Story: Soils and regional land use

New Zealand vegetation cover

Exotic grassland predominates throughout New Zealand. It has replaced indigenous forest in the North Island and both forest and tussock in the South Island. New Zealand’s remaining indigenous forest is mainly on the West Coast of the South Island and in the hills and mountains of the central North Island. A large area of exotic forest on the Central Plateau is evident, as is the low-producing grassland throughout the dry regions of Otago and Canterbury.

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How to cite this page:

Allan Gillingham, 'Soils and regional land use - Overview', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/17077/new-zealand-vegetation-cover (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Allan Gillingham, published 24 Nov 2008