In many areas of the world, vegetation dynamics in semi-arid floodplain environments have been seriously impacted by increased river regulation and groundwater use. With increases in regulation along many rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin, flood volume, seasonality and frequency have changed which has in turn affected the condition and distribution of vegetation. Floodplain vegetation can be degraded from both too much and too little water due to regulation. Over-regulation and increased use of groundwater in these landscapes can exacerbate the effects related to natural climate variability. Prolonged flooding of woody plants has been found to induce a number of physiological disturbances such as early stomatal closure and inhibition of photosynthesis. However, drought conditions can also result in leaf biomass reduction and sapwood area decline. Depending on the species, different inundation and drought tolerances are observed. Identification of groundwater-dependent terrestrial vegetation, and assessment of the relative importance of different water sources to vegetation dynamics, typically requires detailed ecophysiological studies over a number of seasons or years as shown in Chowilla, New South Wales [] and Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia []. However, even when groundwater dependence can be quantified, results are often difficult to upscale beyond the plot scale. Quicker, more regional approaches to mapping groundwater-dependent vegetation have consequently evolved with technological advancements in remote sensing techniques. Such an approach was used in this study. LiDAR canopy digital elevation model (CDEM) and foliage projected cover (FPC) data were combined with Landsat imagery in order to characterise the spatial and temporal behaviour of woody vegetation in the Lower Darling Floodplain, New South Wales. The multi-temporal dynamics of the woody vegetation were then compared to the estimated availability of different water sources in order to better understand water requirements.

Identification of groundwater-dependent (terrestrial) vegetation, and assessment of the relative importance of different water sources to vegetation dynamics commonly involves detailed ecophysiological studies over a number of seasons or years. However, even when groundwater dependence can be quantified, results are often difficult to upscale beyond the plot scale. Consequently, quicker, more regional mapping approaches have been developed. These new approaches utilise advances in computation geoscience, and remote sensing and airborne geophysical technologies. This study, undertaken in the semi-arid Darling River Floodplain in N.S.W., Australia, combines Landsat Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data with hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and hydrogeophysical data to assess the relative importance of hydrological processes and groundwater characteristics. The first stage in the study combined high-resolution vegetation structural mapping derived from LiDAR data (Canopy Digital Elevation Model and Foliage Projected Cover), with 23 years of Landsat time-series data. Statistical summaries of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index values were generated for each spatially continuous vegetation structural class for each Landsat scene (e.g. stand of closed forest). This has enabled long-term temporal changes in vegetation condition to be assessed against different water regimes (drought, local rainfall, river bank full, overbank flow, and lake filling), and groundwater dependent vegetation to be identified. The second stage involved integration with airborne electromagnetics (AEM), hydrogeology and hydrogeochemistry. This has shown that the deeper (>25m), semi-confined aquifer is only rarely important to vegetation dynamics, with the shallow unconfined aquifer and river lateral bank recharge zones being of greater importance.

Fresh groundwater resources are a highly valuable commodity, particularly in semi-arid to arid landscapes where annual precipitation is low and surface water is scarce. Water security, often achieved through the development of groundwater resources, is a high priority for rural communities within these water-limited landscapes. However this is often at the expense of the environment when alterations to the groundwater system, often in conjunction with drought conditions, can detrimentally impact floodplain and riparian vegetation structure and function. Remote-sensing methods can be used to detect such changes in vegetation. In this study, a multi-temporal Landsat Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) approach was used to detect changes in riparian and floodplain vegetation in the Lower-Darling floodplain, NSW, Australia. When integrated with surface and subsurface data, these changes provided insight into how surface water availability and subsurface geological and hydrogeological characteristics influenced vegetation distribution and behaviour at multiple scales. It was found that while the availability of water resources was the primary driver of changes in vegetation canopy dynamics, this availability was strongly influenced by both tectonic and hydrogeological processes. These findings were of particular importance when considering the suitability of groundwater development options and they have implications for future groundwater assessment studies.

Identification of groundwater-dependent terrestrial vegetation, and assessment of the relative importance of different water sources to vegetation dynamics, typically requires detailed ecophysiological studies over a number of seasons or years. However, even when groundwater dependence can be quantified, results are often difficult to upscale beyond the plot scale. Quicker, more regional approaches to mapping groundwater-dependent vegetation have consequently evolved with technological advancements in remote sensing techniques. These approaches however often fail to incorporate sub-surface hydrogeological processes in their interpretation of groundwater dependence. This study, undertaken in the semi-arid Darling River Floodplain in NSW, Australia, innovatively combines Landsat Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series data with hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and hydrogeophysical data to assess the relative importance of hydrological processes and groundwater characteristics. Central to the approach is the use of airborne electromagnetics which provides a 3-dimensional context to otherwise point-based borehole data. This approach has resulted in an improved understanding of vegetation dynamics including the spatial distribution of vegetation utilising groundwater, timing and duration of groundwater use, and response to different hydrologic regimes (e.g. rainfall, lateral bank recharge, and overbank flooding). In particular, the study has established that the deeper (>25m), semi-confined aquifer is only rarely important to vegetation dynamics, with the shallow unconfined aquifer and river flush zones being of greater importance. These findings are being used to assess the suitability of proposed groundwater-development schemes in the study area, and have implications for riparian vegetation management more broadly.

The Integrated Vegetation Cover (2003), hereafter referred to as the IVC03 dataset represents vegetation cover across Australia and was compiled by integrating a number of recent vegetation-related datasets.This dataset was developed to assess and report on the type and extent of native, non-native and non-vegetated cover types across the whole landscape. This dataset has been used to describe vegetation types found in each National Action Plan and Natural Heritage Trust regions across Australia. Data are stored as a raster of 100m resolution and are projected in Albers conic equal-area coordinates.Version 1 incorporates a selection of the latest available vegetation data as at July 2003.Vegetation cover in the IVC03 dataset is described using a 12-class attribute schema that was developed to meet vegetation-related information needs of the Commonwealth Government natural resource management arena.The IVC03 dataset has 12 attribute classes:1Native forests and woodlands 2Native shrublands and heathlands 3Native grasslands and minimally modified pastures4Horticultural trees and shrubs5Perennial crops6Annual crops and highly modified pastures7Plantation (hardwood)8Plantation (softwood/mixed)9Bare10Ephemeral and Permanent Water Features11Built-up99Unknown/not reportable. Five datasets were used as inputs to create the IVC03 dataset.A national ruleset was developed to assign orders of precedence to each attribute value from each input dataset.The ruleset was used to integrate the inputs into a single vegetation cover dataset. The five input datasets were:-Agricultural Land Cover Change (ALCC95);-Forests of Australia 2003 (FOA03);-1996/97 Land Use of Australia, Version 2 (LUA97);-Land Use Mapping at the Catchment Scale (LUMCS03); and-National Vegetation Information System 2000 (NVIS00).

The Sustainable Management of Coastal Groundwater Resources Project was co-funded by the Raising National Water Standards Program, which supports the implementation of the National Water Initiative Program. The project was led by GHD Hassall, in consultation with Kempsey Shire Council, Geoscience Australia, NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, and Ecoseal Developments Pty. Ltd. The project aimed to improve the management of groundwater in coastal dune aquifers, undertaking a case study of the Hat Head National Park region on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Due to increasing pressures on groundwater resources from expanding urbanisation and tourism in this region, the sustainable management of the existing groundwater resources is of vital importance. There are many potential risks associated with extraction of groundwater resources including acidification of soils, seawater intrusion and increased salinity levels, and detrimental impacts on groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs). This final report documents all of the work undertaken by Geoscience Australia relating to Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems, or more specifically groundwater dependent terrestrial vegetation. Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are naturally occurring ecosystems that require access to groundwater to meet all or some of their water requirements so as to maintain their communities of plants and animals, ecological processes and ecosystems services. Often the natural water regime of GDEs will comprise one or more of groundwater, surface water and soil moisture.

Atlas of Regolith Materials of Queensland. Companion to the 1:2,500,00 Queensland Regolith-Landform Map and GIS. Both broad and detailed regolith mapping and characterisation of materials was used to build an understanding of the regolith and its associated landforms. This state-wide overview contributes significantly to understanding the regolith and landform processes and regolith materials of Australian arid and coastal environments. This Queensland study extends seamlessly from the Northern Territory Regolith Landform Map and provides a broad-scale framework fro guiding geochemical prospecting for a wide range of minerals and materials.

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Two vegetation maps (sold separately) - Natural Vegetation (1788) and Post-European Vegetation (1988) reconstruct Australia`s vegetation in the 1780s and the mid-1980s. Areas over 30 000 hectares are shown, plus small areas of significant vegetation such as rainforest. Attribute information includes: growth form of tallest and lower stratum, foliage cover of tallest stratum and dominant floristic types. Data was captured from 1:5 million source material. These maps are also available as free vector GIS data. Product Specifications Coverage: Australia Currency: Compiled mid-1980s Coordinates: Geographical Datum: AGD66 Projection: Simple Conic on two standard parallels 18S and 36S Medium: Printed map (flat and folded); Data - Free online and CD-ROM (fee applies) Forward Program: Under review

Shows the vegetation of Australia in the mid-1980s. Areas over 30,000 hectares are shown, plus small areas of significant vegetation such as rainforests and croplands. Attribute information includes: growth form of tallest and lower stratum, foliage cover of tallest stratum and dominant floristic types. Data are captured from 1:5 million source material, suitable for GIS applications. The source map is also available for purchase. Product Specifications: Coverage: Australia Currency: Compiled mid-1980s Coordinates: Geographical Datum: AGD66 Projection: Simple Conic on two standard parallels 18S and 36S (printed map only) Format: ArcInfo Export, ArcView Shapefile and MapInfo mid/mif (data only) Medium: Printed map - Paper (flat and folded); Free online and CD-ROM (fee applies) Forward Program: Under review.