2023–24 SLATS Report
Statewide overview
Key findings
- At the start of the 2023–24 monitoring period, Queensland had 94,906,180 hectares (ha) of woody vegetation with greater than 10% crown cover. This is about 54.9% of Queensland’s land area.
- In the 2023–24 monitoring period, 274,616ha of woody vegetation was affected by clearing activity. This is a 17% decrease in clearing activity from 2022–23 (332,015ha) and about two-and-half times less clearing activity than was reported in 2018–19.
- Of the total clearing activity, 233,253ha (85%) resulted in full removal of the woody vegetation. This is a decrease of 14% in full clearing from 2022–23. The remaining 41,363ha of clearing activity in 2023–24 was partial clearing.
- In the 2023–24 monitoring period, 61,741ha of new regrowth was mapped.
- At the end of the 2023–24 monitoring period, Queensland had 94,734,668ha of woody vegetation, about 54.8% of Queensland. Accounting for losses due to full clearing activity, and gains due to new regrowth, this represents a net reduction of 171,512ha in the extent of the state’s woody vegetation for the monitoring period.
Clearing activity
Clearing activity 2018–19 to 2023–24
Area of clearing activity.
- Full clearing refers to areas which have been converted from woody to non-woody (i.e. less than 10% crown cover remains).
- Partial (major) are clearing areas where the woody vegetation has been significantly modified but remains woody (i.e. greater than 10% crown cover remains but more than 50% of the area has been affected by the clearing).
- Partial (minor) are clearing areas where some modification of the woody vegetation has occurred, remaining woody (i.e. greater than 10% crown cover remains but less than 50% of the area has been affected by the clearing).
Spatial distribution of clearing activity 2023–24
Regrowth
Regrowth 2019–20 to 2023–24
Area of new regrowth.
- Regrowth are new woody vegetation areas which have regrown sufficiently to be added to the SLATS woody extent. Regrowth was not reported in 2018–19.
Spatial distribution of regrowth 2023–24
Woody vegetation extent change
Transaction summary 2023–24
| Category | Gain (ha) | Loss (ha) | Balance (ha) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening balance August 2023 | - | - | 94,929,187 |
| Adjustment | 4,756 | -27,763 | 94,906,180 |
| Crop | 4,795 | -3,037 | 94,907,937 |
| Forestry | 3,108 | -5,865 | 94,905,180 |
| Infrastructure | 44 | -3,178 | 94,902,047 |
| Mine | 878 | -7,025 | 94,895,900 |
| Pasture | 52,856 | -213,154 | 94,735,602 |
| Settlement | 61 | -994 | 94,734,668 |
| Closing balance August 2024 | - | - | 94,734,668 |
This transaction summary shows the opening balance of woody vegetation at the start of the 2023–24 monitoring period, the losses due to clearing activity that resulted in the full removal of the woody vegetation, and the gains due to new regrowth, for each landcover replacement class. A closing balance at the end of the 2023–24 monitoring period is provided.
Loss and gain adjustments are made to correct for areas in the SLATS woody extent that have been identified in the 2024–25 monitoring period as areas that are not woody or were woody and missed in the original SLATS baseline (or subsequent updates to the baseline). The loss adjustment also includes clearing that was missed in the preceding monitoring period and identified through the mapping process for the current monitoring period. These adjustments to the woody extent and small amounts of missed clearing are expected as additional imagery becomes available to be able to verify woody and non-woody areas. The adjustments ensure the woody extent is maintained to be as accurate as possible based on the available imagery. Further, any natural changes that result in a full and persistent removal of woody vegetation are included in the loss adjustment. This includes woody vegetation removal from landslides, and some areas of flood and cyclone damage. It does not include fire-related loss as this is considered a temporary loss.
Re-processing of the woody vegetation extent at the conclusion of each SLATS monitoring period to incorporate the new clearing and regrowth mapping data can lead to minor differences between previously reported figures and figures presented in this report. This is mostly due to data filtering and cleansing operations, as well as the conversion of the data to raster for reporting. This difference can be most apparent in the transaction summary where the woody vegetation extent closing balance of the previous monitoring period may not be identical to the opening balance of the current monitoring period. These differences equate to a fraction of one percent difference in the total extent of woody vegetation in Queensland that is mapped by SLATS.