think climate. think change.
Department of Climate Change
March 2005
Fact sheets are available for downloading as PDF files. (PDF help) If you are unable to access documents please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.
The Australian Greenhouse Office, of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, has released a National Carbon Accounting Toolbox and Data Viewer. These freely available products have great potential for project and regional natural resource management planning. Developed in collaboration with the CSIRO, the Australian National University and Geoscience Australia and supported by NASA, they draw on the latest of scientific advancements.
The National Carbon Accounting Toolbox (available on CD) provides a set of tools for tracking greenhouse gas emissions and carbon stock changes from land use and management. It provides access to the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM), that is derived from Australia's National Carbon Accounting System, and includes all supporting technical documentation. Through the Toolbox, users can access: carbon accounting data for a range of plant species and land management systems; historic climate records; and search all technical reports relating to development of the National Carbon Accounting System.
Coupled with the Toolbox is a Data Viewer (available on DVD) that contains a unique 30-year visual record of landscape and vegetation change in Australia since 1972, as seen through several national snapshots of satellite data. Through the Data Viewer, users may zoom into any area of the continent and compare satellite images and climatic data between different years. The Viewer also allows regional querying of maps and statistics including average rainfall, temperature and forest cover.
These products will assist land managers to monitor greenhouse gas emissions effectively and to identify more sustainable (less emissions intensive) land management practices.
