Remote Sensing and Landcare

Remote sensing, as discussed here, is a means of collecting information about the earth's surface from satellites orbiting the earth.

The information collected by satellites is in the form of infra-red, and visible radiation, from the earth's surface. Different features will vary in the way they reflect (or sometimes emit) the radiation, and can therefore be distinguished when the data is viewed and analysed.

The images may resemble an aerial photograph taken from a very high altitude, but in fact there are some very important differences which enable much more information to be determined about the areas of interest.

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Important differences to aerial photography

• Acquisition of infra-red reflectances enable better identification and assessment of features.
• Images are acquired on a regular basis enabling access to current and archived data.
• Images can be produced in photographic or digital form. Cheap and user friendly software is now available to view and analyse digital imagery on PCs.

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Applications in land and environmental management

• Differentiation of soil and vegetation types.
• Assessment of the health and vigour of crops, pastures and other vegetation (within a paddock or between different paddocks).
• Production of yield maps prior to harvest.
• Detection of the extent and severity of land degradation.
• Assessment of the physical extent and turbidity of water bodies.
• Obtaining an overall perspective of the area of interest, including infrastructure.

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For Landholders and related Community groups

Property owners can also use remote sensing as a tool in property management planning and catchment planning to help them map out land types, paddock boundaries, watering points and cultural features. Trouble areas (such as salinity) can be located before the damage has become extensive.

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For Agencies

Government and environmental agencies also have a cost effective means to assess environmental resources and monitor changes over time. Large areas can be covered in a single satellite scene and this can help pinpoint regions which need to be analysed in more detail. Extensive and costly ground surveys can be minimised by such an approach.

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Other Geoscience Australia products to help in Landcare

ACRES is a business unit of Geospatial & Earth Monitoring Division, Geoscience Australia, which provides a wide range of paper and digital map products. Geoscience Australia has a complete national coverage of topographic maps and map data which is useful for planning and management activities on a regional basis.

Geoscience Australia's premier topographic data set at 1:250,000 scale (GEODATA TOPO-250K) includes hydrography, vegetation, contours, roads and railway features, localities, reserved areas and much more.

• Click here to download sample satellite data
• Click here to download free satellite imagery
• Click here for more information on 1:250 000 scale data

To order ACRES products, contact your nearest ACRES distributor or email acres@ga.gov.au