SA Land Cover

SA Land Cover is a new dataset that models land cover throughout the state, including native vegetation, orchards, vineyards, forestry, and urban areas.

It has potential to impact environmental, economic and social challenges facing South Australia. By understanding previous land cover changes, we can inform future native vegetation, biodiversity conservation, agriculture, forestry, carbon capture and storage, and urban development decisions in our state.

SA Land Cover is made up of a series of spatial layers. Each layer contains 25m pixels and relates to one of six time periods. These layers enable catchment to state-scale analyses.

For each time period there are:

• 'Most likely layers': 17 land cover classes

• 'Continuous layers': more detailed data that sits behind the most likely layers (available for deeper analysis and research projects)

How to access

NatureMaps – an on-line mapping view of 6 'most likely layers' (see video below)

Data.sa.gov.au – for downloading and off-line use of 6 'most likely' GIS layers

Technical summary report – for method summary of 'most likely' and continuous layers, as well as initial analysis of trends in native vegetation in SA

Flyer - SA Land Cover – brief promotional summary

Brochure - Measuring change in SA's native vegetation – plain English description of using SA Land Cover to measure changes in native vegetation

Organisations and Researchers may wish to contact DEW (subject: SA Land Cover, Science and Information) to discuss access to the 'continuous layers' and possible applications

The following organisations collaborated to make this dataset possible: South Australian Natural Resources Management Boards, the South Australian Department for Environment and Water (DEW), the Environment Protection Authority, the Native Vegetation Council, Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Geoscience Australia and the Arthur Rylah Institute.