Queensland Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems and Shallowest Watertable Aquifer 20150714

## **Abstract** 

This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are represented here as originally supplied.



Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems that are dependent on the discharge of groundwater on a permanent or intermittent basis to meet all or some of their water requirements so as to maintain their communities of plants and animals, ecological processes and ecosystem services. This dataset contains five feature classes that describe the distribution of known and potential GDEs across the landscape. Information about the location and extent of known and potential GDEs was sourced from expert knowledge, literature and existing datasets. The complete set of GDE feature classes is: 1. Surface expression GDE points v01_3, 2. Surface expression GDE lines v01_3, 3. Surface expression GDE areas v01_3, 4. Terrestrial GDE areas v01_3, 5. Subterranean GDE areas v01_0. As the different types of GDEs represent different overlapping layers or cross-sections of the landscape, it is recommended that the datasets be displayed in the order of listing shown above (i.e. surface expression GDE points on top) to maintain logical consistency and assist visualisation. 

Shallowest watertable aquifer mapping identifies the extent and key characteristics of the shallowest watertable aquifers in a landscape. Watertable aquifers are unconfined geological formations that store and transmit groundwater. There may be other deeper aquifers not captured in this mapping (e.g. confined aquifers). Shallowest watertable aquifer mapping has been characterised according to a range of criteria including confinement, geology, porosity, groundwater flow system, salinity, pH, recharge process, temporal and spatial connectivity with surface ecosystems, etc. 

The shallowest watertable aquifer mapping consists of 1 data set which can be viewed independently or complementary to Queensland's GDE mapping.

## **Purpose** 

The GDE mapping identifies the distribution and type of ecosystems across the landscape that may be dependent on either the surface presence or sub-surface presence of groundwater. This dataset contains five feature classes that describe the distribution of known and potential GDEs across the landscape. 



The Shallowest watertable aquifer mapping identifies the extent and key characteristics of the shallowest watertable aquifers in a landscape and their potential to support GDEs. The shallowest watertable aquifer mapping consists of 1 data set which can be viewed independently or complementary to Queensland's GDE mapping

## **Dataset History** 

Lineage statement:

Linework to delineate the GDE extent was sourced from the following datasets (held by the Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation): 1. Queensland Wetland Data Wetlands Mapping (2009 extent, Version 3.0) 2. Vegetation Communities and Regional Ecosystems (REs) of Queensland (2011 extent, version 8.0 for Lake Eyre catchments and 2009 extent, Version 7.0 for all other surveyed catchments). Although the wetlands linework was typically used to represent surface expression GDEs and regional ecosystems linework typically used to represent terrestrial GDEs, this was not always the case. Non-wetland regional ecosystems have been used to delineate areas that may potentially contain surface expression GDEs such as geological contact zones where springs may be not detected as a wetland in current wetlands mapping due to their small size. ATTRIBUTION The attribution for this dataset was sourced from expert knowledge, literature and existing spatial datasets. Information about the location and extent of groundwater was collected at GDE workshops held for the Murray-Darling Basin, Wide Bay- Burnett, Pumicestone Passage, Mackay-Whitsunday, South East Queensland, Lake Eyre Basin, Cooper Basin and Galilee Basin mapping areas. Information collected from regional staff and other experts with local knowledge of groundwater included the location of wetlands, springs and stream baseflow. Known and potential GDEs were identified in the GDE workshops and this is attributed in the data with the level of confidence (i.e. high, moderate or low) in the knowledge about the GDE. An important part of the information collection at the GDE workshops included the capture of pictorial conceptual models which are representations of observed objects, phenomena and processes in a logical and objective way with the aim of constructing a formal system whose theoretical consequences are not contrary to what is observed in the real world. These pictorial conceptual models will be hyperlinked to the GDE spatial data to aid the interpretation of the data. For more information refer to the GDE pictorial conceptual models. Another key part of the information collected was the identification of GDE decision rules that described combinations of conditions where ecosystems are or are likely to be dependent on groundwater at a specific site or local area according to expert knowledge. GDE decision rules may include descriptions of conditions such as geology, vegetation, topographic position, elevation and rainfall zones. These decision rules were subsequently categorised and combined into GDE mapping rule-sets in preparation for their application using geographic information system (GIS) technology. A GDE mapping rule-set is a combination of related decision rules with similar groundwater dependent ecosystem drivers and processes that when applied to spatial data sets through GIS analysis delineate where ecosystems are or are likely to be dependent on groundwater. These GDE mapping rule-sets are used to determine the 'derived' potential GDEs that make up the majority of the GDE mapping. 

The surface GDE points data-set is derived from the Queensland Springs Database and is produced on a state-wide basis. 

Linework to delineate the shallowest watertable aquifer was sourced from landzone obtained from Regional Ecosystems (REs) of Queensland (2011 extent, version 8.0 for Lake Eyre catchments and 2009 extent, Version 7.0 for South East Queensland catchments) utilizing the same expert knowledge that formulated the GDE mapping rule-sets.

Source:

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection

## **Dataset Citation** 

Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts (2015) Queensland Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems and Shallowest Watertable Aquifer 20150714. Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 07 December 2018, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/3d36e3d4-b16b-43b3-b2eb-c1aea7ef9193.

Tags: Galilee subregion, Queensland, biota
Organization: Bioregional Assessment Program