The land systems of Victoria, as described and delineated by Rowan in 1989, provide a statewide coverage of land types that are applicable to a wide range of land resource management and planning programs. These land systems sit within a geomorphological framework developed by Jenkin and Rowan. This data set consolidates a broad range of land resource information drawn from an uneven base to provide a consistent, if limited, coverage of the lands of Victoria. The explicit links with the original sources of data have been retained. The data set was developed from a range of studies of varying methodologies and intensities over some forty years. The reliability of the information varies across regions accordingly. This edition (3) incorporates new survey material [Shires of West Wimmera, Lowan, West Towong and East Gippsland (east of Snowy River)] as well as changes in the nomenclature with the substitution of broad slope class with relative relief classes (eg. plains, hills, mountains). An addition factor (lithological age) was also added to the key. There is still a link with the Edition 2 version in the main Land Systems table. More information on land system mapping can be found on Victorian Resources Online http://vro.depi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/landform_systems DOI 10.4226/92/58e727e0dd1be

A spatial dataset of soil and landform classification in Gippsland. The map units are broad `packages' of land - divided primarily on the basis of soil type, landform pattern and geology. It contains soil and land information at a scale of 1:100 000 for all land in the region. The dataset has been derived from a combination of past studies and has been collated primarily by Ian Sargeant and Mark Imhof from 1994 to 2013. Data from older surveys have also been included in this consolidated dataset. Mapping in east and northern Gippsland regions is restricted to freehold lands. Webpages on Victorian Resources Online provide a description of each of the map units and indicate source studies used to define the map unit. In June 2013 a dominant soil type was assigned to each unit (by David Rees, Mark Imhof and Ian Sargeant) to facilitate the creation of a digital soil map of Victoria. Australian Soil Classification (Order and SubOrder) have been included in the dataset's attribute table. At the map scale of this dataset soil-landform units are not homogeneous. For each defined soil-landform unit, the number and proportion of landforms and soil types will vary. Representative sites and their associated profile properties are recorded on the Victorian Resources Online website (http://vro.depi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/wgregn.nsf/pages/wg_soil_detailed). Importantly it should be noted that soil attributes (for example texture, sodicity, pH) are expected to vary between acquired soil sites. As the variability of soil attributes within a map unit is difficult to predict, it is important to note that representative soils should be used as a guide only. DOI 10.4226/92/58e719aeb6e7c

A spatial map layer of soil type (Australian Soil Classification) for Victoria. The harmonised map consists of 3,300 land units (totaling about 225,000 polygons) derived from around 100 soil and land surveys carried out in Victoria over the past 70 years. The land units have been attributed according to the Australian Soil Classification (Order and Suborder levels of the classification scheme) based on their likely dominant soil type. Particular attention was given to harmonising land units across survey boundaries. A reliability index has been assigned to each land unit based on the quality and relevance of the originating survey, providing a qualitative reliability measure to support interpretation and data use. Soil site data contained in the Victorian Soil Information System (VSIS), and information on the Victorian Resources Online (VRO) website and original study reports have been combined with landscape knowledge to develop the new maps. Data from approximately 10,000 existing sites recorded, mostly recorded in the VSIS have been used. The soil type is based on land mapping conducted at different times, at variable scale, and for different purposes. Land units are therefore of variable scale and quality in relation to the soil they are representing. Many units will be comprised of multiple soil types and a range of soil properties, and local variability (e.g. at paddock scale level) can also sometimes be high. The mapping, therefore, is intended to represent the dominant, or most prevalent, broad soil type within the map unit. It is therefore adequate for regional or state-wide overviews but may not often be accurate enough for localised or within-farm assessments. For more detailed soil and land information, users are advised to refer to the original land study for any given map unit (e.g. via Victorian Resources Online website).

This dataset is the primary data output from the Corangamite land resource assessment project undertaken in 2002-2003. It contains soil and land information at a scale of 1:100 000 for all land in the region. The study also includes land degradation assessments for each unit. At the map scale of this dataset soil-landform units are not homogeneous. For each defined soil-landform unit, the number and proportion of landforms and soil types will vary. A group or groups of soils have been associated with each unit. representative sites and their associated profile properties are recorded in the study report. Importantly it should be noted that soil attributes (for example texture, sodicity, pH) are expected to vary between acquired soil sites. As the variability of soil attributes within a map unit is difficult to predict, it is important to note that representative soils should be used as a guide only. The study report describing the project methodology and dataset attributes, including representative soil profile data, is available from the Victorian Resources Online website (http://vro.depi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/coranregn.nsf/pages/soil_landform_map). DOI 10.4226/92/58e7149507e74

This dataset is the primary data output from the Glenelg Hopkins land resource assessment project undertaken in 1999-2001. It contains soil and land information at a scale of 1:100 000 for all land in the south western corner of Victoria. The study also includes generic soil erosion risk assessments and agricultural capability, although these are mapped in separate datasets. At the map scale of this dataset soil-landform units are not homogeneous. For each defined soil-landform unit, the number and proportion of landforms and soil types will vary. A dominant soil type has been identified within each unit and soil property attributes provided by 'representative' sites. Importantly it should be noted that soil attributes (for example texture, sodicity, pH) are expected to vary between acquired soil sites. As the variability of soil attributes within a map unit is difficult to predict, it is important to note that representative soils should be used as a guide only. The study report describing the project methodology and dataset attributes is available from the Victorian Resources Online website (http://vro.depi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/glenregn.nsf/pages/glenelg_soil_map). DOI 10.4226/92/58e717be5073e

This dataset provides a hierarchical framework of geomorphological spatial entities at three tiers (Tier 1 represents the coarsest scale, Tier 3 representing the finest scale). Over the last decade in Victoria, geomorphology has been used to create a hierarchical classification of landforms and landscapes, known as the Victorian Geomorphology Framework (VGF). The VGF is a spatial framework consisting of a hierarchical system of land unit descriptions. The framework hierarchy is a spatial system to assist planning, monitoring and reporting for natural resource management in Victoria and Australia. The VGF describes and defines details of Victorias landscapes and provides a hierarchy to align past and future soil and land information. The upper level (Tier 1) has 8 Divisions and approximates to a scale of 1:1 000 000 to 5 000 000. Tier 2 has 34 categories, approximating to a scale of 1:500 000 to 2 000 000 while Tier 3 has 95 categories approximating to a scale of 1:100 000 to 500 000. Many of the boundaries are derived from the aggregation of soil-landform units/land systems, forming a hierarchical land type, particularly in relation to landform. The GMU250 layer includes soil erosion susceptibility assessments sourced from soil information contained in underlying regional studies which have been developed at regional scales of 1:100 000 or finer. The regional Land Resource Assessment (LRA) mapping at 1:100 000 scale effectively equates to the fourth tier of GMU mapping detail. As these units have been scaled up for use at the third tier, i.e. GMU250, it has meant a degree of generalisation across the LRA units. In these cases the dominant soil type, based upon maximum spatial extent, has been used for the susceptibility assessments. More information on the geomorpohology of Victoria can be found on Victorian Resources Online (http://vro.depi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/landform_geomorphology#mapping). DOI 10.4226/92/58e6f2752cfd6

The Victorian Land Use Information System (VLUIS) 2016/17 dataset has been created by the Spatial Information Sciences Group of the Agriculture Victoria Research in the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport, and Resources. It covers the entire landmass of Victoria and separately describes the land tenure, land use and land cover across the state at the cadastral parcel level. The methodology for creating the VLUIS is described in Morse-McNabb et al. (2015) with the following notable changes: 1. Land use data provided by the Office of the Valuer-General of Victoria for the 2014 year has been used as a base input. Readily available sources of land use information from government and industry have been used to provide updates to the land tenure and land use components of the 2016/17 dataset. The source dataset and source date are recorded for each parcel. The land cover mapping method remains unchanged to previous versions of the VLUIS. 2. The Australian Land Use and Management (ALUM) Classification, version 8, has been added to the attribute table. The VLUIS land use code fields have been translated across to the ALUM classification. Version 8 has been used you can find the ALUM Classification on the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources ABARES ALUM page: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/aclump/land-use/alum-classification. 3. Land parcels within urban areas, mapped in previous versions, have been masked out and have been renamed as Built Up Areas vastly reducing the size of the 2016/17 dataset. Land cover for Built Up Areas (LC_CODE = BUILT) is listed as null. 4. Road reserves and road parcels have been merged together and renamed Voids. Land cover for Voids (LC_CODE = VOID) is listed as null. 5. Parcels <12.5 hectares: land cover has not been attributed as the resolution of MODIS cannot support classifications of polygons smaller than 12.5 hectares. The data is in the form of an ESRI feature class. To use the VLUIS data correctly it is important to understand the difference between the three components of VLUIS. The Guidelines for land use mapping in Australia: principles, procedures and definitions, Edition 3 published in 2006 by the Commonwealth of Australia, defines them as follows: Land tenure is the form of an interest in land. Some forms of tenure (such as pastoral leases or nature conservation reserves) relate directly to land use and land management practice. Land use means the purpose to which the land cover is committed. Some land uses, such as agriculture, have a characteristic land cover pattern. These usually appear in land cover classifications. Other land uses, such as nature conservation, are not readily discriminated by a characteristic land cover pattern. For example, where the land cover is woodland, land use may be timber production or nature conservation. Land cover refers to the physical surface of the earth, including various combinations of vegetation types, soils, exposed rocks and water bodies as well as anthropogenic elements, such as agriculture and built environments. Land cover classes can usually be discriminated by characteristic patterns using remote sensing. A metadata statement, for the VLUIS product, and ESRI symbology files for the data can be freely downloaded from the VLUIS project page on the Victorian Resources Online website: http://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/vluis DOI 10.26279/5b96043f7bd02

This dataset is the primary data output from the north-east land resource assessment project undertaken in 2001-02. It contains soil and land information at a scale of 1:100 000 for all freehold land in north-east Victoria. It also includes generic soil erosion risk assessments and agricultural capability. At the map scale of this dataset soil-landform units are not homogeneous. For each defined soil-landform unit, dominant soil types were identified prior to assessing their capability to support various enterprises. Often a co-dominant and minor soil type have been described as part of this process. Importantly it should be noted that soil attributes (for example texture, sodicity, pH) are expected to vary between acquired soil sites. As the variability of soil attributes within a map unit is difficult to predict, it is important to note that representative soils should be used as a guide only. The study report describing the project methodology and dataset attributes is available from the Victorian Resources Online website (http://vro.depi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/neregn.nsf/pages/ne_soil_landform_survey) DOI 10.4226/92/58e71be578ac0

A polygonal dataset of mapped landforms in the Victorian Mallee. The dataset was created from the disaggregation of land systems originally defined by Rowan and Downes (1963). The disaggregation primarily involved an analysis of a 10 metre grid Digital Elevation Model (DEM) provided by the Department of Sustainability and Environment. The analysis included the use of the UPNESS index from the Fuzzy Landscape Analysis GIS (FLAG) model, Multi-resolution Valley Bottom Flatness (MrVBF) index, DEM derivative surfaces (such as slope, curvature, aspect and relative elevation) in combination with expert opinion, field observations and other supplementary datasets (such as aerial imagery, radiometrics, vegetation and GMU). The dataset was created in a staged approach through 4 project phases. The project was sponsored by the Mallee Catchment Management Authority with funding from the Federal government's Caring for our Country initiative. The final project report, "Disaggregation of landform components within land systems of the Mallee", and the Rowan and Downes (1963) report , "A study of the land of north-western Victoria", should be referred to when analysing or utilising this dataset. The landform component mapping was supplemented and refined during a "Wind erosion susceptibility mapping" project conducted in 2011. Details of changes are included in the associated project report (refer to that metadata record).