This layer has been created to assist the Council in identifying and managing threatened and at risk ecosystems in the Auckland region. The ecosystem classification system used in creating this layer was developed by the Department of Conservation (Singers & Rogers 2014) and refined by Nick Singers to match the specific nature of ecosystems found within the Auckland Region. For further information about the classification system, see Singers et al. (2015) Indigenous terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of Auckland. The process of mapping the current extent of Auckland’s terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems has involved collating data and information from a variety of sources. For example, all terrestrial ecosystem data from past ecological surveys, held by legacy councils, was aggregated; numerous publications that documented the state of indigenous vegetation in Auckland were collated, including the Department of Conservation’s Protected Natural Area Programme survey reports and research papers for sites throughout the region. Ecological surveys carried out to potential SEAs assisted in filling knowledge gaps and to updating some of the existing data. The resulting data was used to inform the mapping of ecosystems. For further information on the ecosystems in the Auckland Region refer to:

Singers, N.; Osborne, B.; Lovegrove, T.; Jamieson, A.; Boow, J.; Sawyer, J.; Hill, K.; Andrews, J.; Hill, S.; Webb, C. 2016. Indigenous terrestrial and wetland ecosystems of Auckland. Auckland Council.