New Zealand

New Zealand is an island group in the South Pacific Ocean, composed of two primary and several smaller islands. The landscape is mostly mountainous, framed by coastal plains. Most of the country is used for human activities, in its majority by rangeland. New Zealand has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates at a global scale. When analysed as single taxons, the rarity of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles is also high. The rarity of marine fish and mammals is also high. Challenges to biodiversity include poor water quality; urbanization; deforestation; soil erosion; and invasive species.