Print

Identification

Field Value

Title

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index

Alternative title(s)

NSW HI Index

Abstract

What is the NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index?

The NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index is an estimate of terrestrial habitat intactness relative to an estimated natural, unmodified and intact state. The index potentially ranges from areas where habitat remains relatively intact and unmodified (HI = 1.0), through to areas where natural habitat has been completely removed or replaced (HI = 0.0). Intact habitats provide the resources native species need to persist, as individuals and together as populations and ecosystems, and allows them to adapt to changes in their environment or respond to threats. Habitat that remains relatively intact and well-connected is expected to support a greater proportion of its original or potential diversity, thereby contributing to the integrity and resilience of ecosystems and the persistence of biodiversity.

How are the data created?

The NSW HI Index combines direct measures of remotely sensed vegetation cover with measures inferred from a range of relevant data sources. Inputs are synthesised using expert understandings of what each input provides and the quality of its data. In some instances, habitat characteristics can be directly measured, such as the loss of natural vegetation cover using remotely sensed products. In other cases, characteristics are only inferred from available proxy information. The NSW HI Index has been developed in the context of scarce, incomplete and constantly evolving data availability and the reliability of the model will vary across space, spatial scales, environments and the habitat characteristics present at any location.

What data are available?

Data are initially available annually from 2017, currently with a two-year time lag for the most recent layer due to the availability of the relative persistent green cover metric. Data for other periods may be generated as needed. The model provides a near-complete statewide estimate of habitat intactness but is limited by the data available at the time of each assessment, and its accuracy, currency and completeness.

Data details:

  • Data type: raster, GeoTIFF, 32bit floating point
  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

What can the data be used for?

The NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index currently underpins the Biodiversity Indicator Program’s ecological condition of terrestrial habitat indicator that is reported in the NSW Biodiversity Outlook Report. The NSW HI Index is the primary spatial input to the NSW Neighbourhood Habitat Intactness (NHI) Index and the NSW Habitat Link Value (HLV) Index which currently underpin the Biodiversity Indicator Program’s ecological carrying capacity and ecological connectivity indicators respectively.

The NSW HI Index has supported state and regional biodiversity assessments including regional conservation initiatives, habitat connectivity, native vegetation management and threatened species assessments. It has also been used for assessing climate change risks and adaptation opportunities for ecosystem and species level diversity under the NSW adaptation strategy. The index has helped to inform NSW Saving our Species investment in landscape managed species. It can be used to assess ecological costs or benefits of alternative management actions in terms of biodiversity outcomes. It is expected that the NSW HI Index will continue to be developed and utilised in a broadening range of applications.

Resource locator

Data Quality Statement

Name: Data Quality Statement

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

Data quality statement for NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index Information Sheet v1

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index Information Sheet v1

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains an information sheet

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2022

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2022

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains a 32bit floating point raster

  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2021

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2021

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains a 32bit floating point raster

  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2020

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2020

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains a 32bit floating point raster

  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2019

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2019

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains a 32bit floating point raster

  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2018

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2018

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains a 32bit floating point raster

  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

Function: download

NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2017

Name: NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index 2017

Protocol: WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download

Description:

This item contains a 32bit floating point raster

  • CRS: EPSG:3577 - GDA94 / Australian Albers
  • Pixel size: 90 x 90m
  • Pixel values: 0.0 (lowest HI) to 1.0 (highest HI)
  • Null value: -9999

Function: download

Unique resource identifier

Code

c511fce5-078c-49c8-b18b-0ccbb0bfb11b

Presentation form

Map digital

Edition

1

Dataset language

English

Metadata standard

Name

ISO 19115

Edition

2016

Dataset URI

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/opendata/dataset/c511fce5-078c-49c8-b18b-0ccbb0bfb11b

Purpose

Legislative and regulatory requirements. Assessment, forecasting, planning.

Status

On going

Spatial representation type

grid

Spatial reference system

Code identifying the spatial reference system

4283

Spatial resolution

90 m

Additional information source

Love J., Drielsma M.J., Williams K.J. & Thapa R. (2020) Integrated model–data fusion approach to measuring habitat condition for ecological integrity reporting: Implementation for habitat condition indicators, Biodiversity Indicator Program Implementation Report, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment NSW, Sydney, Australia.

DCCEEW (2025) Updating habitat condition indicators: implementation report supporting the NSW biodiversity outlook report 2024, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Parramatta, Australia.

Classification of spatial data and services

Field Value

Topic category

environment

Keywords

Field Value

Keyword set

keyword value

ECOLOGY-Habitat

VEGETATION

ECOLOGY-Landscape

Originating controlled vocabulary

Title

ANZLIC Search Words

Reference date

2008-05-16

Geographic location

NSW Place Name

New South Wales

Vertical extent information

Minimum value

-100

Maximum value

2228

Coordinate reference system

Authority code

urn:ogc:def:cs:EPSG::

Code identifying the coordinate reference system

5711

Temporal extent

Begin position

2017-01-01

End position

N/A

Dataset reference date

Resource maintenance

Maintenance and update frequency

Annually

Contact info

Contact position

Data Broker

Organisation name

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Full postal address

NSW

Australia

data.broker@environment.nsw.gov.au

Telephone number

131555

Email address

data.broker@environment.nsw.gov.au

Web address

https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/dcceew

Responsible party role

pointOfContact

Quality and validity

Field Value

Lineage

The NSW Habitat Intactness (HI) Index is estimated using a heuristic approach to predict the amount and quality of habitat at the site level. A 90x90m raster grid is used as the unit in which to assign HI values across NSW using a range of data inputs and expert interpretation of their relationship.

The input data include:

*National parks and public conservation: National parks and other conservation areas (i.e. NPWS estate).

*TSR proportion - Proportion of each 90m grid cell that is part of a travelling stock reserve (TSR).

*Terrain ruggedness - Local variation in elevation.

*Weighted distance to water - The distance to water weighted by the stream order of the nearest waterway.

*Relative persistent green cover - Persistent green cover scaled relative to intact vegetation type benchmarks.

*Soil resilience index - Soil resilience derived from land systems and key soil properties.

*Natural woodiness - Predicted original woody cover expected to have occurred at each pixel location.

*Seasonal cover disturbance index - Seasonal vegetation cover disturbance levels between 1987 and 2017.

*Nativeness - Estimate of vegetation ‘nativeness’ especially groundcover from land use.

"Model inputs were either categorical or continuous valued raster data types. Categorical inputs ... act as conditional operators with discrete classes either allocated condition weights or used to moderate the contributions of other inputs. Continuous inputs, all with pixel values ranging from 0 (zero) to 1, were multiplied by weighting factors that determine their potential to down-weight condition in the model. Weighted inputs were then added to their factor’s complement before being combined multiplicatively" (DCCEEW 2025). For further details about the method please refer to Love et al. 2020 and DCCEEW (2025). In particular, Figure 3 in DCCEEW (2025) represents how model inputs were combined.

Constraints related to access and use

Field Value

Constraint set

Use constraints

This data is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. Attribute 'NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water' in publications using this data.

Limitations on public access

Responsible organisations

Field Value

Responsible party

Contact position

Data Broker

Organisation name

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Full postal address

NSW

Australia

data.broker@environment.nsw.gov.au

Telephone number

131555

Email address

data.broker@environment.nsw.gov.au

Web address

https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/dcceew

Responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Field Value

Metadata point of contact

Contact position

Data Broker

Organisation name

NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Full postal address

NSW

Australia

data.broker@environment.nsw.gov.au

Telephone number

131555

Email address

data.broker@environment.nsw.gov.au

Web address

https://www.nsw.gov.au/departments-and-agencies/dcceew

Responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata date

2025-11-14T03:33:00.199207

Metadata language