Versatile agricultural land spatial data of the Roper catchment NT generated by the Roper River Water Resource Assessment

This versatile agricultural land data is a collection of raster datasets (GeoTIFF format) used to provide a synopsis of the land suitability data of the 21 crop groups and their specific irrigation management systems and seasons in the Roper catchment of the Northern Territory. Five datasets are in this collection. \nThe definitive versatile agricultural land dataset (Ag_Versatility_14_Crops_R.tif) was determined by identifying where the largest number of the 14 selected land management options were mapped as being suitable (i.e. suitability classes 1 to 3, refer to report cited with this metadata record). This analysis summarised the suitability of the selected land management options for each pixel, and highlights those pixels that are potentially more versatile for agricultural development because they are likely to suit a larger range of land management options and enterprises eg the score of zero represents the least versatile land, while the score of 14 represents the most versatile. The data values represent the number of land management options suitable for that pixel. The selected land management options were chosen to be relative to general potential agronomic experience and development aspirations of potential stakeholders in the catchment and were derived in consultation with the agricultural viability activity in ROWRA. These selections are presented in Table 3-26 of the published report; ' Soils and land suitability for the Roper catchment, Northern Territory'. A technical report from the CSIRO Roper River Water Resource Assessment to the Government of Australia. Similarly, the selection of a different representative set from the land management options would result in a different versatility map outcome.\nIn addition to the selected set of 14 land management options, versatile agricultural land is also presented using the subsets of each of the irrigation types (and rainfed cropping). In this case, the land management options were assigned to rainfed (8), furrow (17), spray (23) or trickle irrigation (10). The data values represent the number of land management options suitable for that pixel. Analytical products like these help to identify land where particular types of irrigation-related infrastructure investment may be best targeted. This data provides improved land evaluation information to identify opportunities and promote detailed investigation for a range of sustainable development options. It is important to emphasize that this is a