NatureKit Layers & Datasets

Datasets for download are meant for users who want to create their own map using GIS software. They contain the geometry and attributes of a layer. Most dataset packages for download also contain an ArcGIS layer file with a suggested symbology that can be applied to the dataset. There is no prescribed way of symbolising Biodiversity layers. We are using ColorBrewer for most of NatureKit's layers.

To print a symbolised map from NatureKit: go to General Tools Tab > Map with Legend or Map Window Only. Maps on NatureKit are optimised for screen display, which requires a lower resolution than is typical for printed products. As a consequence, maps printed from NatureKit may look slightly fuzzy.

NaturePrint products and tools support effective biodiversity investment and management decisions.

NaturePrint's Strategic Biodiversity Values (SBV) layer provides a means to rank and compare relative biodiversity importance of Victorian locations. NaturePrint’s Strategic Management Prospects (SMP) layers show where there is potential to achieve the most biodiversity benefit from management actions.

Find more information on each of the NaturePrint layers below.

Visit  Choosing actions for Nature for more information and guidance on how to use SMP information for different purposes.

The Strategic Biodiversity Values (SBV) layer ranks all locations across Victoria for their ability to represent threatened (VROT) vertebrate fauna, vascular flora, and the full range of Victoria’s native vegetation on a scale of 0 to 100.

SBV combines information on important areas for threatened flora and fauna, levels of depletion, connectivity, vegetation types and condition to provide a view of relative biodiversity importance of all parts of the Victorian landscape, enabling comparison of locations across Victoria.

Published in December 2017 

Download the SBV v4.0 raster dataset from Datashare

The Mean Cost-effectiveness Rank map is the summary map to inform strategic biodiversity management decisions in Victoria. It shows where biodiversity management actions will achieve the highest benefit to the most species across Victoria on a scale of 0 to 100. This is a mean rank value calculated for each pixel, not an area-based measure; the mean cost-effectiveness rank for individual pixels cannot be added together.

Because it is a mean value, lower ranked places may still have high values for one or more actions. Use this layer as a general guide to where management actions will provide high biodiversity benefits, but also check the Benefit-Cost layers to see the ranking of individual actions.

To see the mean cost-effectiveness rank of all relevant SMP actions at a location: turn on the Mean Cost-effectiveness Rank layer > click on an area of interest.

Published in July 2023 as SMP version 4.

Visit  Choosing actions for Nature for more information on SMP and the SMP layers.

Learn more about the targets of Biodiversity 2037.

Approximately 1,000 SMP Summary Areas were chosen to provide information at an appropriate biodiversity scale – not so large as to blend the key stories, and not so small as to be influenced by the scale limitations of the data.

They follow existing environmental patterns such as bioregions and ecological vegetation groups, as well as patterns of land-use, threats and biodiversity benefits in the SMP data.

Turn on the SMP by Summary Area layer > click on an area of interest.

Each summary area includes a pop-up table of ranked actions for the selected area and a html report. The SMP Summary Area reports describe the best biodiversity management actions and where to carry them out within the Summary Area, a list of species within that area and each species’ response to the SMP landscape-scale actions.

Published in July 2023 as SMP verison 4.

Visit  Choosing actions for Nature for more information on SMP and the SMP layers.

SMP reports for custom project areas can in some cases be negotiated by DEECA or other Victorian Government agencies to inform improvements to biodiversity outcomes. This is a restricted service because of the data-intensive nature of the analysis. For more information, contact nature.print@deeca.vic.gov.au

This topic is organised by type of management action. To inspect values at a specific location, turn on the layer and click on the map. For most actions, the following layers are displayed:

The Threat layer shows where action-related landscape-scale threats are likely to occur across Victoria, represented through spatial models of threat likelihood and expressed on a scale of 1 to 100.

The Benefit of Action layer shows the biodiversity benefit of the respective action at the selected location, relative to all actions across all locations as a ranking between 1 and 100.

The Cost of Action layer shows an indicative cost for the respective action in $ per hectare per year, considering variations across Victoria due to travel, terrain and other factors.

The Benefit-Cost layer shows the cost-effectiveness of the respective action, relative to all actions across all locations on a scale of 1 to 100. Use this layer for planning biodiversity projects. Actions in the Top 15% will broadly align with the Biodiversity 2037 targets for individual actions and are expected to provide biodiversity benefits for as many species as possible across Victoria.

To find the highest-ranked actions surrounding a location, turn on the SMP Summary by Area layer and click on your area of interest. Use the Results Table or the Summary Area Report to see all relevant ranked actions.

Visit  Choosing actions for Nature for more information on SMP and the SMP layers, including user guides.

Download Benefit and Benefit-Cost layers from NatureKit: activate the layer in the layer list > click on a location where SMP data is available > select Download in pop-up.

The SMP Habitat Distribution Models (HDMs) show the predicted habitat suitability of a location for a listed species on a scale of 1 to 100. Higher values indicate a greater likelihood of suitability; lower values were considered unlikely to be suitable habitat for the species and were removed from the model. SMP HDMs are used for biodiversity management. They should not be used for native vegetation regulation. About half of listed species of terrestrial vertebrates and vascular flora have models available in NatureKit.

NatureKit is using an on-demand data repository to manage the large number of SMP HDMs. To add an HDM to the map: go to SMP & Habitat Maps Tab > Add Habitat Maps > Start typing a species name into the search box and tick an SMP HDM model from the suggested list. The selected models will be added as 'User added layers' in the Layer List.

Expand the FAQ & Troubleshooting within the tool to see advice on how to reorder map layers, remove user-added models and how to find information in sparse HDMs.

Download SMP HDMs from NatureKit: add the model to the map (see above) > click on a location where SMP HDM data is available > select Download in pop-up

The Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA) is a dataset for multi-disciplinary species occurrence observations. The data available in Naturekit is a snapshot and only those records that indicate presence or abundance of the species identified and have been vetted by species specialists. Please check the version date of the records to confirm when the data was last shared.

Due to the large amount of observations in the VBA, NatureKit is currently showing in its Layer List only threatened sensitive and non-sensitive observations. Sensitive species locations are represented as an approximate location polygon of 1-minute-grid size (approx. 1.8 x 1.5 km) and certain attribute information is withheld. At scales above 1:500,000, non-sensitive flora and fauna observations are shown as sites without attribute information. At 1:500,000 and below, observation points are displayed with on-click attribute information, species image (if available) and shading by year of observation.

To filter threatened species by characteristics and location: VBA Species Observations Tab > Filter Species

While NatureKit does not visualise non-threatened species, it is possible to extract a list of all VBA species for an area: go to VBA Species Observations Tab > Download from all Observations. Datashare (link below) provides an explanation of attribute column names used in the extracted csv list. At the moment, NatureKit does not offer an option to view the distribution of non-threatened species. You can create your own distribution map in a GIS software using the datasets provided for download on Datashare.

Please see the NatureKit user guide for further information on species observations tools.

For more information, including data on where species absence has been recorded, visit the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas

Download from NatureKit using the species observations tools or download complete datasets from Datashare

The VBA Taxa List contains a snapshot of published taxa names from the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas. When VBA flora and fauna observations are updated in NatureKit, we also process name changes for all drop down menus of NatureKit's tools and model zip file names. Differences in species names may occur between names used in NatureKit and within SMP reports. To look a name or Taxon-ID up: go to VBA Species Observations Tab > Species Name Lookup

Download the VBA Taxa List direct from the VBA

Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) are the standard unit for classifying vegetation types in Victoria. EVCs are described through a combination of floristics, lifeforms and ecological characteristics, and through an inferred fidelity to specific environmental attributes. Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC) benchmarks relate to a single EVC within one bioregion. They have been developed to assess the vegetation quality of EVCs at the site scale in comparison to a 'benchmark' condition. Some EVCs may not have a benchmark assessment because they were classified as a complex/mosaic/aggregate at the scale used for the assessment. In these cases, find the EVC benchmark assessment for each EVC in the combination, or an on-ground assessment to decide the best fit.

The combination of EVC and bioregion is used to determine the bioregional conservation status (BCS) of an EVC. This is a measure of the current extent and quality for each EVC, when compared to its original (pre-1750) extent and condition. On this basis a BioEVC will have a BCS of endangered, vulnerable, depleted, least concern or rare.

To View EVCs in NatureKit: turn on the 2005 EVC Layer > click on an area on the map where EVC data is present (EVC geometry is large, it may take a moment for the pop-up with attribute information to load).

In NatureKit, optimised for desktop screen display, EVC visualisation differs depending on the selected scale. At 1:100,000 and below, EVCs show detailed subgroup information with a detailed legend. At scale levels above 1:100,000, EVC display and legend are summarised in supergroups. This means creating a map that shows a large area of Victoria will not display EVCs in subgroup detail - you can create your own map in a GIS software using the EVC geometry and attributes provided by the download link. At scales of 1:25,000 and below EVC abbreviation labels show. Since many EVCs are very small, full names cannot be displayed. Download a legend with EVC abbreviations and names here.

When printing EVC maps in NatureKit, select the 'Legend on next page option': General Tools Tab > Map with Legend. Legends are long since they display all EVCs in Victoria, not just the ones in your selected area.

More on EVCs and Bioregions

Download from Datashare

This layer represents the modelled extent of Ecological Vegetation Classes in 1750 (EVC's as described by Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Division).

More information on EVCs and Bioregions

Download from Datashare

This dataset delineates Victorian biogeographic regions that capture the patterns of ecological characteristics in the landscape, providing a natural framework for recognising and responding to biodiversity values.

More on EVCs and Bioregions

Most current public version as of August 2020

Download from Datashare

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) version 6.1 represents a landscape-based approach to classifying the land surface of Australia. 85 biogeographic regions and 405 sub regions have been delineated, each reflecting a unifying set of major environmental influences which shape the occurrence of flora and fauna and their interaction with the physical environment across Australia.

The IBRA Version 6.1 data consists of two datasets.  IBRA bioregions, which is a larger scale regional classification of homogenous ecosystems, and sub regions, which are more localised.

Version 6.1 created October 2018

More information on and download from environment.gov.au

This data series is a set of spatial maps describing importance of suitable habitat within the current extent of native vegetation for rare or threatened species. These maps have been developed for use in the native vegetation removal regulations. Thresholds have been applied to the maps because lower likelihood areas do not receive species-specific consideration in the assessment process. Habitat importance is ranked for dispersed species; for highly localised habitats it is equal across the map.

NatureKit is using an on-demand data repository to manage the large number of NVR2017-HIMs. To add a HIM to the map: go to SMP & Habitat Maps Tab > Add Habitat Maps > Start typing a species name into the search box and tick a NVR2017-HIM map from the suggested list. The selected maps will be added as 'User added layers' in the Layer List.

Expand the FAQ & Troubleshooting within the tool to see advice on how to reorder map layers, remove user-added maps and how to find information in sparse maps.

Most current public version as of August 2020

More information on NVR2017-HIMs

Download all HIMs from Datashare or individual HIMs from NatureKit: add the map (see above) > click on a location where NVR2017-HIM data is available > select Download in pop-up.

Victorian Land Cover provides a consistent through time, whole-of-state, spatial land cover data set for 7 epochs (1987-1990, 1990-1995, 1995-2000, 2000-2005, 2005-2010, 2010-2015 and 2015-19). The dataset uses Landsat satellite imagery and local calibration data. It gives users a snapshot of the current and previous type of cover over different areas. That cover can include native forests, bushland, wetlands, farmland, land used for recreation, and built up areas, including towns and cities.

Last update in 2020

More information on Land Cover

Download from Datashare

The Target Landscape Map ranks locations in Victoria according to their potential to concurrently deliver biodiversity and carbon benefits. A very high rank means that revegetation will deliver very high benefits for carbon and very high benefits for biodiversity. Revegetation in a moderate rank location will deliver at least a moderate benefit for both carbon and biodiversity but may deliver a high or very high benefit for either carbon or biodiversity.

More information on BushBank

Last revision in March 2022

Download layer from Datashare

Download attribute combination table for Target Landscapes, Carbon Value Rank and  Biodiversity Value Rank from Datashare

The Carbon Value Rank was developed from the carbon sequestration and storage potential of different vegetation types using modelled extent of Ecological Vegetation Classes in 1750 and the typical canopy structure.

More information on BushBank

Last revision in March 2022

Download from Datashare

The Biodiversity Value Rank was developed from DEECA’s Strategic Management Prospects revegetation benefit model that predicts the benefits of suitable revegetation to 4,200 species and preferences connectivity.

More information on BushBank

Last revision in March 2022

Download from Datashare

Biotope Records Classified at Habitat Level 3, Victorian Biotope Atlas

This layer is consumed from the DEECA CoastKit application.

Please visit DEECA Marine and Coastal Knowledge for more information.

Reference Maps contain several DEECA corporate datasets. Users can suggest additional reference datasets to be included into NatureKit if they are in the DEECA public domain.

Reference maps were last updated in March 2020 from the DEECA corporate library.

The Bathymetry layer is a combination of different datasets that we do not distribute for download.