Quaternary environmental change in New Zealand and its effects on the soil pattern

Abstract

NZ is an exceptional place for studying environmental change and soil evolution during the Quaternary: (1) it lies in a climatically sensitive, oceanic location spanning 17 degrees of the mid-latitudes; (2) its active plate boundary setting has produced high mountains lying athwart the prevailing westerlies, active volcanism, and a dynamic landscape; and (3) it has an exceptionally short prehistory (c. 700 years). Consequently, there is a striking diversity of topography - the landscape is characterized by strong relief and youthfulness - and lithology, markedly variable climatic regimes, and a unique, relict 'Gondwana' flora. In this paper, we firstly describe environmental change in NZ during the Quaternary and then examine examples of the effects of such change, chiefly during and since the LG, on the soil pattern in NZ.