Benchmarking Urban Vegetation Cover: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

The aim of this research was to understand the spatial distribution of urban vegetation, focusing on tree canopy cover, and its relationship with land-use; and to produce rich and targeted information to support decision making in practice. To do this we combined high resolution vegetation cover mapping with land-use data at the modified Mesh Block scale. The separation of the street network from the ABS Mesh Block allows detailed and accurate measurement of the major land-use types that contribute to vegetation cover in cities: residential land; parkland; and streets. This allows us to analyse existing tree canopy cover across the metropolitan regions of Melbourne, Perth and Sydney and its relationship to land use. In Perth and Melbourne, where we have multiple time points of data, it also allows us to interrogate change over time. This provides a critical evidence base to support decisionmaking, strategy and policy formation, and to underpin action for improved management of urban vegetation