A landscape approach to determine the ecological value of scattered trees in South Australia

Citation

Land & Water Australia. 2009. A landscape approach to determine the ecological value of scattered trees in South Australia. [Online] (Updated April 24th, 2009)
Available at: http://lwa.gov.au/node/3289 [Accessed Wednesday 17th of March 2010 12:19:27 AM ].

This project identified the ecological values of scattered trees at the landscape scale in South Australia, using geographic information systems (GIS). A practical tool was developed to aid rapid assessment of these values.

Outcomes

To analyse spatial patterns of scattered trees and unmapped small remnants (less than one hectare) within two agricultural
regions in South Australia;
To develop a practical spatial model (using GIS, existing data sets, and knowledge of the habitat requirements of selected mammal and threatened bird species in each region) identifying critical areas where scattered trees and clumps of trees in cleared agricultural land contribute to biodiversity conservation;
To identify broad zones where approval for vegetation clearance is considered to be unlikely;
To undertake case studies using the model to identify, at the landscape scale, priority areas for revegetation;
To investigate, using GIS and remote sensing techniques, the contribution of scattered trees and small remnants to native vegetation cover targets within the study areas;