As part of the Dendrobium Terrestrial Ecology Monitoring Program, our ecologists measure and monitor ecological values and indicators for Coastal Upland Swamps in the Sydney Basin Bioregion (Upland Swamps) listed as Endangered under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
“The Niche GIS team are currently investigating exciting new multiple criteria analysis workflows to further automate the delineation of swamp boundaries using canopy height, canopy density and vegetation moisture index.”
Loren Laughlan, Experienced Consultant – GIS, Bulli

The Niche GIS team conducted spatial analysis on LiDAR data received from South32 to detect upland swamp extents by first modelling swamp vegetation sub-community types based on a differential Canopy Height Model (CHM).
The Niche GIS team ran the analysis workflow on LiDAR data spanning seven years, the duration of the monitoring program from its beginning. The team assembled the results of the analysis into an ArcGIS dashboard that enabled time series analysis for visualisation of swamp boundary changes over time and graphed the comparisons of swamp area across the seven-year span.
The development of a central, web-based ArcGIS dashboard has been integral in the sharing of information among the project team as well as with our client, South32. The dashboard enables the team to consume the results of the analysis in a new, more efficient and dynamic way.
To find out more, read our project case study: Dendrobium Terrestrial Ecology Monitoring Program – GIS
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