LECTURE 20- New Zealand History – impacts of settlement

what was 85-80% of NZ made of

heavy forests with low scrub and herbaceous communities above treeline

what forests dominated the south island

Beech forests

what forests dominated the north island

podocarp-broadleaf

what were features of NZ birds before settlement

Gigantism, flightlessness and behavioural naivety

— result of the lack of predators and hunters in NZ

what hinted that an island (new zealand) existed

Movements of birds and other wildlife going back and forth across the pacific ocean

where did the first human arrivals to NZ come from

likely from Tuamoto/cook island area

what is evidence of people arriving in NZ

charcoal samples

how are charcoal samples evidence of human life

charcoal in sediment comes from burning forests. Burning forests was how human modified the landscape to open up the country for agriculture

• big rise in charcoal from 1200AD, when maori arrived

what did maori do during the archaic period

• small temporary camps

• settlements held between 40 and 300-400 people

• abundant food resources

• lack of weapons

what did maori do during the classic period

• colder climate

• earthquakes in southern alp and wellington region

• tsunamis

• loss of food resource

• changes in settlements: higher resource demand and conflict

how was fire used by human settlers

fire used to burn down forests to make room for agriculture and ‘useful’ plants

what occured in low/middle elevation landscapes

dry sites that were converted from closed forests to tussock grasslands and fern-shrubland. Little recovery

what occured in high elevation landscapes

wet watersheds that were less affected. Possible forest recovery in late Maori period

how did Maori diet change

Switch from carbohydrate-rich diet in Pacific (kumara, taro, yams, breadfruit, bananas) to protein-rich diet in Aotearoa. Some crops couldn’t be grown due to NZ’s colder climate

what was the impact of human settlement on large-bodied birds

huge and immediate impact on population. Many species went extinct

EXAMPLE: Moa. more than 1 million before human arrival, extinct within 200 years of settlement.

how many hectares of forest was lost during maori settlement

6.7 million hectares

how any megafauna and ground-dwelling birds were lost during maori settlement

38 species

how did european arrival affect forests

8 million hectares of forest cut and burned to make space for farms

mainly conifer-broadleaf forest

14.7 million hectares combined from both colonisation periods

90% of what habitat was drained for farming and agriculture since European arrival?

swamps and wetlands

what was the european impact on species

• demand and exportation of NZ species to europe

• mainly bird skins were exported, contributing to species loss

what was one of the biggest impacts on endemic wildlife

introduced species

by how much did nest failure increase due to introduced hedgehogs

51%

how many species have gone extinct since european arrival due to predation

16 species

what four species existed on South Cape Island that were eradicated from ship rats

• Greater short-tailed bat

• South island snipe

• Stead’s bush wren

• South island saddleback (but was saved)

what’s the worst contribution of species decline (aside from human)

Kiore (pacific rats)

what the most significant economic activity for Europeans in NZ

whaling (spern and right whales)

how many whales were caught between 1911 and 1964

4,200