Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
New Zealand's foremost environmental research organisation.
High Country Bovine Tuberculosis (Tb) research
Scientists from Landcare Research have made discoveries that could have big impacts on management of high country lands both in the Northern South Island High Country and further afield.
By studying where the vector species of bovine tuberculosis – possums, ferrets and wild pigs – lived as well as their movements between catchments and interactions amongst each other, the team established that a pest control strategy targeting specific habitats and a narrow range of altitudes containing the highest densities of possums and ferrets would be successful.
That means large high country properties would not have to undergo broad–scale, extensive control operations
More: Discovery, Issue 18 »IYOB
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Media releases |
Science in Focus - Soils and Landscapes
Soils, landscapes and natural resources (such as water) underpin natural and managed ecosystems. They provide ecosystem and productive services on which we rely for agriculture and forestry and act as a platform for communities, infrastructure, and the national identity on which our culture and tourist trade is based. Current land uses, intensification, the changing geographic pattern of our land uses, as well as climate change and variability, are putting increasing pressures on our soils, landscapes, and natural resources threatening their ability to sustain the critical functions on which we depend.
The Soil and Landscapes team comprises of more than 40 staff, at five sites across New Zealand. We lead research on understanding the complex inter–relationships that control the response of soils and landscapes to climatic and human–induced pressures, evaluating current risk, and offering sustainable land use and natural resource allocation options. Our value is in providing opportunities for the future.
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