This map is a compilation of seven published Soil and Land Resource products which contain baseline natural resource information for the:

• Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment
• Liverpool Plains catchment
• Merriwa Plateau
• Moree Plains
• Murray catchment
• Australian Capital Territory
• Hunter Region

These products were undertaken to enhance knowledge of soils, landscapes and physical constraints to land use in the urban and rural environment. The information will assist in informed decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchments. The Soil and Land Resource mapping for the Merriwa Plateau and Moree Plains were funded to especially improve existing soil landscape information so more accurate Land and Soil Capability (LSC) and Soil Fertility information would be available to upgrade future Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) mapping under NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP).

One thousand, one hundred and seventeen map units have been described in this combined Soil and Land Resource product. Each soil landscape unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems.

Online Maps: Part of this area is also covered by other soil mapping products, see the soil map index in eSPADE. eSPADE contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area.

Reference: Office of Environment and Heritage, 2018, Soil and Land Resources of Central and Eastern NSW, Version 3, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

PLEASE NOTE: This dataset has been superseded by NSW Landuse 2017 v1.5 The 2017 Landuse captures how the landscape in NSW is being used for food production, forestry, nature conservation, infrastructure and urban development. It can be used to monitor changes in the landscape and identify impacts on biodiversity values and individual ecosystems. The NSW 2017 Landuse mapping is dated September 2017. It incorporates tenure based information for National Parks and State Forests in NSW, at the time of mapping. It currently does not include the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Region. Greater Sydney region will be completed in late 2019 and will be incorporated into the NSW 2017 land use product version 1.1. The NSW Landuse 2013, currently contains the best available information for the Greater Sydney region. https://datasets.seed.nsw.gov.au/dataset/nsw-landuse-2013 The 2017 Landuse has complete coverage of all regional centres and towns for NSW. It also includes updates to the fine scale Horticulture mapping for the east coast of NSW - Newcastle to the Queensland boarder. This horticultural mapping includes operations to the commodity level based on field work and high resolution imagery interpretation. The reliability scale is 1:10,000 and include values in the attribute fields of Source, Source Date, Source Scale, Reliability and LU Mapping (Currency) Date. Land use has been mapped on high resolution aerial imagery including ADS (digital imagery) captured by NSW Department of Finance, Service and Innovation, along with using Nearmap, Google Earth and Google Street View. Satellite imagery from LANDSAT (NASA), Sentinel 2 (European Space Agency), SPOT 5, 6 and 7(Airbus) and Planet Imagery, was used in the mapping process to account for Landuse activities that occur as part of a rotational practise. Land use information has been captured in accordance with standards set by the Australian Collaborative Land Use Mapping Program (ACLUMP) and using the Australian Land Use and Management ALUM Classification Version 8. The ALUM classification is based upon the modified Baxter & Russell classification and presented according to the specifications contained in http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/alum-classification.

This map is a compilation of seven published Soil and Land Resource products which contain baseline natural resource information for the: Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment Liverpool Plains catchment Merriwa …Show full descriptionThis map is a compilation of seven published Soil and Land Resource products which contain baseline natural resource information for the: Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment Liverpool Plains catchment Merriwa Plateau Moree Plains Murray catchment Australian Capital Territory Hunter Region These products were undertaken to enhance knowledge of soils, landscapes and physical constraints to land use in the urban and rural environment. The information will assist in informed decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchments. The Soil and Land Resource mapping for the Merriwa Plateau and Moree Plains were funded to especially improve existing soil landscape information so more accurate Land and Soil Capability (LSC) and Soil Fertility information would be available to upgrade future Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) mapping under NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP). One thousand, one hundred and seventeen map units have been described in this combined Soil and Land Resource product. Each soil landscape unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems. Online Maps: Part of this area is also covered by other soil mapping products, see the soil map index in eSPADE. eSPADE contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area. Reference: Office of Environment and Heritage, 2018, Soil and Land Resources of Central and Eastern NSW, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

The 2017 Landuse captures how the landscape in NSW is being used for food production, forestry, nature conservation, infrastructure and urban development. It can be used to monitor changes in the landscape and identify impacts on biodiversity values and individual ecosystems.\r \r The NSW 2017 Landuse mapping is dated September 2017. \r \r This is version 1.5 of the dataset, published December 2023.\r \r Version 1.5 of the 2017 Landuse incorporates the following updates:\r \r * Fine scale mapping of the Central Coast, Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions\r * Mapping enhancements to regional centres to improve the mapping accuracy for these centres\r * NSW road network based on road centreline data from Transport NSW, with standardised buffer applied to approximate the carriage width based on the road type\r * Plantation type (native hardwood and softwood) information within State Forest Estates \r * Horticulture data to tertiary or commodity level present in September 2017 from Australian Tree Crop Map Dashboard developed by University of New England - Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre \r https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/applied-agricultural-remote-sensing-centre/collaborative-r-and-d-opportunities/industry-applications-and-maps\r * Fixes to identified errors since published version 1.2 \r \r Previous Versions\r *Version 1.4 internal update (not published)\r * Version 1.3 internal update (not published)\r * Version 1.2 published 24 June 2020 - Fine scale update to Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area\r * Version 1 published August 2019\r \r The 2017 Landuse is based on Aerial imagery and Satellite imagery available for NSW. These include, but not limited to; digital aerial imagery (ADS) captured by NSW Department of Customer Service (DCS), high resolution urban (Conurbation) digital aerial imagery captured on behalf of DCS, SPOT 5, 6 & 7(Airbus), Planet™, Sentinel 2 (European Space Agency) and LANDSAT (NASA) Satellite Imagery. Mapping also includes commercially available imagery from Nearmap™ and Google Earth™, along with Google Street View™. \r \r Mapping takes into consideration ancillary datasets such as tenure such as National Parks and State forests, cadastre, roads parcels, land zoning, topographic information and Google Maps, in conjunction with visual interpretation and field validation of patterns and features on the ground. \r \r The 2017 Landuse was captured on screen using ARC GIS (Geographical Information Software) at a scale of 1:8,000 scale (or better) and features are mapped down to 2 hectares in size. Exceptions were made for targeted Landuse classes such as horticulture, intensive animal husbandry and urban environments, which were mapped at a finer scale.\r \r The 2017 Landuse has complete coverage of NSW. It also includes updates to the fine scale Horticulture mapping for the east coast of NSW - Newcastle to the Queensland boarder and Murray-Riverina Region. This horticultural mapping includes operations to the commodity level based on field work and high-resolution imagery interpretation. \r \r Landuse classes assigned are based on activities that have occurred in the last 5-10 years that may be part of a rotational practice. Time-series LANDSAT information has been used in conjunction with more recent Satellite Imagery to determine whether grasslands have been disturbed or subject to ongoing land management activities over the past 30 years.\r \r The 2017 Landuse was captured on screen using ARC GIS (Geographical Information Software) at a scale of 1:8,000 scale (or better) and features are mapped down to 2 hectares in size. Exceptions were made for targeted Landuse classes such as horticulture, intensive animal husbandry and urban environments (including Greater Sydney Metropolitan region), which were mapped at a finer scale. \r \r The reliability scale of the dataset is 1:10,000.\r \r Mapping has been subject to a peer review and quality assurance process.\r \r Land use information has been captured in accordance with standards set by the Australian Collaborative Land Use Mapping Program (ACLUMP) and using the Australian Land Use and Management ALUM Classification Version 8. The ALUM classification is based upon the modified Baxter & Russell classification and presented according to the specifications contained in http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/alum-classification.\r \r This product will be incorporated in the National Catchment scale land use product 2020 that will be available as a 50m raster - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/data-download\r \r The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) will continue to complete land use mapping at approximately 5-year intervals. \r \r The 2017 Landuse product is considered as a benchmark product that can be used for Landuse change reporting. Ongoing improvements to the 2017 Landuse product will be undertaken to correct errors or additional improvements to the mapping. \r

This digital soil landscape product contains natural resource mapping for the Hunter and Central Rivers sub-catchments plus extends to also include the Hunter Local Land Services (LLS) government boundary. The dataset upgrades 1:250,000 soil landscape mapping for the Singleton area providing a standardised and seamless land and soil information across the region at 1:100,000 scale. Mapping covers an area of 37,639 km2 from Yarrowitch and Murrurundi in the north to around Rylstone and Woy Woy in the south and extends west to just past Ulan. The project was partially funded by the Hunter LLS and will assist decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the region. It also supports improved decision making and management of highly productive agricultural area (e.g. Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land) under the NSW Government's Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP) and Mining Sepp. Four hundred and sixty soil landscape map units have been described within the Hunter Region. Each unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Many representative type profiles are supported by laboratory analysis and soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems. Related Datasets: The dataset area is also covered by the mapping of the Soil landscape 1:100 000 and 1:250 000 mapping series for the map sheets of Murrurundi, Blackville, Dungog, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Gosford/Lake Macquarie, Sydney, Wallerawang, St Albans, Dubbo and Singleton. Part of this area is also covered by the mapping of Hydrogeological landscapes of NSW and Acid Sulphate Soil Risk Mapping. Online Maps: This and related datasets can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area. Reference: Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, 2020, Soil and Land Resources of the Hunter Region, version 1.5, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Parramatta.

This Land and Soil Capability (LSC) dataset uses the best available soils natural resource mapping across New South Wales. It provides a broad-scale, regional view as to the dominant LSC class present for over 3000 individual mapping units through the assessment of eight key soil and landscape limitations (water erosion, wind erosion, salinity, topsoil acidification, shallow soils/rockiness, soil structure decline, waterlogging and mass movement).

The assessment of LSC is based on the mapping method and rule set (Land and Soil Capability Assessment Scheme: Second Approximation) developed by OEH (2012) and builds on the rural land capability classification and mapping undertaken for the central and eastern divisions of the state by the former Soil Conservation Service of NSW (Emery 1986) but with more emphasis on a broader range of soil and landscape properties.

The mapping uses an eight class system with values ranging between 1 and 8 that represent a decreasing capability of the land to sustain landuse. Class 1 represents land capable of sustaining most landuses including those that have a high impact on the soil (e.g., regular cultivation), whilst class 8 represents land that can only sustain very low impact landuses (e.g., nature conservation). LSC class names are:

• 1: Extremely high capability land
• 2: Very high capability land
• 3: High capability land
• 4: Moderate capability land
• 5: Moderate–low capability land
• 6: Low capability land
• 7: Very low capability land
• 8: Extremely low capability land

The ruleset can be downloaded from this LSC's Resource's page and is part of the zipped data package in SEED.

Online Maps: This dataset can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area.

Note: This version (4.6) is only a small amendment, updating LSC name and definitions in the GIS attribute tables and symbology layer files. It has not modified any LSC classes in the linework or incorporated new mapping. These upgrades to the LSC mapping are planned for the next version to be released soon in 2026.

Reference: Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, 2025, Land and Soil Capability Mapping for NSW, Version 4.6, NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Parramatta.

AbstractCatchment Scale Land Use of Australia (CLUM) depicted into 33 classes based on the secondary classes of the Australian Land Use and Management (ALUM) Classification version 8. Classes are aggregated to nature conservation, managed resource protection, other minimal use, grazing, forestry, plantations, cropping, horticulture, pastures, intensive agriculture, urban, rural residential, mining and water with irrigation status.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, as at December 2023. It replaces the Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2020.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.CurrencyDate modified: June 2024Modification frequency: As requiredData extentSpatial extentNorth: -8.03°South: -45.5°East: 161.5°West: 105.7°Source informationData, Metadata, Maps and Interactive views are available from Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update December 2023Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia - Update December 2023 – Descriptive metadataThe data was obtained from Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). ABARES is providing this data to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.Lineage statementABARES has produced this raster dataset from vector catchment scale land use data provided by state and territory agencies, as follows:Catchment Scale Land Use Mapping for the Australian Capital Territory 20122017 NSW Land Use v1.5Land Use Mapping Project of the Northern Territory, 2016 – 2022 (LUMP)Land use mapping – 2021 – Great Barrier Reef NRM regionsLand use mapping – 1999 to Current – Queensland (June 2019)[South Australia] Land Use (ACLUMP) (2017)Tasmanian Land Use 2022Victorian Land Use Information System [VLUIS] 2021-22Catchment Scale Land Use Mapping for Western Australia 2018Australian Tree Crops, Australian Protected Cropping Structures and Queensland Soybean Crops maps (as at 30 November 2023)Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre (AARSC), University of New England.Links to land use mapping datasets and metadata are available at the ACLUMP data download page at agriculture.gov.au.State and territory vector catchment scale land use data were produced by combining land tenure and other types of land use information, fine-scale satellite data and information collected in the field, as outlined in 'Guidelines for land use mapping in Australia: principles, procedures and definitions, 4th edition' (ABARES 2011). The Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia were mapped to version 8 of the ALUM classification (‘The Australian Land Use and Management Classification Version 8’, ABARES 2016).The Australian Capital Territory was mapped to version 7 of the ALUM classification and converted to version 8 using a look-up table based on Appendix 1 of ABARES (2016).The following agricultural (excluding intensive uses) classes were included from the Queensland Great Barrier Reef NRM Regions 2021 modified ALUM classification schema dataset:2.2.0 Grazing native vegetation3.2.0 Grazing modified pastures3.3.0 Cropping3.3.5 Sugar3.4.0 Perennial horticulture3.4.1 Tree fruits3.5.0 Seasonal horticulture3.6.0 Land in transition4.2.0 Grazing irrigated modified pastures4.3.0 Irrigated cropping4.3.5 Irrigated sugar4.4.0 Irrigated perennial horticulture4.4.1 Irrigated tree fruits4.5.0 Irrigated seasonal horticulture4.6.0 Irrigated land in transitionFixes to known issues include:In Western Australia, ALUM classes 4.0.0 Production from Irrigated Agriculture and Plantations, 5.0.0 Intensive Uses and 6.0.0 Water have been attributed to secondary level by visual interpretation using satellite data.In South Australia, through consultation with the South Australian Department of Environment and Water, the mining area (ALUM class 5.8.0 Mining) within mining tenements is more accurately delineated. The area within mining tenements that is not used for mining is now attributed as grazing of native vegetation (ALUM class 2.1.0) within pastoral areas and residual native cover (ALUM class 1.3.3) outside of pastoral areas.NODATA voids in Adelaide, South Australia were filled with data from mesh block land use attributes (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021) according to Table 8. All other NODATA voids were filled using the ESRI ArcGIS focal statistics command.For the purposes of web viewing, the data was reprojected to EPSG:3857 - Web Mercator.Land use classificationThe Australian Land Use and Management (ALUM) Classification version 8 is a three-tiered hierarchical structure. There are five primary classes, identified in order of increasing levels of intervention or potential impact on the natural landscape. Water is included separately as a sixth primary class. Primary and secondary levels relate to the principal land use. Tertiary classes may include additional information on commodity groups, specific commodities, land management practices or vegetation information. The primary, secondary and tertiary codes work together to provide increasing levels of detail about the land use. Land may be subject to concurrent uses. For example, while the main management objective of a multiple-use production forest may be timber production, it may also provide conservation, recreation, grazing and water catchment land uses. In these cases, production forestry is commonly identified in the ALUM code as the prime land use.Table 1: Secondary land use classification symbology as RGB and hexadecimal colour valuesVALUE (ALUM)SECV8RedGreenBlueHex110; 111; 112; 113; 114; 115; 116; 1171.1 Nature conservation150102204#9666CC120; 121; 122; 123; 124; 1251.2 Managed resource protection201190255#C9BEFF130; 131; 132; 133; 1341.3 Other minimal use222135221#DE87DD2102.1 Grazing native vegetation255255229#FFFFE5220; 221; 2222.2 Production native forests4113768#298944310; 311; 312; 313; 3143.1 Plantation forests173255181#ADFFB5320; 321; 322; 323; 324; 3253.2 Grazing modified pastures255211127#FFD37F330; 331; 332; 333; 334.; 335; 336; 337; 3383.3 Cropping2552550#FFFF00340; 341; 342; 343; 344; 345; 346; 347; 348; 3493.4 Perennial horticulture171135120#AB8778350; 351; 352; 3533.5 Seasonal horticulture875864#573A40360; 361; 362; 363; 364; 3653.6 Land in transition000#000000410; 411; 412; 413; 4144.1 Irrigated plantation forests236255224#ECFFE0420; 421; 422; 423; 4244.2 Grazing irrigated modified pastures2551700#FFAA00430; 431; 432; 433; 434; 435; 436; 437; 438; 4394.3 Irrigated cropping20118484#C9B854440; 441; 442; 443; 444; 445; 446; 447; 448; 4494.4 Irrigated perennial horticulture1568446#9C542E450; 451; 452; 453; 4544.5 Irrigated seasonal horticulture794323#4F2B17460; 461; 462; 463; 464; 4654.6 Irrigated land in transition525252#343434510; 511; 512; 513; 514; 5155.1 Intensive horticulture255201190#FFC9BE520; 521; 522; 523; 524; 525; 526; 527; 5285.2 Intensive animal production255135190#FF87BE530; 531; 532; 533; 534; 535; 536; 537; 5385.3 Manufacturing and industrial115760#734C00540; 5415.4.0, 5.4.1 Urban residential25500#FF0000542; 543; 544; 5455.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4, 5.4.5 Rural residential and farm infrastructure156156156#9C9C9C550; 551; 552; 553; 554; 5555.5 Services15500#9B0000560; 561; 562; 563; 564; 565; 566; 5675.6 Utilities255127127#FF7F7F570; 571; 572; 573; 574; 5755.7 Transport and communication16800#A80000580; 581; 582; 583; 5845.8 Mining71130143#47828F590; 591; 592; 593; 594; 5955.9 Waste treatment and disposal417382#294952610; 611; 612; 613; 6146.1 Lake00255#0000FF620; 621; 622; 6236.2 Reservoir/dam0197255#00C5FF630; 631; 632; 6336.3 River0112255#0070FF640; 641; 642; 6436.4 Channel/aqueduct077168#004DA8650; 651; 652; 653; 6546.5 Marsh/wetland115178255#73B2FF660; 661; 662; 6636.6 Estuary/coastal waters190210255#BED2FFData dictionaryAttribute nameDescriptionOIDInternal feature number that uniquely identifies each row.VALUEALUM code as a three digit integer. First digit is primary code, second digit is secondary code, and third digit is tertiary code.COUNTCount of the number of raster cells in each class of VALUE.LU_CODEV8ALUM code as a string.LU_V8NALUM code as a three digit integer. First digit is primary code, second digit is secondary code, and third digit is tertiary code.TERTV8ALUM tertiary code and description as a string.SECV8ALUM secondary code and description as a string.PRIMV8ALUM primary code and description as a string.SIMPNCode for simplified land use classification.SIMPDescription of the simplified land use classification.AGINDDescription of agricultural industries.Red, Green, BlueRGB values for classification colours ContactDepartment of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (ABARES), info.ABARES@aff.gov.au

This digital soil landscape product contains natural resource mapping for the Merriwa. The Merriwa Plateau is located in the upper Hunter catchment including hills of the Southern Liverpool Ranges; grading to gently sloped plateau around Merriwa. The project was funded by the National Partnership Agreement to provide improved soil and landscape information for this highly productive agricultural area. It has enabled more accurate and better quality Land and Soil Capability and Soil Fertility information to be available for future updates of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) mapping under the NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP). This resource information will also assist other decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchment. Forty soil landscape map units have been described for the Merriwa Plateau. Each unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems. Related Datasets: The dataset area is also covered by the mapping of the Soil landscape 1:100 000 and 1:250 000 mapping series for the mapsheets of Dubbo, Singleton, Murrurundi and Blackville. Part of this area is also covered by the mapping of Hydrogeological landscapes of NSW. Online Maps: This and related datasets can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area. Reference: Office of Environment and Heritage, 2014, Soil and Land Resources of the Merriwa Plateau, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

Abstract

This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied.

This Land and Soil Capability (LSC) dataset uses the best available soils natural resource mapping across New South Wales. It provides a broad-scale, regional view as to the dominant LSC class present for over 3000 individual mapping units through the assessment of eight key soil and landscape limitations (water erosion, wind erosion, salinity, topsoil acidification, shallow soils/rockiness, soil structure decline, waterlogging and mass movement).

The assessment of LSC is based on the mapping method and rule set developed by OEH (2012). It builds on the rural land capability classification and mapping undertaken for the central and eastern divisions of the state by the former Soil Conservation Service of NSW (Emery 1986) but with more emphasis on a broader range of soil and landscape properties.

The mapping is based on an eight class system with values ranging between 1 and 8 which represent a decreasing capability of the land to sustain landuse. Class 1 represents land capable of sustaining most landuses including those that have a high impact on the soil (e.g., regular cultivation), whilst class 8 represents land that can only sustain very low impact landuses (e.g., nature conservation).

Dataset History

The best available soils datasets were sourced to provide a single (seamless where possible) layer across NSW. Datasets collated to derive this map included:

published and draft 1:100,000 soil landscape mapping [1:100,000 scale]

published and draft 1:250,000 soil landscape mapping [1:250,000 scale]

Soil and Land Resources of the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment [1:100,000 scale]

Soil and Land Resources of the Liverpool Plains Catchment [1:100,000 scale]

Reconnaissance Soil and Land Resources of the Murray CMA Catchment [1:100,000 & 1:250,000 scale]

Soil Landscapes of the SCA Hydrological Catchments [1:100,000 scale]

Soils landscapes of the Comprehensive Coastal Assessment (Bare Point, Jervis Bay, Batemans Bay and Ulladulla) [1:100,000 scale]

Southern Comprehensive Regional Assessment [1:100,000 scale]

Northern Comprehensive Regional Assessment [1:100,000 scale]

Reconnaissance soil landscapes of the Namoi CMA [1:100,000 scale]

Reconnaissance soil landscapes of the Upper Riverina (HSHL) [1:100,000 scale]

Reconnaissance soil landscapes of the Border Rivers/Gwydir CMA [1:100,000 scale]

Brigalow Belt South Western Regional Assessment [1:100,000 scale]

Reconnaissance Soil Landscapes of the Upper Macleay Catchment [1:100,000 scale]

Upper Murrumbidgee Soil Benchmarking project [1:100,000 scale]

Glen Innes Data Gap Reconnaissance Soils Mapping [1:100,000 scale]

Soil Information for the Nyngan 1:250,000 sheet [1:250,000 scale]

Soil Information for the Walgett 1:250,000 sheet [1:250,000 scale]

Soil Information for the Gilgandra 1:250,000 sheet [1:250,000 scale]

Reconnaissance soil landscapes of the Riverine Plains [1:500,000 scale]

Land Systems of the Western Division [1:250,000-1:500,000 scale]

Land Systems of the Cobar Peniplain Bioregion [1:250,000-1:500,000 scale]

All map units were assigned a unique master landscape code and then assessed for eight soil or landscape limitations: topsoil acidification, salinity, water erosion, wind erosion, mass movement, shallow soils/rock outcrop, soil structure decline and waterlogging. This information was stored and interpreted using a rule set (http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/soils/20120394lsc2spubslandingpage.htm) in the Access Based Data Utility for Land and soil capability (ABDUL) expert system. The system allows for a manual override to modify LSC values when required. The most limiting LSC of the 8 hazards represents the overall LSC result for each map unit The overall LSC was linked to the geodatabase to produce the final map.

Dataset Citation

NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (2013) Land and Soil Capability mapping of NSW. Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 29 September 2017, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/08cacd00-81e9-4fec-8a68-c9f047bb13c8.

This digital soil landscape product contains natural resource mapping for the Moree Plains. The Moree Plains cover the alluvial plains and fans of the Namoi, Gwydir, Barwon and Macintyre Rivers in the north and Pilliga Outwash fans in the South. The project was funded by the the National Partnership Agreement to provide improved soil and landscape information for this highly productive agricultural area. It has enabled more accurate and better quality Land and Soil Capability and Soil Fertility information to be available for future updates of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) mapping under the NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP). This resource information will also assist other decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchment. Forty-four soil landscape map units have been described for the Moree Plains. Each unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems. Online Maps: This dataset can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area. Reference: Office of Environment and Heritage, 2015, Soil and Land Resources of the Moree Plains, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

The 2017 Landuse captures how the landscape in NSW is being used for food production, forestry, nature conservation, infrastructure and urban development. It can be used to monitor changes in the landscape and identify impacts on biodiversity values and individual ecosystems.

The NSW 2017 Landuse mapping is dated September 2017.

This is version 1.5 of the dataset, published December 2023.

Version 1.5 of the 2017 Landuse incorporates the following updates:

• Fine scale mapping of the Central Coast, Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions
• Mapping enhancements to regional centres to improve the mapping accuracy for these centres
• NSW road network based on road centreline data from Transport NSW, with standardised buffer applied to approximate the carriage width based on the road type
• Plantation type (native hardwood and softwood) information within State Forest Estates
• Horticulture data to tertiary or commodity level present in September 2017 from Australian Tree Crop Map Dashboard developed by University of New England - Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre https://www.une.edu.au/research/research-centres-institutes/applied-agricultural-remote-sensing-centre/collaborative-r-and-d-opportunities/industry-applications-and-maps
• Fixes to identified errors since published version 1.2

Previous Versions *Version 1.4 internal update (not published) * Version 1.3 internal update (not published) * Version 1.2 published 24 June 2020 - Fine scale update to Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area * Version 1 published August 2019

The 2017 Landuse is based on Aerial imagery and Satellite imagery available for NSW. These include, but not limited to; digital aerial imagery (ADS) captured by NSW Department of Customer Service (DCS), high resolution urban (Conurbation) digital aerial imagery captured on behalf of DCS, SPOT 5, 6 & 7(Airbus), Planet™, Sentinel 2 (European Space Agency) and LANDSAT (NASA) Satellite Imagery. Mapping also includes commercially available imagery from Nearmap™ and Google Earth™, along with Google Street View™.

Mapping takes into consideration ancillary datasets such as tenure such as National Parks and State forests, cadastre, roads parcels, land zoning, topographic information and Google Maps, in conjunction with visual interpretation and field validation of patterns and features on the ground.

The 2017 Landuse was captured on screen using ARC GIS (Geographical Information Software) at a scale of 1:8,000 scale (or better) and features are mapped down to 2 hectares in size. Exceptions were made for targeted Landuse classes such as horticulture, intensive animal husbandry and urban environments, which were mapped at a finer scale.

The 2017 Landuse has complete coverage of NSW. It also includes updates to the fine scale Horticulture mapping for the east coast of NSW - Newcastle to the Queensland boarder and Murray-Riverina Region. This horticultural mapping includes operations to the commodity level based on field work and high-resolution imagery interpretation.

Landuse classes assigned are based on activities that have occurred in the last 5-10 years that may be part of a rotational practice. Time-series LANDSAT information has been used in conjunction with more recent Satellite Imagery to determine whether grasslands have been disturbed or subject to ongoing land management activities over the past 30 years.

The 2017 Landuse was captured on screen using ARC GIS (Geographical Information Software) at a scale of 1:8,000 scale (or better) and features are mapped down to 2 hectares in size. Exceptions were made for targeted Landuse classes such as horticulture, intensive animal husbandry and urban environments (including Greater Sydney Metropolitan region), which were mapped at a finer scale.

The reliability scale of the dataset is 1:10,000.

Mapping has been subject to a peer review and quality assurance process.

Land use information has been captured in accordance with standards set by the Australian Collaborative Land Use Mapping Program (ACLUMP) and using the Australian Land Use and Management ALUM Classification Version 8. The ALUM classification is based upon the modified Baxter & Russell classification and presented according to the specifications contained in http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/alum-classification.

This product will be incorporated in the National Catchment scale land use product 2020 that will be available as a 50m raster - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/data-download

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) will continue to complete land use mapping at approximately 5-year intervals.

The 2017 Landuse product is considered as a benchmark product that can be used for Landuse change reporting. Ongoing improvements to the 2017 Landuse product will be undertaken to correct errors or additional improvements to the mapping.

The 2013 land use captures how the landscape in NSW is being used for food production, forestry, nature conservation, infrastructure and urban development. It can also be used to monitor changes in the landscape and identify resulting impacts on biodiversity values and individual ecosystems.\r \r The state wide land use data is a compilation of the best available land use information for NSW that was available in August 2017. \r \r Land use and tenure datasets from a variety of projects have been compiled, these include;\r \r - Landuse mapping 2017 – 1:10,000 scale mapping using 2013 SPOT 5 satellite imagery and ADS digital aerial imagery. Covering rural zoned, agricultural areas. These areas are applicable to Local Land Services Act 2016.\r \r - NSW Horticulture mapping project – Fine scale mapping (1:5,000) mapping of horticulture production to the commodity level (where applicable), on the mid-north and north coast of NSW. This was in response to the outbreak of Panama disease, Tropical Race 4, found in a banana plantation in Northern Queensland. It is part of a collaborative mapping project to improve Biosecurity information between state jurisdictions and the commonwealth. It also covers plantation forestry for the project area.\r \r - Hunter 2013 mapping – 1:10,000 scale mapping covering most of the Hunter catchment based on 2013 SPOT5 imagery. It was part of a pilot land use update trial for intended use in Department of Planning Regional Growth Plans. This is an update of the 2005 Land use Hunter catchment and 2008 Upper Hunter catchment land use mapping projects, also available on SDE and P drive.\r \r - National Parks and State Forest Tenure mapping 2017\r \r - Sydney Map sheet 2012 – Detailed urban mapping (1:10,000 scale) trial using high resolution Digital aerial imagery\r \r - Existing Land use information (circa 2003) has been used for non-rural zoned areas and not covered by the other projects mentioned above. This component of the 2013 land use has a reliability scale of 1:25,000. The areas where the circa 2003 land use product used include; urban, industrial, commercial and environmental local government LEP (Local Environment Planning) zones. It also includes areas of metropolitan Sydney that are excluded from the LLS Act 2016.\r \r Land use information has been captured in accordance with standards set by the Australian Collaborative Land Use Mapping Program (ACLUMP) and using the Australian Land Use and Management ALUM Classification. The ALUM classification is based upon the modified Baxter & Russell classification and presented according to the specifications contained in http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/alum-classification.\r \r The 2013 land use, that was mapped for the purposes of the Local Land Services Act, was commenced in July 2016 and completed by August 2017. It covers all rural zoned (agricultural) areas, and was based on most appropriate SPOT5 imagery to represent land use at June 2013. It includes values in the attribute fields of source, source date, source scale, reliability and land use mapping (currency) date.\r \r The reliability scale of areas mapped form 2012 onward is 1:10,000. For areas where circa 2003 land use information has been used the reliability scale is 1:25,000. This is identified in the source scale attribute for each feature in the dataset.\r \r The date of the data set is set as the land use occurring at the time the imagery (satellite or aerial) was acquired, which can range from 2003 to 2013. This dataset was updated in August 2017 to include values in the attribute fields of Source, Source Date, Source Scale, Reliability and LU Mapping (Currency) Date.\r \r A national catchment scale land use product is also available as a 50m raster - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/data-download.

This map was created by the Department of Primary Industries (Office of Water) in 2013 to identify areas in NSW with a reliable surface water supply. Land with reliable surface water was defined as areas: buffering all regulated rivers and creeks by 150 metres, buffering unregulated rivers and creeks with a 5th stream order or higher, by 150 metres, buffering 3rd and 4th stream order unregulated rivers and creeks, by 150 metres Reliable surface water mapping along with two other datasets (rainfall of 350mm for more per annum - 9 out of 10 years and highly productive groundwater) are used to identify land with access to a reliable water supply, forming part of the regional and site level assessment classification of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL). Under the Mining SEPP, all State Significant Development applications require a Site Verification Certificate to determine if their site contains any BSAL and therefore requiring further assessment from the Mining and Petroleum Gateway Panel. This process is managed by Planning and Assessment, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and are custodian of the dataset. A pdf map and GIS shapefile of this dataset is accessible from the resources section of the metadata.

The Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update 2020 dataset is the national compilation of catchment scale land use data available for Australia (CLUM), as at December 2020. It replaces the Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2018. 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 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, fine-scale satellite data and information collected in the field. The date of mapping (2008 to 2019) 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 a supporting dataset.

What’s new?

The following areas have been updated since the December 2018 version: Burnett-Mary and Fitzroy natural resource management (NRM) regions in Queensland (2017 from 2009); Sydney basin in New South Wales (2017 from 2003); the state of Tasmania (2019 from 2015). The following areas include some reclassification; the Darwin-Litchfield and Katherine areas in Northern Territory, rural residential areas in New South Wales. Users should update any references or links to previous CLUM datasets in their databases.

Citation

This publication (and any material sourced from it) should be attributed as: ABARES 2021, Catchment Scale Land Use of Australia – Update December 2020, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Canberra, February CC BY 4.0. DOI: 10.25814/aqjw-rq15

This digital soil landscape product contains natural resource mapping for the Merriwa. The Merriwa Plateau is located in the upper Hunter catchment including hills of the Southern Liverpool Ranges; grading to gently sloped plateau around Merriwa. The project was funded by the National Partnership Agreement to provide improved soil and landscape information for this highly productive agricultural area. It has enabled more accurate and better quality Land and Soil Capability and Soil Fertility information to be available for future updates of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) mapping under the NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP). This resource information will also assist other decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchment.

Forty soil landscape map units have been described for the Merriwa Plateau. Each unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems.

Related Datasets: The dataset area is also covered by the mapping of the Soil landscape 1:100 000 and 1:250 000 mapping series for the mapsheets of Dubbo, Singleton, Murrurundi and Blackville. Part of this area is also covered by the mapping of Hydrogeological landscapes of NSW.

Online Maps: This and related datasets can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area.

Reference: Office of Environment and Heritage, 2014, Soil and Land Resources of the Merriwa Plateau, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

This digital soil landscape product contains natural resource mapping for the Moree Plains. The Moree Plains cover the alluvial plains and fans of the Namoi, Gwydir, Barwon and Macintyre Rivers in the north and Pilliga Outwash fans in the South. The project was funded by the the National Partnership Agreement to provide improved soil and landscape information for this highly productive agricultural area. It has enabled more accurate and better quality Land and Soil Capability and Soil Fertility information to be available for future updates of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) mapping under the NSW Strategic Regional Land Use Policy (SRLUP). This resource information will also assist other decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchment.

Forty-four soil landscape map units have been described for the Moree Plains. Each unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified. Soils are described using the Australian Soil Classification and the Great Soil Groups systems.

Online Maps: This dataset can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area.

Reference: Office of Environment and Heritage, 2015, Soil and Land Resources of the Moree Plains, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

This data record contains a national agricultural land capability map for Australia, based on modeled grazing suitability mosaiced with harmonized state agricultural land capability datasets. The data is a single raster layer (provided as GeoTIFF) with 9 classes adhering to the NSW land capability mapping method definitions. Access to this data collection is by request to the owner (Vanessa Adams) via the contact email address (vm.adams@utas.edu.au).

This map is one of a series of soil landscape maps that are intended for all of central and eastern NSW, based on standard 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 topographic sheets. Soil Landscapes of the Newcastle 1:100 000 Sheet covers the greater Newcastle area, the northern extent of Lake Macquarie and the urban centres of Maitland and Raymond Terrace; the broad Hunter Floodplain and the rural townships of Paterson and Clarencetown occur in the northern and central areas of the sheet.; The map provides an inventory of soil and landscape properties of the area and identifies major soil and landscape qualities and constraints. It integrates soil and topographic features into single units with relatively uniform land management requirements. Soils are described in terms of soil materials in addition to the Great Soil Group and Northcote classification systems. Related Datasets: The dataset area is also covered by the mapping of Acid Sulphate Soil Risk Mapping. Online Maps: This and related datasets can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area. Reference: Matthei L.E., 1995, Soil Landscapes of the Newcastle 1:100,000 Sheet map and report, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney.

The soil landscape sheet provides a soil and landscape inventory of the area covering Mullumbimby, Byron Bay, Casino and Kyogle and identifies major soil and landscape limitations for both urban and rural development. This is a series of soil landscape maps based on the Land and Property Information 1:100,000 topographic map series and is designed to provide soil and landscape resource information which can be easily understood. The use of the soil landscape concept permits the integration of both soil and topographic constraints into one unit so that the map can be viewed in terms of limitations for urban and rural development. Soils are described in terms of soil materials in addition to the Great Soil Group and Northcote soil classification systems.\r \r Related Datasets: The dataset area is also covered by the mapping of Acid Sulphate Soil Risk Mapping.\r \r Online Maps: This and related datasets can be viewed using eSPADE (NSW’s soil spatial viewer), which contains a suite of soil and landscape information including soil profile data. Many of these datasets have hot-linked soil reports. An alternative viewer is the SEED Map; an ideal way to see what other natural resources datasets (e.g. vegetation) are available for this map area.\r \r References: Morand D.T., 1994, Soil Landscapes of the Lismore-Ballina 1:100,000 Sheets report, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation, Sydney.\r \r Morand D.T., 2009, Soil Landscapes of the Lismore-Ballina 1:100,000 Sheets Ed. 2 map, NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Sydney.

This map was created by the Department of Primary Industries (Office of Water) in 2013 to identify areas in NSW with highly productive groundwater. Mapping identifies two classes of productivity, highly productive and less productive. Highly productive groundwater areas are characterised by bores having yield rates greater than 5 litre/second and total dissolved solids of less than 1,500 mg/litre. It also excludes miscellaneous alluvial aquifers called small storage aquifers.

This mapped areas of highly productive groundwater along with two other datasets (rainfall of 350mm for more per annum - 9 out of 10 years and reliable surface water) are used to identify land with access to a reliable water supply, forming part of the regional and site level assessment classification of Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL).

Under the Mining SEPP, all State Significant Development applications require a Site Verification Certificate to determine if their site contains any BSAL and therefore requiring further assessment from the Mining and Petroleum Gateway Panel. This process is managed by Planning and Assessment, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and are custodian of this dataset.

A pdf map and GIS shapefile of this dataset is accessible from the resources section of the metadata.