A collaboration between the Tasmanian Imagery Program (TIP) and the Tasmanian Vegetation Monitoring and Mapping Program (TVMMP) has significantly improved vegetation mapping for King Island.
The island is home to several threatened and endemic bird species, rare plants and vegetation communities not found elsewhere in Tasmania and is of interest to a wide range of stakeholders. The imagery that was available before this project varied in quality, resolution and age, which made it challenging to map and assess vegetation, including threatened species habitat.
The Tasmanian Imagery Program (TIP), established in 2013 and managed by the Topographic Data Team, coordinates the acquisition and distribution of remotely sensed imagery and elevation data. Using a collaborative approach, TIP brings together contributions from various stakeholders, maximising cost savings and avoiding duplication. TIP ensures consistency and spatial accuracy through standardised data capture specifications and a rigorous quality assurance process. The collected data is centralised and distributed via platforms such as LISTmap.
During the 2022-2023 season, TIP became aware that the Environment Strategic Business Unit (ESBU) intended to revise the TASVEG vegetation community mapping on King Island. The aim was to provide a clearer picture of habitat for threatened species and help inform management outcomes.
The island's imagery was outdated, with only the towns of Currie and Grassy captured digitally at a high resolution in 2017 (Green). The coastline (Yellow) was captured between 2011-2012, and the rest of the island's imagery was 16 to 17 years old, in analogue format.
TIP began coordinating with stakeholders such as the Forest Practices Authority, King Island Council, Cradle Coast, Parks and Wildlife, Biosecurity Tasmania, the Environmental Protection Authority, and Leading Emergency Services to secure additional funding for an updated aerial imagery project.
The plan was to capture high-priority (largely urban) areas at a 10cm pixel resolution and rural areas at 25cm but due to strong stakeholder interest and the savings achieved through working together TIP was able to capture the entire island at 10cm resolution at a reasonable cost.
The incredible level of detail and consistent signal of this new imagery allowed TVMMP to distinguish individual species of trees and shrubs. Multiple lines of evidence were used to identify vegetation with high confidence, including 2,038 field validation points and 368 photos collected by TVMMP and key stakeholders. A staggering 23,424 TASVEG polygons were manually revised across the island’s 109, 864 hectares.
Meeting the diverse needs of a wide stakeholder group, this collaboration between imagery collection and TASVEG revision has notably advanced our knowledge of the distribution of Threatened Native Vegetation Communities and critical threatened species habitat on the island. Data supported the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act listing of the King Island Scrub Complex, has been used to update vegetation information in King Island Council planning layers, and updates have been made to threatened species listing statements as a result of the new habitat knowledge.
Comparison of 2022 and 2006 imagery