Australian land cover mapping

Product Information

Land cover had been identified as a critical information need for national and regional reporting and decision making by the National Land & Water Resources Audit (the Audit), Geoscience Australia (GA), the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS), the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and most of the national coordinating committees (representing all jurisdictions).

There have been a number of land cover related projects undertaken in Australia by Australian Government departments, including the Agricultural Land Cover Change (ALCC) Project, the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS), Australian Land Use and Management (ALUM), Vegetation Assets and Transition (VAST) and the Australian Greenhouse Office National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) Land Cover Change Program.

The Audit convened a land cover workshop in Canberra, on the 24th of July. The objective of this workshop was to pursue opportunities for collaboration among institutions and government agencies across Australia to advance the development and application of land cover information.

Workshop participants identified user requirements over a number of natural resource themes such as soils, water and vegetation. User needs, applications and gaps were also identified. A pre-workshop meeting was held to determine the agenda and identify who should attend. Representatives from various levels of government, who have a vested interest in land cover were identified.