Greater Hunter Native Vegetation Mapping v4.0. VIS ID 3855

The GHM geodatabase builds on a wealth of information and previous mapping from the Hunter region. Existing field data, mapping, classification and remote sensing interpretation were augmented with new survey data to produce the vegetation community classification used in this project. The classification used a series of well documented analyses as well as expert review to achieve its end-point. The GHM geodatabase contains two principal vegetation layers. The GHM Vegetation Type layer and the Canopy Cover (v2) layer (individual tree crowns or clumps of tree crowns). The GHM also contains field plot localities, associated species information and plot-specific photographs. Data specific to each polygon (e.g. crown cover) and to each native vegetation community type (e.g. common name, scientific name) are included. Polygons, the fundamental spatial units, are built from computer-based feature recognition which delineates landscapes patterns. The GHM Vegetation Type map is built by attributing individual polygons with vegetation type from the GHM floristic classification through a multi-stage process. The process includes visual interpretation of SPOT 5 and ADS40 imagery as well as species distribution modelling and expert review. The project included a review of existing mapping and classification and established equivalences between these and the GHM Classification. VIS ID 3855