Monitoring of sustainable land management using remotely sensed vegetation cover and variable tolerable soil erosion targets across New South Wales, Australia

Gray, JM; Leys, JF; Yang, X; Zhang, M

Monitoring of sustainable land management using remotely sensed vegetation cover and variable tolerable soil erosion targets across New South Wales, Australia

Gray, JM Leys, JF Yang, X

Zhang, M

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Publisher:: Wiley
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Soil Use and Management, 2023, 39, (2), pp. 849-866
Issue Date:: 2023-12-25

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Gray, JM
dc.contributor.author	Leys, JF
dc.contributor.author	Yang, X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5990-2186
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, M
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-28T00:28:40Z
dc.date.available	2024-03-28T00:28:40Z
dc.date.issued	2023-12-25
dc.identifier.citation	Soil Use and Management, 2023, 39, (2), pp. 849-866
dc.identifier.issn	0266-0032
dc.identifier.issn	1475-2743
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/177306
dc.description.abstract	The monitoring of land management practices is vital for the protection of soil resource and the environment. Here we present a new approach to monitor sustainable land management using widely available remotely sensed data, such as MODIS fractional vegetation cover data. The method is based on the concept of maintaining sufficient vegetation cover to prevent hillslope water erosion beyond tolerable soil erosion targets. The targets were based on long‐term natural erosion rates plus a small constant, and are spatially and temporally variable, not static as in most reported studies to date. Where vegetation cover is more than that required to prevent non‐tolerable erosion under normal conditions for that calendar month, the site (pixel) is deemed to be managed sustainably. Monthly indices are then combined to form a yearly sustainable land management index (SLMI), presented as raster maps with a spatial resolution of 100 m. We explored this new method through case studies over New South Wales (NSW), Australia over the period 2010 to 2021, with a particular examination of 2020. Results were further stratified by land uses and natural resource management regions, which revealed useful data and trends. The method is offered as an example of the potential use of readily available vegetation cover data to quantitatively assess and monitor levels of sustainable land management across landscapes. We believe it overcomes limitations of previous methods to monitor vegetation cover and land management from remote sensed data alone. Other users are encouraged to adapt the broad approach to meet local requirements.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Wiley
dc.relation.ispartof	Soil Use and Management
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/sum.12876
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	0503 Soil Sciences, 0703 Crop and Pasture Production
dc.subject.classification	Agronomy & Agriculture
dc.subject.classification	3004 Crop and pasture production
dc.subject.classification	4106 Soil sciences
dc.title	Monitoring of sustainable land management using remotely sensed vegetation cover and variable tolerable soil erosion targets across New South Wales, Australia
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	39
utslib.for	0503 Soil Sciences
utslib.for	0703 Crop and Pasture Production
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2024-03-28T00:28:38Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	39
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

The monitoring of land management practices is vital for the protection of soil resource and the environment. Here we present a new approach to monitor sustainable land management using widely available remotely sensed data, such as MODIS fractional vegetation cover data. The method is based on the concept of maintaining sufficient vegetation cover to prevent hillslope water erosion beyond tolerable soil erosion targets. The targets were based on long‐term natural erosion rates plus a small constant, and are spatially and temporally variable, not static as in most reported studies to date. Where vegetation cover is more than that required to prevent non‐tolerable erosion under normal conditions for that calendar month, the site (pixel) is deemed to be managed sustainably. Monthly indices are then combined to form a yearly sustainable land management index (SLMI), presented as raster maps with a spatial resolution of 100 m. We explored this new method through case studies over New South Wales (NSW), Australia over the period 2010 to 2021, with a particular examination of 2020. Results were further stratified by land uses and natural resource management regions, which revealed useful data and trends. The method is offered as an example of the potential use of readily available vegetation cover data to quantitatively assess and monitor levels of sustainable land management across landscapes. We believe it overcomes limitations of previous methods to monitor vegetation cover and land management from remote sensed data alone. Other users are encouraged to adapt the broad approach to meet local requirements.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/177306