Maps: Australia's bioregions (IBRA)
Bioregions | Protection levels of bioregions | IBRA datasets
The map of Australia's 85 bioregions is derived from the work of state and territory agencies who map vegetation communities and land systems. The fundamental bioregional map is further refined to map Australia's 403 subregions.
IBRA - Australia's 85 bioregions
Source: CAPAD 2006 Download the bioregion map (PDF - 292 KB)
By combining the IBRA region with information on protected areas, the level of protection of Australia's various landscapes can be measured. IBRA is thus a dynamic tool for monitoring progress towards building a comprehensive, adequate and representative 'CAR' reserve system.
Assessing the level of protection assists governments to decide how to best prioritise funding to meet national protection targets. In building the National Reserve System, the main priority is to address the key gaps in comprehensiveness at the national scale. The top priority is the protection of ecosystems that are currently poorly reserved or not protected at all.
- Protection levels of bioregions map (PDF 1.2 MB)
- Protection levels of subregions map (PDF 1690 KB)
- Under represented bioregions map (PDF 553 KB)
The bioregions and subregions are the reporting unit for assessing the status of native ecosystems and their protection in the National Reserve System.
IBRA is also used in the monitoring and evaluation of the Australian Government's natural resource management initiatives.
IBRA is progressively updated as more detailed information on ecosystems or their boundaries comes to hand. The current version is IBRA 6.1.
IBRA 6.1 datasets
IBRA Version 6.1 is updated from 5.1 with additional data from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.
IBRA Version 6.1 consists of two datasets:
- IBRA bioregions, which is a broad-scale regionalisation
- IBRA subregions, which are more localised and homogenous geomorphological units in each bioregion.
Changes from 5.1
IBRA 6.1 has defined 403 subregions, compared with 354 previously. There are 60 newly named subregions, and another five have been renamed from version 5.1. While there has been a refinement of sub-regional and associated bioregional boundaries in Queensland, Victoria and western New South Wales, the new subregions are found principally in eastern New South Wales. In Western Australia, the northern sub-region of the Geraldton Plains bioregion has been incorporated into Yalgoo, moving the Yalgoo bioregion to the coast.
Refining datasets
These datasets are available through the Discover Information Geographically (DIG) website. To search for IBRA 6.1 datasets on the DIG website, simply enter the term "IBRA" as the search title, and then select option 3 - Start Search. Links to the necessary datasets will then be displayed.