Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research's science platforms

Land-based ecosystems ($9.15 million per year)

This Platform supports research that enables New Zealand to sustainably manage its land-based species, habitats and ecosystems. Ultimately, this Platform aims to reverse the decline of New Zealand’s biodiversity – the many plants, animals, fungi and other life forms on the land – and enable us to manage and use our land resources in ways that protect them for future generations.

Research funded by this Platform will help land managers, conservation groups and policy-makers to save treasured species (approximately $3.35 million investment); control high-priority animal pests, weeds and diseases (approximately $4.10 million); and monitor and report on the quality of the land environment (approximately $1.30 million). It will also support Māori aspirations (through investment in all research areas above, supplemented by approximately$0.40m of investment specifically focused on Māori outcomes).

The Platform supports excellent research in line with current and emergent national priorities, including greater investment in higher-stretch research in critical areas, including developing and applying novel technologies. Research priorities for this Platform include integrating land use, biodiversity and social, cultural and economic factors to improve the resilience and adaptability of ecosystems across catchments and sectors, as well as the sustainability of land management decisions taken. The Platform will improve engagement and science communication to better inform the public about New Zealand’s natural species and environments, the threats facing them, and how science can help all New Zealanders to protect them.

A growing focus of the investment is to develop methods that rapidly and significantly improve control of the weeds, pests and diseases that threaten New Zealand’s nature and national economy. This will mean creating ready-to-use tools and technologies that can be easily used by non-specialists. A further focus will be to find meaningful and cost-effective ways to assess environmental quality in New Zealand. We need to know more about our unique species and habitats, and how they respond to key stressors, in order to understand how better protect and manage them into the future. We will also focus on developing better ways, including through the use of new technologies, to assess the health of New Zealand’s land environments.

Enhancing land use ($8.25 million per year)

This Platform supports research that enables New Zealanders to better measure and manage their land resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and manage the environmental impacts of land use. It will enable the natural resources sector and the primary sector, including Māori, to manage land in ways that improve the quality of land, soil and fresh water (approximately $4.25 million investment), reduce carbon emissions (approximately $1.40 million) and verify New Zealand’s environmental performance (approximately $2.10 million). This Platform will also support Māori aspirations (through investment in all research areas above, supplemented by approximately $0.50 million of investment specifically focused on Māori outcomes).

The Platform will invest in fundamental research in areas where more information is critically needed (for example, soil processes), including social issues (for example, how to best enable the behaviour changes needed to achieve sustainable land use). It will further develop nationally important databases and models (for example, SedNetNZ) and use new supercomputing and remote-sensing technologies to generate data more cost-effectively and accurately. Using this fine-tuned data, we can provide more accurate farm-scale tools and advice. Research will also be scaled up to cover entire catchments and landscapes, and tools and advice will be developed that combine environmental, social and economic factors to enable land managers to achieve the best possible productivity from their land while protecting other values, such as water quality.

To achieve these goals and support science excellence, the Platform will invest in higher-risk, higher-impact research in high-priority areas (for example, remote sensing and sensor networks) as well as improving big data expertise to enable data-driven science. We will increase investment in Māori-centred research in Platform 2 and will partner more systematically with Māori to build their capability in sustainable land development and kaitiakitanga.

The Enhancing Land Use Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF) Platform supports research that enables Aotearoa New Zealand to act on climate change and protect and enhance the soils, water, and land that are so important to us. This includes critical social and economic research to give us improved tools for planning, policy, governance, and on-the-ground decision-making.

The aim of SSIF funded research is to achieve real, on-the-ground impact. Some highlights of the 65 projects supported by SSIF over 2022 to 2023 are listed below.

• Supporting to the national Cyclone Gabrielle response by doing a rapid assessment of landslides; and processing pre- and post-event satellite imagery, to assess the extent of land damage.
• Developing and operating the S-map (soil) database to support decisions by councils, Māori, land managers, communities and policymakers relevant to freshwater management, integrated catchment management and sustainable production.
• Working with Microsoft’s AI for Good team to develop models and methods to assess and monitor changes in land cover at scale, using high-resolution satellite imagery.
• Modelling climate-smart landscapes to allow stakeholders to explore decisions for the development of climate change adaptation pathways 'interactively'.

Our research continued its strong record of excellence. Our citation impact (InCites category-‍normalised citation ranking) put us as the leading CRI nationally and in the top 11% of research institutes globally that published more than 100 papers during the 5-year period 2018 to 2022.

Of course, delivery of strong, high-impact science is dependent on our staff. Vision mātauranga continued to be a core focus for capability development, as was growing our e-Research expertise

The Land-based Ecosystems Strategic Science Investment Fund (SSIF) Platform supports research that enables Aotearoa New Zealand to restore its native biodiversity and beat the invasive species that threaten our natural taonga and economy. This includes critical social and economic research to give our country improved tools for planning, policy, governance, and on-the-ground decision making.

The aim of SSIF-funded research is to achieve real, on-the-ground impact. Some highlights of the 75 projects supported by SSIF over 2022 to 2023 are listed below.

• Determining attributes and limits for wetland policy, and providing tools and guidelines to assist regional councils, Māori, landowners, and communities to manage wetlands.
• Supporting efforts by central and local government, mana whenua and community-led initiatives to understand which forms of weeds management best enhance ecosystem resilience.
• Working closely with Māori and the natural resources sector to use long-term ecosystem studies and large-scale analyses of ecological data to understand biodiversity better and how our biodiversity is changing. 
• Further developing methods and strategies to eradicate mammalian pests at landscape scales and prevent reinvasion, involving key partners such as Predator Free 2050, regional councils, DOC, and community groups.

Our research continued its strong record of excellence.  Our citation impact (InCites category-normalised citation ranking) put us as the leading CRI nationally, and in the top 11% of research institutes globally that published more than 100 papers during the 5-year period 2018 to 2022.

Of course, delivery of strong, high-impact science is dependent on our staff. Vision mātauranga continued to be a core focus for capability development, as was growing our e-Research expertise.

Further information can be found on the Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research website

Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research(external link)

or by contacting the Communications Manager Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research PHONE +64 3 321 9999.

Sustainably managing terrestrial species, habitats, and ecosystems

The Land-based Ecosystems SSIF Platform supports research that enables Aotearoa New Zealand to restore its native biodiversity and beat the invasive species that threaten our natural taonga and economy.  This includes critical social and economic research to give Aotearoa New Zealand improved tools for planning, policy, governance, and on-the-ground decision-making.

The aim of SSIF funded research is to achieve real, on-the-ground impact. Highlights among the 80 projects supported by SSIF over 2021 to 2022 include research to:

• better understand where our native species and ecosystems are found, how they function, and how they are changing over time in response to both natural and anthropogenic drivers, such as climate change
• empower Stewart Island / Rakiura hapū and iwi to act confidently as kaitiaki of tītī, also known as muttonbirds or sooty shearwaters
• increase the resilience of wetlands under the Government’s new Essential Freshwater work programme
• develop highly targeted (rats, stoats, possums) pest control tools and strategies while leaving non-target species and the environment unharmed
• support efforts by central and regional government, and community-led initiatives (including by mana whenua), to better know which weeds to control and where.

Our research continued its strong record of excellence.  Our citation impact (InCites category normalised citation ranking) put us as the leading CRI and in the top 13% of research institutes globally that published more than 100 papers during the 5-year period 2017 to 2021.

Of course delivery of strong, high-impact science is dependent on our staff. Vision Mātauranga continued to be a core focus for capability development, as was growing our e-Research expertise.Measuring and managing land resources, and mitigating greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts of land use

The Enhancing Land Use SSIF Platform supports research that enables Aotearoa New Zealand to take action on climate change and protect and enhance the soils, water, and land that are so important to us.  This includes critical social and economic research to give Aotearoa New Zealand improved tools for planning, policy, governance, and on-the-ground decision-making.

Measuring and managing land resources, and mitigating greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts of land use

The aim of SSIF-funded research is to achieve real, on-the-ground impact. Highlights among the 80 projects supported by SSIF over 2021 to 2022 included work to:

• find ways to increase carbon storage and decrease net emissions of methane and nitrous oxide while maintaining agricultural productivity
• understand environmental preferences and behaviours, enabling better modelling of future land-use change, adaptation to climate change, and kaitiakitanga to inform policy and planning
• operate the S-map database, which provides accurate and timely soil information for land stewards (including farmer), industry, Māori groups, and local and national government
• remediate soil health by undertaking research with Māori landowners to explore composting options for novel waste products, reducing the need for chemical fertilisers and supporting high-value horticulture, cropping, or rongoā production.

Our research continued its strong record of excellence.  Our citation impact (InCites category normalised citation ranking) put us as the leading CRI and in the top 13% of research institutes globally that published more than 100 papers during the 5-year period 2017 to 2021.

Of course delivery of strong, high-impact science is dependent on our staff. Vision Mātauranga continued to be a core focus for capability development, as was growing our e-Research expertise.

Further information can be found on the Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research website

Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research(external link)

or by contacting the Communications Manager Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research PHONE +64 3 321 9999.