Project > Tea Tree Gully Ecological Mapping

Councils require a tool for them to be able to make informed decisions on site-specific areas and the value these areas contribute to the broader landscape and ecological story.   The ecological value of open space in council areas, including backyards is poorly understood or conserved.  These areas are valuable refuges that sustain native flora and fauna within urban areas.  Studies have shown that the response of native fauna to modification of habitat in urban areas differs significantly from response in rural areas.   While ecological planning principles are well developed for application in rural landscapes, urban areas have received much less attention, both in Australia and internationally.

This project was undertaken to develop a tool for the City of Tea Tree Gully to enable them to assess the ecological value of open space to aid in making planning and development decisions.   

What we did
Existing Geographical Information Systems data sets in conjunction with high resolution 4-band remotely sensed imagery were utilised to identify areas of open space within the council area.  The use of imagery enabled the identification of large areas of open space in adjoining residential gardens. We scored the site characteristics and the site relationships to value each area. 

By combining the site characteristics and site relationships, the resulting map depicts the potential ecological value of all open spaces within the council area. 

What we achieved
The resulting maps and report provided the council with a framework and methodology of how to prioritise open space from an ecological perspective and provided the information required for them to write a strategy to best conserve the ecological richness of the area and gave recommendations to conserve and improve ecological value when planning new development.  It also demonstrated ways that the map could be improved by incorporating further detail such as incorporating a soil survey, lighting and other impacts to fauna and habitat complexities such as availability of hollows for animal refuge.

Contact: Mark Drew