Melbourne Tree Canopy Polygons from 2016 Aerial Imagery

Tree canopy polygons mapped across the City of Melbourne using 2016 aerial photos and LiDAR. The data represents actual canopy extents on both private and public property. It is provided by the City of Melbourne Open Data team.

Use Cases

• Analyze canopy coverage across property types (private vs. public) to assess urban forest equity.
• Model urban heat island effects by correlating canopy polygons with temperature and land use data.
• Quantify vegetation changes over time by comparing these 2016-derived polygons with newer surveys.
• Support urban planning by identifying areas of low canopy density for targeted greening initiatives.

Strengths

• Data derived from high-resolution 2016 aerial photos and LiDAR for accurate canopy delineation.
• Covers the entire City of Melbourne, including both private and public land.
• Available in multiple spatial formats (SHP, JSON, CSV, GEOJSON) for interoperability.

Limitations

• Based on 2016 imagery, representing conditions nearly a decade old at the time of the last update.
• Lacks specific column metadata, limiting detailed understanding of polygon attributes.

Provenance

Source

City of Melbourne Open Data

Collection Method

Mapped from 2016 aerial photographs and LiDAR data.

Time Range

2016 (imagery capture date).

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026, though the underlying imagery is from 2016.

Geography

City of Melbourne, Australia.