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Innovation 2022 articles

  1. Making “un-poplar” decisions: a framework for better tree choices in our hill country

    Around 20% of Aotearoa New Zealand (5.2 million ha) is classed as “hill country” – much of it marginal pastoral agricultural land with low productive potential.

  2. Managing lucerne to fix soil N

    Lucerne is a widely used grazing fodder crop, and, like other legumes, is able to fix nitrogen in the soil. Well-managed lucerne is highly productive and the plant also has deep roots, which allow water extraction from well below 2-m depth and extract N from the soil.

  3. Getting to the root causes of soil erosion using high-res remote sensing

    Soil erosion processes are notably active in Aotearoa New Zealand: our steep slopes, generally weak sedimentary rocks, and high annual rainfall totals including frequent large rainfall events, underscored by a history of vegetation clearance for agriculture, mean that around 192 million tonnes of so...

  4. Winning against Wildings – an update

    Introduced conifers are the backbone of commercial forestry in Aotearoa New Zealand, worth around $5 billion a year. However, invasion of land by wilding conifers is arguably AoNZ’s most serious and intractable weed problem.

  5. How destructive could myrtle rust be to our trees?

    Aotearoa New Zealand has 37 native Myrtaceae species, including pōhutukawa and rātā, mānuka and kānuka, ramarama and swamp maire, of which 25 are endemic. But there are many other non-native myrtle species in AoNZ, including eucalypts, feijoa, bottlebrushes, lilly pilly, and monkey apple.

  6. Using genomics data to unlock precision pest control

    Pest control of invasive mammalian species – rats, mice, stoats, possums, and the rest – is a key priority for Aotearoa New Zealand to prevent further decline of our iconic, endangered native species, and to support the Predator Free 2050 initiative. One limitation of current vertebrate toxins for p...

  7. Natural enemy for invasive African tulip tree arrives in the Kingdom of Tonga

    The African tulip tree is considered one of the 100 worst alien invasive species in the world and one of the top 30 terrestrial invasive plants.

  8. Swapping time for space to track the impact of climate change on soil microbes

    To test the effects of climate change on species at any scale is difficult. Scientists can’t manufacture realistic global warming in a test tube or in a lab over a few hours, or a few days. As a result, a big challenge for climate change researchers has always been how to best record potential shift...

  9. Future drought could drain primary sector profit

    Research published in August 2021 by the Deep South Challenge and Manaaki Whenua, with the support of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, has found that more intense future drought is likely to lead to drops in farm profit.

  10. He huringa āhuarangi, he huringa ao: a changing climate, a changing world

    In October 2021, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and Manaaki Whenua released a report offering new guidance for Te Ao Māori on climate change adaptation and mitigation. He huringa āhuarangi, he huringa ao: a changing climate, a changing world was produced by a multidisciplinary Māori research team working ...

  11. Building Te Ao Māori thinking into science knowledge systems

    Indigenous knowledge systems and approaches hold a significant share in the well-being of the planet.

  12. Predator modelling applied to study of COVID-19 health equity

    The COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive of many science activities over the past 2 years. Fieldwork, conferences, hui, workshops – much work has had to be rescheduled or moved online. However, scientists are lateral thinkers. The pandemic has also brought new and wide-ranging opportunities to appl...

  13. Building social licence to operate

    Social licence to operate is an essential ingredient in successful applied research, and is sought after by groups and organisations wishing to bring about environmental change. For example, if Aotearoa New Zealand (AoNZ)’s ambitious predator-free goals are to be realised, SLO will need to be built ...

  14. Modelling the nation’s COVID-19 response

    Recognising the need for robust ways to measure the effectiveness of contact tracing in reducing the spread of COVID-19, a team of researchers, including Manaaki Whenua’s Dr Rachelle Binny and Dr Audrey Lustig, applied their wildlife disease modelling knowledge to develop a model to investigate the ...

  15. Prepare to arrive as guests: being manuhiri in the production of knowledge

    New research led by Senior Researcher Dr Alison Greenaway has focused on how non-indigenous scientists embrace the geographical, cultural, and social places they find themselves as manuhiri (guests). The researchers discuss the need for non- Indigenous researchers ‘to prepare to arrive as guests’ in...