The New Zealand Land Cover Database (LCDB) is a multi-temporal, thematic classification of New Zealand's land cover. It identifies 33 mainland land cover classes (35 classes once the offshore Chatham Islands are included). The classification was revised between versions 1, 2, and 3 but has been consistent thereafter, and always with backward compatibility maintained. Land cover features are described by a polygon boundary, a land cover code, and a land cover name at each nominal time step; summer 1996/97, summer 2001/02, summer 2008/09, summer 2012/13, and summer 2018/19. The data set is designed to complement in theme, scale and accuracy, New Zealand’s 1:50,000 topographic database (https://www.linz.govt.nz/land/maps/topographic-maps/topo50-maps). LCDB is suitable for use in national and regional environment monitoring, forest and shrubland inventory, biodiversity assessment, trend analysis and infrastructure planning. The classification used in LCDBv5.0 is presented in the document 'LCDBClassesAtVersion5.pdf' and a table correlating LCDB classes over all versions is presented in the document 'LCDBClassCorrelations.pdf'. Both of these are among the accessory documents to this dataset in the LRIS portal (https://lris.scinfo.org.nz/). LCDB version 5.0 was released in January 2020 and includes corrections to all time steps1997/97, 2001/02, 2008/09, 2012/13 and 2018/19 for both the New Zealand mainland and Chatham Islands. A description of work undertaken for this release (including that of all earlier releases) is presented in the Lineage section. Of particular note at version 5.0 is the addition to LCDB, of attributes designed to readily identify and monitor wetlands over time and a similar capability to manage significant coastal changes. “EditAuthority” and "EditDate" are attributes, maintained since version 3.0 to indicate authorship and nominal date of polygon mapping, edit or change. Errors in the data due to misclassification (rather than land cover change) or poor delineation can be reported to Landcare Research for inclusion in the next release using the online feedback facility in https://lris.scinfo.org.nz/.

Fisheries Management Areas for all species or classes of fish not specified in table 1, Schedule 3, Fisheries (Reporting) Regulations 2001

The location and extent of Marine reserves (type 1 marine protected areas) in the territorial sea.

Distributional data for eight taxonomic groups (asteroids, bryozoans, benthic foraminiferans, octocorals, polychaetes, matrix-forming scleractinian corals, sponges, and benthic fish) have been used to train an environmental classification for those parts of New Zealand's 200 n. mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with depths of 3000 m or less. A variety of environmental variables were used as input to this process, including estimates of depth, temperature, salinity, sea surface temperature gradient, surface water productivity, suspended sediments, tidal currents, and seafloor sediments and slope. These variables were transformed using results averaged across eight Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling analyses that indicate relationships between species turnover and environment for each species group. The matrix of transformed variables was then classified using k-meDOIds clustering to identify an initial set of 300 groups of cells based on their environmental similarities, with relationships between these groups then described using agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Groups at a fifteen group level of classification appropriate for use at a whole-of-EEZ scale are described; the classification can also be used at other levels of detail, for example when higher levels of classification detail are required to discriminate variation within study areas of more limited extent. Although not formally tested in this analysis, we expect the analytical process used here to increase the biological discrimination of the environmental classification. That is, the resulting environmental groups are more likely to have similar biological characteristics than when the input environmental variables are selected, weighted, and perhaps transformed using qualitative methods. As a consequence, they are more likely to be reliable when used as "habitat classes" for the management of biological values than groups defined using alternative approaches.

New Zealand’s four million km2 marine environment is diverse, with a range of coastal habitats and offshore seabed environments. There are also many marine species unique to New Zealand. Marine protected areas conserve or manage some of these unique habitats and species, while a range of other tools also provide marine protection. We report on the area covered by these tools as an indirect measure to understand the state of the marine environment. Marine reserves lie within our territorial sea (12 nautical mile limit) and offer the highest level of marine protection in New Zealand waters. No marine habitat or life form, such as seaweed or fish, may be removed from, or disturbed in, these places.Sourced from MfE from a collection of layers for the "Our Marine Environment 2016" report (see https://data.mfe.govt.nz/layers/tag/our-marine-environment-2016/). Mercator 41 Projection - EPSG:3994

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralological characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates.The polygon set used in this layer is equivalent to NZLRI Version 3.1, dissolved on soil. Soil attribute data derive from regional soil legends and the NSD as at 1999 Incidental error correction has occurred as necessaryAccuracy of soil attribute values is dependant on the variability of the soil unit over its entire geographic extent and the origin of the estimate (recorded in the _EST fields)Polygons derive from the multi-factor, homogenous unit area mapping of the NZLRI. This method often delineates features at a lower resolution than a single factor map of equivalent scale.While NZLRI mapping scale remained constant (at 1:63,360 and later 1:50,000), polygon resolution increased in detail as the survey progressed, and was variably constrained by the quality of source information available to the mapperhttp://lris.scinfo.org.nz/layer/136/ & https://lris.scinfo.org.nz/layer/48137-fsl-south-island-all-attributes/