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Story: Soils

Soils of the South Island

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Soils of the South Island

The Granular, Oxidic, Allophanic and Pumice soils found in the North Island are absent in the South Island. Semi-arid soils are found only in the southern South Island.

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Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua

Source: Les Molloy, Soils in the New Zealand landscape: the living mantle. 2nd ed. Lincoln: New Zealand Society of Soil Science, 1998, p. 231

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How to cite this page

Allan Hewitt, Soils – Diversity and uniqueness, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/12777/soils-of-the-south-island (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Allan Hewitt, published 1 March 2009.