Plant community type changes 2023 update
The 2023 update of Integrated BioNet Vegetation Data has been released.
The first update of Integrated BioNet Vegetation Data (IBVD) was released in December 2023, as part of the ongoing effort to continuously improve the NSW plant community type (PCT) classification and state vegetation type map (SVTM).
The update incorporates new data and user feedback to improve the classification, mapping, and information currency. The NSW plant community type master list was revised and published as version C2.0. The state vegetation type map was revised and published as version C2.0M2.0. Changes included are summarised below and are detailed in online technical documents.
The changes will not apply to the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme until the next update to the Biodiversity Assessment Method (BAM) Calculator scheduled for February 2024.
BioNet Web Service issue
There is currently a known issue when users attempt to download large volumes of data from the BioNet Web Service, resulting in an error. This impacts some of the existing BioNet power queries available via the BioNet Resources web page. Work is currently underway to investigate and resolve this issue. Apologies for the inconvenience.
For support, please reach out to us via bionet@environment.nsw.gov.au
Changes to the plant community type master list for C2.0
Eastern NSW Coast and Tablelands Bioregions (see Table 1)
- Six new plant community types are approved, arising from new field survey data.
- Three qualitative plant community types (PCT ID < 3000) are decommissioned and replaced by quantitative types (PCT ID > 3000).
- One placeholder plant community type is decommissioned (PCT 3128).
Western New South Wales
- One plant community type (PCT 101) changed vegetation class from Brigalow Clay Plain Woodlands to Floodplain Transitional Woodlands.
Other plant community type data updates included in C2.0
Eastern NSW Coast and Tablelands Bioregions
- Approximately 2,000 previously unclassified standard floristic survey plots are now assigned to a quantitative plant community type. This results in 11 placeholder plant community types reaching a high classification confidence level. Revisions to the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) subregions assigned to 83 plant community types result in improved plant community type distribution data.
- Nine plant community type names are updated.
- For quantitative plant community types, plant community type data is updated to reflect recent taxonomic changes and new plot assignments, including updates to vegetation descriptions, environmental domains and species by growth form group tables.
- All new plant community types have association data for threatened species, populations and ecological communities.
All New South Wales
- New state and Commonwealth threatened ecological communities (TECs) listed between the end of June 2021 and the end of August 2023 have been assessed against all qualitative and quantitative plant community types in the plant community type master list C2.0.
Changes to the state vegetation type map for C2.0M2.0
- Map updates in the coast and tablelands bioregions reflect the plant community type master list C2.0.
- Revisions and updates also include new sources of information, including survey sites, expert opinion, revisions, corrections, and new mapping.
- The Native Vegetation Extent Raster has also been updated to include selected additions and deletions of woody vegetation. This raster has been applied to the pre-clearing map to create the extant map.
What do you need to do?
Plant community types
To access the updated PCT classification data from BioNet, you will need to:
- refresh any BioNet power queries in order to bring the PCT changes into the spreadsheets, and/or re-export data directly from BioNet applications (BioNet Atlas Flora surveys module, BioNet Vegetation Classification application)
- refresh any other applications that draw data from BioNet web services in order to bring in the PCT changes
- read the document Updating BioNet Plant Community Types: PCT Master List C2.0 (2023) to understand the nature of the PCT updates and changes.
The PCT changes are being incorporated into the Plot to PCT Assignment Tool.
State vegetation type map
To access the updated state vegetation type map, you will need to:
- access SVTM version C2.0M2.0 from the SEED portal, via a new download
- read the document NSW State Vegetation Type Map Technical Notes Release C2.0M2.0 to understand the nature of the SVTM updates.
The new SVTM version is being incorporated into the Trees Near Me app and Credits Near Me app.
Summary of plant community type definition status changes for C2.0
| PCT ID | Change for C2.0 | Plant community type name | Vegetation class | IBRA Subregions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 774 | Decommissioned (replaced by 4162) |
Coast Banksia scrub on sand in the Elderslie area, Sydney Basin Bioregion | Sydney Sand Flats Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Cumberland |
| 2247 | Decommissioned (replaced by 4160) |
Large-fruited Blackbutt shrubby open forest on conglomerates of the Broken Bago Range near Wauchope on the Mid North Coast, NSW North Coast Bioregion | North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Macleay Hastings |
| 2250 | Decommissioned (replaced by 4161) |
Blue-leaved Stringybark open forest on exposed sites in the Macleay Hastings region, NSW North Coast Bioregion | North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Macleay Hastings |
| 3014 | Approved | Liverpool Range Daphnandra Rainforest | Dry Rainforests | Liverpool Range; Ellerston |
| 3128 | Decommissioned (merged with 3129) | Mid North Littoral Rainforest | Littoral Rainforests | Macleay Hastings |
| 4157 | Approved | Hunter Escarpment Footslopes Singleton Mallee | Hunter-Macleay Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Hunter |
| 4158 | Approved | Hunter Escarpment Pokolbin Ironbark Woodland | Hunter-Macleay Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Hunter |
| 4159 | Approved | Nightcap Rhyolite Rocky Red Gum Woodland | North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Scenic Rim |
| 4160 | Approved (replaces 2247) |
Mid North Conglomerate Blackbutt Shrub Forest | North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Macleay Hastings |
| 4161 | Approved (replaces 2250) |
Mid North Stringybark-Turpentine Shrub Forest | North Coast Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Comboyne Plateau; Macleay Hastings; Upper Manning |
| 4162 | Approved (replaces 774) |
Elderslie Banksia Scrub | Sydney Sand Flats Dry Sclerophyll Forests | Cumberland |
| 4163 | Approved | Mount Gibraltar Melaleuca Heath | Southern Montane Heaths | Moss Vale |
| 4164 | Approved | New England Peppermint Swamp Margin Woodland | Montane Bogs and Fens | Glenn Innes-Guyra Basalts; Moredun Volcanics |
