2013 innovation stories
Our Core Purpose is to drive innovation
Carbon reporting
Landcare Research has performed the first national-scale assessment of the uncertainty associated with estimates of carbon in New Zealand forests.
How do stony soils treat dairy shed effluent?
Landcare Research has shed light on the topical issue of how stony soils treat dairy shed effluent (DSE). With irrigation, dairy farming is now possible on stony soils that previously wouldn’t have supported adequate grass growth because of lack of water.
Increasing Maori involvement in local government
Landcare Research has led the development of a framework and suite of tools and approaches to increase Māori involvement in local government. Guided by the framework, Auckland Council and iwi/hāpu planners have worked together to integrate mātauranga Māori into the draft Auckland Unitary Plan.
Informing environmental policy
New Zealand’s economic prosperity is very dependent on land-based industries at a time when environmental limits are under pressure. For central and regional government and industry, making decisions about water and nutrient use for example, the stakes are high. Landcare Research is helping to inform effective decision making with a new model that assesses the economic and physical impacts of environmental policy.
Informing the assessment of New Zealand flora
Landcare Research plant systematics staff are using their expertise and resources to help agencies understand the status, trends and management of our native and exotic flora.
LRIS - an evidence base for land-related decision making
The Land Resource Information System (LRIS) is a critical tool for providing the evidence-base for land policy and management decision making in New Zealand.
New database to identify plant fungi
Landcare Research plant pathologists have played a key role in creating an international DNA barcode database to help identify one of the world’s most problematic plant fungi.
Predicting mast seeding and the ensuing predator problems
A new model has been developed to help predict ‘mast seeding’ in some New Zealand plants to allow land managers to prepare for the likely predator population explosions that follow.
Protecting naturally uncommon ecosystems
The striking volcanic rock outcrops on Banks Peninsula – appreciated for their visual impact – are now being valued and protected because they are habitats for special biodiversity.
Soil information underpinning critical decision making
The value of accurate and accessible soil information has heightened as the need to manage the impacts of intensive land use on freshwater has become a national priority.
Supporting new approaches to freshwater management
Recent changes to the way that freshwater resources are managed in New Zealand have heightened the relevance and utility of research being undertaken in the ‘Values, Monitoring and Outcomes (VMO) for Freshwater Management’ programme.
Supporting sanctuaries
The remarkable success of ‘community conservation’ initiatives across New Zealand, particularly the more than 70 pest-managed or predator-free mainland sanctuaries, has helped spark public interest in the concept of a Predator-Free New Zealand (PFNZ).
Sustainable indigenous forestry
Much of the $1.5bn of hardwood imported into New Zealand each year for timber manufacturing and use with locally-grown softwood in paper production is logged unsustainably. Landcare Research has been carrying out research and providing advice to support private owners of indigenous hardwood forests in this country to undertake sustainable forestry.