What is it all about?

This investment seeks to geographically identify and map fundamental industry information such as variety, planting date, management, and productivity of tree orchards. This collation of information will directly assist market access, traceability, biosecurity response, yield forecasting, carbon storage, regeneration and drought resilience.

Known as the Australian Tree Crop Map (available here), the map has established a new benchmark on the adoption of spatial data through effective multi-industry collaboration. The spatial layer has not only given each participating industry a greater understanding of their size, distribution and annual change, but has been well adopted and used for mapping the impacts of natural disasters (flood, cyclones and bushfires), directing labour forces, improved traceability, biosecurity preparedness and productivity forecasting.

This next phase of research will see the Australian Tree Crop Map expanded with additional industry information such as variety, planting date, management, productivity, and more.

Horticulture peak industry bodies Avocados Australia, Australian Banana Growers’ Council, Citrus Australia and Australian Macadamia Society are all partnering in this mapping research.