Victorian Wetland Inventory (Current)

Polygons showing the extent and types of wetlands in Victoria. WETLAND_CURRENT was created in 2013 and was derived from WETLAND_1994 (the state's first wetland geospatial inventory) and several local and regional wetland datasets. A number of updates have occurred to the dataset during 2014, 2017 and 2021. The 2014 update incorporated new regional mapping, some supplementary mapping and repositioning of planimetrically inaccurate wetlands. Supplementary mapping involved identifying and delineating wetlands which had not previously been mapped, but did not modify the extent of existing wetlands. It was undertaken primarily using aerial photograph interpretation (photos from 2007 to 2011) supplemented with existing geospatial datasets that provided context and informed the identification of wetland boundaries (e.g. vegetation mapping, topography). Wetlands were classified (according to the new classification framework) into primary categories based on wetland system type, salinity regime, water regime, water source, dominant vegetation and wetland origin. The 2017 update improved the accuracy of the layer by updating wetland mapping and attributes in the Melbourne area and for alpine bogs and fens in East and West Gippsland catchment regions. It also involved correcting inaccurate classification attributes and correcting wetland polygons for individual wetlands based on new data and feedback from wetland inventory users. The 2021 update incorporates new mapping and refinements to existing wetland polygons for several regional wetland datasets. These include Tootgarook Swamp, Alpine Bogs, Mitchell River Floodplain Wetlands, Melbourne Water Billabongs and Mallee CMA Wetlands. The dataset currently consists of 38,799 polygons totalling 784,120 ha.