Biodiversity & Vegetation - Australia
Australia
What major vegetation groups occurred in Australia prior to European settlement?
Australia's vegetation has been in a state of dynamic change throughout geological history, responding to major shifts in environmental conditions associated with continental drift, periods of intense geological activity such as volcanism and climate change during the Quaternary. The dominance of certain morphological features of Australian plants such as sclerophylly, and the success of genera that have developed such water-saving features, underlines the adaption of the Australian flora to increasing aridity.
Structural vegetation types vary across the Australian continent, reflecting climatic and edaphic patterns, with rainfall a key factor limiting distribution (e.g. of certain closed forests or rainforest communities).
Australian vegetation has many unique features:
- many species are endemic to Australia; and
- two large tree and shrub groups-the eucalypts and acacias-dominate. These groups also contain a large number of species, an indication of their diversity and adaptation across the broad range of climatic and edaphic conditions.
The high numbers of vegetation types at the association and sub-association levels (Levels V and VI in the National Vegetation Information System information hierarchy) indicate a high level of diversity in Australia's vegetation. According to our current knowledge, there are more than 3000 vegetation types described across Australia and these have been summarised into 23 major vegetation groups for reporting (Figure 1).
- Forests and woodlands covered approximately 50% of the continent across tropical northern Australia, down the higher rainfall eastern side of Australia, Tasmania, to southern South Australia and southern Western Australia. Eucalypt woodlands make up the largest proportion, approximately 13% of Australia.
- Shrubs and heaths covered approximately 11% of the continent. Key distributions of acacia shrublands were in south-western Queensland, central South Australia, southern Northern Territory and on the west coast of Western Australia up the central coast to Broome. The main distribution of heaths was in Western Australia in the Geraldton Hills region.
- Grasslands, chenopods and samphire shrubs covered approximately 40% of the continent across much of the mainland interior and western Tasmania. The hummock grasslands covered 23% of Australia, west of Queensland and New South Wales.
- There was little bare soil apart from the areas that were sparsely vegetated in the semi-arid and arid regions.
- Surface waters, including salt lakes, occupied less than 2% of the continent.
Map: Pre-European Major Vegetation Groups in Australia
Source:
Major vegetation groups V1.0 (1km), National Land and Water Resources Audit 2001. Data used are assumed to be correct from suppliers.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2001
The summary maps provide information on Australia's native vegetation collated within the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) at July 2001 and with additional mapped information. The NVIS will be updated as vegetation mapping becomes available.
The map is a compilation of data collected at different scales by different organisations. Major Vegetation Groups were compiled by Environment Australia based on data collated by the Bureau of Rural Sciences and provided by Environment ACT, Department of Urban Services; NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service; NSW Royal Botanic Gardens; NSW State Forests; NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment; Queensland Herbarium, Environmental Protection Agency; SA Department for Environment and Heritage; Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment; Flora Section, Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Agriculture Western Australia; Western Australia Department of Conservation and Land Management and Geoscience Australia, National Mapping Division.
Map: Extent of the National Vegetation Information System data
View a larger map of pre-European Major Vegetation Groups
Download a Pre-European Major Vegetation Groups map at A4 (PDF 9.5MB - only for high quality printing)
What was the area of major vegetation groups in Australia prior to European settlement?
Methods
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
Pre-European vegetation of Australia has been reconstructed using a variety of interpolation and modeling techniques from mapping and information on the present types and extent, historical records and early aerial photographs. It is assumed that Australia had experienced no significant clearing other than changes due to fire regimes prior to European settlement.
The underlying data used to describe the pre-European vegetation is in many cases the same as that representing the present vegetation. Some States and Territories have assumed that vegetation types mapped as pre-European vegetation also approximate the present vegetation.
This presents varying problems in interpreting changes in vegetation. There are very few areas in Australia that have not undergone some modification in species or structure following European settlement (e.g. changes in fire regime). Australian scientists are still developing systems and techniques to assess the condition and changes to condition of native vegetation.
In all states, adding the present vegetation data from the National Vegetation Information System to the available pre-European mapping provided the source for the pre-European major vegetation groups. In South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania the pre-European vegetation is presented as an interim product to be used at broad State and national scales. In Tasmania the pre-European data set was derived from modelling techniques and is yet to be finalised.
The major vegetation groups that are mapped, represent the dominant vegetation occurring in a particular area.
Applications
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
The inferred pre-European vegetation mapping can provide:
- a broad baseline to document change in the extent and type of native vegetation;
- information to assist in understanding the landscape for management and conservation of biodiversity;
- an understanding of native vegetation cover which, coupled with details on Australia's soils, topography and climate variability assists construction of a modelled; assessment of natural soil erosion. This then allows us to understand changes in soil erosion patterns that have accompanied land use and are now impacting on the condition of our rivers, estuaries and near shore zones (NLWRA in prep.);
- species and vegetation community information to assist in regional revegetation activities; and
- information to assist in understanding changes in water balance, the key driver of dryland salinity (NLWRA 2001a) and changes in catchment surface water hydrology (NLWRA 2001b).
Limitations
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
The variety of methods used to map pre-European vegetation, the scale of some of the data and the difficulty of mapping in fragmented landscapes has resulted in an Australia-wide map which presents a combination of very broad and detailed mapping.
Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory National Vegetation Information System data have the greatest reliability. The New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmanian data are interim products and provide a broad scale view of Australia's pre-European vegetation.
The Guidelines section of this report provides guidelines on the use of the information and Appendix 8 presents information on the sources of data that have been collated into the National Vegetation Information System to represent Australia's pre-European vegetation including the extent, scale and date of collection.
Figures 6 and 7 provide information on the location and extent of data sets, their scale and level of classification used to develop the major vegetation groups.
What major vegetation groups occur in Australia (circa 1997)?
Australia's native vegetation types respond to the climatic variation across the continent. The lush tropical rainforests of Queensland's wet tropics are a stark contrast to the hummock grasslands and saltpans of the arid interior. Both are comparatively unique. Both contain a high degree of endemism. Within these climatic extremes lies a broad range of native vegetation types with varying structural (height and density) features from tall forests, to varying closed and open shrublands through to grasslands and forblands, all with their own species assemblages.
The physical landscape-landform, lithology and soils-can either offset or exacerbate climatic influences by providing microenvironments. Landforms such as mountain plateau or gullies may act as climatic refuges allowing more temperate or moisture seeking plants to survive in regions where the climate is otherwise unfavourable. These variations in the physical environment may effect both the structural and floristic composition of plant communities.
Against this palette of variation and diversity, Australia is dominated by a few key plant genera ranging across the broad range of structural vegetation types (Figure 2). Eucalypt communities are widespread and probably the best known genus. Acacias, or wattles cover large areas of the continent, particularly in the low rainfall interior. Hummock grasslands cover a very large proportion of the arid interior.
- The hummock grasslands dominate Australia's native vegetation. These occur extensively in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia, accounting for 23% of the native vegetation.
- Other major vegetation groups covering greater than 500 000 km2 each and together covering 39% of Australia are:
- eucalypt woodlands;
- acacia forests and woodlands;
- acacia shrublands;
- tussock grasslands; and
- chenopod/samphire shrubs and forblands.
- A number of major vegetation groups that are quite restricted in area, covering less than 70 000 km2 each and together covering approximately 2.6% of Australia, include:
- rainforest and vine thickets;
- eucalypt tall open forests;
- eucalypt low open forests;
- callitris and casuarina forests and woodlands;
- low closed forests and closed shrublands; and
- heath.
Map: Major Vegetation Groups in Australia (circa 1997)
Source:
Major vegetation groups V1.0 (1km), National Land and Water Resources Audit 2001. Data used are assumed to be correct from suppliers.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2001
The summary maps provide information on Australia's native vegetation collated within the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) at July 2001 and with additional mapped information. The NVIS will be updated as vegetation mapping becomes available.
The map is a compilation of data collected at different scales by different organisations. Major Vegetation Groups were compiled by Environment Australia based on data collated by the Bureau of Rural Sciences and provided by Environment ACT, Department of Urban Services; NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service; NSW Royal Botanic Gardens; NSW State Forests; NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment; Queensland Herbarium, Environmental Protection Agency; SA Department for Environment and Heritage; Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment; Flora Section, Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Agriculture Western Australia; Western Australia Department of Conservation and Land Management and Geoscience Australia, National Mapping Division.
Map:
View a larger map of Present Major Vegetation Groups
Download Australian native vegetation map at A4 (PDF 9.5MB - only for high quality printing.)
What is the area of major vegetation groups in Australia (circa 1997)?
What is the area of major vegetation groups in each State and Territory (circa 1997)?
| Major Vegetation Group | ACT | NSW | NT | Qld | SA | Tas | Vic | WA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleared / modified native vegetation | 738 | 234,527 | 6,055 | 304,043 | 99,473 | 10,695 | 142,633 | 183,887 |
| Rainforest and vine thickets | - | 2,218 | 977 | 19,558 | - | 7,055 | 407 | - |
| Eucalyptus tall open forests | - | 4,405 | - | 429 | - | 6,193 | 16,755 | 2,343 |
| Eucalyptus open forest | 937 | 90,979 | 58,471 | 35,150 | 396 | 19,212 | 15,018 | 20,321 |
| Eucalyptus low open forest | - | 10,883 | - | 111 | - | 106 | 180 | 1,506 |
| Eucalyptus woodlands | 223 | 68,306 | 123,078 | 367,293 | 16,459 | 4,609 | 25,051 | 88,430 |
| Acacia forest and woodlands | - | 21,184 | 29,866 | 91,534 | 15,414 | - | 400 | 402,223 |
| Callitris forest and woodlands | - | 22,132 | - | 4,134 | 1,023 | - | 429 | - |
| Casuarina forest and woodlands | - | 40,698 | - | 1,545 | 15,261 | 156 | - | 3,139 |
| Melaleuca forest and woodlands | - | - | 19,244 | 70,014 | - | - | - | 1,189 |
| Other forests and woodlands | - | 141 | 29,497 | 49,266 | 34,958 | 359 | 2,186 | 2,977 |
| Eucalyptus open woodlands | 270 | 31,245 | 175,775 | 134,421 | 7,652 | 1,108 | 1,185 | 32,654 |
| Tropical Eucalyptus woodland/grasslands | - | - | 107,254 | 20,653 | - | - | - | 126,321 |
| Acacia open woodlands | - | 138 | 48,703 | 36,734 | 25,414 | - | - | 3,766 |
| Mallee woodlands and shrublands | - | 33,889 | 35,450 | - | 118,531 | - | 10,843 | 51,693 |
| Low closed forest and closed shrublands | - | 3,725 | - | 445 | - | 2,168 | 818 | 1,590 |
| Acacia shrublands | - | 77,017 | 86,035 | 100,660 | 151,769 | - | - | 238,771 |
| Other Shrublands | - | 5,117 | 5,294 | 16,419 | 25,658 | 755 | 3,450 | 42,246 |
| Heath | - | 1,154 | - | 470 | 2,680 | 1,925 | 1,801 | 17,822 |
| Tussock grasslands | - | 19,318 | 83,613 | 282,547 | 81,187 | 1,090 | 614 | 60,538 |
| Hummock grasslands | - | - | 490,232 | 91,809 | 175,363 | - | - | 998,696 |
| Other grasslands, herblands, sedgelands and rushlands | - | 65,761 | 7,633 | 4,771 | 772 | 10,670 | 1,059 | 7,855 |
| Chenopod shrub, samphire shrub and forblands | - | 62,322 | 33,753 | 81,944 | 182,644 | - | 2,038 | 189,665 |
| Mangroves, tidal mudflat, samphire and bare areas, claypan, sand, rock, salt lakes, lagoons, lakes | - | 5,411 | 5,410 | 15,143 | 28,769 | 1,880 | 2,257 | 48,111 |
- Indicates that this major vegetation group does not exist in a particular jurisdiction or that the scale and type of mapping compiled has not captured this major vegetation group.
Methods
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
The decision framework that underpinned compilation of the range of mapped present vegetation data sets into the National Vegetation Information System hierarchy is provided in Appendix 9.
Major vegetation groups that were mapped represent the dominant vegetation occurring in a particular area.
Applications
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
Appendix 1 presents the area and type of major vegetetation group in each IBRA bioregion. Information collated into a consistent framework can be used to report on Australia's native vegetation using any defined region selected by users.
Information about the extent and type of remaining native vegetation can be integrated with other key data sets to understand:
- landscape function;
- remaining habitats;
- opportunities for catchment rehabilitation, whether the issue is catchment hydrology or dryland salinity control;
- priorities for protection and rehabilitation, ensuring remaining native vegetation is representative of Australia's pre-European communities; and
- the contribution of native vegetation to land use planning and sustainable use of Australia's natural resources.
Limitations
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
Native regrowth and native plantings have not been specifically mapped or compiled into the National Vegetation Information System. Much of the mapping compiled in the National Vegetation Information System does not include small native vegetation remnants such as road reserves, travelling stock routes and undeveloped lands within farming landscapes.
The National Vegetation Information System data sets have the greatest reliability in mapping the type and extent of the native vegetation. Additional data used to compile an Australia-wide map of major vegetation groups should be considered an interim product and provides broad scale information on native vegetation.
The aggregation into major vegetation groups for summary analysis purposes simplifies the health of data provided for collation under the National Vegetation Information System, with the species and type detail behind all mapping programs provided in lower categories of the hierarchy.
The Guidelines section provides guidelines on the use of the information and Appendix 8 presents information on the sources of data that have been collated into the National Vegetation Information System to represent Australia's native vegetation including the extent, scale and date of collection. Figures 9 and 10 provide information on the location and extent of data sets, their scale and level of classification used to develop the major vegetation groups.
The State and Territory summaries of present vegetation also provide guidelines on the use of the information.
What is the extent of native vegetation in Australia (circa 1997)?
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
Thousands of years of traditional Aboriginal land use practices modified Australia's vegetation mainly through the impact of fire. Never has Australia's vegetation experienced such rapid change as since European settlement when large scale clearing and modification has occurred in a relatively short amount of time.
© Murray-Darling Basin Commission
Agricultural, pastoral and urban development has significantly and rapidly changed Australian vegetation and landscapes in the 200 years since European settlement. Impacts have varied with land uses and include:
- broadacre clearing for cultivation and grazing on improved pastures;
- forest modification through logging practices, harvesting or disturbing selected species;
- rangeland modification through grazing practices, fire regime changes and introduction of weeds and feral animals, resulting in some species loss and change;
- exotic introductions (e.g. pine forests, weeds, including willow, and feral animals); and
- major alteration/loss of native vegetation and filling of wetlands in urban areas and transport corridors.
Broad-scale clearing has accelerated the effects of a number of processes, threatening the long-term viability of our native vegetation (e.g. native vegetation clearing and its replacement with shallow-rooted crops and pastures has contributed to rising water tables, the mobilisation of salt and other hydrological changes). Vegetation clearing has, therefore, led to landscape salinisation, increased sediment, nutrient and salt loads in rivers and streams, loss of habitat and a decline in biodiversity (Williams 2000). Further information on the risk of dryland salinity in Australia can be found in Australia's Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000 (NLWRA 2001a).
Regions most affected by intensive land use development (Table 5 and Figure 11) occur in:
- south-west Western Australia;
- southern South Australia;
- western and central Victoria;
- the midlands and northern Tasmania;
- large areas of central and the eastern lowlands of New South Wales;
- northern and eastern Australian Capital Territory;
- central and south-east Queensland; and
- small isolated patches in the Northern Territory.
In many of these regions native woody vegetation only survives as isolated trees in paddocks or linear strips (e.g. in windbreaks or along road reserves and stock routes). Native grasslands now grade into exotic sown pastures and/or weed fields. Often the remnants that do occur are on land that is unproductive for agricultural land uses or held by a landholder with a strong commitment to nature conservation.
Management of remnants, while important, is costly. For example, where surrounding land use is 'hostile' (e.g. urban uses as a source of exotic animals, wildfires and weeds) and the habitat patches are small, it will be necessary to actively manage remnants to avoid degradation (Williams 2000).
These summary maps and tables provide information on Australia's native vegetation collated within the National Vegetation Information System at July 2001 and with additional mapped informaton where not available from the National Vegetation Information System. The National Vegetation Information System will be updated continuously as vegetation mapping data becomes available from States and Territories.
| State/Territory | Area native vegetation remaining (km2) |
Percent Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Capital Territory | 1,620 | 69 |
| New South Wales | 470,604 | 67 |
| Northern Territory | 186,629 | 98 |
| Queensland | 772,452 | 72 |
| South Australia | 174,966 | 64 |
| Tasmania | 42,520 | 80 |
| Victoria | 84,541 | 37 |
| Western Australia | 234,423 | 56 |
| Australia (intensive zone) | 1,967,755 | 68 |
Large areas of intact native vegetation in intensively used regions are either used for forestry and nature conservation or are still within government tenure and unallocated. Few large patches are on private land.
Major threats to remnant vegetation include continued land use development, particularly:
- road and power infrastructure;
- urban expansion; and
- loss of condition, such as might occur with overgrazing and broad scale clearing for agricultural land.
Figures 12 and 13 summarise the percentage of native vegetation remaining by river basin and IBRA subregion. These maps provide useful summaries at a regional level for assessing clearing patterns in Australia, the implications at a river basin scale and the imperatives for remnant management within IBRA subregions. Those river basins and subregions with less than 30% remaining native vegetation are listed in Tables 6 and 7. Twenty-five river basins and 42 IBRA subregions have less than 30% remaining native vegetation.
Appendix 1 presents the area of major vegetation groups and percentage of native vegetation remaining in each IBRA bioregion.
| River Basin | Area of Native Vegetation (ha) |
Percent vegetation remaining |
|---|---|---|
| Hopkins River | 55,928 | 5.5 |
| Myponga River | 1,256 | 8.2 |
| Avoca River | 122,212 | 8.6 |
| Wakefield River | 16,664 | 8.7 |
| Gawler River | 43,668 | 9.6 |
| Broughton River | 167,276 | 10.3 |
| Onkaparinga River | 11,408 | 12.5 |
| Fleurieu Peninsula | 14,928 | 15.3 |
| Campaspe River | 64,492 | 15.9 |
| Loddon River | 252,488 | 16.1 |
| Torrens River | 18,592 | 16.7 |
| Wimmera - Avon Rivers | 528,756 | 17.4 |
| Maribyrnong River | 25,348 | 17.4 |
| Moorabool River | 39,236 | 17.7 |
| Barwon River | 69,616 | 18.3 |
| Broken River | 130,528 | 18.4 |
| Lake Corangamite | 75,736 | 18.6 |
| Murray-Riverina | 287,788 | 19.1 |
| Bunyip River | 79,696 | 19.7 |
| Portland Coast | 77,772 | 19.8 |
| Millicent Coast | 852,044 | 24.8 |
| Logan-Albert River | 111,976 | 27.1 |
| Blackwood River | 611,988 | 27.1 |
| Moonie River | 410,728 | 28.6 |
| Sydney Coast - Georges River | 50,700 | 29.3 |
| Sub Region | Area of Native Vegetation (ha) |
Percent vegetation remaining |
|---|---|---|
| Victorian Riverina (VR) | 91,604 | 5.1 |
| Mount Gambier | 4,832 | 5.7 |
| Tara Downs | 28,388 | 6.3 |
| Victorian Volcanic Plain (VP) | 158,452 | 7.6 |
| Wimmera (WI) | 130,636 | 7.7 |
| Taroom Downs | 52,880 | 8.2 |
| Avon Wheatbelt P2 | 254,948 | 8.5 |
| St Vincent | 99,016 | 9.1 |
| Fleurieu | 38,140 | 10.3 |
| Callide Creek Downs | 33,000 | 11.1 |
| Glenn Innes-Guyra Basalts | 32,236 | 11.6 |
| Dawson River Downs | 116,404 | 11.8 |
| Broughton | 123,148 | 11.9 |
| Dundas Tablelands (DT) | 64,420 | 13.1 |
| Warrnambool Plain (WP) | 31,084 | 13.3 |
| Inverell Basalts | 35,068 | 15.2 |
| Eastern Darling Downs | 253,884 | 15.5 |
| Lucindale | 116,064 | 15.7 |
| Mount Lofty Ranges | 47,132 | 15.7 |
| Moonie R. - Commoron Creek Floodout | 137,516 | 17.1 |
| Southern Yorke | 74,916 | 17.2 |
| Avon Wheatbelt P1 | 1,129,720 | 17.3 |
| Deepwater Downs | 17,332 | 17.7 |
| Dulacca Downs | 30,612 | 18.9 |
| Gippsland Plain (GIP) | 240,192 | 20.0 |
| Murray Mallee (MM) | 1,125,176 | 20.4 |
| Armidale Plateau | 59,516 | 20.4 |
| Tintinara | 145,140 | 20.5 |
| Murray Fans | 424,348 | 20.5 |
| Yarrowyck-Kentucky Downs | 13,536 | 20.8 |
| Bridgewater | 102,368 | 22.4 |
| Goldfields (GO) | 378,428 | 22.5 |
| Moreton Basin | 180,244 | 23.0 |
| South Burnett | 143,624 | 25.5 |
| Bundarra Downs | 39,464 | 26.0 |
| Isaac - Comet Downs | 702,260 | 26.0 |
| Moonie - Barwon Interfluve, Collarenebri Interfluve | 188,988 | 26.2 |
| Liverpool Plains | 251,124 | 26.7 |
| Strzelecki Ranges (STZ) | 94,668 | 27.5 |
| Dandarragan Plateau | 107,512 | 28.0 |
| West Balonne Plains | 600,240 | 29.1 |
| Upper Belyando Floodout | 128,848 | 29.4 |
Methods
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
The analysis of native vegetation extent is based on the compiled information, as detailed in previous sections.
Limitations
The material below is an extract from the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report. For ease of cross reference, figure, table and section references pertain to the chapter structure of this report. The Further Information section provides links to the full graphics version of the material below and the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
As noted in the previous section, the age of the data sets, their accuracy and the attributes mapped vary.
Woody cover is over-represented in central and western New South Wales and Tasmania due to the age of the data sets available for compilation into the National Vegetation Information System and development of the major vegetation groups. Some regions within these States have experienced much higher levels of clearing than reported. More accurate information for New South Wales and Tasmania is available from those States.
Native and derived grasslands are often not well mapped particularly in mapping coverages from South Australia, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Link to native vegetation information for Australia's bioregions
Navigable map of Australia (with IBRA5.1 boundaries included)
Knowledge, data and information gaps
The compilation of native vegetation information has highlighted a number of gaps in our knowledge, the data and information about Australia's native vegetation.
References
View the references used in the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001.
Partnerships
Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 was facilitated and coordinated by the National Land and Water Resources Audit and prepared in partnership with State, Territory and Commonwealth agencies:
Australian Capital Territory
Department of Urban Services
http://www.urbanservices.act.gov.au
New South Wales
Department of Land and Water Conservation
http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
http://www.npws.nsw.gov.au
NSW Botanic Gardens
http://www.rbgsyd.gov.au
Northern Territory
Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts
http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta
Queensland
Environment Protection Agency
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au
South Australia
Planning SA
http://www.planning.sa.gov.au
Tasmania
Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment
http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au
Victoria
Department of Sustainability and Environment
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au
Western Australia
Department of Conservation and Land Management
http://www.calm.wa.gov.au
Agriculture WA
http://www.agric.wa.gov.au
Commonwealth
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia
http://www.daff.gov.au
Australian Greenhouse Office
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au
Australian Department of Environment and Heritage
http://www.environment.gov.au
Further information
View the Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 report.
The National Vegetation Information System framework.
View Landscape Health in Australia 2001 report.
View the Australian Catchment, River and Estuary Assessment 2002.
View the Australian Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002.
View all Theme Reports from the National Land and Water Resources Audit.
Link to Atlas on-line mapping for maps of major vegetation groups and other natural resource data.
Link to data available for down load.
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