dataset: NW_EROSION_SUSCEPTIBILITY

A polygonal map of wind erosion susceptibility in the Victorian Mallee. The dataset was created by assigning relative susceptibility classes to landform component data mapped during the disaggregation of land systems project (refer to separate metadata entry). The classifications represent the inherent susceptibility of the component to wind erosion based on its exposure to erosive winds and its 'likely' soil texture grade. In some instances a landform component has been split into facets in order to assign varying classes of susceptibility across the component. The project was sponsored by the Mallee Catchment Management Authority with funding from the Federal government's Caring for our Country initiative. The final project report, "Mallee wind erosion susceptibility mapping" together with the "Disaggregation of landform components within land systems of the Mallee", and the Rowan and Downes (1963) report , "A study of the land of north-western Victoria", should be referred to when analysing or utilising this dataset. Regional Map Units (RMUs) in the Mallee developed during the land system disaggregation project and refined in this project have been ranked for their overall wind erosion susceptibility. These units and the finer-scale grid data can be used to make spatially strategic decisions for investment in research, monitoring, protection and management relating to wind erosion in the region.