Australia land cover and land use

Using NVIS data

2 main ways to use NVIS

  • Major Vegetation Groups (MVG) and Major Vegetation Subgroups (MVS)
  • Level 1-6 Detailed Vegetation Descriptions (not described here)

Major Vegetation Groups and Major Vegetation Subgroups

NVIS information has been classified for analyses of national vegetation groups. These are the Major Vegetation Groups (MVGs) and Major Vegetation Subgroups (MVSs). Generalised NVIS detailed data creates these products.

  • Major Vegetation Groups are based on the structure, growth form, and floristic composition of the dominant vegetation layer.

There are currently a total of 33 Major Vegetation Groups (MVG) covered in NVIS. They are assigned directly using the Level 5 string from the NVIS Level 1-6 hierarchy and are based on key dominant genera of flora, height and percentage cover, and represent the broader generic vegetation type denoted by the dominant stratum.

  • Major Vegetation Subgroups are more detailed than Major Vegetation Groups, including understorey characteristics and other identifying floristic features.

There are currently a total of 85 Major Vegetation Subgroups (MVS) covered in NVIS. They are assigned directly from the Level 5 description of the NVIS Level 1-6 hierarchy based on percentage cover and key dominant genera and growth forms occurring in the lower strata (mid and/or ground) where this information is available. The MVS are further allocated into ‘dryer’ or ‘wetter’, shrubby or grassy, freshwater or saline, temperate or tropical, and other less commonly occurring vegetation types. There are usually multiple MVS that align with a single MVG.

These broad-scale interpretations consist of 33 Major Vegetation Groups and 85 Major Vegetation Subgroups that represent the dominant vegetation in each spatial feature. Only MVGs were used on the results below.

Spatial resolution: 100 m

CLUM1

The Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2023 version 2 dataset is the national compilation of catchment scale land use data available for Australia (CLUM), as at December 2023. It is a seamless raster dataset that combines land use data for all state and territory jurisdictions, compiled at a resolution of 50 metres by 50 metres. The CLUM data shows a single dominant land use for a given area, based on the primary management objective of the land manager (as identified by state and territory agencies). Land use is classified according to the Australian Land Use and Management Classification version 8. It has been compiled from vector land use datasets collected as part of state and territory mapping programs and other authoritative sources, through the Australian Collaborative Land Use and Management Program. Catchment scale land use data was produced by combining land tenure and other types of land use information including, fine-scale satellite data, ancillary datasets, and information collected in the field. The date of mapping (2008 to 2023) and scale of mapping (1:5,000 to 1:250,000) vary, reflecting the source data, capture date and scale. Date and scale of mapping are provided in supporting datasets.

MVG & CLUM

Rangelands

The rangelands are those areas where the rainfall is too low or unreliable and the soils too poor to support regular cropping.

The rangelands are those areas where the rainfall is too low or unreliable and the soils too poor to support regular cropping. They cover about 80% of Australia and include savannas, woodlands, shrublands, grasslands and wetlands. The rangeland boundary as defined by the Australian Collaborative Rangeland Information System (ACRIS) is based on mapped bioregions and, specifically, those largely undisturbed or natural bioregions (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, IBRA version 7.0) within Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

MVG X States/territories

CLUM X States/territories

Footnotes

  1. https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/CLUM_DescriptiveMetadata_December2023_v2.pdf↩︎