Coastal IFOA Canopy Dieback Monitoring

The NSW Natural Resources Commission (NRC) engaged the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University to develop a repeatable, scientifically robust and low-cost method to monitor landscape-scale forest canopy dieback and identify principal drivers of dieback. The Western Sydney University team collaborated with remote sensing research scientists from NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).  The method was tested for forests impacted by the 2023 ‘flash drought’ in the mid-north coast region of NSW. High-resolution PlanetScope satellite imagery was used to manually classify canopy conditions into three categories: dead, partially dead, and live. This classification was then extended across the broader pilot study area using publicly available Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and a machine learning approach.   Read the report here: Monitoring of sudden canopy dieback in coastal forests – Final report Read the summary research note here: Monitoring canopy dieback in NSW North Coast forests – Research note  This web map displays the spatial outputs of this project at 10m spatial resolution, showing monthly canopy condition on public land for the period April 2019 to December 2023.  The monthly spatial data for the pilot region is also available as 57 Tifs on the SEED portal for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Reference layers provided include the 2019/20 Fire Extent and Severity Mapping (available on the SEED portal) and the last year of harvest in five-yearly groups (extracted from Forestry Corporation of NSW Open Data Site).  To view a dataset, click on the eye icon. The entire layer group hierarchy must be turned on for the layers to be visible. You can navigate the map by scrolling and clicking using your mouse. You can use the ‘Compare View’ to see monthly canopy dieback maps and the 2019/20 Fire Extent and Severity Mapping map side by side, with a matching map extent.  -----------------------------------------------------------------------  To access data or leave feedback on your experience with this web site or its data, follow this link:  NRC Contact Page  To leave feedback on your experience with the Spatial Collaboration Portal, follow this link (account creation required):  Spatial Collaboration Portal Feedback  ____________________________________________________  This webmap is part of the Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (Coastal IFOA) monitoring program overseen by the NSW Forest Monitoring Steering Committee independently chaired by the Natural Resources Commission. 
Metadata Portal Metadata Information
Content TitleCoastal IFOA Canopy Dieback MonitoringContent TypeOtherDescriptionPending.Initial Publication Date31/08/2024Data Currency31/08/2024Data Update FrequencyOtherContent SourceFile TypeWeb Feature ServiceAttributionData Theme, Classification or Relationship to other DatasetsAccuracySpatial Reference System (dataset)GDA2020Spatial Reference System (web service)EPSG:4326WGS84 Equivalent ToGDA2020Spatial ExtentContent LineageData ClassificationUnclassifiedData Access PolicyOpenData QualityTerms and ConditionsCreative CommonsStandard and SpecificationData CustodianNSW Natural Resources CommissionPoint of ContactEmma Pearce (Emma.Pearce@nrc.nsw.gov.au)Data AggregatorData DistributorAdditional Supporting InformationTRIM Number

Tags: CIFOA, Canopy, Coastal IFOA, Dieback, Earth Observation, Environment, Forest, NRC, Natural Resources Commission, Remote Sensing
Organization: Spatial Services (DCS)