Numerous soil, land capability and land resource surveys have been carried out across the BDT region. These surveys have been undertaken with a variety of scales, methodologies and coverage. The aim of the Land Resource Assessment is to collate existing information into a Common Soil Mapping Layer, and then identify areas where there are knowledge gaps. Once these gaps have been identified a prioritisation process will be conducted to target the areas that require further investigation.

Adequate land resource information is an essential component of the data base required for:

• interpreting land condition information and land use patterns
• analysing differences across the region and identifying underlying causes
• developing appropriate management actions to address land condition issues &
• mapping local areas in which management actions need to be focused.

Once completed, the common soil mapping layer derived from the Land Resource Assessment Project will be a valuable resource for monitoring changes in land condition and can also be utilised as a decision support tool for land managers. The information from this project will be available to all members of the community.

The following activities will be undertaken in this project:

• collate existing land resource survey coverage (completed)
• compile a common mapping legend to integrate all mapping units from these surveys (completed)
• identify the gaps in land resource survey coverage in the BDT region (completed)
• prioritise the  key gaps through stakeholder consultation (completed) and
• update the Common Soil Mapping Layer with new information (current)
  

Project Update

New information is currently being added to the Common Soil Mapping Layer and is expected to be complete in late September.