Macadamia Climate Suitability Maps from Australian Vulnerability Assessment

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) provides modelled climate suitability maps for macadamia cultivation. The dataset includes GeoTIFF files for the overall climate suitability, individual phenophases, and phenophase-climate variable combinations. Results are derived from eight global climate models (GCMs), historical observations, and ensemble medians.

Use Cases

• Project future macadamia cultivation zones by analyzing overall climate suitability maps from eight GCMs.
• Assess climate risks to specific growth stages using phenophase-specific suitability maps.
• Compare model uncertainty in climate projections by evaluating the ensemble median maps against individual GCM outputs.
• Validate climate model performance for horticulture by comparing historical observation maps with future projections.

Strengths

• Includes results from eight distinct global climate models (GCMs), enabling uncertainty analysis.
• Provides multi-faceted maps for overall suitability, individual phenophases, and specific phenophase-climate variable combinations.
• Data is provided in GeoTIFF format, suitable for spatial analysis in GIS software.

Limitations

• The dataset is specific to a single commodity (macadamia) within one node (Horticulture and Viticulture) of a larger assessment.
• No sample data or column schema is provided, making initial data exploration and programmatic use difficult.
• The underlying multicriteria analysis model involves exclusions and assumptions detailed in a separate methodology report.

Provenance

Source

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD)

Collection Method

Modelled using multicriteria analysis (MCA) on climate data, with details in a published Methodology Report.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated March 2026, indicating recent maintenance.

Geography

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