Wetlands are important for many plants and wildlife in the ACT, as well as water quality for Canberra's drinking water catchment. This dataset maps location of wetlands in the ACT including our Ramsar wetland (Ginini and Cheyenne Wetland Complex), Directory of Important Wetlands Australia (DIWA), and ACT High Country Bogs and Fens (Nature Conservation Act 2014). The wetlands are classified using the ANAE Australian National Aquatic Ecosystem Framework by Cowood et al (2017). See Brooks (2021) for the latest ANAE classification framework and method. To view the directory of important wetlands visit: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/wetlands/australian-wetlands-database/directory-important-wetlands More information on wetland conservation can be found at:https://www.act.gov.au/open/act-aquatic-and-riparian-conservation-strategy Fit for purpose: This dataset was captured at 1:5,000 scale. This dataset is fit for use as a tool for showing presence of wetlands in the ACT. Exact boundaries are likely to expand and contract over time so accuracy should be checked against project requirements. References: Cowood A., Nicholson A., Wooldridge A., Muller R. and Moore L. 2017. Wetland vulnerability to climate change in the ACT (and ANAE Classification) Report to ACT City and Environment Directorate. January 2017. https://www.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/2544113/wetland-vulnerability-to-climate-change-in-the-act-2017.pdf Brooks, S. 2021. Australian National Aquatic Ecosystem (ANAE) Classification of the Murray-Darling Basin v3.0: User Guide. Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australia. Disclaimer: While all care is taken to ensure accuracy, the ACT Government does not warrant that the map is free from errors. © ACT Government

This layer contains information on the distribution and vegetation types of High Country Sphagnum Bogs and Fens in the ACT as defined by Nature Conservation (High Country Bogs and Associated Fens) Conservation Advice 2019 (Nature Conservation Act). The dataset includes areas of RAMSAR significance. The threatened Northern Corroboree Frogs are also associated with these ecosystems. Veg mapping was undertaken by Geoff Hope et al in 2009 and later revisited during mapping of ACT Vegetation Communities in 2015-2018 (Baines et al 2018).The ACT Scientific Committee determined that the ecological community High Country Bogs and Associated Fens is eligible for inclusion in the ACT Threatened Ecological Communities List in 2019. Most ACT High Country Bogs and Associated Fens communities are consistent with the nationally listed Alpine Sphagnum Bogs and Associated Fens ecological community.The mountains of the Australian Capital Territory support substantial areas of peat-forming mires in interfluves and valley heads, as well as areas of riparian fen vegetation along streams. While similar fens and bogs occur in the Snowy Mountains, the ACT represents a significant outlier of major biogeographic significance because the mires are near their climatic limits and hence sensitive to climate change.Mapping of the mires was originally completed by Hope et al 2009. The mapping was developed in three stages using orthorectified aerial photography and satellite imagery and extensive field checking. More information can be found at: Hope, G., Nanson, R. and Flett, I. 2009. Technical Report 19. The peat-forming mires of the Australian Capital Territory. Territory and Municipal Services, Canberra. https://www.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2539595/19-peat-forming-mires-of-the-act-2009.pdfKey plant communities of ACT Bogs and Fens (Armstrong et al. 2012):• a2: Baeckea gunniana – Epacris paludosa – Richea continentis – Sphagnum cristatum Wet Heathland of the Australian Alps Bioregion (Alpine/subalpine Bog).• a7: Ranunculus pimpinellifolius – Gonocarpus micranthus herbfield of wetland heathland of the Australian Alps bioregion (Bog).• a8: Carex gaudichaudiana – Myriophyllum pedunculatum – Deschampsia caespitosa Sedgeland of the Australian Alps Bioregion (Alpine/subalpine Fen).• a9: Carex gaudichaudiana – Ranunculus amphitrichus – Phragmites australis Aquatic Herbfield of waterways in the Australian Alps and South-Eastern Highlands Bioregion (Montane Bogs and Fens).Other key plant communities (Hope et al. 2009):• Empodisma minus restiad Fen.• Phragmites – Typha tall sedgelands (Fen).Associated plant communities (Armstrong et al. 2012):• a14: Poa costiniana – Carex gaudichaudiana Subalpine Valley Grassland of the Australian Alps Bioregion (Alpine/subalpine Grasslands/Herbfields).• e59: Hakea microcarpa – Baeckea utilis – Leptospermum myrtifolium Subalpine Wet Heathland on Escarpment and Eastern Tableland Ranges of the South-Eastern Highlands Bioregion.• u193: Hakea microcarpa – Epacris breviflora – Epacris paludosa Montane Wet Heathland of the Australian Alps and western South-Eastern Highlands Bioregions.Note this product includes some areas of a33 vegetation community, which is formally considered to be associated with the threatened community (see ACT High Country Bogs and Fens Action Plan 2024, ACT Government). However, these areas were originally mapped by Hope et al 2009 with high altitude sphagnum bog (HSB) present.For more information on ACT High Country Bogs and Fens, visit https://www.act.gov.au/environment/animals-and-plants/act-threatened-species/high-country-bogs-and-associated-fensUpdates: Majority of the mapping was completed post 2003 fires. However, the dataset is was updated using Near Infrared Imagery 2015 and LiDAR data in 2019. Further updates will be implemented as required if new or better mapping of bog and fen areas become available.Fit for purpose: This dataset was captured at 1:3,000 scale. This dataset is fit for use

This digital soil landscape product contains natural resource mapping for the Australian Capital Territory. The project was completed by the Office of Environment and Heritage (NSW). The project was funded by the ACT Government to enhance knowledge of soils, landscapes and physical constraints to land use in the urban and rural environment. The information will assist in informed decision making, planning and environmental modelling throughout the catchment.55 soil landscape map units have been described for the ACT. Each unit is an inventory of soil and landscape information with relatively uniform land management requirements, allowing major soil and landscape qualities and constraints to be identified.The GIS product shown here provides location of each of the soil landscape map units - including the soil landscape code and name. For more detailed information please see the full soil landscape reports for each unit, as well as the final report (seedatasets.seed.nsw.gov.au). Detailed spreadsheets can be used to join more detailed information to the GIS also available on request.Lineage:The mapping undertaken by the NSW Government was created using:existing published soil landscape mapping (Canberra and Michelago 1:100,000 map sheets);new soil landscape mapping (part Brindabella and Tantangara 1:100,000 map sheets).For all datasets, provisional soil landscapes were established firstly on the dominant geomorphic processes responsible for the formation of the landscape and secondly on the geological parent material. Elevation, aspect, vegetation patterns and human disturbance were other factors considered when defining units.For existing mapping, the boundaries of these provisional soil landscapes were mapped using stereoscopic interpretation of 1:40,000 scale black and white and 1:25,000 scale colour aerial photographs (Canberra) and 1:40,000 scale black and white aerial photographs only for Michelago. LANDSAT thematic mapper and radiometric imagery were used to assist with perception and charting of provisional soil landscapes. These boundaries were transferred onto 1:25 000 topographic base maps. After field checking boundaries and detailed investigations of the soil, the provisional landscapes were confirmed, amalgamated or sub-divided.For new mapping on the Brindabella and Tantangara sheets, the boundaries were captured by digitizing directly to screen at around 1:10,000 scale using ArcGIS. Ultra-high resolution (10 cm) aerial photographic imagery provided a base layer during the capture process. In addition the following data were used to assist delineate soil landscapes boundaries: ADS digital aerial imagery, radiometric imagery, SPOT 5 satellite imagery, climate data, 1 second DSM and DEM elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM), 1:100,000 scale geological mapping, 1:25,000 topographic maps and DTDB digital terrain models.Soils have been examined and described in detail at over 500 sites in the ACT. This includes 79 new detailed sites to fill data gaps for this project. At each site, soil morphological data and site information were recorded on Soil and Land Information System (SALIS) cards or digitally collected via the eDIRT field data collection system. Sufficient field work was undertaken within each soil landscape to identify the range of soils present and to enable their distribution within the landscape to be described. To best knowledge none of the sites were randomly sampled. Sample intervals were selected to be morphologically representative examples of each soil material present in each type profile i.e. soil horizons.A comprehensive suite of soil tests have been analysed for many of the representative type soil profiles within the ACT.A desktop review of published soil landscape units has occurred resulting in some minor amendments to the existing linework.Positional Accuracy:Observations and soil profiles were located using handheld GPS or using 1:25,000 topographic maps. Soil

Overview PCTs are spatial polygons that define the type and extent of known vegetation communities within the ACT pctCode . PCTs have been further stratified into 'zones' pctZone, which reflect the ecological condition of PCTs relative to benchmark thresholds. The ecological condition of a vegetation community, or a 'zone' pctZone, is assessed using the attributes that define Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs) under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the ACT Nature Conservation Act 2014 (NC Act). Condition zones can be used to identify sites of high quality for conservation protection (e.g. nature reserve) and candidate sites for offsetting. PCTs can also be used to interrogate the spatial distribution and condition of all mapped vegetation areas across the ACT, and are employed as stocktake, planning and on-ground management units to inform the delivery of conservation, restoration and land development programs. ACT plant community types Naturally occurring native plant community types in the ACT are drawn from Sharp (2007), as implemented in the ACT Vegetation Database (2015), and Armstrong (2013). Each community type is identified by a number, e.g., ACT01, ACT25, known as native vegetation codes (pctCode). Non-naturally occurring plant communities such as exotic plantations and native plantings have been assigned numbers not present in Sharp (2007), e.g., ACT65, ACT66, ACT 99. Vegetation communities from Armstrong have been assigned an ACT prefix, while retaining the Armstrong numbering, e.g., ACT152 = u152, ACT118 = u118. Refer to Appendix A for the current list of plant communities in the ACT. Determining pre-1750 plant community type PCTs reflect the most likely plant community found prior to European colonisation, except for where they are plantings or plantations. Disturbances caused by agricultural practices and abandonment of land practices can obscure the pre-colonised state. The determination of the most likely pre-European plant community found at a present-day site is informed by signs such as the presence and type of native species; the growth form and density of remnant canopy trees; the presence of stags or stumps; the presence and species of midstorey shrubs and trees; the floristic composition of the groundstorey; landscape position and other geographical features such as elevation, aspect, soils, apparent hydrology etc. Mapping PCTs and ecological condition zones The boundaries of each PCT at a site are accurately mapped on-ground by walking the boundaries and recording them using hand-held GPS and marking directly on to high resolution orthorectified aerial photograph field maps. Once PCTs are mapped, a further assessment of condition is undertaken by dividing a PCT into homogenous 'zones' pctZone based on the structure (presence or absence of mature canopy and regeneration), floristic composition (ground story dominance and forb diversity) and overall quality ('intactness') of the vegetation. A simple matrix based on the criteria for conservation protection under the EPBC or NC Acts is used to categorise the condition of PCTs of grasslands (Table 1) and woodlands (Table 2 and 3). Although initially used to identify TECs for protection and/or offsetting, PCT zoning has been extended to other plant communities in the ACT and is considered a general measure of condition. There are currently 32 recognised ACT PCTs. To date, not all have been spatially mapped, with efforts focused on TECs facing higher threats at lower elevations, which are more likely to meet EPBC and NC Act status. Grasslands and woodland/forest PCTs are assessed using different zone criteria. Note: The zone classifications are based on threatened grassland and lowland woodland community structural and floristic condition and may therefore not reflect non-threatened communities as accurately. Two components are used to assess the condition of grasslands: ground layer nativeness

The focus of this dataset is the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It contains digital spatial data developed to assist in land management decision making in the ACT. The dataset contains hazard ratings for land salinity, stream salt load and stream EC as well as overall salinity hazard for each HGL unit. Information about landscape functions and appropriate salinity management strategies are also listed. Hyperlinks to full management descriptions for each HGL unit are provided. The Hydrogeological Landscape (HGL) concept provides a structure for understanding how differences in salinity are expressed across the landscape. A HGL spatially differentiates areas with similar salt stores and pathways for salt mobilisation. The process of delineating a HGL relies on the integration of a number of causative factors: geology, soils, slope, regolith thickness, and climate; an understanding of the different modes of salinity development; and the impacts of salinity within landscapes (land salinity, salt load and salt concentration in streams due to salt contributions from base flow and runoff ). Information sources such as soil landscape maps, site characterisation, salinity occurrence maps, hydrogeological data, surface water and groundwater data are incorporated into standardised unit descriptions.Fit for purpose: This dataset was captured at 1:25,000 scale. This dataset is fit for use as a tool for assessing land management issues at the paddock-scale in the ACT, but this does not negate the need for site assessment at a scale suitable to any potential land use or development under consideration. The mapping was mapped in 'GDA1994 MGA Zone 55s' and transformed to GDA2020 MGA Zone 55s.Credits: Rob Muller (NSW OEH), Wayne Cook (NSW OEH), Allan Nicholson (NSW DPI), Alie Cowood (UC)Disclaimer: While all care is taken to ensure accuracy, the ACT Government does not warrant that the map is free from error.