Where blocks changed most
For each block, Lotline reads Manaaki Whenua’s Land Cover Database in every year it was mapped: 1996, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2018 and 2023. Nationally, 9.4% of rural blocks changed land cover class on at least a quarter of their area between 1996 and 2023. The most change was in Marlborough (26.4% of blocks), Tasman (21.3% of blocks), Nelson (18.5% of blocks).
Region by region
| Region | Blocks changed on a quarter or more | Pasture, points | Plantation forest, points | Indigenous forest and scrub, points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlborough | 26.4% | −7.2 | +5.2 | −0.9 |
| Tasman | 21.3% | −0.3 | +1.5 | −0.9 |
| Nelson | 18.5% | −1.0 | +1.4 | −0.2 |
| Gisborne | 15.3% | −4.8 | +6.4 | +0.2 |
| West Coast | 14.9% | +3.5 | +0.2 | −2.8 |
| Canterbury | 11.7% | +3.4 | +0.6 | +0.0 |
| Hawke’s Bay | 11.6% | −2.2 | +2.6 | +0.1 |
| Bay of Plenty | 10.7% | −0.2 | +0.1 | −0.1 |
| Wellington | 10.5% | −3.0 | +4.4 | −0.1 |
| Otago | 8.4% | +0.0 | +2.3 | −0.3 |
| Northland | 8.1% | −1.7 | +2.0 | −0.3 |
| Auckland | 7.6% | −1.0 | +0.5 | +0.2 |
| Waikato | 7.2% | +1.2 | −1.1 | −0.1 |
| Manawatū-Whanganui | 5.9% | −2.7 | +3.4 | −0.4 |
| Southland | 5.0% | +0.8 | +2.1 | −0.9 |
| Taranaki | 4.9% | −0.7 | +1.6 | −1.0 |
The forest story
The biggest shifts toward plantation forest were in Gisborne (+6.4 points), Marlborough (+5.2 points), Wellington (+4.4 points). A block next to new forest will see harvest traffic and machinery when it’s cut, typically 25 to 30 years after planting for radiata pine.
Why it matters when you buy
- A block that was forest in 1996 may carry old stumps, drains or slash; one that was cleared of native bush may have rules on what can be cleared next.
- Plantation forest on or beside a block brings harvest traffic in time, and forest on the block can come with Emissions Trading Scheme obligations.
- Every Lotline report charts the block’s land cover in every year since 1996, and what surrounds it within 200 m.
See the example reports, or find areas that fit what you’re after.