Triumphs and Tribulations of SPOT 5 ; The NSW Experience in Vegetation Compliance
The Native Vegetation Act 2003 aims to end broad-scale clearing of native vegetation in NSW. This was the impetus for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to introduce a satellite monitoring program in late 2003 to monitor compliance with the legislation. The PANRIIE SPOT 5 satellite imagery project resulted in a complete coverage of NSW with 2.5m resolution satellite imagery and provides the baseline dataset for the monitoring of vegetation change on a statewide basis.
Previously, satellite images from Landsat were used to detect broad scale clearing activities. The detection was largely restricted to dense woody vegetation due to coarse resolution (15-30m) of the Landsat images. However, SPOT5 at 2.5 metre resolution is able to detect clearing of scattered vegetation in open woodlands in areas of known or suspected clearing (ie. hotspots). Hotspots are surveyed every six months and this paper discusses the SPOT 5 image selection process, interpretation techniques for change detection and highlights results.
Changes in vegetation cover are reported to Regional operational staff and analysed to determine possible breaches. The 2.5m resolution imagery is able to pick up 98% of native vegetation change in areas surveyed. Alleged breaches are managed in accordance with the Department’s Compliance Policy. The DNR Hotspot program has proved to be a very effective way of proactively monitoring vegetation change and has been invaluable in informing the Department’s compliance program.