National Ecosystem Accounts, experimental estimates methodology

The National Ecosystem Accounts have been developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in partnership with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The accounts are the first in an ongoing program of annual releases and have been developed in accordance with the United Nations’ System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) international framework. Over time these accounts will provide a continuing measure of Australia’s changing ecosystems. The accounts will be improved and expanded to better meet a range of needs as the ecosystem accounting program develops.

The National Ecosystem Accounts are part of a suite of environmental-economic accounts produced by the ABS based on the United Nations’ System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). The SEEA framework extends the boundaries of the System of National Accounts (SNA) to include environmental resources, which occur outside economic production boundaries measured by the SNA.

For the National Ecosystem Account, the tables align with the SEEA EA where possible. Where data is unavailable to complete the tables, 'not available' (na) has been used to maintain the SEEA EA account framework.

Ecosystems are areas containing a dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities, and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit. The primary units for ecosystem accounting are labelled as 'ecosystem assets'. These assets are defined as a contiguous area of a specific ecosystem type. 

Ecosystems are classified according to the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (IUCN GET). The IUCN GET classifies ecosystems into their functional units, from ecosystem functional group (the finest level), to biome, and realm (the broadest level).

Ecosystem accounts provide a standardised and consistent framework to summarise information about ecosystem assets, including their changing size, condition and their capacity to provide services to humanity. They complement the SNA by integrating environmental data with economic accounts, ensuring consistency and facilitating analysis. While the SNA focuses on economic activities, the SEEA EA provides detailed insights into ecosystem services, showing how these services support economic activities and contribute to human wellbeing. This integration supports informed policymaking that balances economic growth with environmental outcomes. Policy uses for the accounts include the management of healthy and resilient ecosystems, integrating biodiversity into planning, and going 'Beyond GDP' to produce more holistic statistics and indicators to measure the contribution of ecosystems to society and the economy.

As most ecosystem services are public goods that do not have clear market prices to allow their valuation, an advantage of applying an accounting framework is that it allows the contributions of ecosystems to be expressed in financial terms. This allows environmental and economic information to be considered on a consistent basis.

Ecosystem accounts consist of 5 main components, see Figure 1 (note, the National Ecosystem Accounts include only the first 4 account types listed below): 

• stocks (extent) of ecosystem assets 
• the condition or ‘health’ of the assets 
• the flows of goods and services from the assets 
• the value of the benefits from the goods and services 
• the value of ecosystem assets (out of scope).

Source: Ecosystem Accounting | System of Environmental Economic Accounting

The National Ecosystem Accounts include extent accounts of all ecosystem functional groups relevant to ecosystems in Australia, in terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms. They also include a range of condition metrics and selected ecosystem service accounts, including agricultural biomass provisioning services, wild fish provisioning services, coastal protection services, water supply services, and carbon retention services. In addition, there is a biodiversity thematic account included. Table 1 outlines the accounts included in the release in February 2025.

The spatial scope of the National Ecosystem Accounts includes all of Australia’s terrestrial, freshwater and marine territories, extending to the Exclusive Economic Zone, but excluding Cocos, Christmas, Norfolk, Macquarie, Heard, and McDonald Islands, as well as Antarctica.

Ecosystem extent accounts describe the extent of the ecosystem types present in an accounting area and how the extent changes within the accounting period. The accounts record the total area of each ecosystem classified by type within a specified area. Extent accounts data can support the derivation of indicators relating to composition and change in ecosystem types across a region. Terrestrial, marine, and coastal ecosystems are measured in area units (hectares). River and stream ecosystems are measured in length units (km).

Ecosystem classification - IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology 2.0

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) produces a classification system, the Global Ecosystem Typology (IUCN GET), as a framework to describe functionally different ecosystem types. The IUCN GET is a hierarchical classification which provides realm, biome, and ecosystem functional groups. Tables 2 to 5 show the ecosystem functional groups included in the National Ecosystem Accounts.

The SEEA EA defines the condition of an ecosystem as its overall quality, measured in terms of quantitative metrics describing its abiotic, biotic and landscape characteristics. Condition is then assessed with respect to an ecosystem’s composition, structure and function, which underpin its ecosystem integrity. Ecosystem integrity is defined as the ecosystem’s capacity to maintain its characteristic composition, structure, functioning and self-organisation over time within a natural range of variability. The SEEA EA recognises the utility of recording environmental pressures as a proxy for condition, providing this linkage is well documented.

Ecosystem Condition Typology

The SEEA EA defines the condition of an ecosystem by measuring quantitative metrics describing biotic and abiotic characteristics. These characteristics can be classified according to the SEEA Ecosystem Condition Typology (SEEA ECT) shown in Table 6.

Terrestrial Condition

Remote sensing data were used to represent biotic and abiotic ecosystem condition variables. The variables were selected to represent a diverse set of condition characteristics in order to populate - as fully as possible - ecosystem condition accounts following the SEEA ECT framework. The remote sensing variables included in the accounts are shown in Table 7.

Mangrove canopy cover

Mangrove canopy cover is a suitable measure of mangrove condition as it provides an indication of the overall health and productivity of mangrove forests. Monitoring changes to mangrove canopy cover can help describe how mangrove forests are responding to environmental changes as reduction in canopy cover is typical when mangroves experience ecosystem disturbance. The classes used to describe mangrove canopy cover are shown in Table 8.

Land Use Intensity

Freshwater ecological condition, especially that of rivers, is known to be influenced strongly by adjacent land use. Land Use Intensity (LUI) is a measure from 1 to 5 of the intensity of different land uses, with water defined as LUI 6. LUI, as extracted from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES) Land Use data, is used as a proxy for inferring the condition (landscape characteristic) of freshwater ecosystems. Table 9 provides the definitions for each LUI category and how they relate to Australian Land Use and Management (ALUM) Classification. 

Ecosystem services accounts show the contributions of ecosystems to benefits used in economic and other human activity. Ecosystem services are central to the ecosystem accounting framework since they provide the link between ecosystem assets on the one hand, and the benefits derived and enjoyed by people on the other. This account uses ecosystem services as defined under SEEA EA with subcategories using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES).

Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES)

The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is a standardised hierarchical classification framework developed to categorise ecosystem services into provisioning, regulation, and cultural benefits to include both biotic and abiotic aspects. CICES is focused on the final ecosystem services in which the user of the service is an economic unit. 

Valuation

Ecosystems provide a range of benefits that may not be readily captured in market transactions, nor are their contributions always recognised in economic activities or decision-making processes. Quantifying the economic value of services provided by ecosystems allows governments, businesses and communities to make informed decisions on resource use and allocation, including those arising from the natural world.

In ecosystem accounting, monetary valuation enables comparisons of ecosystem services and assets that are consistent with standard measures of services and assets as recorded in the national accounts. The SEEA EA framework has a tiered approach to valuation that prefers the use of observed values where possible – consistent with the System of National Accounts. Below are the valuation methods in the order of preference:

1. Methods where the price for the ecosystem service is directly observable
2. Methods where the price for the ecosystem service is obtained from markets for similar goods and services
3. Methods where the price for the ecosystem service is embodied in a market transaction (includes residual value, resource rent method, hedonic pricing)
4. Methods where the price for the ecosystem services is based on revealed expenditures (costs) for related goods and services (includes averting behaviour, travel cost)
5. Methods where the price for the ecosystem service is based on expected expenditures or markets (includes replacement cost, avoided damage, simulated exchange markets).

To produce these accounts, several techniques have been developed for estimating the value of select ecosystem services, including:  

• observed market prices 
• replacement cost 
• avoided damage estimates 
• abatement cost estimates 
• various stated preference methods

In some instances, there may be several methods available to produce estimates for the value of ecosystem services. Where estimates are available from multiple methods, we have used the method that produced the lowest estimate, as recommended by the SEEA EA. Future iterations of the accounts will continue to test valuation methods and different methods may be used if they are found to be more appropriate.

Grazed biomass provisioning

Grazed biomass provisioning services are the ecosystem contributions to the growth of grazed biomass that is an input to the growth of cultivated livestock. This service excludes the ecosystem contributions to the growth of crops used to produce fodder for livestock (e.g. hay and soybean meal). This is a final ecosystem service.

In some intensive livestock production (e.g. feedlots), there may be some disconnect between ecosystems and the production of livestock and livestock products. Where the livestock production process does not involve direct connection with an ecosystem, no ecosystem service exists.

Water supply

Water supply service reflects the combined ecosystem contributions of water flow regulation services, water purification services, and other ecosystem services to provide water of appropriate quality to economic units (businesses, households and government), for consumption or production processes. This is considered a final ecosystem service. The scope of this account is limited to surface water only (i.e. ground water is not in scope).

Water provisioning services is broken down into 3 categories:

1. Surface water for drinking
2. Surface water used as a material
3. Surface water used as an energy source

Surface water for drinking

Water supplied by ecosystems that is used as drinking water. Due to the lack of data distinguishing potable from non-potable water and water used solely for drinking, water supplied to households is used as a proxy. This water serves multiple purposes, including drinking, gardening, and other household activities.

Surface water used as a material

Water supplied by ecosystems that is used as a material or for cooling. This includes all water used as intermediate consumption throughout the economy. It encompasses self-extracted water by industry as well as the water distributed by the water supply industry to other industries. This water usage spans productive activities like agriculture, mining, and manufacturing, as well as general consumption, including potable water use in office buildings and retail outlets.

Surface water used as an energy source

The flow of water on land that can be converted to electrical or mechanical energy, providing hydraulic potential.

Coastal protection services

Coastal protection services are the ecosystem contributions of linear elements along the shoreline and the seascape to protecting assets from the impacts of tidal or storm surges on local communities. These ecosystems may include coral reefs, sand banks, dunes or mangrove ecosystems. This is a final ecosystem service. Measurements of coastal protection services included in this account are the count of dwellings and number of residents protected by mangroves and saltmarsh in the event of a tidal or storm surge.

Storm surge

Storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level over and above the normal (astronomical) tide levels. It can be thought of as the change in the water level due to the presence of a storm. These powerful ocean movements are caused by strong winds piling water up against the coast as a cyclone approaches. Large waves can also be generated by winds, increasing the risk of the storm surge in coastal areas. Erosion and damage to infrastructure, including loss of private property, can be caused by wave overtopping of coastal defences during extreme water levels associated with severe events.

Mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems reduce damage to dwellings during a storm surge by attenuating and dissipating wave and wind energy. 

Dwellings

For the dwelling count, a dwelling was defined as a structure which is intended to have people live in it, and which was habitable on Census night. Unoccupied private dwellings are also counted except for those in caravan parks, marinas and manufactured home estates.

Address Register dwellings

The Address Register is an up-to-date, comprehensive list of all known physical addresses within Australia. The Address Register includes all known physical addresses within Australia but does not include non-physical addresses such as post office boxes and email addresses. For the purposes of this account, only addresses with the residential flag are included, and caravans, cabins and houseboats, and improvised homes were excluded. For more information, please see: ABS Address Register, Users' Guide.

People

The counts of people are extracted from the 2021 Census and are geocoded to Mesh Block level based on their usual place of residence (PURP). Population counts are perturbed to avoid the release of identifiable data.

Wild fish provisioning

Wild fish provisioning services represent the contribution of ecosystems to the provision of fish and other seafoods. This is a final ecosystem service used by the fishing industry for the purposes of generating an economic return. The contribution of the ecosystem occurs up to the point of harvest and both the supply and use of ecosystem services are recorded in the location of harvest. 

Global climate regulation

Global climate regulation services are the ecosystem contributions to reducing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere through the removal (sequestration) of carbon from the atmosphere and the retention (storage) of carbon in ecosystems. These services support the regulation of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and oceans to stabilise the climate, in turn avoiding damages that arise due to climate change. This is a final ecosystem service.

Carbon retention

The carbon retention component of global climate regulation reflects the ability of ecosystems to accumulate and retain the stock of carbon – i.e. ecosystems supply a service through the avoided emission of carbon to the atmosphere.

Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is defined as ‘the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems’ (Convention on Biological Diversity).

Biodiversity plays an essential role in supporting human wellbeing through maintaining functioning ecosystems that, in turn, deliver essential services such as food and the regulation of our climate, as well as other benefits such as the aesthetic enjoyment of natural landscapes. Biodiversity is especially important and valuable for Australia’s agriculture and tourism industries.  

Biodiversity accounting is a way of organising biodiversity information to align with ecosystem and other accounts that is useful for a range of users. Under the SEEA EA, biodiversity is expressed as a thematic account, which means it is a standalone account that organises data around a specific policy-relevant environmental theme. However, biodiversity accounting is complex and less advanced than other thematic accounts, such as carbon accounting. As such, while the SEEA EA offers guidance on the conceptual approach and the construction of biodiversity accounts, it remains flexible about interpretation of these guidelines. 

Feral animals and weeds

Many animal and plant species have been introduced to Australia over time from overseas, and some of these have developed into feral animals or weeds. The term ‘feral’ denotes exotic species introduced to Australia which have escaped confinement and established wild, self-sustaining populations (for example see Feral animals).

Lists of feral animal species and weed species were compiled from several sources. The species list of feral animals is not comprehensive but rather aims to capture the key national feral species from each taxonomic group. Species were selected from different sources as there is not a single, national, authoritative list available for feral animal species in Australia. Tables 10-14 show the lists of feral animals that are included in the accounts.

Weeds are plants which have a negative impact on the environment, agriculture, society or the economy, with introduced plants forming the majority of weeds in Australia. The Australian Weed Strategy 2017–2027 is a national strategy focused on 4 stages of weed management: prevention, eradication, containment and asset protection (Australian Weeds Strategy 2017–2027). The species list for weeds is based on the Weeds of National Significance (WONS) list of nationally significant weeds. Table 15 shows the list of weed species that are included in the accounts.

Threatened species status

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), Australia identifies and lists threatened species. The definition of a species under the EPBC Act includes sub-species and distinct populations that the Minister for the Environment and Water has determined to be species for the purposes of the Act. New nominations for species are assessed under the EPBC Act by the Threatened Species Scientific Committee according to the criteria for each threat category (Conservation dependent, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the wild, and Extinct) and listed accordingly. 

The threat status of a species may change over time. This is assessed by expert groups under a status review assessment which may result in a transfer to a higher or lower threat level under the Act. If a species sufficiently recovers such that it no longer meets any of the criteria for listing, it may be delisted and removed from the Threatened Species list. Changes may also be the result of taxonomic reclassifications.

The number and trend of these lists can be used as a simple indication of the health of Australia’s biodiversity.

Threatened Species Index

The Threatened Species Index (TSX) shows the average change in population size of threatened species compared with a reference year, which is assigned a score of 1.0. It shows a relative change and not population numbers themselves. A score below 1.0 reflects a decrease in population size compared with the base year. For example, a score of 0.5 indicates an average 50% reduction in population size.

Data in the accounts are presented at a number of scales including national (including terrestrial and marine areas extending to the EEZ), state/territory, SA2 and IMCRA region. Below is a description of each of the data sources used to create these geospatial boundaries.

National boundaries 

Australian Maritime Boundaries are defined using Geoscience Australia’s Australian Maritime Boundaries (AMB) 2020 – Geodatabase. This product outlines Australia's domestic and international maritime limits and boundaries as established under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 and associated proclamations. 

Geoscience Australia

ABS ASGS Statistical Area Level 2

Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2s) are medium-sized general-purpose areas built up from whole Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1s). Their purpose is to represent a community that interacts together socially and economically. In this case, SA2 geography has been used to summarise environmental data.

Statistical Area Level 2

IMCRA Provincial Bioregions

A regionalisation of Australian waters (excluding waters adjacent to the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and waters adjacent to the Australian Antarctic Territory) derived from deep-water demersal fish assemblages. 

Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA) v4.0 - Provincial Bioregions 

River Regions

The Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (Geofabric) is a specialised Geographic Information System (GIS). It registers the spatial relationships between important hydrological features such as rivers, water bodies, aquifers and monitoring points.

Geofabric: Water Information: Bureau of Meteorology

Terrestrial, Freshwater and Marine realm extent

CSIRO’s Spatial Extent of IUCN ecosystem functional groups provides the spatial extent of freshwater, terrestrial, marine, and transitional realms at the IUCN GET functional group level for Australia. It is based on datasets derived from the National Vegetation Information System Version 6 Pre-1750 Theme and Extant Themes (NVIS 6.0), OzEstuariesReclassified100K, Geofabric version 3.3, the Natural Values ecosystems map and Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2020–21. Marine pelagic ocean waters raster data was derived from the AusBathyTopo 250m (Australia) 2023 Grid. The data is provided as 250 metre resolution rasters for 2010–11, 2015–16 and 2020–21 financial years. Some EFGs in the IUCN GET are not included or have been combined in this dataset. 

Saltmarsh and Mangrove extent

Geoscience Australia’s Coastal Ecosystem Mapping Project, derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery, provides extent data for different coastal ecosystems at 10 metre resolution, and was used to define extent for Saltmarsh and Mangroves. This data is due for public release and publication in October 2025.

Rivers and streams extent

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian Hydrological Geospatial Fabric (Geofabric) v3.3 provides information on spatial relationships between hydrological features such as watercourses, water bodies, and catchments. The catchments provide a hierarchy of nested catchments; from one catchment per stream, up to drainage division level. The Geofabric was supplied as GDA94 and required conversion to GDA94 Australian Albers.  

Additional variables including the Strahler stream order were sourced from BOM Geofabric dataset, 1:250,000 scale v2.1.1 (BOM 2014), supplied as GDA94 and converted to GDA94 Australian Albers. 

Episodic arid rivers (F1.6) were defined using 4 categories from Jaffres et al. (2022). Catchment shapefile was supplied as GDA94 and converted to GDA94 Australian Albers. 

Freeze thaw streams (F1.3) were sourced from the CSIRO IUCN GET Extent data mentioned above.

Terrestrial condition

CSIRO’s Habitat Condition Assessment System (HCAS) Version 3.0 (A Habitat Condition Assessment System for Australia – Biodiversity Knowledge Projects) dataset provides 14 remotely sensed observations of ecosystem characteristics derived from satellite remote sensing (see Landsat). The remotely sensed data are referred to as 'condition variables'. Of the 14, 5 were chosen for the 2025 Ecosystem Account Publication based on alignment with the SEEA Ecosystem Condition Typology and simplicity of understanding.

Mangrove condition

Geoscience Australia’s DEA Mangrove Canopy Cover | Geoscience Australia dataset consists of a sequence of 30 m resolution maps (for each year from 1987) that are produced with satellite imagery data collected by the Landsat satellites. The data provides information about the extent and canopy density of mangroves for the Australian coastlines. 

River condition

ABARES is custodian of the Land use of Australia 2010–11 to 2020–21 - DAFF that was used to derive Land Use Intensity (LUI) maps. The data is supplied at 5-year intervals and maps the types of land use across Australia in accordance with the Australian Land Use and Management (ALUM) Classification v8. The data is supplied at 250 m resolution as GDA94 Australian Albers equal area projection.

Grazed biomass provisioning

Livestock numbers

Data on livestock numbers for cattle and calves, sheep and lambs by pasture type that feeds into the Agricultural Commodities, Australia was provided by the ABS Agricultural Statistics team since this data is not published at this level of detail. Data provided was for each state and territory, and nationally for 2015–16 and 2020–21 financial years.

Herd estimates

Data on beef cattle herd estimates was obtained from the Australian Agriculture: Livestock, 2022-23 financial year publication to benchmark beef cattle estimates reported in the Agricultural Census. Data used was for each state and territory for 2015–16 and 2020–21 financial years.

Grazed biomass value

Data on gross production value for hay was obtained from the Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia publication (VACP). Data used was for each state and territory and nationally for 2015–16 and 2020–21 financial years.

Livestock products

Data on livestock slaughtered numbers and red meat produced was collated from the latest quarterly release of Livestock Products, Australia, June 2024. Additionally, data split by bulls and cows was provided by the Agricultural Statistics team since data is not published by these splits. Data provided was for each state and territory and nationally for 2015–16 and 2020–21 financial years.

Dressing proportions

Information on dressing weight percentage matrix used in calculating live weight from carcass weight as reported in the ABS Livestock Products publication was sourced from the Meat & Livestock Australia Cattle Assessment Manual and Sheep Assessment Manual (MLA 2017).

Coastal protection

Mangrove extent

Geoscience Australia’s Coastal Ecosystem Mapping Project, derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery, provides extent data for different coastal ecosystems at 10 m resolution and was used to define extent for Saltmarsh and Mangroves as the basis for coastal protection estimates. This data is due for public release and publication in October 2025.

Coastline

Coastline data was sourced from the Geoscience Australia (GA) Digital Earth Australia (DEA) DEA coastlines product, which includes the mainland and all islands. The 2021 coastline was used to match the extent time period.

Elevation and tides

Geoscience Australia has shared with the ABS an unpublished set of ocean connectivity layer prototypes. These are based on different implementations of topography, tide, and mangrove data. A combination Digital Elevation Model coupled with Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) layer was used to identify areas where risk of inundation and damage was highest.

Population and dwelling counts

Population and dwelling data was sourced from the ABS Census Mesh Block counts. The usual resident population and total dwelling count per mesh block were both obtained from the 2021 Census.

Dwelling location

Dwelling spatial data was sourced from the ABS Residential Address Register Common Frame is a dataset containing location-based points for all residences within Australia. The November 2021 frame was utilised to best align with the values observed in the 2021 Census release.

Avoided Damage values

Value of avoided damages was sourced from the Insurance Council of Australia (2021) report, Climate Change Impact Series: Actions of the Sea and Future Risks. This source provides $14,200 as the minimum annual average damage cost to property caused by storm surge, based on their modelling for 2021.

Carbon retention

FullCAM

DCCEEW’s Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) is used to estimate emissions and removals for the LULUCF sector (Land use, land use change and forestry as included in the IPCC 2006 Guidelines) as a part of National Inventory Reporting of carbon emissions nationally (National Inventory Report 2022, Volume 1). FullCAM spatially models the carbon retained by ecosystems above and below ground and incorporates multiple datasets on vegetation cover and climate. Derived estimates are totalled by ecosystem and source, and aggregated nationally and by state in kilotonnes of carbon yearly from 1990–2022. 

The price of carbon is sourced from the Clean Energy Regulator’s Australian Carbon Credit Units Scheme auctions (Auction results | Clean Energy Regulator) reflecting the institutional settings at the time.

Water supply

Industry water use

Data for water use by industry were collated from the Water Account, Australia, 2021-22 financial year. 'Physical Supply and Use Tables, by Water Type' for each state and territory and nationally from the Water Account, Australia and associated input data sources.

Unit level water used for energy production

Unit-level data were delivered from the ABS Water Account for total non-consumptive water used in the generation of hydroelectricity. 

Allocation trading

Data on allocation trading is downloaded from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Water Market Dashboard. The data includes:

1. All reported trades for surface water and groundwater.
2. Trades are reported with variables such as state, origin water system, destination water system, drainage division, volume trade in megalitres (ML), Net price, price per ML, and date of trade. 
3. Data in dashboard is provided by the States and Territories, and by irrigation infrastructure operators (IIOs) acting on their behalf.

Wild fish provisioning

Monetary and physical estimates of wild fish provisioning services were provided by CSIRO based on data from the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA). Data can be accessed here: https://research.csiro.au/national-ecosystems-and-services-data/

Feral and weed species

Weeds

The impacts of weeds have been recognised at a national level – Weeds Australia (part of the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions) publishes Weeds of National Significance (WONS) (see Established - Weeds Australia), which was used in the methods to identify weed species. For more information, please visit: 

• Weed profiles - Weeds Australia
• Weeds in Australia - DCCEEW

Feral animals

This list of feral birds was obtained from the Introduced birds | BIRDS in BACKYARDS list, which is hosted by Birdlife Australia. They define these birds as ‘those species that have been transported to an area in which they do not normally occur. These do not include summer migrants [who] have been regular visitors over a long period of time but do not make Australia their permanent home’. 

Other data sources were used to compile lists of feral animals including:

• Feral animals in Australia - DCCEEW
• Introduced insects and other invertebrates in Australia - DCCEEW
• PestSmart
• FeralScan
• Freshwater pest fish in New South Wales

Observational data

The Atlas of Living Australia – Open access to Australia’s biodiversity data (ALA) provided spatial and temporal observational data on key weeds and feral animal species. The ALA is the Australian node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and is ‘a collaborative, digital, open infrastructure that pulls together Australian biodiversity data from multiple sources, making it accessible and reusable’.

Threatened species status

The Species Profile and Threats (SPRAT) database provides information on species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act. For more information, please visit:

• EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna
• EPBC Act List of Threatened Flora
• Listings since commencement of EPBC Act
• Species and Communities Removed from the Threatened List

Threatened Species Index

Threatened Species Index data was sourced from the Threatened Species Index (TSX). The TSX is a tool that tracks the abundance of Australia’s threatened and near-threatened species at national, state and regional levels. The Threatened Species Index shows the average change in population size of threatened species compared with a reference year.

The statistical geography for the accounts was developed to provide consistency and to facilitate alignment of input datasets. All data was on an Australian Albers equal area projection using the GDA94 datum.

The National Ecosystem Account is presented at a range of geographic scales, including:

• national
• state
• regional boundaries including ABS SA2, IMCRA Provincial Bioregions and BOM River Regions.

A spatial layer for State and Territory boundaries was built using the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 - Australian Maritime Boundaries 2020 and the Coastal Waters (State/Territory Powers) Act 1980 - Australian Maritime Boundaries 2020. State and Territory boundaries were defined by the spatial layer provided for the Coastal Waters (State/Territory Powers) Act and remaining areas that fell outside these boundaries but within the boundaries defined in the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 – Australian Maritime Boundaries 2020 were allocated to Other Commonwealth Waters. Jervis Bay does not appear in the spatial layer for the Coastal Waters (State/Territory Powers) Act and was manually added to the dataset. For consistency with the National Land Account and the National Land Cover Account, figures for Jervis Bay have been included in New South Wales totals. State/Territory waters extend approximately 3 nautical miles from the terrestrial boundary and are shown in Figure 2.

Spatial pre-processing

All spatial datasets and geography layers were projected on an Australian Albers equal area projection using the GDA94 datum.

To ensure consistency of area outputs with the National Land Account, the geographies used in the ecosystem account were converted to raster format using the same grid resolution as the Land Account Australia. The final outputs adhere to the following specifications:

• 250 m x 250 m resolution (other than mangroves and saltmarsh data – see below)
• Extent based on the NEAP BSU (input data) grid
• Projected to GDA94 Australian Albers
• Null values set to '-9999'

Terrestrial, Freshwater and Marine

Spatial extent rasters were combined with geography rasters to derive the geographical extent for each ecosystem functional group (EFG). The area of each EFG category was calculated for each region by counting the pixels present for each category in each region and multiplying by the area of the pixel.

Mangroves and Saltmarsh

Geoscience Australia’s (GA) Coastal Ecosystem Mapping Project, derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery, provides extent data for different coastal ecosystems at 10 m resolution and was used to define extent for Saltmarsh and Mangroves as the most accurate dataset available. This spatial extent data has been aggregated using the 2020 Australian Maritime Boundaries (AMB) and SA2 geographies.

Mangroves fall within the Intertidal forests and shrublands (MFT1.2) IUCN GET EFG, and Saltmarsh fall within the Coastal saltmarshes and reedbeds (MFT1.3) IUCN GET EFG. CSIRO data for these two EFGs were excluded in the Extent accounts in favour of the GA data, and labelled according to the GA dataset, i.e. Mangroves and Saltmarsh.

It is acknowledged that this approach results in an overestimate of the total land mass where GA Mangrove and Saltmarsh overlap other EFGs. Additionally, any CSIRO MFT1.2 (mangrove) and MFT1.3 (saltmarsh) regions outside of the GA data will not be captured. This method double-counts 0.5 million hectares (0.06% of the total Australian land mass). Data cubes contain the following caveat: '(a) Some coastal Ecosystem Functional Groups are known to be overestimated due to overlaps in different data sources, although this is minor (0.06% of Australia’s terrestrial land mass)'.

Rivers and streams

This extent uses the Geofabric V3.3 river lines for Australia and classifies each within 6 categories as defined by the IUCN GET functional groups from within the Rivers and streams biome. An ABS 2024 rivers extent was developed to incorporate contemporary data on river hydrology additional to the datasets used in an early draft data layer created by CSIRO (Macfarlane et al. 2024). Jaffres et al. (2022) produced a classification of Australian river catchments that cleanly defines rivers using measured BOM hydrology data. 

The classification uses Freeze-thaw rivers from a CSIRO (Macfarlane et al. 2024) along with combinations of perennial/non-perennial assignations from Geofabric v3.3 combined with Upland /Lowland classifications using a catchment mask based on Strahler river order as used in the previous version of the Geofabric v2.1 (BOM 2014). Geofabric 2.1 catchments with Strahler numbers greater than 3 define a lowland mask. Episodic arid rivers (F1.6) are defined using 4 categories from Jaffres et al. (2022):

• Cluster 3 – central Australia – dry riverbeds
• Cluster 4 – flat central Australia – infrequent, slow flows
• Cluster 5 – spatially disjointed, large catchments – slow-moving flows
• Cluster 6 – southern inland Australia – arid

Table 16 outlines the data sources used to derive river extent for each IUCN GET ecosystem functional group.

Where the condition variable is an index, an area weighted average is calculated for the region.

Terrestrial

Remote sensing data for a range of biotic and abiotic condition metrics were provided by CSIRO. Five condition variables were selected to represent a diverse set of condition characteristics in order to populate - as fully as possible - ecosystem condition accounts following the SEEA ECT framework.

These condition variable data are represented in 3-year time periods (epochs), which are calendar year-based. The epoch with the end year that matched the end year of the financial year was used to represent the account years of interest. See Table 17 for a summary. 

Each condition metric was summarised by EFG and geographic region using area-weighted averages.

Mangroves

Mangrove canopy cover is a suitable measure of mangrove condition as it provides an indication of the overall health and productivity of mangrove forests. Monitoring changes to mangrove canopy cover can help describe how mangrove forests are responding to environmental changes as reduction in canopy cover is typical when mangroves experience ecosystem disturbance.

This condition metric contains 3 time points, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2020–21. All these condition datasets were constrained (i.e. spatially clipped) to the extent that was observed in the GA 10 m dataset for 2021 to ensure coherence of extent across the different accounts. The GA mangrove canopy cover dataset has 3 classifications with each class having a unique canopy cover percentage associated with it. Any region without a classification was allocated as Unclassified:

• Woodland – 20–50% canopy cover
• Open forest – 50–80% canopy cover
• Closed forest – 80–100% canopy cover
• Unclassified – Data on canopy cover not available

Mangrove canopy cover spatial extent rasters were combined with geography rasters to derive the geographical extent for each level of cover and expressed as a percentage of the regional mangrove extent. 

Saltmarsh

Condition of these ecosystems is derived by combining the ecosystems’ geometries, surrounding catchments and the adjacent Land Use Intensity (LUI) mapping. The area (of Saltmarsh) associated with each LUI category was calculated and summarised by ecosystem functional groups to national and state levels. Results are expressed as hectares of each of the LUI classes.

Freshwater

Rivers and streams

Freshwater ecological condition, especially that of rivers, is known to be influenced strongly by adjacent land use. Land Use Intensity (LUI) was categorised into 6 levels of intensity based on land use classifications (see Table 9 above). 

Condition of rivers and streams is derived from the intersection between the ecosystems’ geometries and the overlapping Land Use Intensity (LUI) mapping. Each freshwater ecosystem length was assigned to the LUI category that it overlaps. The length of Rivers and streams associated with each LUI category was calculated and summarised by EFG for each river region, by state and territory, and nationally. Results are provided as km of each of the LUI classes, which can be compared across each of the time periods.

Grazed biomass provisioning

In the National Ecosystem Accounts, grazed biomass service is attributed to two ecosystem categories: improved pastures or other grazed lands. 

• Improved pastures include Sown pastures and fields from the Intensive land use biome as per the IUCN GET. 
• Other grazed lands include natural pastures/grasslands, rangelands, woodland/shrubland, forested areas and swamps/wetlands covering many different biomes. 

Grazed biomass service is reported either as forage for beef cattle and calves or sheep and lambs. This is based on herd numbers as at the end of financial year (30 June) and does not include slaughtered livestock. Dairy cows are excluded as they are highly dependent on high-input production systems where ecosystem service contribution is more limited.

Where joint production occurs, for example in the case of improved pastures, where land is cultivated for grazing purposes (i.e. crops planted, water and fertiliser applied) no attempt was made to split out the ecosystem’s contribution, due to lack of data. Similarly, livestock kept in feedlots for accelerated weight gain (i.e. grain fed) prior to slaughter have been excluded (based on counts from the Agricultural Census) as it is not possible at this stage to estimate ecosystem contribution (i.e. time livestock spent on pasture before entering feedlot system). This method will be refined in the future, when feedlot statistics are available through the AgStats program. 

Hay produced in the economy is commonly used to supplement the grazed biomass from pasture, and should be deducted from grazed biomass estimates. However, this adjustment hasn’t been made because the specific pastures and livestock types that use hay as feed are unknown. According to Agricultural Commodities estimates, hay accounts for approximately 7% to 9% of the national grazed biomass total. Future work on the accounts will include the development of condition measures of agricultural ecosystems. Connecting pasture condition to ecosystem service provision will improve future estimates.

Grazed biomass provisioning estimates were not available for 2010–11.

Physical

Physical quantity of the grazed biomass service was estimated using information on daily dry matter intake rate, live weight, number of livestock and days on pasture.

Dry matter (DM) intake rate is the amount of feed a livestock animal consumes per day on a moisture-free basis (i.e. weight of grass without moisture component). This is represented as a percentage of the livestock’s live weight. DM intake is assumed to be 2% of live weight per day for cattle, sheep and lamb. For more information, see Calculating Dry Matter Intakes for Various Classes of Stock.

Live weight (weight of livestock prior to slaughter) is estimated from slaughter data (from Livestock Products, Australia, September 2024). Average carcass weight is calculated from the total weight of red meat and number of animals slaughtered. Live weight is estimated by dividing the carcass weight by a dressing proportion. Dressing proportions represent the ratio between live weight and carcass weight (see Cattle Assessment Manual and Sheep Assessment Manual (MLA 2017)). Dressing weight proportions used to calculate live weight were selected based on livestock sex (bulls and cows) and or age (cows and calves; sheep and lamb).

Number of livestock refers to number of cattle (bulls/cows/calves), sheep and lamb by pasture type reported in the Agricultural Census as at 30 June. Beef cattle estimates from the census were benchmarked to estimates from the Australian Agriculture: Livestock publication. This includes an experimental estimate of the number of cattle in Australia which provides a more complete estimate of total beef cattle nationally compared with past survey estimates which did not include cattle on smaller farms.

Number of days on pasture refers to number of days a livestock animal spent grazing on improved or other grazed lands. This was based on animal age as defined in Table 18.

Monetary

Monetary estimate represents the replacement value of hay that a farmer would need to pay if they did not have the ecosystem service of grazed biomass provisioning. The monetary estimate is calculated based on applying the price of hay to the physical estimate of grazed biomass provisioned.

The price of hay ($ per tonne of dry matter) is calculated using the local value ($) from Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced  and production volume (tonnes) from Agricultural Commodities publications. This price was converted to a DM basis using a factor of 85%, which represents the dry matter component of cut hay (i.e. price of cut hay without the moisture content) (Weight of hay bales | Feeding Livestock | Agriculture Victoria | Agriculture Victoria).

Coastal protection

Physical

The areas of protection are calculated based on the location of mangroves and saltmarshes which meet certain criteria (within 1 km of the coastline, with a minimum belt width of at least 90 m for mangroves and 40 m for saltmarsh (Möller, et al. 2014) and meeting a connectivity threshold corresponding to an elevation around 1 m above the highest astronomical tide (HAT), which is associated with highest risk of moderate to severe property damage (Qld Coastal Hazards Technical Guide). The areas are overlaid with Residential Address Register Common Frame and Census Mesh Block Counts (2021)  information to derive dwellings and residents protected, see Figure 3. Results were aggregated to state and national-level carbon retention estimates based on Australian Maritime Boundaries.

A distance accumulation method assumes the mangrove and saltmarsh act as a barrier, effectively increasing the distance to the coastline. The 'No DEA mangroves + highest astronomical tide' connectivity layer was chosen to incorporate information on distance and elevation connectivity to ocean water into the coastal protection model. An inundation depth corresponding to approximately 1 m above HAT has been implemented. This corresponds to the high-risk zone with most residential properties incurring moderate to severe damage (Qld Coastal Hazards Technical Guide).

This method builds upon the first attempt used in the experimental National Ocean Account. The new estimates of coastal protection are significantly less than the previously published numbers due to improved methodology. They are conservative values, but are expected to be more accurate.

Mangroves and saltmarsh can provide protection to the same dwellings or residents, so the total protection would be less than the sum of the two. Coastal protection for these ecosystems has been modelled separately therefore totals for supply and use are not available.

Mangrove and saltmarsh extent data was only available for 2020–21, therefore estimates for coastal protection were unavailable for 2010–11 and 2015–16.

Monetary

Valuation of coastal protection services uses the avoided damages cost method which estimates the value of the damage that would be expected to occur in the absence of the ecosystem. This is an improvement on the method used in the National Ocean Account which was based on replacement cost method and estimated the cost of replacing the ecosystem with a seawall to provide the same service. This method applied a simple approach of multiplying an estimate of per metre cost of seawall construction by the total length of coastline protected by mangroves and saltmarsh. However, seawalls are unlikely to be built where there are no dwellings or infrastructure. An alternative approach is the avoided damages cost, which estimates the value of the damage that would be expected to occur in the absence of the ecosystem. This provides an estimate of the service value which is highest where infrastructure assets and large populations exist.

The minimum average annual damage value ($14,200/year, 2021 estimates), representing damage to property from storm surge events and sourced from the Insurance Council of Australia (Climate Change Impact Series: Actions of the Sea and Future Risks), is multiplied by the number of dwellings protected by mangroves and saltmarshes. This includes damage from land erosion, inundation and building damage, and takes into account the potential for damages caused by likelihood events between 10% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) (1 in 10 year storm surge event) and 1% AEP (1 in 100 year storm surge event). 

Carbon retention

Physical

Carbon retention estimates have been collated for select land-based ecosystems. FullCAM ecosystem classifications are concorded to the corresponding IUCN GET classification(s) based on definitions and area extent coherence at a state level to ensure appropriate selection as outlined in Table 19. Production native forests, environmental plantings, plantations softwood/hardwood, wetlands, perennial woody crops, settlements, sparse grasslands or wetlands converted to grassland were excluded due to inconsistencies in classifications and extent.

State and national-level carbon retention estimates are taken directly from aggregated fields and compiled into the appropriate classifications.

Monetary

The value of carbon retention resides in safeguarding the potential release of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Based on the work by Edens (2021), the carbon retention value can be represented by an annual yield that reflects a return to asset holders in maintaining the stored stock of carbon on behalf of society. In the estimation of the carbon retention value we (a) estimate the carbon stock in ecosystem assets, (b) multiply this by a suitable carbon price and (c) convert this into an annual service flow by multiplying this value by a suitable rate of return to generate an annual yield. 

The price of carbon is sourced from the Clean Energy Regulator’s Australian Carbon Credit Units Scheme auctions, reflecting the institutional settings at the time. It is acknowledged that carbon markets in Australia are not yet considered 'mature', yet prices such as those set through the Clean Energy Regulator’s auction can be considered suitable for estimates of climate regulation, as they reflect a market-based outcome.  

The rate of return reflects a yield comprising a real discount rate of 4% plus the relevant annual consumer price index, in line with the national accounts. 

Valuation approaches have not yet been internationally adopted as a standard, as practitioners seek to test ways to best reflect carbon retention values. Other approaches on carbon retention values include a social cost of carbon and a target-based carbon price approach (such as through a net zero target). 

Monetary estimates for carbon retention were not available for 2010–11 as there was no institutional arrangement that placed a value on carbon emissions at that time.

Water Supply

Physical

Water supply estimates are derived from the Water Account, Australia publication and the Water Supply and Sewerage Services Survey (WSSS). The WSSS is a comprehensive census of water utilities, ensuring full coverage without the need for sampling methodologies. Only surface water is considered in scope for this account, and data for 2010–11 were excluded due to unavailability of reliable granular data.

Surface water for drinking

In the absence of data distinguishing potable from non-potable water and water used solely for drinking, water supplied to households is used as a proxy. This water serves multiple purposes, including drinking, gardening, and other household activities.

To quantify the surface water component of water that is extracted and distributed by the Water supply industry to households, ratios based on Water supply industry self-extracted water types (i.e. surface water, groundwater, and sea water for desalination) were calculated and applied to household supply totals.

Surface water used as a material

This category includes self-extracted water by industry as well as the water distributed by the water supply industry to other industries. This water usage spans productive activities like agriculture, mining, and manufacturing, as well as general consumption, including potable water use in office buildings and retail outlets.

To quantify the surface water component of water that is extracted and distributed by the Water supply industry to other industries, ratios based on Water supply industry self-extracted water types (i.e. surface water, groundwater, and sea water for desalination) were calculated and applied to industry supply totals.

Surface water used as an energy source

Surface water used as an energy source was derived from the Water Account, Australia applying water usage quantities by the Electricity and Gas Supply industry. The estimates include those of the Gas Supply industry, however they are negligible compared to hydroelectricity use.

Monetary

Water supply used as a material and used for drinking have been valued at market prices using tradable water allocations. Water allocations are specific volumes of water assigned to water access entitlements, which can be traded separately from the entitlement and land which it adjoins. This allows for the market valuation of water resources and the services they provide. 

The volume of surface water allocations traded is on average 1,750 GL annually, approximately 15% to 20% the volume of the physical supply of water supply used as a material and used for drinking. NSW and Victoria trading represent 90% of priced surface water allocation trading, due to the extensive and advanced water markets throughout the Murray-Darling Basin Region. 

Water allocation trade prices are influenced by supply factors such as rainfall, water storage, and allocation carryover, as well as demand factors like agricultural needs, institutional arrangements, and climatic conditions. 

To value water supply used as a material and used for drinking, the ecosystem price is multiplied by the physical quantity of supply. The physical quantity is sourced from the Physical Supply Use Tables. 

To derive the price of water supply used as a material and used for drinking, a median price water is estimated at the water system level. Then, the relative weighting of the volume of water traded is used to derive state and territory level ecosystem service prices. 

The Australian total price is derived using a volume-weighted median price. For states and territories which do not have prices, the median price of all other states and territories is used. State-level prices are aggregated using the relative weighting of the physical quantity of the service flow, sourced from the respective physical supply and use tables.

Data used to derive the estimate of water system prices and volume weightings is sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology’s Water Market Dashboard.

The ACT does not have a water market, therefore, NSW prices have been used as a suitable alternative market. No water quality adjustments have been made to the estimates for their use in valuing water used for drinking. 

Monetary estimates for surface water used as an energy source were not available. 

Wild fish provisioning

Physical

In the first release of the accounts, only Commonwealth-managed fisheries are included, with plans to add State-managed fisheries in future releases. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) provided confidential data on Commonwealth fisheries to CSIRO from 2000 to 2023. Due to the confidential nature of the data in the development of the wild fisheries biomass provisioning services accounts, the data were provided at an aggregated level. Catch of each species within ecosystem functional groups and Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA) regions were summed over each financial year. 

Due to confidentiality restrictions associated with the data access, only those ecosystem functional groups/regions with 5 or more boats can be reported. Boat numbers in each ecosystem functional group/region combination in each year are reported, with the catch for those regions with less than 5 boats replaced by 'np' (i.e. not provided). This did not affect any of the estimates when aggregated by ecosystem functional groups, but affected around 8% of the output estimates when aggregated by IMCRA Provincial Bioregions (with almost half (47%) of the regions having np in at least one year).

Data were provided for 42 commercially important fish species, selected based on price information availability. All remaining species were aggregated into an 'Other' group. Fish species were aggregated into 4 categories:

• Finfish (34 species, e.g. Blue grenadier, Southern bluefin tuna, Yellowfin tuna)
• Crustaceans (6 species, e.g. Banana prawns, Tiger prawns, Tropical rock lobsters)
• Molluscs (2 species, e.g. scallops and squids)
• Unspecified (represents the 'Other' group, comprising approximately 700 species).

Monetary

The estimation of the monetary exchange value of wild fish provisioning services comprises (a) the quota or licence fees for single species fisheries where available or (b) a rent revenue share for multi-species fisheries, based on the market value of fisheries, to distribute a quote fee across different wild fish catch.

Quota and licence prices established in the market reflect the expected resource rent generated by their use. However, not all fisheries have quota or license fee data and many fishing operations occur in multi-species fisheries where not all fish species caught have a quota or license fee.

The rent revenue share approach divides the estimated rent (annualised total quota sales value or licence asset value) at the aggregate fishery level by the total revenue of the entire fishery to produce a rent revenue share. This share is applied to the price of each species caught in the fishery to produce an exchange value.

Monetary estimates of wild fish provisioning services are only provided for 2020–21 as this year contains greater data availability of recorded quota and license fees consistent with a market-based outcome for deriving exchange values.

Feral animals and weed species

For each account year, direct observational records for each species were downloaded from the ALA database up to and including the years of interest for each account period, i.e. a cumulative record of feral animals and weeds. Calendar year was adopted for biodiversity data. ALA records from Cocos, Christmas, Norfolk, Macquarie, Heard, and McDonald Islands, as well as Antarctica, were excluded to match the scope of the National Ecosystem Accounts, Australia. If a record was not identified down to the necessary taxonomic level (e.g. down to species level), the record was removed.  

Species counts for plants (weeds) and birds, mammals, amphibians, freshwater fish and invertebrates (feral animals) were aggregated by state/territory as well as nationally.

Threatened species status

The Threatened species status table is intended to provide a snapshot of threatened species status across different taxonomic groups (plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, fish, other animals), and how this has tracked over time. Lists of threatened species are available from the EPBC Act SPRAT database, including current threat status (Conservation dependent, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the wild, and Extinct) and historic movements such as new listings, transfers and removals. 

For opening and closing year stocks, the number of species in each threat category was summarised by taxonomic group using the most recent status for each year of interest. The gross and net change in threat status, including new listings, transfers between categories and de-listings, were calculated for each taxonomic group over the account period of interest (5 years). 

Threatened Species Index

The TSX shows the average change in populations compared to a reference year for threatened plants, birds, mammals and amphibians individually and combined. The TSX database was filtered to include: threatened species (vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered) listed under the EPBC Act; all species groups (marine and terrestrial); and both 'actively managed' and 'no known management sites' are included. A reference year of 2000 was used. 

Threatened Species Index values were extracted and summarised by plants, birds, mammals and amphibians for years of interest at national and state levels. 

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