Desert Uplands Strategic Land Resource Assessment
Summary
This document is an abbreviated version of the technical report entitled, ‘The Desert Uplands: an overview of the Desert Uplands Strategic Land Resource Assessment Project’. The complete technical report is included in the final report and database, which is available in a double compact disc package. This package presents the results of the Desert Uplands Strategic Land Resource Assessment (DUSLARA) project and the Rationalisation of Dalrymple Land Resource Data project, which were initiated by the Desert Uplands Build-up and Development Strategy Committee (DUBDSC) in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and provides land resource information that will help land managers achieve long-term economic and social stability in the Desert Uplands region.
The land resource study is based on the land system concept and involves the use of remote sensing techniques initially to identify broad geomorphic features, followed by an intensive period of field work to collect site, soil and vegetation information and finally, to present the data in a ‘user-friendly’ format. The land system method, in which soil-vegetation associations conform to a predictable and recurring pattern within areas of similar geology, physiography and climate, provides a consistent, logical identification of different land types across the whole bioregion. Once identified, the different land types are described according to their inherent limitations and capabilities for current and future land uses.
The technical report has six overview sections:
- Section 1 introduces the project, its objectives and the study area.
- Section 2 provides an overview of the climate of the bioregion, and also discusses the effects of climate on plant growth, soil water storage, and erosion.
- Section 3 describes the geomorphology of the Desert Uplands, including descriptions of the four component subregions. Significant geomorphic features are considered and described.
- Section 4 discusses soils and their importance and includes descriptions, distribution maps and illustrations of the major soil types in the region.
- Section 5 identifies the major vegetation communities in the Desert Uplands, and contains summary maps of their distributions.
- Section 6 summarises the large range of different land types into fifteen Land Management Units, with descriptions of their inherent characteristics and any implications those characteristics may have on land management practices or land use.
Approximately 4,135 field sites from five different sources have been used to collate the vast amount of information contained in this database. In total, 47 map sheets at a scale of 1:100,000, 79 land system information sheets, 335 land unit information sheets, 3,218 site information sheets and 524 individual property maps have been prepared, all of which can be viewed or printed from the database contained in a double CD package.
The Desert Uplands Strategic Land Resource Database is extremely versatile as it can provide general information for the whole bioregional right through to detailed information at a property level and individual sites.
All this land resource information is available to the whole Desert Uplands community, from individual land managers to community groups, local government, regional planning bodies, government agencies and research organisations. The database has been prepared with the objective of providing a sound basis for current and future land-use planning and land-management decisions. To obtain your free copy of the CD package refer to the details in Section 1.1 Project background.
Last updated: 31 July 2006
