Projects to improve maps and data
Vegetation management agencies in Australia are continuously improving techniques and methods to provide a better information base for vegetation planning and reporting. Here are some of the key projects underway.
National
Native Vegetation Equivalence
There are significant inconsistencies between jurisdictions in the way native vegetation is classified and mapped. This makes for considerable challenges in collating a reliable national picture. A priority to improve the National Vegetation Information System is the identification of areas of like vegetation that are classified/mapped differently across state borders, and resolving how these will be interpreted as equivalent in the national collations.
Native Vegetation Change
NVIS is Australia's best national inventory of the current extent of vegetation types and it also provides estimations of their extent before European settlement. However, more recent changes and trends (e.g. last 20 years) are not currently reportable from the National Vegetation Information System because such data do not exist for much of the continent. ESCAVI is exploring approaches to improve the capacity of the NVIS to report on recent change.
Native Vegetation Condition
Understanding the extent of vegetation is often not enough. Knowledge of its condition (i.e. health, quality) is critical to good planning and reporting.
In fact, over large parts of the Australian continent, the extent of vegetation remains largely unchanged since before European settlement, while its condition has been far more dynamic. All states and territories are increasingly engaged in condition assessment and ESCAVI is encouraging consistency across jurisdictions to ensure a sound foundation for future continental collations of vegetation condition data.
Eucalypt tall open forests
Photo: M. Fagg
Australian Native Vegetation Extent Baseline 2004-05
The National Land and Water Resources Audit and the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) have been working with the states and territories to develop a national map of the extent of native vegetation for 2004–05, which will be used as a baseline to assess future trends.
The National Land and Water Resources Audit has reported on the national extent baseline in 2008 through Australia's Resources Online .
Contact info@nlwra.gov.au for further information.
Rapid identification, mapping and updating of native vegetation extent
The National Land and Water Resources Audit is working with Spatial3i and GHD to develop satellite image object analysis techniques using Definiens imaging software to map and update native vegetation extent. The project has used trial areas in Western Australia and NSW to map native vegetation for 2004–05 and 2007–08. It has provided a number of challenges for future rapid monitoring of Australia's native vegetation.
Contact info@nlwra.gov.au for further information.
State and territory projects
Australian Capital Territory
ACT vegetation mapping and condition monitoring
This is a project to map and update information on various aspects of ACT's vegetation. The current priority is riparian mapping and developing a comprehensive map of the vegetation communities of the ACT.
Contact city.management@act.gov.au for further information.
South Australia
Native vegetation mapping and pre-European mapping
This is an ongoing project to classify and map:
- extant native vegetation type for the South Australia with a baseline of 2004 for the agricultural region (type mapping is incomplete)
- native vegetation type at the time of pre-European settlement for the agricultural regions of South Australia.
Contact deh@saugov.sa.gov.au for further information.
Contributions welcome
Key
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Activity sponsored by ESCAVI
Chenopod shrublands
Photo: C. Slatyer