Land condition assessment tool : data analysis - March 2020 to March 2022

Abstract

The Land Condition Assessment Tool (LCAT) has been developed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), Management Practice Adoption team (MPA)—a component of the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (Paddock to Reef or P2R)—within the Rural Economic Development (RED) business group.
The LCAT supports Queensland and Australian Government sustainable land management initiatives overseen by DAF, Resources and DES, as well as Natural Resource Management organisations, P2R delivery partners and others. The MPA has facilitated access to, and the state-wide implementation of the LCAT to a range of government and non-government organisations engaged in sustainable land management initiatives.
From implementation in March 2020 to March 2022, 3,666 land condition assessment sites have been collected by more than 200 users state-wide. This is the largest contemporary land condition dataset in Australia and is expected to grow at more than 1500 sites per year.
High level analysis of Site data indicates impacts on productivity and sustainability including species composition change, loss of perennial pasture density, soil erosion and presence of pest plants.
A high-level summary of findings is contained in Part 1. An explanation and key notes on land condition indicators and their values are available throughout the document.