Land Cover

Otago’s land cover profile is characterised by a predominance of exotic grassland (48%) and tussock grassland (25%), together with a mix of other land covers including indigenous forest, exotic forest, indigenous scrub/shrubland, and natural bare/lightly-vegetated surfaces.  Between 1996 and 2018, the areas of exotic grassland and tussock grassland decreased whereas the area of exotic forest increased by 28%, urban area increased by 18% and cropland increased by 9%.

The Queenstown-Lakes District has seen the most urban expansion.  The last 14 years have seen some of the largest changes in farming methods and land uses.  Large central pivot irrigation is now common in some areas which were traditionally dryland farming areas and dairy conversions are common in locations with the best water supplies.  Life-style blocks and vineyards have also made in-roads into areas that were traditionally sheep or beef farming.

Otago’s land cover profile is characterised by:

  • A predominance of grassland/other herbaceous vegetation cover (almost three quarters of the land area), of which most is exotic grassland, but with a significant area of tussock grassland (about 25% of the land area) also.
  • The area of forest cover includes both indigenous (7%) and exotic forest (5%).
  • Scrub/shrubland cover is predominantly comprised of indigenous scrub/shrubland.
  • The area of urban/bare/lightly-vegetated surfaces is predominantly comprised of natural bare/lightly-vegetated surfaces such as gravel or rock, alpine grass/herbfield, and permanent snow and ice.
  • Urban area and cropping/horticulture comprise very small proportions of the regional land area overall.

 

The key changes in land cover between 1996 and 2018 in the Otago region are:

  • Grassland/other herbaceous vegetation (both tussock and exotic grassland) and scrub/shrubland (both exotic and indigenous scrub/shrubland) have decreased in area.
  • Exotic forest, urban area, and cropland, have increased in area.

 

The likely drivers and potential implications of the changes are:

  • The increase in exotic forest area may have been driven by increased confidence in the forestry industry and the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
  • The increase in urban area is likely to have been driven by population growth in the Queenstown-Lakes District. The area around Wanaka and Queenstown has seen exceptional growth.
  • The small increase in the area of cropland may be largely driven by growth in horticultural industries such as viticulture (most of the change in area was in ‘orchards, vineyards or other perennial crops’ rather than ‘short-rotation cropland’).
  • The decrease in the areas of tussock grassland and indigenous scrub/shrubland could have implications for water yield and the conservation of indigenous biodiversity.

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