 1,175,500 | 49.09 |
| Total native vegetation cover | 11,748,900 | 11,731,700 | –0.15 | 7,478,300 | 63.74 |
| Alpine gravel and rock | 698,000 | 698,100 | 0.01 | 506,400 | 72.53 |
| Coastal sand and gravel | 51,300 | 51,300 | –0.07 | 18,900 | 36.8 |
| Estuarine open water | 92,500 | 92,500 | 0.00 | 3,600 | 3.86 |
| Lake and pond | 356,800 | 357,500 | 0.20 | 121,500 | 33.98 |
| Landslide | 17,000 | 17,000 | –0.26 | 11,600 | 68.16 |
| Permanent snow and ice | 111,000 | 111,000 | 0.00 | 109,200 | 98.43 |
| River | 81,900 | 81,900 | 0.00 | 18,100 | 22.09 |
| River and lakeshore gravel and rock | 179,700 | 179,700 | 0.00 | 45,900 | 25.56 |
| Total other native land cover | 1,588,400 | 1,589,100 | 0.04 | 835,100 | 52.56 |
| Total native land cover | 13,337,300 | 13,320,800 | –0.12 | 8,313,446 | 62.41 |
Notes:
(1) Grey scrub is a classification for areas covered with small-leaved shrubs such as small-leaved Coprosma species.
(2) Matagouri (Discaria toumatou) is a thorny shrub found in open, moist areas, which is known to invade pastures.
(3) Figures rounded to the nearest 100 hectares. Percentages are calculated from unrounded figures.
(4) Any discrepancies between hectares shown for land-cover classes and totals shown on this table are due to rounding.
Data source: Landcare Research.
Table 12.4: Estimated change in native vegetation and other native land-cover classes (1997 and 2002) using satellite imagery (LCDB 1 and LCDB 2) and the extent of legal protection for each land cover class
March 2021
© Ministry for the Environment