Land use
Key points | Report card | Technical information | Data
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What is happening in our region
The main land use types in the Waikato region are:
- pastoral farming - 58 percent
- indigenous vegetation - 28 percent
- plantation forestry - 12 percent
- urban areas – 1 percent
- horticulture and cropping - less than 1 percent.
The graph below shows the main land use types in our region.
- Most of the data were collected in February and March 1996. Data for the Coromandel Peninsula and lower Hauraki Plains were collected in November 1994.
- View this graph’s data and district council area data.
Why land use change is important
The Waikato region contains some of the most productive land in New Zealand and the world. Agriculture and forestry provide much of our region's income. But farming, forestry, cropping, horticulture and subdivision may cause changes in:
- soil quality
- the amount of erosion
- land and soil drainage
- habitat for native plants and animals.
Water quality is also affected by land use. Inappropriate land use may increase erosion, putting more sediment and nutrients in waterways and estuaries. The higher stocking and fertiliser application rates of intensive land uses (such as dairy farming and cropping) can increase the amounts of nutrients and bacteria in leaching and runoff.
We monitor land use change to get information on where development pressures are likely to be greatest, and to help us identify policy responses to avoid or remedy damage to our soil and water.
What Environment Waikato is doing
- Environment Waikato tracks changes in land use to update this indicator and to assist with policy making and resource consent decisions.
- We are working to improve soil conservation, flood control and implement river management work programmes, through Project Watershed, within the greater Waikato catchment area.
- We support voluntary guidelines and codes of practice such as the NZ Fertiliser Manufacturer’s Research Association’s Code of Practice for Fertiliser Use (code of practice).
- We provide staff time and expertise to support Landcare groups in the region that are involved in riparian management such as planting and fencing. Find out more about Care groups in our region.
- We provide environmental information including reports on practical land management guidelines. Check out our publications on Land and Soil, including For Peat's Sake - good management practices for Waikato peat farmers, and Trees on Farms.
- We support the Franklin Sustainability Project.
Find out more about the provisions in our Regional Plan on land and soil.
What you can do to help
There are many things we can do to improve and maintain soils, such as:
- Planting vegetation on hills and near streams.
- Using fertilisers and pesticides carefully and only when necessary.
- Retiring land from unsuitable uses or changing to more suitable land uses.
- Keeping stock out of waterways and stopping them from trampling banks.
- Reducing cultivation.
- Managing water tables to avoid excessive drainage.
- Joining or forming a Landcare group in your area.
More information
More detail on this indicator, including how and where Environment Waikato collects this information, is available in the Technical Information page.
Useful links
Related indicators