Our Tools

Manaaki Whenua is the custodian of a number of nationally significant  land resource collections and databases.

Below is a list of tools developed to share this data on-line.

These tools provide individuals working in regional and central government, business, research and education with quick and easy access to maps and data of aspects of the New Zealand land environments and environmental data.

Tools providing LUC information

Land Resource Information System (LRIS) portal

An online geospatial data repository that holds over 200 different land resource data layers for mapping, querying, and spatial analysis.

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Our Environment

An interactive, free, online service providing access to environmental data including the Land Use Capability (LUC) classification.

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Whenua Māori Visualisation Tool

A tool for Māori land owners and managers to find out more about the physical characteristics, constraints and potential of their whenua Māori.

Learn more

Other land-related tools

S-map Online

The digital soil map for Aotearoa New Zealand. Explore interactive maps, view and download a variety of soil factsheets, identify and compare soil siblings.

Visit S-map Online

NZLRI – Soil

This layer represents a GIS dissolve on the soil attributes of the NZLRI database.

Go to the NZLRI - Soil layer (on LRIS portal)

Land Cover Database (LCDB) v5.0

New Zealand Land Cover Database, a multi-temporal, thematic classification of land cover.

Go to the LCDB v5.0 layer (on LRIS)

National Soil Data Repository (NSDR)

NSDR stores soil descriptions and associated analytical results from across New Zealand.

Go to NSDR Viewer

Soils Portal

This portal provides access to the wealth of New Zealand soil information available through Manaaki Whenua and other organisations.

Visit the Soils Portal

Land environments of New Zealand (LENZ)

An environmental classification of New Zealand's terrestrial environments.

Learn more about LENZ

As part of the National Science Challenge 'Our Land and Water' a Resource Finder has been set up. This allows you to search for journal articles, technical reports, presentations, videos, guidance docs, infographics, maps and models produced as part of the challenge.

Explore Land Resources items in the Resource Finder

Related content

luc landscape summary
Understanding LUC and NZLRI
The Land Use Capability (LUC) system is defined as a system for arranging different kinds of land (arable cropping, pastoral grazing, production forestry, and general) according to the properties (rock types, soils, landform and slopes, erosion types and severities, and vegetation cover) that determines its capability for long-term sustained production.
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luc applications summary
LUC applications
The Land Use Capability (LUC) system is important to help achieve sustainable land development and management.
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surveys summary
LUC surveys
The New Zealand Land Resources Inventory (NZLRI) projects of the 1970s and 1980s mapped LUC regionally.
This was done for a variety of reasons relating to size and experience of the mapping teams, logistics of the mapping approach, and the contractual setting.
Five key physical soil and land resource factors that drive land use capability were mapped.
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Castle Hill, NZ. Image Bradley White, Manaaki Whenua
LUC help​
Check out our glossary and FAQ pages.
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Know of a tool not listed here?

Please get in touch with us. We would be happy to hear from you on how we can further improve our Land Resources Portal.

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