This dataset contains spatial layers describing Forest Canopy Extent from 1995-2019 in NSW Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) Areas along the eastern coast. Forest Canopy Extent is the likelihood that a certain area has forest at any given time. Forest Canopy is defined in accordance with the National State of the Forests Report which defines forests as containing as a minimum, a mature or potentially mature stand height exceeding 2 metres, stands dominated by trees usually having a single stem, where the mature or potentially mature stand component comprises 20% canopy coverage using a Crown Projective Cover (CPC) measure.
These have been based off the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) National Forest and Sparse Woody Vegetation Data grids (ABARES, 2020). These base grids are Landsat in origin and have a resolution of 25m.
To calculate forest canopy extent, these base grids have been processed through a series of land use and vegetation type exclusion masking and a through a fuzzy-logic based certainty analysis to reflect a forest cover extent coverage for NSW that is reflective of past and current coverage.
Read more about the project on the Natural Resources Commission website:
https://www.nrc.nsw.gov.au/fmip-baselines-ecosystem-health-projectfe1
This dataset is superseded by 'NSW Forest Monitoring and Improvement Program State-Wide Historic Forest Canopy Cover Extent - 1995 to 2020'
