A field guide to the vegetation associations of the Taupō Volcanic Zone

Report: TR 2015/32

Author: M Smale and N Fitzgerald (Landcare Research New Zealand)

About this report

The Taupō Volcanic Zone runs from Mt Ruapehu in the Waikato to White Island/Whakaari in the Bay of Plenty. It includes most of New Zealand’s surface geothermal features and most of its geothermal vegetation. Geothermal vegetation occurs at some 90 sites on 25 geothermal fields in the zone. 

Currently, there are several classifications of geothermal vegetation based on observation only, with widely varying numbers of associations (recurring plant community types of characteristic species composition and structure). Waikato and Bay of Plenty Regional Councils and Ministry Of Business, Innovation and Employment commissioned Landcare Research to develop a robust, objective classification of geothermal vegetation types in the Taupō Volcanic Zone.

Landcare Research has randomly sampled geothermal vegetation and aspects of the environment on 15 geothermal fields, and produced an objective classification of geothermal vegetation in the Taupō Volcanic Zone.  It comprises 17 vegetation associations, all but two of them confined to geothermal sites and all but one of them dominated by native species.  This field guide, which accompanies the classification report, can be used to identify those geothermal vegetation types.

Read or download the report

A field guide to the vegetation associations of the Taupō Volcanic Zone [PDF, 5.6 MB]