Mosaic vs Monoculture Landscapes

How can the research be used? Ka pēhea e whai take ai te rangahau?

• This research will develop an open-source model, accessible to all councils and researchers, that will be able to quantify the outcomes of land use scenarios, and create land use scenarios by selecting objectives.
• The model will assess the impact of mosaics at sub-catchment, regional, and national scales on a range of metrics (including NOF attributes, greenhouse gas emissions and profitability). The sub-catchment, catchment and national scale modelling will require the development of an integrated modelling technique for assessing outcomes under different land use mosaics. This will build on existing models and integrate N, P, sediment, microbial contamination, biodiversity, and greenhouse gases.
• Major policy reforms over the next year will require regional planners to implement a single strategic plan for their region that integrates all the implications of land use. This work will provide useful input into this process through the underlying datasets, the results describing how mosaics can contribute to the solution, and the modelling capability.
• The project will provide advice to policymakers in central government about the implications of mosaics of land use for management and regulation of land and water.
• This research is providing information and support to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, for a mosaic modelling case study in the Mataura catchment, for mosaic modelling case studies and possibly the Northland case study.