Northland Lakes Strategy
- Author
- Champion, P.; de Winton, M.
- Year
- 2012
- Journal / Source
- Report prepared for Northland Regional Council. NIWA Clint Report HAM2012-121
- Publisher / Organisation
- Northland Regional Council
- Number
- HAM2012-121
- Pages
- 42 pp
- Keywords
- dune lakes
- Summary
- Northland lakes are of national and international significance, with dune lakes the predominant lake type. Northland has the greatest number of dune lakes nationally, and most probably internationally, and represents a large proportion of warm, lowland New Zealand lakes still with relatively good water quality. These lakes and their surrounding wetland margins support a range of endemic endangered species providing the only known habitat, or the national strongholds for a range of biota. Perhaps the most outstanding character of these lakes is the currently limited impact of invasive species on their biota, which is unparalleled in any other region of mainland New Zealand. Using results of previous NIWA studies 76 lakes were evaluated in this strategy, with all but seven being dune lakes. These seven lakes were classed as lakes of volcanic or alluvial origin, or man-made dams. The dune lakes were classified according to their origin including perched dune lakes and coastal deflation hollows both typically with tea-stained water (e.g., Lake Mokeno), window lakes with clear spring-fed water (e.g., Lake Taharoa), lakes formed by mobile dunes damming valleys or basins (e.g., Lake Humuhumu), marine contact lakes (e.g., Waitahora Lagoon) and ephemeral pools in mobile sands (e.g., Te Arai Pond). Lakes were further classified based on soil age and geographical area, with a total of 27 lake groups.