Appetite for grass: Re‐engineering landscapes of Otago and Southland 1864–1914. (23rd July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Holland, Peter; Olson, Sherry
• Other Names: Wild Kirsty guestEditor.; Lloyd Mike guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: New Zealand geographer. Volume 76:Number 3(2020:Dec.)
• Page Start: 237
• Page End: 246
• Publication Date: 2020-07-23
• Subjects: grasslands history -- landscape change -- nutrient cycle -- positive feedback -- southern New Zealand -- systems thinking; Geography -- Periodicals; New Zealand -- Description and travel -- Periodicals; 910
• DOI: 10.1111/nzg.12269
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0028-8144

Abstract

Abstract: Family farms of southern New Zealand, by effective integration of their biological engines—equine, ovine and bovine—sustained a rising productivity for half a century. In response to demand in the North Atlantic core, settlers on a South Pacific frontier were converting indigenous landscapes of tussock, scrub and wetland to introduced grasses. The comments that farmers entered to a daybook or reported to a journalist demonstrate a systems understanding. The changes in landscape and diet were part of a worldwide trend towards dependence on grass, recognized today as a source of severe environmental costs.