Conservation status of indigenous vascular plants in Taitokerau / Northland 2026 = Te tūnga whāomoomo o ngā momo tupu tariwai/tarikai taketake i Taitokerau

Abstract

The conservation status of 878 vascular plant taxa in Taitokerau / Northland was assessed using a modified version of Rolfe et al. (2022), New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) set to account for threat on a regional rather than national basis. This is the first time Northland Regional Council has facilitated this assessment.

Of these, 128 taxa were assessed as Regionally Threatened, including 77 as Regionally Critical, 29 as Regionally Endangered, and 22 as Regionally Vulnerable. Additionally, 292 taxa were assessed as At Risk, including 60 as Regionally Declining, five as Regionally Relict, eight as Regional Colonisers, one as a Regional Vagrant and 218 as Naturally Uncommon. Finally, 341 taxa were assessed as Regionally Not Threatened and 83 as Regionally Data Deficient.

The percentage of indigenous vascular plant taxa in Taitokerau / Northland that are Regionally Threatened is 14.6%, Regionally At Risk is 33.3%, and Regionally Data Deficient is 9.5%. An additional 34 taxa were identified as extirpated, meaning they are no longer present in the region but persist elsewhere, or are believed to have formerly occurred in Taitokerau / Northland and have since been lost. Moreover, a further five indigenous vascular plant taxa were assessed that are not in the national assessment but were considered to be legitimate.

This document also provides the regional wetland indicator status of native plants in Taitokerau / Northland, based on Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (2021), with updated status assigned to taxa by the panel that were previously unassessed. This regional assessment of wetland indicator status will inform the next national ranking.