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

This compilation data release is a selection of remotely sensed imagery used in the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) East Kimberley Groundwater Project. Datasets include: • Mosaic 5 m digital elevation model (DEM) with shaded relief • Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) percentiles • Tasselled Cap exceedance summaries • Normalised Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) • Normalised Difference Wetness Index (NDWI) The 5m spatial resolution digital elevation model with associated shaded relief image were derived from the East Kimberley 2017 LiDAR survey (Geoscience Australia, 2019b). The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) percentiles include 20th, 50th, and 80th for dry seasons (April to October) 1987 to 2018 and were derived from the Landsat 5,7 and 8 data stored in Digital Earth Australia (see Geoscience Australia, 2019a). Tasselled Cap Exceedance Summary include brightness, greenness and wetness as a composite image and were also derived from the Landsat data. These surface reflectance products can be used to highlight vegetation characteristics such as wetness and greenness, and land cover. The Normalised Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) and Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) were derived from the Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. These datasets have been classified and visually enhanced to detect vegetation moisture stress or water-logging and show distribution of moisture. For example, positive NDWI values indicate waterlogged areas while waterbodies typically correspond with values greater than 0.2. Waterlogged areas also correspond to NDMI values of 0.2 to 0.4. Geoscience Australia, 2019a. Earth Observation Archive. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. http://dx.doi.org/10.4225/25/57D9DCA3910CD Geoscience Australia, 2019b. Kimberley East - LiDAR data. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. C7FDA017-80B2-4F98-8147-4D3E4DF595A2 https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/129985

Subtidal to intertidal deposits from Kaipara Harbour in Northland preserve a 23,000+ year incomplete sedimentary record of the transition from terrestrial to estuarine conditions in the Wairoa River arm of the harbour. Cores are used to reconstruct the depositional setting for this transition, which we interpret as a succession from dune and freshwater wetland to shallow estuarine environments. The fossil pollen record provides a proxy of Last Glacial Maximum and Late Glacial vegetation for the area. Stability of the palaeo-dune landscape during the postglacial marine transgression is interpreted on the basis of strong dominance of tall forest taxa (Dacrydium) in the pollen record and soil development in dune sands. Reworking of buried dune and wetland sediments has only reached to a depth of 1.5 m below the modern tidal flat. As such, the site provides a rare example of good preservation of Pleistocene deposits at the coast, where extensive reworking and loss of record are more typical.

In many areas of the world, vegetation dynamics in semi-arid floodplain environments have been seriously impacted by increased river regulation and groundwater use. In this study, the condition of two of Australia's iconic riparian and floodplain vegetation elements, River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Black Box (E. largiflorens) are examined in relation to differing hydraulic regimes. With increases in regulation along Murray-Darling Basin rivers, flood volume, seasonality and frequency have changed which has in turn affected the condition and distribution of vegetation. Rather than undertaking a field based assessment of tree health in response to current water regimes, this paper documents a remote sensing study that assessed historic response of vegetation to a range of different climatic and hydraulic regimes at a floodplain scale. This methodology innovatively 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 (e.g. stand of closed forest) for each Landsat scene. Consequently long-term temporal change in vegetation condition was assessed against different water regimes (drought, local rainfall, river bank full, overbank flow, and lake filling). Results provide insight into vegetation response to different water sources and overall water availability. Additionally, some inferences can be made about lag times associated with vegetation response and the duration of the response once water availability has declined (e.g. after floodwaters recede). This methodology should enable water managers to better assess the adequacy of environmental flows.

Contains a medium scale vector representation of the topography of Australia. The data include the following themes: Hydrography - drainage networks including watercourses, lakes, wetlands, bores and offshore features; Infrastructure - constructed features to support road, rail and air transportation as well as built-up areas, localities and homesteads. Utilities, pipelines, fences and powerlines are also included; Relief - features depicting the terrain of the earth including 50 metre contours, spot heights, sand dunes, craters and cliffs; Vegetation - depicting forested areas, orchards, mangroves, pine plantations and rainforests; and Reserved Areas - areas reserved for special purposes including nature conservation reserves, aboriginal reserves, prohibited areas and water supply reserves.

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. This paper focuses specifically on differing lake level management practices in order to assess associated environmental impacts. In western NSW, two Eucalyptus species, River Red Gum (E. camaldulensis) and Black Box (E. largiflorens) have well documented tolerances and both are located on the fringes of lakes in the Menindee Lakes Storage Water scheme. Flows to these lakes have been controlled since 1960 and lake levels monitored since 1979. Pre-regulation aerial photos indicate a significant change to the distribution of lake-floor and fringing vegetation in response to increased inundation frequency and duration. In addition, by coupling historic lake water-level data with a Landsat satellite imagery, spatial and temporal vegetation response to different water regimes has been observed. Two flood events specifically investigated are the 2010/11 and 1990 floods. Results from this analysis provide historic examples of vegetation response to lake regulation including whether recorded inundation duration and frequency resulted in positive or negative impacts, the time delay till affects become evident, duration of observed response and general recovery/reversal times. These findings can be used to inform ongoing water management decisions.

One of the components of the FIRE-DST project is investigating fire modelling in the urban and peri-urban interface at the local neighbourhood scale. Each building in the interface will be examined to assess its vulnerability to the approach of a fire for each of ember attack, radiant heat and flame contact. The vulnerability will be dependant on a multitude of factors in the environment including the building construction, roof type, fences and other barriers. The vulnerability will then be used to calculate the expected impact of a fire on the urban area. To be able to model the fire movement and the affect on the built environment there has to be an accurate categorisation of the interface vegetation fuels. In this presentation we will focus on the creation of a 3D model of the neighbourhood scale vegetation and buildings. The neighbourhood scale environment will be created by including individual building information (like building age, wall construction type, roof type and occupancy) from the Geoscience Australia NEXIS database. There also has to be an accurate categorisation of the interface fuels and so specific details of other information such as individual trees, fences and forest will be obtained from high resolution LiDAR. LiDAR will also used to provide both the height and vertical profile of the vegetation in the urban interface. Other geographical information such as roads and a digital elevation model are also required. All this neighbourhood information is then processed to generate a 3D Model of the local environment.

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.

Shows a reconstruction of Australian vegetation in the 1780s. 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 are captured from 1:5 million source material. Data are suitable for GIS applications, via free download. 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.

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. The Darling River Floodplain, western New South Wales, Australia, was selected as the case study area. This semi-arid landscape is subject to long periods of drought followed by extensive flooding. Despite the episodic availability of surface water resources, two native Eucalyptus species, E. camaldulensis (River Red Gum) and E. largiflorens (Black Box) continue to survive in these conditions. Both species have recognised adaptations, include the ability to utilise groundwater resources at depth. A remote sensing methodology was developed to identify those communities potentially dependent on groundwater resources during the recent millennium drought in Australia.