Basic Ecosystems

This layer was derived from three existing data layers: the Land Cover Database 2 (LCDB2) (MfE 2002); the Land Use Map (LUM) from the Land Use Carbon Analysis System (MfE 2008; Dymond et al. 2012); and EcoSat Forests (Shepherd et al. 2002). Indigenous forest classes from EcoSat Forests were combined with classes from LCDB2 to form basic ecosystems classes. Where indigenous forest was mapped by LCDB2, the type of forest was determined from the EcoSat Forests layer. The eight forest types of EcoSat Forests were reduced to three basic types: beech forest; podocarp-broadleaved forest; and mixed beech and podocarp-broadleaved forest. To produce a recent 2008 layer the LUM was used to update indigenous and exotic forest changes since 2002. The mapping was performed using 15 m pixels, which is equivalent to a mapping scale of approximately 1:50 000.