Extant natural vegetation for Ashford, Bingara, Inverell and Yallaroi VIS_ID 3794

Extant natural vegetation is mapped to local scale plant community level in the Ashford (NSW portion), Bingara, Inverell and Yallaroi 1 : 100 000 mapsheets. The mapsheets fall within the Border Rivers/Gwydir Catchment Management Area. Extant (or existing) vegetation includes, unlike potential vegetation, derived grassland communities and human impact of urbanisation and cropping. The mapping methodology involved: (i) using full floristic data to derive a plant community classification, (ii) deriving numerous environmental spatial layers, (iii) combining floristics and environmental layers in a statistical model i.e. generalized dissimilarity model (GDM), (iv) constraining model results with aerial photograph interpretation (API) linework and a constraints matrix, and (v) combining individual community probability layers into one natural vegetation map based on the highest probability per grid cell. Mapping was conducted at a 25m grid cell resolution.