Story: Human effects on the environment

This diagram shows changes in pollen and spores in Travis Swamp, near Christchurch. It illustrates a pattern of human-induced vegetation change that was common around New Zealand. Before human arrival, the pollen was mainly from forest trees. There was a marked change from forest pollen to raupō (bulrush) and bracken pollen, together with an increase in charcoal, about 1280–1350 CE, when the ancestors of Māori arrived. This indicates that the forests were burned by the first human settlers.