Forests Through Time: Three Maps Show How New Zealand’s Landscapes Changed

These three maps illustrate forest cover in New Zealand at three points in time, using vegetation and land‑use data derived from pollen records, charcoal sediments, landcover databases, and modern forestry inventories.

Imagine New Zealand before humans: around 80–85 % of the land was dense forest, with only alpine peaks, volcanic soils, and river terraces open to grassland or shrubland. Then Māori arrived in roughly the 14th century. Within a few hundred years, fire‑setting and hunting had reduced forest cover by about half, often in lowland areas most suitable for settlement and bracken fern growth.

The second map shows forest cover just before European colonisation (mid‑1800s). At this point, around 68 % of the land still had forest—but half the lowland forests were gone, and erosion and forest fragmentation had set in.

Fast forward to today: native forests cover roughly 23–29 % of the land area (with some variability depending on whether you include regenerating scrub), exotic plantation forests about 8–12 %, and the rest in pasture, cropland, or urban use.

Seeing these three side by side is sobering. The shift from ancient native forest to a landscape dominated by pasture and exotic trees tells us about changing values, and consequences of land management.

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