Kauri dieback alters sapling populations

This new paper looking at the impact of kauri dieback on sapling communities has just been published in Journal of Vegetation Science. The permanent plot data supporting this study are stored in NVS.

Elliott TAW, Bellingham PJ, Perry GLW, Burns BR 2025. A virulent soil pathogen alters temperate rain forest understorey sapling population dynamics and successional trajectories. Journal of Vegetation Science 36: e70014.

Click here to view the paper.

Metrosideros occurrences in the Pacific

A new paper, and associated point records, reporting Metrosideros occurrences across the Pacific has just been published. Data from NVS were incorporated through GBIF (open access NVS data are supplied to GBIF) and sPlotOpen.

Etherington TR, Dawson MI, Sutherland A, McCarthy JK 2025. Open data for biogeography research of the genus Metrosideros across the south-central Pacific region. Pacific Conservation Biology 31: PC24075.

Click here to view the paper.

Environmental filtering and seedling survival

This paper investigates how environmental filtering affects survival of conifer and angiosperm seedlings across New Zealand forests. The study leverages remeasured plot data from the Tier 1/LUCAS dataset, which are stored in NVS.

Schlesselmann A-KV, Richardson SJ, Bellingham PJ, Wright E, Jo I, Hawcroft A, Monks A 2025. Survival and environmental filtering of angiosperm and conifer seedlings at range-wide scales throughout temperate evergreen rainforests. Journal of Ecology: in press.

Click here to view the paper.

Data from NVS support tree fern study

This study, from the University of Auckland, found that tree ferns retain skirts of dead fronds to protect themselves from frost.

Brock JMR, Bellvé AM, Burns BR 2025. Marcescence and prostrate growth in tree ferns are adaptations to cold tolerance. Ecography: e07362.

Click here to view the paper.

NZ vegetation data contribute to three recent global studies

Bouchard E, Searle EB, Drapeau P, Liang J, Gamarra JGP, Abegg M, Alberti G, Zambrano AA, Alvarez-Davila E, Alves LF, ..., Wiser SK, et al. 2024. Global patterns and environmental drivers of forest functional composition. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33: 303-324..

Zou Y, Zohner CM, Averill C, Ma H, Merder J, Berdugo M, Bialic-Murphy L, Mo L, Brun P, Zimmermann NE, ..., Wiser SK, et al. 2024. Positive feedbacks and alternative stable states in forest leaf types. Nature Communications 15: 4658.

International Tree Mortality Network. Towards a global understanding of tree mortality. New Phytologist, in press.

Shrublands vulnerable to non-native plant invasion

Data from 839 permanent plots were used to look at trends of richness and cover of non-native plants in indigenous forests and shrublands. The authors found that shrublands were more vulnerable to plant invasion than mature forests with higher levels of both non-native cover (especially from woody species) and species richness. .

Rossignaud L, Hulme PE 2025. Low richness of invasive non-native plants in New Zealand indigenous forests may not reflect low impact. Diversity and Distributions 31: e13965.

Click here to view the paper.

Paper on drivers of tree demography

This paper focuses on the drivers of tree demography across New Zealand forests, and is the result of a collaboration between Manaaki Whenua and DOC. The study leverages remeasured plot data from the Tier 1/LUCAS dataset, which are stored in NVS.

Jo I, Bellingham PJ, Richardson SJ, Hawcroft A, Wright EF 2024. Tree demographic drivers across temperate rain forests, after accounting for site-, species-, and stem-level attributes. Ecology: e4471.

Click here to view the paper. If you don't have access, email the NVS team (nvs@landcareresearch.co.nz) or Insu (lead author, email address on paper website) for a pdf copy.

Edge effects and myrtle rust

Three transects were established on the southern side of Mt Taranaki, running from forest edge toward the interior, to look at the influence of edge effects on myrtle rust infection on Lophomyrtus bullata (the most susceptible NZ species to the disease). The study ran for three years, and found that infection was higher further from the edge in the first year (likely due to increased humidity), but this effect weakened in the following years, presumably as infection spread across the site. The vegetation data from the transects are stored in NVS.

McCarthy JK, Bellingham PJ, Jo I, Grelet G-A, Bartlett M, Buxton RP, Fergus AJ, Fraser S, Peace J, Probst CM, Padamsee M 2025. Environmental drivers of spatial variation in myrtle rust development on a critically endangered tree species. Biological Conservation 301: 110902.

Click here to view the paper.

Earthquakes influence beech tree growth and survival

A network of 216 permanent vegetation plots established along an elevation gradient was used to measure the influence of the 1994 Arthurs Pass earthquake on growth and survival of trees in beech forest. This long term dataset, established and measured four times in the 20 years before the earthquake and remeasured three times during another 20 years following, is stored in NVS.

Allen RB, MacKenzie DI, Wiser SK, Bellingham PJ, Burrows LE, Coomes DA 2024. A growth–survival trade-off along an elevation gradient is altered by earthquake disturbance in a monodominant southern beech forest. Ecology and Evolution 14: e70467.

Click here to view the paper.

Global assessment of wood density published

A global assessment of wood density, its environmental drivers, and impacts on global carbon stocks in forests has been published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, including contributions by authors from Manaaki Whenua. Data from NVS were contributed to this global assessment.

Mo L, ..., McCarthy JK, Richardson SJ, et al. The global distribution and drivers of wood density and their impact on forest carbon stocks. Nature Ecology & Evolution: in press.

Click here to view the paper.

The functional consequences of losing Myrtaceae due to myrtle rust

Last week a paper was published looking at the consequences to ecosystem functions from the loss of Myrtaceae due to myrtle rust. The analysis in this paper was based on the Tier 1/LUCAS dataset stored in NVS.

McCarthy JK, Richardson SJ, Jo I, Wiser SK, Easdale TA, Shepherd JD, Bellingham PJ 2024. A functional assessment of community vulnerability to the loss of Myrtaceae from myrtle rust. Diversity and Distributions: e13928.

Click here to view the paper, which is published with open access.

New paper looking at succession and size-density relationships

A paper has just been published looking at the roles of ecological succession in shaping size-density relationships in trees and soil invertebrates. This is a paper from Poppy Romera's Master's thesis, and a collaboration between the University of Waikato and Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. A subset of plots from the Tier 1/LUCAS dataset, stored in NVS, were used in the analysis.

Romera PJ, Wallace KJ, McCarthy JK, Rai B, Mitchell G, Eisenhauer N, Lusk CH, Barnes AD. Ecological succession shapes size–density scaling relationships of trees and soil invertebrates. Functional Ecology: in press.

Click here for a link to the paper, which is published with open access, and here for a link to a plain language summary.

Prioritising forest plot networks for remeasurement

Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research has recently released a report prepared for the Department of Conservation prioritising existing permanent plots for remeasurement to support the evaluation of carbon stocks.

Richardson SJ, Hayman E, Rossignaud L, Jo I, Peltzer DA, Bellingham PJ 2024. Prioritising regional-scale permanent forest plot networks. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC4459 prepared for Department of Conservation, Lincoln, NZ, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research.

Comparing carbon fluxes across mānuka restoration strategies

A paper comparing carbon fluxes in naturally regenerating and planted stands of Mānuka in Whangaparāoa (Shakespear Regional Park) has just been published. This is an output from the Beyond Myrtle Rust research programme, and the vegetation plot data are stored in NVS.

Nguyen H, Bellingham PJ, Fergus AJ, McCarthy JK, Padamsee M, Schwendenmann L. Comparing forest carbon fluxes at locations with different land-use histories and restoration strategies. Plant and Soil: in press.

Detecting trends in biodiversity change using monitoring data

Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research has recently released a report evaluating the current Tier 1 monitoring framework versus a modified design with less frequent measures.

MacLeod CJ, Mason NWH, Richardson SJ 2024. Tier One monitoring framework: design evaluation. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC4449 prepared for Department of Conservation, Lincoln, NZ, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research.

Two papers investigating impacts of invasive mammalian herbivores and weeds on NZ forests just out

Two papers are recently out using the Tier 1 monitoring data set which has plots located at the intersections of an 8 km grid covering New Zealand. Both were collaborations between Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and the Department of Conservation, and are available with open access:

Hawcroft A, Bellingham PJ, Jo I, Richardson SJ, Wright EF 2024. Are populations of trees threatened by non-native herbivorous mammals more secure in New Zealand's national parks? Biological Conservation 295: 110637.

Jo I, Bellingham PJ, Mason NWH, McCarthy JK, Peltzer DA, Richardson SJ, Wright EF. Disturbance-mediated community characteristics and anthropogenic pressure intensify understorey plant invasions in natural forests. Journal of Ecology: in press.

NZ data used in global study investigating dominance and rarity in forests

Hordijk I, Bialic-Murphy L, Lauber T, Routh D, Poorter L, Rivers MC, ... Wiser SK, et al. 2024. Dominance and rarity in tree communities across the globe: Patterns, predictors and threats. Global Ecology and Biogeography: e13889.

New paper looking at interactions between forest tree species

Lai HR, Bellingham PJ, McCarthy JK, Richardson SJ, Wiser SK, Stouffer DB 2024. Detecting nonadditive biotic interactions and assessing their biological relevance among temperate rainforest trees. The American Naturalist 204: 105–120.

Archiving historic New Zealand Forest Service and Timberlands West Coast Forest Surveys

This project aimed to improve Metadata on some historical forest vegetation plot datasets archived in NVS. The New Zealand Forest Service (NZFS) and Timberlands West Coast (TWC, a former state-owned enterprise) established extensive sample plot networks throughout West Coast forests for informing sustainable timber production. We identified 67 datasets collected between 1962-1999. These extended from the Buller and Maruia catchments in the north, the Inangahua and Grey valleys in central Westland, to the Mahinapua, Mikonui, Wanganui, Whataroa and Karangarua districts to the south.

Once these datasets had been identified, our goal was to improve their future utility by ensuring that Metadata is as comprehensive as possible. We recently interviewed former staff of NZFS, who were involved in designing or implementing forest plot surveys on the West Coast. Key individuals visited the archive, poured over field-sheets and maps, and added any information that they could.

We acknowledge the Brian Mason Scientific and Technical Trust for funding for this work.

Missing Metadata are still an issue for some of these surveys. If you were involved in forest timber cruising or vegetation surveys for the NZFS, and may be able to help, please contact Jenny Hurst (nvs@landcareresearch.co.nz).

Newly Available Datasets

The following datasets are now publicly available. You can request them by going to the NVS search page and searching by their names:
Pirongia Phenology 2020 - Purpose - Quantify species composition at different elevations along the Tahuanui Track (Kaniwhaniwha Stream) so as to dominant species for phenology monitoring;
Balls Clearing 2019 - Purpose - To describe forest composition in an uncommon forest type;
Banks Peninsula Te Oka/Misty Peaks - Purpose - To establish baseline monitoring to assess future changes in forest structure and composition.

Ecological importance of Myrtaceae in New Zealand Forests

Jo I, Bellingham PJ, McCarthy JK, Easdale TA. Padamsee M, Wiser, SK, Richardson SJ. 2022. Ecological importance of the Myrtaceae in New Zealand’s natural forests. Journal of Vegetation Science e13106. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13106.

The NVS Annual Report for 2020-21 is now available. Click here to view.

Plot and satellite data integrated to map NZ beech forests nationally

Schindler J, Dymond JR, Wiser SK, Shepherd J. 2021. Method for national mapping spatial extent of southern beeches using temporal spectral signatures. International Journal of Applied Earth Observations and Geoinformation 102: 102408, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2021.102408

Testolin R et al. 2021 Global patterns of alpine plant species richness. Global Ecology and Biogeography 30(6): 1218-1231. doi: https://doi.org/ 10.1111/geb.13297

Bellingham PJ, Richardson SJ, Gormley AM, Allen RB, Cook A, Crisp PN, Forsyth DM, McGlone MS, McKay M, MacLeod CJ, van Dam-Bates P, Wright EF 2020 Implementing integrated measurements of Essential Biodiversity Variables at a national scale. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 1, e12025. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12025

McCarthy JK, Wiser SK, Bellingham PJ, Beresford RM, Campbell RE, Turner R, Richardson SJ. 2020. Using spatial models to identify refugia and guide restoration in response to an invasive plant pathogen. Journal: Journal of Applied Ecology 58:192-201. https://DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13756

The NVS Annual Report 2019-20 is now available. Click here to view.

Species Distribution modelling dataset available

Elith J, Graham CH, Valavi R, Abegg M, Bruce C, Ford A, Guisan A, Hijmans RJ, Huettmann F, Lohmann L, Loiselle B, Moritz C, Overton J, Peterson AT, Phillips S, Richardson K, Williams SE, Wiser SK, Wohlgemuth T, Zimmermann NE 2020. Presence-only and presence-absence data for comparing species distribution modeling methods. Journal of Biodiversity Informatics 15: 69–80. https://doi.org/10.17161/bi.v15i2.13384

The NVS team has created an EXCEL template for entering data that are compatible with NVS that can be downloaded here. The files created can be readily uploaded into the databank. To achieve the highest level of data validation and integrity, the NVS team still recommends the use of NVS Express for data entry.

NVS plot data show distributions of divaricating plants explained by interaction of climate and fertility-mediated browsing

Lusk CH, Wiser SK, Laughlin DC. 2020. Macroclimate and topography interact to influence the abundance of divaricate plants in New Zealand. Frontiers in Plant Science 11(507). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00507

Vegapp is Android smartphone app for digitising releve (i.e. “Recce”) plot data in the field. Plant species lists for New Zealand are available and data can be exported into formats suitable for import into the NVS databank. The app is available at the Google Play Store here

Distinguishing NZ trees and vegetation with colour aerial imagery

Kattenborn T, Eichel J, Wiser S, Burrows L, Fassnacht F, Schmidtlein S. 2020. Convolutional Neural Networks accurately predict cover fractions of plant species and communities in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle imagery. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. Early view 5 February 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.146

Dymond JR, Zörner J, Shepherd JD, Wiser SK, Pairman D, Sabetizade M. 2019. Mapping physiognomic types of indigenous forest in New Zealand using space-borne SAR, optical imagery and air-borne LiDAR. Remote Sensing 11: 1911. DOI: 10.3390/rs11161911.

Permanent plots show earthquake impacts

Allen R, MacKenzie D, Bellingham P, Wiser S, Arnst E, Coomes D, Hurst J. 2019. Tree survival and growth responses in the aftermath of a strong earthquake. Journal of Ecology 107 [early view online].

sPlot a new tool for global vegetation analyses

This paper presents the sPlot database that has collated vegetation plots globally as a tool to explore global patterns in taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity at the plant community level. The NVS databank has contributed some public domain datasets to sPlot and is a member of the sPlot consortium. Click here to view.

New NVS search tool released

We have redeveloped the online search tool to make it easier for data users to discover data to meet their needs. The tool allows both text-based and map-based searching. Text-based searching uses intelligent syntax that is more user-friendly than previously. Users can search with any relevant word or phrase and users can narrow down search results by applying multiple filters, including species names. Map-based searching allows a user to browse plot locations across the entire map display or to focus on a specific area that they delineate. As with text searching, results from the map search can be refined by applying multiple filters. Search results identify what datasets are available, and how many plots within them meet the user’s criteria. We welcome any feedback you may have.

NVS User Survey needs you!

Periodically the team that manages the National Vegetation Survey (NVS) databank seeks input from users to help steer our direction for future years. We have designed a short survey to help our users provide this valuable input. Please take the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GWH3YXM Feel free to pass this survey on to others who may be interested

Plot data from Rangitoto island now in NVS databank

The NVS databank has recently acquired its first plot data from Rangitoto island. A series of exclosures and controls were established by the NZ Forest Service in 1986 and were remeasured as part of a PhD project, based out of Auckland University.

Ecosystem representation and the Mokihinui dam proposal

Newly published: Affeld K, Wiser SK, Payton I, DeCáceres M. 2018. Using classification assignment rules to assess land-use change impacts on forest biodiversity at local-to-national scales. Forest Ecosystems. Forest Ecosystems 5:13 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-017-0121-z

Plot-based classification of NZ vegetation

Newly published: Wiser SK, De Cáceres M. New Zealand’s plot-based classification of vegetation. Phytocoenologia 48(2): 153-161. DOI: 10.1127/phyto/2017/0180

NVS Annual report released

The NVS annual report for 2016-17 is now available at: NVS Annual Report 2016-17

Holdaway, R. J., Easdale, T. A., Carswell, F. E., Richardson, S. J., Peltzer, D. A., Mason, N. W., ... & Coomes, D. A. (2017). Nationally Representative Plot Network Reveals Contrasting Drivers of Net Biomass Change in Secondary and Old-Growth Forests. Ecosystems, 20(5), 944-959.

NVS contributed data to an international study published in the journal Nature that shows plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition. Kunstler et al. 2016

NVS Annual report for 2015-16 released

The NVS Annual report for 2015-16 has been released. You can view it here

New synthesis published: Achievements and challenges in the integration, reuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data

Wiser, S. K. (2016), Achievements and challenges in the integration, reuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data. Journal of Vegetation Science. doi: 10.1111/jvs.12419

NVS 2014-15 Annual Report released

The NVS Annual Report 2014-15 is now available. Click here to view.

NVS data featured in global study mapping tree density

NVS contributed data to an international study that mapped tree density at a global scale published in the journal Nature. Crowther et al. 2015