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Your knowledge base on New Zealand soils

This section of the Soils Portal is dedicated to providing you with comprehensive information about one of the most amazing living things on earth – soil.

Whether you've reached this page through a targeted search or just strayed here accidentally, you are most welcome to browse these pages and learn about an under-appreciated resource.

Use the top navigation if you want to switch between Topics, or want to explore our soils-related Tools and Resources.

Understanding soils

What exactly is soil thumb

What exactly is 'soil'?

Soil is (nearly) everywhere. But what does 'soil' actually consist of? Read about the various components and how they interact to create this amazing living substance.

Why bother about soils thumb

Why bother about soils?

A life without soil is impossible for us. But what 'roles' do soils actually play, and what do we gain from it all?

how do soils form thumb

How do soils form?

Understanding soil formation helps explain the diversity of soils and our own role in it.

Soil characteristics thumb

Soil characteristics explained

Three categories are commonly used to describe soil characteristics: chemical, physical and biological properties.

NZ soils in a nutshell thumb

New Zealand soils in a nutshell

A quick summary of the nature and properties of the soils in the New Zealand landscape of today.

Soils in te Ao Māori

Te Ao Māori: History

Māori have had a long connection with and understanding of soil, reaching back centuries to Polynesian migration. The knowledge (mātauranga Māori, mōhiotanga, māramatanga, tohungatanga) is ancient, traditional, and historical, as well as contemporary.

Māori names thumb

Māori names for soils and land

There are over 100 traditional Māori names for soil, and most parts of the landscape are described in detail, with many descriptors (e.g. for degrees of wetness, stoniness, texture, colour).

Historic image of 'Māori gravel land and pits'. Source: Rigg & Bruce (1923) The Maori gravel soil of Waimea West, Nelson, New Zealand. The Journal of the Polynesian Society 32(126): 85-93.

Māori agriculture

Collective evidence provides insight into the past activities of Māori and indicates a progressive and developmental move towards gardening and horticultural practice, signalling an advance in kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and maara kai (gardening).

Image: Bradley White

Te Ao Māori: References

The reference page allows you to identify and retrieve each work cited in the text. It also gives credit to authors we have consulted for their ideas.

Maori visualisation tool map.

Te Ao Māori: Resources

View our online resources.

Soil classification

New Zealand Soil Classification (NZSC)

The NZSC was developed in the 1980s. It grew out of the New Zealand Genetic Soil Classification and, where possible, preserved its useful features. The new classification was also influenced by local experience in testing the United States soil classification system, the 'Soil Taxonomy'.

NZ legacy thumb

New Zealand legacy systems

Find out about the New Zealand Genetic Soil Classification, and the old soil series concept.

US Soil Taxonomy (ST)

The US Soil Taxonomy was tested in New Zealand for 5 years between 1978 and 1983.

World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB)

The World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is the international standard taxonomic soil classification system, and is endorsed by the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS).

Soil survey

soil survey square

Soil survey - the basics

Find out why and how we do soil surveys, and what the outcomes of a soil survey look like.

National Survey Status 0822v2

Current and upcoming soil surveys

Get an overview of ongoing and upcoming soil surveys in New Zealand.

Scale matters: one size does not fit all

Understanding scale is vital for interpreting soil maps.

standards document cover

Towards a New Zealand soil mapping standard

Learn more about the steps being made towards a nationally consistent soil mapping approach.

Soil data

Making sense of soil data thumb

Making sense of soil data

Learn about the main types of soil data and how they differ from each other.

New Zealand soil data

A page to guide you through the main sources of New Zealand soil information at the national, regional, and local level.

Pacific soil data

Learn about the many facets of soils collaboration that Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research has had, and still has, with partners in the Pacific.

Mount Herschel Antarctica

Antarctic soil data

Manaaki Whenua has conducted research in Antarctica for many years, and manages and curates the Ross Sea Region soil database and related materials.

Soil health and soil quality

soil health and resilience book

Soil and ecosystem health

A project to support the development of a longer-term and more comprehensive view of soil health and resilience.

Soil sampling at Pukaki. Image: malcolm McLeod

Soil quality monitoring in New Zealand

Soil quality is a broad concept and describes whether a soil is well suited to how it is being used.

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The state of New Zealand soils

We are losing 192 million tonnes of soil a year. That’s the equivalent of four hundred thousand dump trucks of soil unloaded every week.

Soil functions

Soils and land use

Soils underpin agricultural, livestock and forestry production systems, providing a wide variety of ecosystem services.

soil water thumb

Soils and water

Globally, soils store two-thirds of all fresh water and are the largest terrestrial water reservoir.

Weta of New Zealand

Soils and biodiversity

The life in the soil beneath our feet represents around a quarter of all biodiversity on Earth.

Soils and climate

Soils are the largest store of terrestrial carbon on Earth. Conserving and maybe even increasing it can help to mitigate climate change.

Towards sustainable soil management

Humankind is facing tremendous challenges in agriculture. Understanding and achieving sustainable soil management has never been more important.

Soils at Manaaki Whenua

Our laboratories thumb

Our laboratories offer a wide range of tests covering laboratory and field analyses of soils. The National Soils Archive holds the physical soil samples, which are archived once laboratory and other analyses have been completed, and the data are added to the National Soil Data Repository.

Our people thumb

Soils research is undertaken across our various research portfolios and teams, with most projects falling within the responsibility of the following three teams: Soils & Landscapes, Land Use and Ecosystems, and Informatics.

our publications thumb

Our publications

Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research has a rich heritage of materials on soils.
Explore our extensive publication record and that of our predecessor organisations.

our projects thumb

We collaborate on scientific projects that address some of the big soils-related environmental challenges facing New Zealand and Antarctica. Through these projects we seek to understand existing and emerging pressures, as well as threats to and opportunities for our soils and associated natural resources, such as water.

MWLR Soils Research

Our research capabilities

Our ambition is that New Zealanders use our land, soil, and water resources wisely.

Our latest news

A first for on-farm carbon certification

Lake Hawea Station has been named as the first farm in New Zealand to have a certified carbon footprint.

Towards a national strategy for soil

Across Aotearoa the soil underpins our economy, our biodiversity, environmental health, and the well-being of our communities.

Getting to the root causes of soil erosion using high-res remote sensing

The project has mapped over 100,000 landslide scars across the North Island.

New book on New Zealand soils

The first general text book on the soils of New Zealand to be published in more than 30 years.

The first phase of the Banks Peninsula survey is completed

A total of 426 auger observations have been made across all parts of the Peninsula.

Did you know that soils could play a part in mitigating climate change?

Adopting sustainable soil management practices and restoring degraded land will increase carbon sequestration and decrease green house gas emissions.

Learn More

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