2022–23 SLATS Report
Key findings
Statewide overview
- At the end of the 2022–23 monitoring period, Queensland had 94,928,709ha of woody vegetation. This represents a net reduction of 186,694ha in the extent of the state’s woody vegetation for the monitoring period.
- At the start of the 2022–23 monitoring period, Queensland had 95,115,403 hectares (ha) of woody vegetation with greater than 10% crown cover. This is about 55% of Queensland’s land area.
- In the 2022–23 monitoring period, 332,015ha of woody vegetation was affected by clearing activity. This is a 3% increase in clearing activity from 2021–22 (323,676ha) but less than the annual totals reported for the monitoring periods from 2018–19 to 2020–21.
- Of the total clearing activity, 271,343ha (82%) resulted in full removal of the woody vegetation. This is a slight increase of 1% in full clearing from 2021–22. The remaining 60,672ha of clearing activity in 2022–23 was partial clearing.
- In the 2022–23 monitoring period, 84,649ha of new regrowth was mapped.
Statewide breakdown—clearing activity
- Clearing activity in Category X areas accounted for 77% (254,647ha) of the total clearing activity in Queensland, a similar figure to 2021–22 (252,538ha). Most of this resulted in full removal of the woody vegetation (231,435ha or 91% of all Category X clearing activity).
- About 21% (70,799ha) of the statewide clearing activity was in Category B (remnant) areas—an 8% increase from 2021–22 (65,776ha). Half of this Category B clearing activity (50% or 35,328ha) resulted in full removal of the woody vegetation.
- About 1% (4,728ha) of the statewide clearing activity was in Category C (high-value regrowth vegetation), a 30% increase from 2021–22 (3,624ha). Less than 1% (1,725ha) was in Category R (regrowth watercourse area), a similar figure to 2021–22 (1,607ha).
- About 1% (3,040ha) of the statewide clearing activity was in areas that have endangered regional ecosystems present, a 21% increase from 2021–22 (2,508ha). About 4% (12,786ha) of the clearing activity was in areas that have of concern regional ecosystems, and 18% (59,125ha) was in areas that have least concern regional ecosystems present, both increases from 2021–22.
- Of the state’s 13 bioregions, the Brigalow Belt (49% or 161,082ha) and Mulga Lands (22% or 73,883ha) together accounted for nearly three-quarters (71%) of the state’s woody vegetation clearing activity. This is consistent with the past three SLATS reports.
- Clearing activity in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment areas accounted for 44% (147,705ha) of the state’s total clearing. This is a slight increase from 2021–22 (143,683ha). About 76% (112,478ha) of the clearing activity in GBR catchments resulted in the full removal of the woody vegetation.
- About 86% (283,918ha) of the statewide clearing activity was attributed to the pasture landcover replacement class. Of this, about 88% was full clearing. A further 6% (18,930ha) of the clearing activity was attributed to forestry. Mine activity resulted in around 2% (6,638ha) of the state’s clearing activity, while infrastructure (2,879ha), crop (2,668ha) and settlement (1,470ha) landcover replacement classes contributed less than 1% each to the state’s total clearing activity.
- About 83% (273,929ha) of the total clearing activity occurred in sparse or very sparse woody vegetation (i.e. vegetation with less than 50% crown cover). A further 17% (54,901ha) of the clearing activity occurred in mid-dense vegetation (i.e. 50–80% crown cover) which is about double the amount of clearing activity in mid-dense vegetation from 2021-22 (27,622ha).
- About 67% (221,728ha) of the total clearing activity occurred in vegetation estimated to be greater than 15 years old (refer to note). About 28% (92,311ha) of the total clearing occurred in vegetation that was estimated to be less than 15 years old. The remainder (about 5% or 17,976ha) occurred in woody vegetation where a valid ‘age since disturbance’ estimate could not be determined.
- About 66% (220,070ha) of the clearing activity is estimated to be in woody vegetation less than 5 metres (m) in height, while about 8% (26,877ha) was in vegetation between 5-10m high. A further 26% was in vegetation greater than 10m high.
Statewide breakdown—regrowth
- Of the state’s 13 bioregions, the Brigalow Belt bioregion had the greatest area of new regrowth mapped, contributing 53% (44,645ha) to the state’s total. The Mulga Lands bioregion had the next greatest area of new regrowth mapped, contributing about 18% (15,096ha) to the state’s total.
- About 89% (75,431ha) of the new regrowth mapped was attributed to the pasture landcover class, and about 7% (5,945ha) attributed to forestry. New regrowth associated with the mine (1,758ha) and crop (1,401ha) landcover classes contributed about 2% each to the area of new regrowth mapped in 2022–23. New regrowth for mine is typically associated with mine rehabilitation areas, while for crop, it is new tree crops.
- Of the new regrowth mapped, about 90% (76,371ha) was categorised as either sparse or very sparse woody vegetation, and 10% (8,267ha) as mid-dense or dense woody vegetation.
- Based on estimates of woody vegetation ‘age since disturbance’ (refer to note), 71% (60,344ha) of the new regrowth mapped was estimated to be less than 15 years old and around 26% (22,132ha) was estimated to be older than 15 years. A small proportion of the regrowth mapped (2,172ha) was not able to be assigned a valid age estimate.
Note: Since the release of 2018–19 SLATS report, the methods for estimating the age since disturbance of woody vegetation have been revised and the spatial data has been updated for all years from 2018 onwards. It is important to note that the 2018 SLATS woody vegetation extent baseline report and the 2018–19 SLATS report remain as published at the time; age since disturbance figures in those reports are based on an earlier version of the age since disturbance data. For more information on how the age since disturbance estimates are derived, refer to the SLATS methodology.
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