title: Integrating Maori perspectives into community resilience frameworks for the built environment

authors: Boston, Megan

abstract: Many governments and organisations have attempted to construct frameworks for improving community resilience, particularly as related to the built environment. Many frameworks, globally and locally, take a large overview of society and miss the potential to incorporate cultural, social, and engineering practices followed by indigenous people. However, there is much to learn from the traditional practices of Maori that could directly improve community resilience after a disaster. To date, little research has worked on integrating Maori cultural views into resilience frameworks. Using survey and interview data investigating Maori cultural views on resilience and aspects of the built environment, five Maori values were identified to strengthen resilience. These values are matauranga (knowledge), kotahitanga (unity), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whakawhanaungatanga (relationships), and manakitanga (extending love). Further, communities can increase community cohesion and unity through adapting building and community layouts learned from observing traditional Maori practices, such as a central marae.

text: Integrating Maori perspectives into community resilience frameworks for the built environment Many governments and organisations have attempted to construct frameworks for improving community resilience, particularly as related to the built environment. Many frameworks, globally and locally, take a large overview of society and miss the potential to incorporate cultural, social, and engineering practices followed by indigenous people. However, there is much to learn from the traditional practices of Maori that could directly improve community resilience after a disaster. To date, little research has worked on integrating Maori cultural views into resilience frameworks. Using survey and interview data investigating Maori cultural views on resilience and aspects of the built environment, five Maori values were identified to strengthen resilience. These values are matauranga (knowledge), kotahitanga (unity), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whakawhanaungatanga (relationships), and manakitanga (extending love). Further, communities can increase community cohesion and unity through adapting building and community layouts learned from observing traditional Maori practices, such as a central marae.

year: 2022

title: Contemporary attitudes to traditional facial ta moko: A working paper

authors: Rua, Mohi

subjects: Maori

abstract: Until it came under serious attack from nineteenth century missionaries, ta moko was an
integral part of traditional Maori society. Facial moko conveyed important information about
identity, whakapapa and status. The process of receiving a moko was tapu and highly regulated.
Recent years have seen an increase in the number of Maori receiving ta moko. Moko have been
seen as a symbol of Maori pride and identity and have often been associated with political
activism. This study set out to investigate the contemporary meaning of ta moko, the reactions
wearers encounter from others and the ways wearers cope with those reactions.
Three case studies are presented. These show that the issues of personal identity and
whakapapa were central to the meaning wearers attached to their moko. Receiving a moko was
often associated with significant personal changes and an increased political commitment to
Maori self determination. On the whole, positive reactions were more common than negative
reactions but wearers did find themselves subjected to racist and antagonistic responses.
Wearing moko was also reported to mean that others, particularly other Maori, placed certain
expectations on the wearer, notably to be fluent in te reo and to be able to exercise leadership.
Participants considered that there was a need for education about the significance of ta moko
and recommended that those contemplating receiving a moko ensure that they are reasonably
fluent in te reo.

text: Contemporary attitudes to traditional facial ta moko: A working paper Until it came under serious attack from nineteenth century missionaries, ta moko was an
integral part of traditional Maori society. Facial moko conveyed important information about
identity, whakapapa and status. The process of receiving a moko was tapu and highly regulated.
Recent years have seen an increase in the number of Maori receiving ta moko. Moko have been
seen as a symbol of Maori pride and identity and have often been associated with political
activism. This study set out to investigate the contemporary meaning of ta moko, the reactions
wearers encounter from others and the ways wearers cope with those reactions.
Three case studies are presented. These show that the issues of personal identity and
whakapapa were central to the meaning wearers attached to their moko. Receiving a moko was
often associated with significant personal changes and an increased political commitment to
Maori self determination. On the whole, positive reactions were more common than negative
reactions but wearers did find themselves subjected to racist and antagonistic responses.
Wearing moko was also reported to mean that others, particularly other Maori, placed certain
expectations on the wearer, notably to be fluent in te reo and to be able to exercise leadership.
Participants considered that there was a need for education about the significance of ta moko
and recommended that those contemplating receiving a moko ensure that they are reasonably
fluent in te reo.

year: 1999

title: Plant traits and their role in determining forest community structure along a soil fertility gradient

authors: Jager, Melissa Maria

subjects: Puketī Forest

abstract: Previous studies have shown that changes in community composition in mature kauri forests are driven by topographical gradients. The extent to which functional traits influence the patterns detected in these forests has not been well-studied. The overall objective of this thesis was to enhance our understanding of what drives community assembly in these forests by testing the importance of functional traits in mediating the relationship between environmental factors and community composition.
 
Puketī Forest (Northland, New Zealand) was selected as the study site because rapid turnover of species composition occurs over very strong topographic and edaphic gradients. Community composition was determined using forty permanent 400 m² plots that spanned the full gradient in soil properties and topographic variation. Leaf, height and wood traits were measured in thirty of these plots on three individuals (> 10 cm dbh) for each species on each plot. A total of 30 species were studied; the criteria for a species to be included was that the species had to attain a relative abundance of at least 0.05 within a single plot and occur on at least 10 percent of the forty plots sampled. Fully-expanded, mature, healthy, well-lit leaves were collected from the canopy using a pole pruner, shotgun or slingshot. Cores were collected using an increment borer. The relationships between community-weighted mean traits and environmental gradients were analysed using linear regression.

Results showed that there is a continuous compositional change along this environmental gradient and consequently there are few visually abrupt changes that occur between forest types. The exception to this is the kauri-dominated stands that are found in low fertility environments that are present on ridges. Soil variables and topography were found to be correlated, and the environmental variables that explain the majority of the variation in the community composition and functional trait data were soil carbon: nitrogen ratio, total soil phosphorus and soil pH, rather than topography. 

Trait – environment regressions showed that traits are filtered along the soil fertility gradient. Species that have high SLA, high leaf and litter nitrogen, low leaf thickness, large seeds and low wood densities were found in the more fertile environments, which have a low soil carbon: nitrogen ratio, high total soil phosphorus and a high pH, such as a gully habitat. At the other end of this gradient, species that have low SLA, low leaf and litter nitrogen, high leaf thickness, small seeds and high wood densities were present in less fertile environments, which have a high soil carbon: nitrogen ratio, low total soil phosphorus and a low pH, such as a ridge top habitat. 

Functional diversity indices indicate that the strength of environmental filtering changes along the soil fertility gradient. These indices show that trait variability does vary along the soil fertility gradient and that there are different community assembly processes operating in different places. The strength of the soil fertility as an environmental filter is strongest in low fertility soils, as environmental filtering results in convergence towards traits that confer a resource-retaining strategy.
Previous studies in kauri forests have shown changes in community composition to be determined by topography. This study has shown that these well-known patterns are driven by the filtering of leaf and wood traits along the topographically-driven soil fertility gradient.

text: Plant traits and their role in determining forest community structure along a soil fertility gradient Previous studies have shown that changes in community composition in mature kauri forests are driven by topographical gradients. The extent to which functional traits influence the patterns detected in these forests has not been well-studied. The overall objective of this thesis was to enhance our understanding of what drives community assembly in these forests by testing the importance of functional traits in mediating the relationship between environmental factors and community composition.
 
Puketī Forest (Northland, New Zealand) was selected as the study site because rapid turnover of species composition occurs over very strong topographic and edaphic gradients. Community composition was determined using forty permanent 400 m² plots that spanned the full gradient in soil properties and topographic variation. Leaf, height and wood traits were measured in thirty of these plots on three individuals (> 10 cm dbh) for each species on each plot. A total of 30 species were studied; the criteria for a species to be included was that the species had to attain a relative abundance of at least 0.05 within a single plot and occur on at least 10 percent of the forty plots sampled. Fully-expanded, mature, healthy, well-lit leaves were collected from the canopy using a pole pruner, shotgun or slingshot. Cores were collected using an increment borer. The relationships between community-weighted mean traits and environmental gradients were analysed using linear regression.

Results showed that there is a continuous compositional change along this environmental gradient and consequently there are few visually abrupt changes that occur between forest types. The exception to this is the kauri-dominated stands that are found in low fertility environments that are present on ridges. Soil variables and topography were found to be correlated, and the environmental variables that explain the majority of the variation in the community composition and functional trait data were soil carbon: nitrogen ratio, total soil phosphorus and soil pH, rather than topography. 

Trait – environment regressions showed that traits are filtered along the soil fertility gradient. Species that have high SLA, high leaf and litter nitrogen, low leaf thickness, large seeds and low wood densities were found in the more fertile environments, which have a low soil carbon: nitrogen ratio, high total soil phosphorus and a high pH, such as a gully habitat. At the other end of this gradient, species that have low SLA, low leaf and litter nitrogen, high leaf thickness, small seeds and high wood densities were present in less fertile environments, which have a high soil carbon: nitrogen ratio, low total soil phosphorus and a low pH, such as a ridge top habitat. 

Functional diversity indices indicate that the strength of environmental filtering changes along the soil fertility gradient. These indices show that trait variability does vary along the soil fertility gradient and that there are different community assembly processes operating in different places. The strength of the soil fertility as an environmental filter is strongest in low fertility soils, as environmental filtering results in convergence towards traits that confer a resource-retaining strategy.
Previous studies in kauri forests have shown changes in community composition to be determined by topography. This study has shown that these well-known patterns are driven by the filtering of leaf and wood traits along the topographically-driven soil fertility gradient.

year: 2014