Land use in New Zealand, 2004

Text description:

The map shows New Zealand's land-use classification in 2004.  There are 18 land-use classes each mapped in a different colour where these occur across New Zealand. Four land-cover classes are also shown in the map for areas primarily used for recreation and conservation purposes. See table above for land-use and land-cover classes.

Dairy, Intensive sheep and beef, Hill-country sheep and beef and Planted forest are the dominant land-use classes that have the highest percentage of total land area in New Zealand.

The Dairy and Intensive sheep and beef land-use classes occur predominantly in the Northland, Auckland, and Manawatu-Wanganui regions and the east coast of the South Island.

The Hill-country sheep and beef land-use class occurs predominantly in the Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu-Wanganui and Wellington regions in the North Island and the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island.

The Planted forest land-use class occurs predominantly in the Bay of Plenty and Tasman regions.

The Tussock land-cover class occurs mainly in the high country of the Central North Island and the high country running the length of the South Island.

The Native forest land-cover class occurs mainly in the central North Island and the West Coast of the South Island.

The Rivers, lakes, ice and snow land-cover class and the Scrub land-cover class occur scattered mainly throughout the South Island, with a smaller amount scattered throughout the North Island.