Predicting land use suitability from vegetation and landform in depleted semiarid grassland, New Zealand

Landform-soil-vegetation relationships were tested in depleted grassland of the topographically diverse Conroy land system in semiarid Central Otago, New Zealand. Topographical, soil, and cover characteristics, along with flora, were recorded in sample plots on eight geomorphologically distinct land elements. Cluster analyses showed incomplete correspondence of plant community, land element, and soil characteristics. Habitat types considered useful indicators of land use potential were derived from the classification of sample plots by topographical, soil, and cover characteristics. Together, land element and plant community could predict habitat type with acceptable accuracy for assignment of appropriate land uses to sites in the Conroy land system, without the need for extensive soil tests.