You are here: Tussock Grasslands MIS Site Contents Vegetation History

Vegetation changes through time

Prior to human settlement, the vegetation cover of areas east of the Main Divide would have been dominated by forest, with short tussock grsslands in lowland semiarid areas, a belt of scrub above the timberline,with tall tussock grasslands, cushionfields and fellfield at higher altitudes. This vegetation pattern was determined by environmental factors- moisture and temperature, which were reflected in the soils present. Following human settlement, disturbance - fire , grazing- had a major influence on vegetation cover. Below is a model developed by Prof. Mark as starting point for discussion, showing likely trends in native vegetation cover through time, in Otago (eastward of the Lakes District).


Figure: Trend in vegetation pattern of Otago (eastwards from Lakes District) through time. Major environmental factors are shown (mean annual precipitation, mean annual air temperature, soil types: brown grey earths (BGE), yellow-grey earths (YGE), yellow brown earths (YBE), upland yellow-brown earths (U YBE) and alpine yellow-brown earths (A YBE) as they relate to the vegetation patterns before the Europeans settled in NEW Zealand (pre-1840).

Please note: The soil information is based on the New Zealand genetic soil classification. This has been reviewed (Hewitt, 1998) and is currently being incorporated into the system by Allan Hewitt, Landcare Research, Dunedin. Please contact Allan (hewitta@landcare.cri.nz) directly if you want more information at this stage.



|| Back to site contents || Provide feedback on this page || Disclaimer ||