An Australian geographical information and modelling system for natural area management

A generic geographical information and modelling system (GIMS) has been developed and implemented for 6 million hectares of fire-prone rural land in eastern Australia. Viewed initially as a land management decision support system rather than as a geographical information system (GIS) per se, GIMS provides extensive capabilities for estimating and recording patterns of vegetation and fuel dynamics, analysing the behaviour of fire and its environmental effects, and reviewing strategies for fire control and related issues. The software operates on personal computers via linkage to an indexed, direct access, grid data base. The design, development, implementation, evolution and use of GIMS for land management decision support are described, and tests of the system's ability to predict real-time fire behaviour are provided. The relationship between commercial GIS packages and locally-developed dynamic modelling GIS programs is discussed.