Land use mapping-methodology
Mapping is performed in accordance with the Australian Land Use and Management Classification (ALUM) version 6, which is a national land use classification scheme. The methodology is accurate, reliable, cost-effective, and makes best use of available databases, satellite imagery and aerial photos.
Some land uses are difficult to differentiate using only satellite imagery and existing databases, for example irrigated crops from irrigated vegetables or grazing (for beef) from dairies. To overcome this, local expert knowledge has become an important component of the mapping methodology. This is provided by regional staff in state government agencies, natural resource management groups, shires, agricultural industries and landholders. Field survey is also undertaking to verify uncertain areas in the land use maps.
There are five stages in the land use mapping process:
- Data collation
- Image Interpretation and data integration
- Verification and editing
- Validation
- Final outputs
The technical report on the 1999 land use dataset describes the mapping methodology in further detail.
Last updated: 20 August 2008