The Human Industrial Footprint (HIF) map showing the varying levels of ecosystem disturbance.
Image Credit: University of Queensland
Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Ecosystem Disturbance and Human Industrial Footprint Mapping
The Core Concept: Researchers have developed two high-resolution national datasets—the Human Industrial Footprint (HIF) and the Ecological Intactness Index (EII)—to precisely map the extent and intensity of human-driven ecosystem disturbance across the Australian continent.
Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike 30-year-old national models or generic global maps that omit region-specific operations, this spatial analysis achieves a 100-meter resolution that isolates and overlaps 16 distinct human pressures. This methodology allows for a highly accurate quantification of cumulative habitat loss, environmental strain, and landscape fragmentation.
Major Frameworks/Components:
- Human Industrial Footprint (HIF): A spatial model consolidating 16 specific environmental pressures—including mining, agriculture, public infrastructure, forestry plantations, roads, and human settlements—into a single metric of ecosystem disruption.
- Ecological Intactness Index (EII): A complementary dataset that evaluates and quantifies the resulting degree of habitat loss, baseline ecosystem quality, and physical fragmentation across the continent.
- Cumulative Strain Modeling: Utilizes a 100-meter resolution grid to calculate the compounding biological strain on environments where multiple distinct pressures (e.g., agricultural grazing intersecting with transportation infrastructure) overlap.
Branch of Science: Spatial Ecology, Conservation Biology, Environmental Science, and Geospatial Analysis.
Future Application: These datasets will directly integrate into regional land-use planning, rigorous environmental impact assessments, and climate mitigation strategies. They are designed to guide policymakers in targeting the ~30% of Australia’s remaining intact landscapes to meet the "30 by 30" Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets and the national Nature Positive Plan.
Why It Matters: Australia is facing a severe extinction crisis, with over 2,100 species and 100 ecological communities federally listed as threatened. By providing a precise, localized mechanism for estimating where and how intensely human pressures occur, conservationists and governments can proactively safeguard critical, undisturbed habitats from further industrial degradation.
University of Queensland researchers are urging governments to use newly created national data to protect the country’s last remaining ecosystems free of human pressures.
The 2 new datasets map the extent of ecosystem disturbance across the country and show while about 30 per cent of Australia is still free or almost free of human pressures, many landscapes are becoming increasingly fragmented.
Lead author Dr Ruben Venegas-Li from UQ’s School of the Environment said the publicly available datasets could be instrumental in guiding conservation planning and keeping the landscape intact.
“Australia is facing an extinction crisis with more than 2,100 species and 100 ecological communities federally listed as threatened and at least 103 species became extinct in the past 250 years,” Dr Venegas-Li said.
“We need to be making informed decisions about conservation and development to proactively protect Australia’s flora and fauna, and datasets like this are part of the solution.
“Previous national pressure maps were created more than 30 years ago, and existing global maps omit pressures relevant to the Australian context, such as mining and agricultural operations.
“These new datasets give us a consistent, national way of estimating where human pressures are occurring, how intense they are, and how they overlap.”
The Human Industrial Footprint (HIF) map consolidated 16 environmental pressures into a single, high-resolution picture of ecosystem disruption across the continent.
The 16 human pressures include: buildings, mining, farming, public infrastructure, the size of human population, forestry plantations, railways, hiking trails, roads and energy infrastructure [MB1] [RVL2].
The researchers also created a complementary Ecological Intactness Index map, quantifying the degree of habitat loss, quality, and fragmentation across the continent.
Senior author Professor James Watson said the detailed resolution in the datasets of 100 meters helped identify multiple pressures within the same area.
“Two areas might both be used for grazing, but one could also have roads, dams, nearby settlements and other infrastructure,” Professor Watson said.
“By acknowledging all these pressures on the same map, we can better understand where ecosystems are likely to be under the greatest strain and where places are still relatively free from these pressures.
“For example, the map identifies significant parts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Tasmania that are relatively free of industrial influence.
“It is increasingly important to target these last remaining intact landscapes as they are critical for safeguarding species in a time of climate change."
Dr Venegas-Li said the datasets pinpointed where efforts were needed and could support reporting and monitoring towards national and international conservation targets.
“Meeting targets like protecting 30 per cent of land by 2030 need to consider these types of maps, as they help identify critical habitat areas to conserve,” Dr Venegas-Li said.
“Both datasets should be of interest to those involved in biodiversity management when considering Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2024–2030 Nature Positive Plan, as well as its global commitments to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
“Beyond conservation policy, the HIF and EII have applications in environmental impact assessments, regional land-use planning, and climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.
“Integration into all levels of decision-making can help halt further biodiversity loss, improve connectivity between protected areas, and support sustainable development objectives.”
Reference material: What Is: Ecosystem
Published in journal: Earth System Science Data
Title: Australia's terrestrial industrial footprint and ecological intactness
Authors: Ruben Venegas-Li, Scott Atkinson, Milton Aurelio Uba de Andrade Junior, Rachel Fletcher, Peter Owen, Lucia Morales-Barquero, Bora Aska, Miguel Arias-Patino, Hedley S. Grantham, Hugh Possingham, Oscar Venter, Michelle Ward, and James E. M. Watson
Source/Credit: University of Queensland
Reference Number: eco040226_01
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