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Awarua Wetland
The Awarua Wetland is a peatland area of in the Southland Region of New Zealand. The site, which was initially an area of about , was designated as having international significance under the Ramsar Convention in 1976, using the name Waituna Wetlands Scientific Reserve. Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick unveiled a plaque at New River Estuary on 4 May 2008. This wetland is unique in New Zealand as it includes privately owned ground (Gamble, Nicol, and Rance families). On the northeast corner of the Toetoes Wetlands is an area of native bush of approximately , which along with other areas of bush close by was covenanted to the QEII Trust by the Nicol Family. While not a true wetland it is an area of natural vegetation with an unmodified stream flowing from the wetlands through native brush and into the Mataura river. It is a small sanctuary for the declining native fresh water fish population. Intensive farming in the catchment for the wetland has raised fears that the Waituna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southland Region
Southland ( mi, Murihiku) is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans over 3,400 km of coast. History The earliest inhabitants of Murihiku (meaning "the last joint of the tail") were Māori of the Waitaha iwi, followed later by Kāti Māmoe and Kāi Tahu. Waitaha sailed on the Uruao waka, whose captain Rakaihautū named sites and carved out lakes throughout the area. The Takitimu Mountains were formed by the overturned Kāi Tahu waka Tākitimu. Descendants created networks of customary food gathering sites, travelling seasonally as needed, to support permanent and semi-permanent settlements in coastal and inland regions. In later years, the coastline was a scene of early extended contact between Māori and Europeans, in this case sealers, whalers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971. Every three years, representatives of the contracting parties meet as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the policy-making organ of the convention which adopts decisions (resolutions and recommendations) to administer the work of the convention and improve the way in which the parties are able to implement its objectives. COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 2015. COP13 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in October 2018. List of wetlands of international importance The list of wetlands of international importance included 2,331 Ramsar sites in May 2018 covering over . The countries with most sites are the United Kingdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peatland
A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types of mires share the common characteristic of being saturated with water, at least seasonally with actively forming peat, while having their own ecosystem. Like coral reefs, mires are unusual landforms that derive mostly from biological rather than physical processes, and can take on characteristic shapes and surface patterning. A quagmire is a floating (quaking) mire, bog, or any peatland being in a stage of hydrosere or hydrarch (hydroseral) succession, resulting in pond-filling yields underfoot. Ombrotrophic types of quagmire may be called quaking bog (quivering bog). Minerotrophic types can be named with the term quagfen. There are four types of mire: bog, fen, marsh and swamp. A bog is a mire that, due to its location relative to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Chadwick
Stephanie Anne "Steve" Chadwick (née Frizzell, born 15 December 1948) is a New Zealand politician. She served as mayor of Rotorua from 2013 to 2022. She previously held the positions of Minister of Conservation, Women's Affairs, and Associate Health in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. Early life Born Stephanie Frizzell in Hastings, New Zealand, Chadwick is the sister of painter Dick Frizzell. She attended Karamu High School, then did nursing training in Wellington. She married lawyer John Te Manihera Chadwick in 1968, and the couple went on to have three children. After holding many roles in the health sector, including a term from 1976 to 1986 as union representative for the New Zealand Nurses Association, Steve Chadwick was elected to the Rotorua District Council in 1996. Member of Parliament In the 1999 election, Chadwick stood as the Labour Party candidate for the Rotorua seat, and defeated incumbent National Party MP Max Bradford. At the 2005 ele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intensive Farming
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of agricultural land area. It is characterized by a low fallow ratio, higher use of inputs such as capital and labour, and higher crop yields per unit land area. Most commercial agriculture is intensive in one or more ways. Forms that rely heavily on industrial methods are often called industrial agriculture, which is characterised by innovations designed to increase yield. Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing the frequency of fallow years, and improving cultivars. It also involves increased use of fertilizers, plant growth regulators, pesticides, antibiotics for livestock and mechanised agriculture, controlled by increased and more detailed analysis of growing conditions, including weather, soil, water, weeds, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waituna Lagoon
__NOTOC__ The Waituna Lagoon is on the southern coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. It forms part of the Awarua Wetland, a Ramsar site that was established in 1976. It gives it name to waituna, a type of ephemeral coastal lake. The lagoon is an important habitat for resident and migratory birds with seventy three different species being recorded. The expansion in the area of ''Leptocarpus (plant), Leptocarpus'' rushes that has been observed over a 47-year period in the lagoon have been attributed to artificial openings of the lagoon to the sea, and the increase in sedimentation. The lagoon is largely unmodified by human activity but there are elevated nutrient levels and sedimentation with a fear that it may lead to eutrophication. Recreational use Waituna Lagoon is a common fishing and game bird hunting spot. There is a good supply of brown trout in the lake/lagoon and its tributaries with a daily limit of two trout per person per day. The fishing season runs from 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplankton productivity". Water bodies with very low nutrient levels are termed oligotrophic and those with moderate nutrient levels are termed mesotrophic. Advanced eutrophication may also be referred to as dystrophic and hypertrophic conditions. Eutrophication can affect freshwater or salt water systems. In freshwater ecosystems it is almost always caused by excess phosphorus. In coastal waters on the other hand, the main contributing nutrient is more likely to be nitrogen, or nitrogen and phosphorus together. This depends on the location and other factors. When occurring naturally, eutrophication is a very slow process in which nutrients, especially phosphorus compounds and organic matter, accumulate in water bodies. These nutrients deriv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetlands Of New Zealand
New Zealand has several notable wetlands but 90% of wetland areas have been lost following European settlement. The Resource Management Act 1991, the major Act of Parliament determining land use, defines wetlands as "permanently or intermittently wet areas, shallow water, and land water margins that support a natural ecosystem of plants and animals that area adapted to wet conditions". The Ramsar Convention, an international conservation agreement for wetlands to which New Zealand signed up to in 1971, has a wider definition of wetland. Since the mid-19th century, New Zealand has lost about 90% of its wetland areas due to draining for farming. Many remaining wetlands are also degraded due to pollution, grazing, drainage and presence of invasive plants. In the late 20th and early 21st century, efforts have been made towards wetland conservation. Ramsar sites The Department of Conservation currently administers seven Ramsar sites protected under the Ramsar Convention, covering a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washdyke Lagoon
Washdyke Lagoon is a brackish shallow coastal lagoon approximately north of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. The lagoon has drastically reduced in size since 1881 when it was approximately , now it is less than in area. It is enclosed by a barrier beach that is long and above high tide at its largest point (see Figure 1). The reduced lagoon size is due to the construction of the Timaru Port breakwater which is preventing coarse sediments from reaching and replenishing Washdyke Barrier. This is important as the lagoon and the surrounding are classified as a wildlife refuge and it demonstrates the role human structures have on coastline evolution.Kirk, R. M. & Lauder, G. A. (2000). Significant coastal lagoon systems in the South Island, New Zealand. ''Science for conservation 146.'' Classification Washdyke Lagoon is a coastal lake, ‘choked’ type lagoon as it is separated from the sea by a built-up bar, and has only minimal tidal input (<5% of total tidal impact to coast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramsar Sites In New Zealand
Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in accord wth the Ramsar Convention * Others ** Ramsar Palace The Ramsar Palace or Marmar Palace is one of the historic buildings and royal residences in Iran. The palace is in Ramsar, a city on the coast of the Caspian Sea. History The Ramsar Palace was established on a land of 60,000 square meters in 193 ..., a palace in Ramsar, Mazandaran See also * :Ramsar sites {{Disambig, geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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