Land Resources of the Katherine South Area

Index:

Metadata
Citation
Description

Dataset Status
Data Quality
Contact Information
Data Dictionary
Supplementary Information

Metadata Details:

Name:AS/NZS ISO 19115 Geographic Information - Metadata, ANZLIC Metadata Profile

Version:1.0

Date Metadata Extracted:2026-05-10

Date Metadata Last Updated:2025-07-03

Current URL (HTML format) : http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/metadata/export_data?type=html&metadata_id=38FB997FE270F11AE0632144CD9B8CCD

Current URL (XML format) : http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/metadata/export_data?type=xml&metadata_id=38FB997FE270F11AE0632144CD9B8CCD

Citation

ANZLIC Identifier:38FB997FE270F11AE0632144CD9B8CCD

Title: Land Resources of the Katherine South Area

Citation Date:2025-07-03

Date Type:creation

Custodian:Department of Lands, Planning and Environment

Description

Abstract:

This spatial dataset delineates Land Units at a scale of 1:10,000 over approximately 23,000 ha surrounding the township of Katherine to better inform future strategic land use planning and development. Dominant landform, soils and vegetation communities are described for each Land Unit, and general land capability is assessed.

ANZLIC Search Words:

biota

environment

farming

geoscientificInformation

planningCadastre

Spatial Domain:

Bounding Coordinates:

North Bounding Coordinate:-14.393761

South Bounding Coordinate:-14.544691

East Bounding Coordinate:132.459777

West Bounding Coordinate:132.135586

Dataset Status

Dataset ID:

Language:English

Character Set: Latin 1

Progress:completed

Maintenance and Update Frequency:notPlanned

Data Currency Start Date:2025-07-03

Data Currency End Date:

Access Constraint:Download the spatial data package (contains ESRI spatial data) via data.nt.gov.au/
You are licensed to use the DLPE geospatial products on the terms and conditions set out in: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC BY 4.0) at: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
If you do not agree to the terms and conditions you must not use the geospatial products.

You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the licensed material, provided that you abide by the licence terms (including Attribution) and attribute the licensed material using the statement:

Supplied by the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment. Copyright Northern Territory Government.

Data Quality

Lineage:Map land unit boundaries delineated from interpretation of digital aerial photography (15cm) satellite imagery including ESRI World Imagery, Google Satellite Imagery, Sentinel-2 imagery, and an aerial-photo derived 2.5m Digital Terrain Model.
Field data described and classified according to national standards at the time of capture. Final map unit boundaries adjusted to account for field data. Core landform, soil and vegetation attributes attached to map units with additional attributes unique to individual surveys.
Spatial data formats are ESRI file geodatabase and shapefiles. Data is stored in datum GDA94, geographics.

Positional Accuracy:Polygon data - map unit boundaries delineated on screen using geographical information system software at a scale of 1:10000. Positional accuracy generally considered to be very high.

Attribute Accuracy:The attribute information conforms to the 'Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook' at time of capture. Survey methodologies and related technical assessments used during the investigation are listed in the accompanying technical report:

Burgess J, Burley P, Carnavas M and Petursson J (2024)
Land Resources of the Katherine South Area, Northern Territory.
Technical Report 32/2024, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, Northern Territory Government, Darwin.

Mapped land units typically exhibit a uniform pattern on aerial photography or satellite imagery, and present as a repeatable and recognisable combination of landscape terrain, soil type and associated vegetation community. While some degree of variation is normally expected within a land unit, such variation is usually too small or too inconsistent to map separately at the given survey scale. Attributes assigned according to the dominant feature. For example, where ten sites have been grouped to describe a particular map unit and two different soils described from these sites then the dominant soil is chosen. The department's list of core attribute values, described in the Data Dictionary below, have been added to each polygon.
Each land unit has also been assessed for GENERAL LAND CAPABILITY, evaluating landscape characteristics that could influence the general use of the land. A General Land Capability Class of 1 Land with negligible constraints to Class 4 Land with Extreme Constraints has been assigned to each land unit. Descriptions for key characteristics considered important have been added to the land unit polygon, including flooding, microrelief, salinity, slope (as a surrogate for water erosion), sodicity, soil depth, soil drainage and surface rock.
Land units categorised as 'Disturbed' or 'Urban' have not undergone further subclassification, and consequently, contain null values in subsequent classification fields.

Logical Consistency:GIS editing tools were used to rectify all overshoots and undershoots in line work. Polygon topology rules applied are: must not overlap and must not have gaps.

Completeness:Complete

Contacts

Name Organisation Position Role Phone Fax Email

Data Requests Officer Department of Lands, Planning and Environment Geospatial Services Unit (on behalf of department) distributor Datarequests.DLPE@nt.gov.au

Name	Organisation	Position	Role	Phone	Fax	Email
Data Requests Officer	Department of Lands, Planning and Environment	Geospatial Services Unit (on behalf of department)	distributor			Datarequests.DLPE@nt.gov.au

Data Dictionary

Attribute Attribute Description Possible Code Code Description

DRAINAGE Alias: Drainage
The dominant soil drainage classes are defined by the NCST (2009). Assessment considers both internal soil profile characteristics and external landscape factors that collectively contribute to excessive soil wetness (NCST 2009).

FLOODING Alias: Capability Class - Flooding
Assessment criteria use estimates of Average Recurrence Interval (ARI), to gauge the regularity and severity of potential flood events. Estimated values have been aligned with recognisable alluvial landforms as a surrogate for ARI where suitable modelled data is unavailable. 1 Flood - free

2 Extremely rare - <1 in 30 years

3 Rare - 1 in 10-30 years

4 Regular to permanent - >1 in 10 years

GW_FLOOD Alias: Groundwater flooding risk
Groundwater flooding potential for each polygon. Classes are interpreted from historical air photograph and satellite imagery. These ratings are specifically related to Tindall aquifer overflow events and do not include riverine flooding. 0 Negligible risk of groundwater flooding

1 Potential groundwater inundation areas (polje)

2 Sinkholes

LAND_UNIT Alias: Land Unit
The land unit label from the spatial dataset (i.e. 8k2_1).

LCAP_CLASS Alias: General Land Capability Class
General land capability assessment evaluates key land unit characteristics to determine the broad capability of an area for sustainable development. The assessment classifies land on the basis of ten key attributes, with final land capability class is determined by the most constrained attribute. It is not land use or development specific, and does not consider or address individual project requirements, land management practices or potential mitigation strategies. 1 Land with negligible constraints that requires only a basic level of inputs, expertise and investment to sustainably develop and manage the land for a wide range of urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural land uses.

2 Land with minor or moderate constraints that requires a greater level of inputs, expertise and investment than Class 1 to sustainably develop and manage the land for a range of urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural land uses.

3 Land with severe constraints that requires a high level of inputs, expertise and investment to sustainably develop and manage the land for a limited range of urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural land uses.

4 Land with extreme constraints that generally requires an unacceptable level of inputs, expertise and investment to sustainably develop and manage the land; making it either impractical, uneconomic or environmentally unsound for urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural development to proceed. Where development must proceed the effects must be mitigated.

LCAP_DESC1 Alias: Land Capability description
The inherent capacity of a land unit to support specific uses, particularly agriculture, without causing environmental degradation.

LF_CLASS Alias: Landform Class
Landform class is a system adopted by the department. The categories do not completely conform to national criteria even though most are sourced from Australian Soil and Land Survey - Field Handbook (NCST, 2009).

LF_DESC Alias: Landform Description
Landform description includes details about landform, and general notes pertaining to slope, surface gravel and other details describing the land unit.

LITHOLOGY Alias: Dominant lithology
The dominant lithology as described in a land unit.

LU_NAME Alias: Land Unit Name
The Land Unit name as described in the report.

MICRELIEF Alias: Capability Class - Gilgai Microrelief
Assessment criteria are based primarily on the vertical interval (VI) of the gilgai microrelief (i.e. height difference between mound crest and depression base); although the spatial extent and relative proportions are also considered. 1 None - Gilgai absent or negligible

2 Minor - Crabhole, normal or linear gilgai with an average VI <0.3 m, or with a limited extent

3 Severe - Lattice or melonhole gilgai with an average VI 0.3-0.6 m

4 Extreme - Lattice or melonhole gilgai with an average VI >0.6 m

SALINITY Alias: Capability Class - Salinity
Assessment criteria are based on average 'whole of profile' ECe values (saturated extract electrical conductivity) to a depth of 1.5 m (or shallower where hard substrate is encountered). 1 Non-saline: ECe <2 dS/m

2 Slightly saline: ECe 2-4 dS/m

3 Moderately saline: ECe 4-8 dS/m

4 Highly to extremely saline: ECe >8 dS/m

SLOPE Alias: Capability Class - Slope
Assessment criteria use accepted slope gradient (%) limits defined in the Northern Territory Land Clearing Guidelines (DEPWS 2021), as a surrogate for estimating erosion risk. 1 Low erosion risk: 0-1% slope gradient

2 Moderate erosion risk: 1-2% slope gradient

3 High erosion risk: 2-3% slope gradient

4 Very high erosion risk: >3% slope gradient

SODICITY Alias: Capability Class - Sodicity
Assessment criteria are based on the presence and severity of sodicity within the upper 0-0.6 m of the soil profile. Sodicity levels below a depth of 0.6 m (while still a potential hazard), have not been considered because of their lesser exposure risk during disturbance. 1 Non-sodic: ESP <6%

2 Slightly to moderately sodic: ESP 6-15%

3 Strongly sodic: ESP 15-20%

4 Extremely sodic: ESP >20%

SOIL Alias: Dominant Soil Order
The dominant soil order as described in a land unit.

SOILDEPTH Alias: Capability Class - Soil depth
Assessment criteria are based on standard depth categories (very shallow to very deep) from the Australian Soil Classification (Isbell and NCST 2021). 1 Deep to very deep: >1.0 m

2 Moderately deep: 0.5-1.0 m

3 Shallow: 0.25-0.5 m

4 Very shallow: <0.25

SOILDRAIN Alias: Capability Class - Soil drainage
Assessment criteria are based on the soil drainage classes defined by the Australian Soil and Land Survey - Field Handbook (NCST, 2009). Assessment considers both internal soil profile characteristics and external landscape factors that collectively contribute to excessive soil wetness. 1 Rapidly to well drained

2 Moderately well drained

3 Imperfectly drained

4 Poorly to very poorly drained

SOIL_DESC Alias: Soil Description
Soil description includes classification information and usually includes colour, soil depth and other notes describing the soil.

SOIL_SYS Alias: Soil Classification System
The classification system used to describe the soil in the land unit description

SPECIES_1 Alias: Veg Dom Species 1
The dominant vegetation species described in a land unit. The order of species listed determines their dominance.

SPECIES_2 Alias: Veg Dom Species 2
Where 2 dominant vegetation species were described in a land unit. The order of species listed determines their dominance.

SPECIES_3 Alias: Veg Dom Species 3
Where 3 dominant vegetation species described in a land unit. The order of species listed determines their dominance

SURFROCK Alias: Surface Rock - Capability Class
Assessment criteria are based on the combined abundance of surface in-situ rock outcrop, in addition to cobbles (60-200 mm), stones (200-600 mm) and boulders (600-2,000 mm) (NCST 2009) 1 Nil: 0%

2 Minor: 0-2%

3 Moderate: 2-10%

4 Severe: >10%

SURVEY_ID Alias: Survey Identifier
A department code that refers to the first five characters from the original survey site sheet.

SURVEY_NME Alias: Survey Name
The name of the survey area or report to which the mapping refers.

VEG_DESC Alias: Vegetation Description
The dominant species and its structure are recorded. Occasionally it will include 'minor' vegetation communities also noted in the land unit description and/or notes specific to the community.

VEG_STRUC Alias: Dominant Vegetation Structure
The dominant vegetation structure as described in a land unit.

VEG_SYS Alias: Vegetation Classification System
The classification system used to describe the vegetation in the land unit description

Attribute	Attribute Description	Possible Code	Code Description
DRAINAGE	Alias: Drainage The dominant soil drainage classes are defined by the NCST (2009). Assessment considers both internal soil profile characteristics and external landscape factors that collectively contribute to excessive soil wetness (NCST 2009).
FLOODING	Alias: Capability Class - Flooding Assessment criteria use estimates of Average Recurrence Interval (ARI), to gauge the regularity and severity of potential flood events. Estimated values have been aligned with recognisable alluvial landforms as a surrogate for ARI where suitable modelled data is unavailable.	1	Flood - free
		2	Extremely rare - <1 in 30 years
		3	Rare - 1 in 10-30 years
		4	Regular to permanent - >1 in 10 years
GW_FLOOD	Alias: Groundwater flooding risk Groundwater flooding potential for each polygon. Classes are interpreted from historical air photograph and satellite imagery. These ratings are specifically related to Tindall aquifer overflow events and do not include riverine flooding.	0	Negligible risk of groundwater flooding
		1	Potential groundwater inundation areas (polje)
		2	Sinkholes
LAND_UNIT	Alias: Land Unit The land unit label from the spatial dataset (i.e. 8k2_1).
LCAP_CLASS	Alias: General Land Capability Class General land capability assessment evaluates key land unit characteristics to determine the broad capability of an area for sustainable development. The assessment classifies land on the basis of ten key attributes, with final land capability class is determined by the most constrained attribute. It is not land use or development specific, and does not consider or address individual project requirements, land management practices or potential mitigation strategies.	1	Land with negligible constraints that requires only a basic level of inputs, expertise and investment to sustainably develop and manage the land for a wide range of urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural land uses.
		2	Land with minor or moderate constraints that requires a greater level of inputs, expertise and investment than Class 1 to sustainably develop and manage the land for a range of urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural land uses.
		3	Land with severe constraints that requires a high level of inputs, expertise and investment to sustainably develop and manage the land for a limited range of urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural land uses.
		4	Land with extreme constraints that generally requires an unacceptable level of inputs, expertise and investment to sustainably develop and manage the land; making it either impractical, uneconomic or environmentally unsound for urban, industrial, infrastructure and/or agricultural development to proceed. Where development must proceed the effects must be mitigated.
LCAP_DESC1	Alias: Land Capability description The inherent capacity of a land unit to support specific uses, particularly agriculture, without causing environmental degradation.
LF_CLASS	Alias: Landform Class Landform class is a system adopted by the department. The categories do not completely conform to national criteria even though most are sourced from Australian Soil and Land Survey - Field Handbook (NCST, 2009).
LF_DESC	Alias: Landform Description Landform description includes details about landform, and general notes pertaining to slope, surface gravel and other details describing the land unit.
LITHOLOGY	Alias: Dominant lithology The dominant lithology as described in a land unit.
LU_NAME	Alias: Land Unit Name The Land Unit name as described in the report.
MICRELIEF	Alias: Capability Class - Gilgai Microrelief Assessment criteria are based primarily on the vertical interval (VI) of the gilgai microrelief (i.e. height difference between mound crest and depression base); although the spatial extent and relative proportions are also considered.	1	None - Gilgai absent or negligible
		2	Minor - Crabhole, normal or linear gilgai with an average VI <0.3 m, or with a limited extent
		3	Severe - Lattice or melonhole gilgai with an average VI 0.3-0.6 m
		4	Extreme - Lattice or melonhole gilgai with an average VI >0.6 m
SALINITY	Alias: Capability Class - Salinity Assessment criteria are based on average 'whole of profile' ECe values (saturated extract electrical conductivity) to a depth of 1.5 m (or shallower where hard substrate is encountered).	1	Non-saline: ECe <2 dS/m
		2	Slightly saline: ECe 2-4 dS/m
		3	Moderately saline: ECe 4-8 dS/m
		4	Highly to extremely saline: ECe >8 dS/m
SLOPE	Alias: Capability Class - Slope Assessment criteria use accepted slope gradient (%) limits defined in the Northern Territory Land Clearing Guidelines (DEPWS 2021), as a surrogate for estimating erosion risk.	1	Low erosion risk: 0-1% slope gradient
		2	Moderate erosion risk: 1-2% slope gradient
		3	High erosion risk: 2-3% slope gradient
		4	Very high erosion risk: >3% slope gradient
SODICITY	Alias: Capability Class - Sodicity Assessment criteria are based on the presence and severity of sodicity within the upper 0-0.6 m of the soil profile. Sodicity levels below a depth of 0.6 m (while still a potential hazard), have not been considered because of their lesser exposure risk during disturbance.	1	Non-sodic: ESP <6%
		2	Slightly to moderately sodic: ESP 6-15%
		3	Strongly sodic: ESP 15-20%
		4	Extremely sodic: ESP >20%
SOIL	Alias: Dominant Soil Order The dominant soil order as described in a land unit.
SOILDEPTH	Alias: Capability Class - Soil depth Assessment criteria are based on standard depth categories (very shallow to very deep) from the Australian Soil Classification (Isbell and NCST 2021).	1	Deep to very deep: >1.0 m
		2	Moderately deep: 0.5-1.0 m
		3	Shallow: 0.25-0.5 m
		4	Very shallow: <0.25
SOILDRAIN	Alias: Capability Class - Soil drainage Assessment criteria are based on the soil drainage classes defined by the Australian Soil and Land Survey - Field Handbook (NCST, 2009). Assessment considers both internal soil profile characteristics and external landscape factors that collectively contribute to excessive soil wetness.	1	Rapidly to well drained
		2	Moderately well drained
		3	Imperfectly drained
		4	Poorly to very poorly drained
SOIL_DESC	Alias: Soil Description Soil description includes classification information and usually includes colour, soil depth and other notes describing the soil.
SOIL_SYS	Alias: Soil Classification System The classification system used to describe the soil in the land unit description
SPECIES_1	Alias: Veg Dom Species 1 The dominant vegetation species described in a land unit. The order of species listed determines their dominance.
SPECIES_2	Alias: Veg Dom Species 2 Where 2 dominant vegetation species were described in a land unit. The order of species listed determines their dominance.
SPECIES_3	Alias: Veg Dom Species 3 Where 3 dominant vegetation species described in a land unit. The order of species listed determines their dominance
SURFROCK	Alias: Surface Rock - Capability Class Assessment criteria are based on the combined abundance of surface in-situ rock outcrop, in addition to cobbles (60-200 mm), stones (200-600 mm) and boulders (600-2,000 mm) (NCST 2009)	1	Nil: 0%
		2	Minor: 0-2%
		3	Moderate: 2-10%
		4	Severe: >10%
SURVEY_ID	Alias: Survey Identifier A department code that refers to the first five characters from the original survey site sheet.
SURVEY_NME	Alias: Survey Name The name of the survey area or report to which the mapping refers.
VEG_DESC	Alias: Vegetation Description The dominant species and its structure are recorded. Occasionally it will include 'minor' vegetation communities also noted in the land unit description and/or notes specific to the community.
VEG_STRUC	Alias: Dominant Vegetation Structure The dominant vegetation structure as described in a land unit.
VEG_SYS	Alias: Vegetation Classification System The classification system used to describe the vegetation in the land unit description

Supplementary Information

Department Survey Code (Land Units): MTFKA_10
This spatial dataset should not be used at scales greater than 1 : 10,000
Burgess J, Burley P, Carnavas M and Petursson J (2024).
Land Resources of the Katherine South Area, Northern Territory.
Technical Report 32/2024, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, Northern Territory Government, Darwin.
--------------------------------------------
Download the report (PDF) via the Northern Territory Library; xxx
Download map products created for this survey; xxx

This record maintained using the NTLIS Metadata Tool

Metadata : Land Resources of the Katherine South Area