ANZLIC Metadata Profile: An Australian/New Zealand Profile of AS/NZS ISO 19115:2005, Geographic information - Metadata
Metadata Standard Version
1.1
Reference System Info
Reference System
Reference System Identifier
Identifier
Code
NZGD2000 / New Zealand Transverse Mercator 2000
Identification Info
Data Identification
Citation
Citation
Title
Environmental Limiting Factors
Date
Date
Date
Abstract
A spatial dataset identifying a set of environmental conditions that have potential to inhibit growth of newly-established woody vegetation such that it might not reach a ‘forest’ status (defined as greater than 30% cover of trees of 5 m height) within a 30-40 year timeframe.
Inclusions: temperature, moisture availability, edaphic conditions, coastal exposure, and land instability
Exclusions: herbivory, competition, external gene pools, availability of seed sources and dispersers, and also fire
Purpose
This ELF layer is designed to provide a concise evidence source to guide decision making regarding the potential for naturally regenerating species to reach the criteria for Kyoto-compliant forest. Due to the variable quality in the source data used to compile this layer it should only be considered to provide guidance and should not be used as authoritative for forest eligibility/ineligibility under any government scheme.
The approach was to examine the limiting conditions for forests or tall woody vegetation, across the major environmental gradients of temperature, moisture availability, edaphic conditions, coastal exposure, and land instability. Soils and underlying geology are generally surrogates for major thresholds in these factors. These factors are inevitably mixed so, for simplicity, they have been examined one by one and reproducible conditions defined for each environmental factor. These conditions have been matched against pre-existing databases of soil, climate, topography and land cover to produce a spatial layer of environmentally limiting factors for forest growth (ELF). Note that biotic considerations such as herbivory, competition, external gene pools, availability of seed sources and dispersers, and also fire are excluded.
Metadata Constraints
Legal Constraints
Use Limitation
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand by Ministry for the Environment
