Editing Canterbury Region (section)

==Environment==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2024}}
[[File:Upper Akaroa Harbour, Canterbury, New Zealand, 21st. Nov. 2010 - Flickr - PhillipC.jpg|thumb|Upper Akaroa Harbour]]
[[File:Canterbury Plains NZ aerial.jpg|thumb|Canterbury Plains]]
{{see also|Environment of New Zealand}}
Like much of the [[Canterbury-Otago tussock grasslands]] the [[Canterbury Plains]] have been highly modified since human settlement and now support a large agricultural industry. Prior to the arrival of [[Māori people|Māori]] settlers in the 13th century, much of the modern Canterbury Region was covered in scrub and beech forests. Forest fires destroyed much of the original [[forest cover]] which was succeeded by tussock grassland. By the 19th century, only ten percent of this forest cover remained, and the European settlers introduced several new exotic [[grass]], [[lupin]], [[pine]] and [[Hesperocyparis macrocarpa|macrocarpa]] that gradually supplanted the native vegetation. Much of the native vegetation was isolated to the [[alpine zone]]s and Banks Peninsula. From a minimum of about one percent of its original forest cover in circa 1900, the amount of forest on Banks Peninsula has increased.

The amount of dairy farming is increasing with a corresponding increase in demand for water. Water use is now becoming a contentious issue in Canterbury. Lowland rivers and streams are generally polluted and some of the aquifers are being overdrawn. The [[Central Plains Water]] scheme is a proposal for water storage that has attracted much controversy. The [[Canterbury Water Management Strategy]] is one of the many means being used to address the water issue.

The [[Canterbury mudfish]] (kowaro) is an endangered species that is monitored by the Department of Conservation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mudfish: New Zealand Freshwater Fish |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/freshwater-fish/mudfish/ |website=[[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] |access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref>
<!-- [[Gorse in New Zealand|gorse]], a problematic [[invasive species|invasive plant]] ......... planted hedgerows on the Canterbury Plains. -->