The Dynamic Land Cover Dataset addresses the need for a single, nationally consistent and complete land cover reference for Australia. This provides the first comprehensive and consistent national land cover information dataset. It will assist portfolio stakeholders to understand and respond to national natural resource and productivity challenges in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries. This includes sustainable farming practices, management of water resources, soil erosion, and forest management, as well as a range of issues such as emergency management.
Potential applications:
- targeting action to improve productivity, resilience to drought and climate variability, and water management
- identifying where investments in better management practices could improve the quality of ecosystem services delivered by agricultural land users
- risk assessment and evaluating the performance of agricultural industries
- monitoring areas that have received public funds for on-ground works to assess the efficacy of government programs
- modelling landscape processes that affect the natural resource base and generate problems such as salinity, water quality decline and soil loss.
Remote sensing data recorded over a period of time allows the observation of land cover change over time or 'dynamic land cover'. A key aspect of land cover is 'greenness' in vegetation. Greenness is directly related to the amount of photosynthesis occurring, and can be measured as an index such as the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). These indices reflect the structural character and responses of vegetation, ranging from cultivated and managed land covers (crops and pastures) and gradients in natural land covers such as open forest, woodland and open grassy woodlands. Trend data can be used to highlight specific phenomena within the same land cover type.