Web-based decision support for regional vegetation management

Native vegetation cover plays a crucial role in conserving biodiversity, sustaining ecosystem functions and processes, and maintaining the productive capacity of land. Sustainable native vegetation management requires awareness among land managers and the wider community of the value and role of remnants of native vegetation, the major issues in their management and best-practice management arrangements. The emergence and widespread use of the World Wide Web presents an opportunity to raise awareness, improve information access, enhance detailed knowledge and build the commitment of land managers and the wider community for sustainable native vegetation management. This paper presents a prototype Web-based information system, VegMan, for regional vegetation management in the Central Highlands region of Queensland, Australia. The system provides access to facts, policies, strategies and decision support tools relevant to vegetation management in the region. The resources and services provided by VegMan and the techniques used for its implementation are described. The potential of a Web-based information system for regional vegetation management and challenges for its development are discussed.