S-map Online is the digital soil map for New Zealand, created and curated by the Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao's soil scientists and used extensively by farmers and land managers, regional and local councils and agri-service businesses across the country.
S-map Online covers more than 11.8 million hectares, including 79% of the country’s multiple use land. S-map Online saw c. 49,216 unique website visitors (around a 20% annual increase) in FY26, with c. 132,000 soil factsheet downloads (over twice as many as in 2024-25).
Our pedologists and soil surveyors have been working hard to increase the national coverage of S-map, with new soil surveys due to be uploaded this August, funded through regional councils, SSIF leverage, and MfE (now MCERT).
Soil surveys in this year’s upload include:
- Kaitaia, Northland – 11,100 ha
- West Coast Waikato – c. 99,300 ha
- Northern Tauranga Harbour, Bay of Plenty – c. 33,300 ha
- Lower Oroua/Kiwitea and Ashhurst, Horizons – c. 35,000 ha
- Lower Waitaki, Canterbury – c. 12,000 ha
- Murchison, Tasman – c. 5200 ha.
There have also been updates to legacy linework in significant areas of East Otago (16,605 ha) and Horizons (178,382 ha) based on LiDAR improvements, and updates in the dry greywacke mountains of the South Island (532,548 ha).
The year ahead sees soil survey efforts in the Far North (Kaitaia to Ngātaki), Rangitaiki West (Bay of Plenty), North-west Waikato, and Flaxbourne (Marlborough). The Institute hopes to secure more funding for S-map expansion around the country.
A huge thank you to our S-map team at the Bioeconomy Science Institute for a huge year of mahi: Scott Fraser, Emily McKay, Maddison Bingham, Akhil Sam Son, Robbie Price, Andrew Manderson, Anthony Ward, Lauren O’Brien, Kaleb McCollum, Graeme Curwen, Michelle Barnes, Andre Eger, Balin Robertson, Nathan Odgers, Amy Milnes, Thomas Caspari, Kirstin Deuss, Linda Lilburne and Sam Carrick.
