Tumut
Indicator: Land Use
Results for this indicator are also available for [an error occurred while processing this directive]
What the results tell us for Tumut
At the time of reporting there was no current landuse data available for the Tumut Shire area for the 2008 reporting period. As such, it is unknown whether there have been any major landuse changes in the Shire since 2004.
In 2004, the main landuse in Tumut Shire was conservation, which made up 44% of the total area. The other major landuses were agriculture and timber production, comprising approximately 24% and 20% of the Shire area respectively.
How is the land being used now?
As stated above, with no available landuse data for the current reporting period it is unknown whether there have been major landuse changes in Tumut Shire since the 2004 report.
As reported in 2004, of the total Shire area (455,260 hectares), the dominant landuses at the end of the previous reporting period were conservation (44%), agriculture (24%) and timber production (20%) (see Figure 1). Tumut township, which covered 0.7% of the total Shire area, comprised the majority of urban land.
Figure 1. Major landuse in Tumut Shire, June 2004
Source: Regional 2004 State of the Environment Report
What has changed and why?
With no available landuse data for the current reporting period it is unknown whether there have been major landuse changes in the Shire area since the 2004 report.
In 2004, the major landuse change that occurred included a decrease in land under timber production and bushland with a corresponding increase in land under conservation (see Table 1). These changes followed a period of stability between the previous two reporting periods.
| Landuse Category | 1997 | 2000 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 24% | 24% | 24% |
| Bushland | 12% | 12% | 10% |
| Conservation | 38% | 38% | 44% |
| Quarries | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Timber production | 24% | 24% | 20% |
| Urban | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Waterbodies | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.4% |
Source: Regional 2004 State of the Environment Report
Agriculture
There was no current agriculture landuse data available for the Shire for the reporting period. The total amount of land under agricultural production in the Shire has remained relatively stable since 1997 (see Table 1).
Timber production
There was no current timber landuse data available for Tumut Shire for the 2008 reporting period.
It was reported in 2004 that the amount of land in the Shire area under timber production decreased by approximately 19,450 hectares (which included an increase of 100 hectares of private lands under timber production). This was primarily due to State Forest used for timber production decreasing by about 19,550 hectares. About 6,500 hectares of native hardwood forests were transferred from Forests NSW to the Department of Environment and Conservation, as part of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement (Southern RFA), to be managed for conservation. The remaining 13,050 hectares were partially rezoned to Forest Management Zone 1 (formal reserves; 540 hectares were dedicated as Micalong Swamp Flora Reserve) and Forest Management Zone 2 (informal reserves). These two forest management zones are still managed by Forests NSW but for the protection of their high or significant conservation values instead of for timber production. The native hardwood forests transferred from timber production to nature conservation landuses may have been selectively logged at some time in the past, but would generally have comprised the least productive forest.
For more information about the Southern RFA process, which was part of comprehensive regional assessments undertaken in NSW between 1997 and 2000, see www.racac.nsw.gov.au/overview/cras.shtml.
Bushland
At the time of reporting there was no current landuse data relating to bushland available for Tumut Shire.
As noted in 2004, the area of bushland decreased by about 8,700 hectares during the previous reporting period, after remaining relatively stable between 1997 and 2000 (see Table 1). The decrease in 2004 was due to bushland areas being dedicated within Mudjarn, Ellerslie and Bimberi nature reserves and Brindabella and Kosciuszko national parks.
Conservation
At the time of reporting there was no current landuse data relating to conservation available for Tumut Shire.
In 2004 the area under conservation in the Shire area increased by approximately 27,100 hectares, partially due to land transferred from timber production and other Crown lands under the Southern RFA to help develop a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system to protect forest ecosystems and conserve biodiversity.
Future planning
Tumut Shire Council has embarked on the planning reform program initiated by the NSW Government. The Shire Council has already carried out a Housing Strategy, Industrial Land Local Environment Study, Parks Strategy and a Parking Strategy. Work will commence in 2006 on strategies for:
- Rural Land Use
- Commercial Land Use and
- Environmental and Physical Constraints.
It is likely that these strategies will build on those already completed and include:
- Identification of areas suitable for extension of existing urban areas
- Opportunities for additional rural residential and small holdings areas
- Protection of prime agricultural land and environmentally sensitive lands and waters (and habitats) and
- Protection of agricultural (and forestry) production from encroachment of residential uses.
These strategies will form the basis of a Growth Strategy and a new planning instrument that will replace the 1990 Tumut Local Environment Plan.
About the data
The landuse maps and statistics reported in this section are based on data from NSW State Government agency, Council and sateillite image. The primary purpose of the mapping was to assess trends in landuse change and not to provide an accurate account of the actual areas changed.
Tumut Shire Council provided Local Environment Plan data. In general the data provided by council and State Government departments showed a higher level of detail than satellite classifications. Therefore, these layers were usually used as the primary source of data and supplemented by satellite imagery (Landsat data and SPOT VI data) as needed (mostly for agricultural landuses and bushland).
All landuse maps for Tumut Shire were provided to council for checking and correction, particularly for 2004 and 2000.
All percentages shown in this indicator are a percentage of the Shire area and not a percentage of the landuse type. The areal extents of the various landuse types (hectares) were calculated from data that had been adjusted (normalised) to take account of (usually minor) differences between the size of Tumut Shire as gazetted by council, and the size calculated from spatial data.
References
Schirmer, J, Parsons, M, Charalambou, C and Gavran, M (2005) Socio-economic Impacts of Plantation Forestry in the South West Slopes of NSW, 1991 to 2004, report produced for Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation, project no PN04.4007, Bureau of Rural Sciences, Canberra.
