Snow Gum Dieback Mapping Kosciuszko National Park Resorts 2021 VIS_ID 4847

Brief description

There has been a rapid expansion of dieback in alpine snow gums (Eucalyptus niphophila) across Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) in recent years, particularly between 1600m and 1800m. Other snow gum species E. lacrimans and E. debeuzevillei have also been impacted. A scoping plan was formulated by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) to map dieback for all snow gum species which occur within sub-alpine and alpine vegetation communities. Snow gum dieback presents considerable risks for ecological degradation, park visitor safety, water supply and energy generation. NPWS sought assistance from the DPIE Science, Economics and Insights Division to map the severity of snow gum dieback using imagery and tools at their disposal. This dataset was developed for Milestone 1 of the scoping plan: mapping of the current extent and severity of snow gum dieback within alpine resort areas of KNP that have not been impacted by the 2003 fires. Thredbo, Perisher and Charlottes resorts were mapped. Selwyn was not mapped due to severe fire damage in the 2019-20 fires.

In the case of Thredbo, the KRVA 2003 provided an initial footprint and required minor editing. The KRVA 2003 was inaccurate for Perisher and Charlottes and polygons were created from scratch.

VIS_ID 4847