Soil Types in New Zealand

New Zealand is 1000 miles long with a variety of soil types.

New Zealand is geographically young and until about 1000 years ago was uninhabited. The long, thin country has many soil types, the result of variations in rainfall, altitude and latitude. Seventy percent of the country is steep or moderately steep, according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Volcanoes contributed to the composition of soils in the north and the last Ice Age affected soils in the south.

Auckland District

Auckland features gently rolling hills and peaty soil. new zealand bay image by purplevine from Fotolia.com

Auckland province at the top of New Zealand has peaty, organic soils, the result of high humidity and the rainforest that existed there before settlers cleared it for farming. The region is best for dairy and fat lamb production.

Central North Island

Pumice soils in the Central North Island area caused cattle health problems. New Zealand rural scene image by Allatilla from Fotolia.com

Active volcanoes dominate the plateau in the center of the North Island. Ash showers created the pumice soils which gave settlers and farmers many problems when trying to grow grass. Sheep and cattle became sick with cobalt deficiency until farmers top-dressed their land with cobaltized superphosphate.

Hawke's Bay

Soils on the coast of North Island are lime-rich. port image by Undy from Fotolia.com

The soils on the east coast of the North Island are seasonally dry and lime-rich. The Encyclopedia of New Zealand says they are fertile with deep, dark granular topsoils. The soils are best for intensive arable and sheep farming as well as apple and wine crops.

Taranaki

Mt Taranaki-Egmont created the western loams. mount egmont, nz image by Nadezda Pyastolova from Fotolia.com

Mt. Taranaki-Egmont dominates the landscape on the west coast of the North Island and provides the rich volcanic soil. The yellow-brown loams come from the ash eruptions over thousands of years. They respond well to superphosphate topdressing and support mostly dairy and fat lamb production.

Lower North Island

Windswept Wellington features nutty subsoils that need lime to become productive. Around the bays image by Allatilla from Fotolia.com

Wellington province has mostly yellow-brown earths formed under forests, which have nutty subsoils, according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. The soils need lime and superphosphate to make them productive. The land is mostly rolling, best for dairy and fat lamb production.

Canterbury Plains

Parasailing over the Canterbury Plains offers a view of the stony soil. flying over the plains image by TEMISTOCLE LUCARELLI from Fotolia.com

The South Island's Canterbury Plains have shallow, dry and stony soils. With irrigation from the rivers, the soils grow wool, cereal and pasture crops.

Westland

The Southern Alps overshadow the sodden farmland. Southern Alps ~ nz image by sun_orbiter from Fotolia.com

Westland, or the west coast of the South Island, has the highest rainfall of any region in New Zealand, at 100 inches per year, according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. The soil, formed under dense native forest, is wet and peaty. Only after extensive drainage has it become farmable.

Central Otago

Central Otago is the driest portion of the South Island. otago outcrop image by michael luckett from Fotolia.com

The driest part of the South Island, under the wind-shadow of the Southern Alps, is Central Otago and the McKenzie Basin to the north. The stony soil is brown-gray and weakly acid to alkaline, according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. It supports fine (merino) wool growth and with irrigation, stone fruit.

References

• New Zealand in History
• Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Soil-Forming Factors
• Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Intrazonal and Azonal Soils
• Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Zonal Soils