Aligning quantitative vegetation classification and landscape scale mapping: updating the classification approach of the Regional Ecosystem classification system used in Queensland

Abstract

Vegetation classification systems form a base for conservation management and the ecological exploration of the patterns and drivers of species' distributions. A standardised system crossing administrative and geographical boundaries is widely recognised as most useful for broad-scale management. The Queensland Government, recognising this, uses the Regional Ecosystem (RE) classification system and accompanying mapping as a state-wide standardised vegetation classification system. This system informs legislation and policy at local, state and national levels, underpinning decisions that have wide-ranging implications for biodiversity and people's livelihoods. It therefore needs to be robust from a scientific and legal perspective. The current approach in the RE system for identifying vegetation communities relies on expert-based class definition procedures. This is in contrast to best practice, which is based on quantitative procedures. This paper discusses the RE system in a global context and outlines the updated approach that incorporates quantitative class definition procedures, synthesises the research behind the updated approach and discusses its implications and implementation.

Australian advances in vegetation classification and the need for a national, science-based approach

“…An overview of how State-based plot-based vegetation data (the Northern Territory's in this case), together with an assessment of how well data can be utilised for attribution to the National Vegetation Classification System, is provided by Lewis et al (2021b). Addicott et al (2021) provides a review of the updated classification approach of the Regional Ecosystem (RE) mapping program used in Queensland. The RE's are placed in the context of classification systems globally, and an explanation given as to how expert v. quantitatively derived vegetation classes are incorporated in mapping (Addicott et al 2021).…”

“…Addicott et al (2021) provides a review of the updated classification approach of the Regional Ecosystem (RE) mapping program used in Queensland. The RE's are placed in the context of classification systems globally, and an explanation given as to how expert v. quantitatively derived vegetation classes are incorporated in mapping (Addicott et al 2021). The paper also provides an up-to-date review of classification and cluster evaluation methods in Australia and internationally.…”

“…2.0-1, D. W. Roberts, see https://CRAN.R-project.org/ package=labdsv; vegclust, ver. 1.6.5, M. De Cáceres and S. K. Wiser, see https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/ vegclust/index.html); JUICE, which handles large datasets (>100 000 plots) (Tichý 2002;Chytrý and Tichý 2018;Addicott et al 2021); PRIMER-e (see https://www.primere.com/), which does not require use of a command line (Lewis et al 2021a) and PATN (see https://patn.org/), which can also handle large datasets (>30 000 plots) (Belbin 1993;Luxton et al 2021). This complexity has likely been a barrier to numerical methods being used to ascribe vegetation types in Australia, although intuitive approaches may have benefits over numerical when the purpose is to create broad map units in wooded systems.…”

“…This complexity has likely been a barrier to numerical methods being used to ascribe vegetation types in Australia, although intuitive approaches may have benefits over numerical when the purpose is to create broad map units in wooded systems. In this case, herbaceous species will influence classification results but have a low correlation with remotely sensed patterns (Neldner and Howitt 1991;Addicott et al 2021). Complexity has also been a barrier to the use of numerical methods in policy and regulatory frameworks and can make the synthesis of historic with current datasets, and across jurisdictional boundaries difficult (Gellie and Hunter 2021;Luxton et al 2021;Muldavin et al 2021).…”

Poplar box woodlands of Eastern Australia: an assessment of a threatened ecological community within the IVC framework

“…Within QLD communities are defined as regional ecosystems (RE) that are classified at a thematic level considered equivalent to association. Unlike traditional concepts of an association, which strongly emphasize floristics, REs in QLD are named based firstly on the bioregion (IBRA7; Thackway and Cresswell 1995) in which they occur, secondarily by geology, landform and soils and only thirdly by the most dominant stratum in terms of biomass (not height) and then dominant floristics within strata (Gellie et al 2018;Addicott et al 2021). The approach is mapping based and created predominantly through expert opinion, with more than 1300 types currently defined (Gellie et al 2018), although recently quantitative classification approaches are being implemented (Addicott et al 2018;Addicott et al 2021).…”