The leafy cover provided by tree canopy (trees 3 metres or taller) provides significant community, environmental and economic benefits. This valuable community asset, collectively known as the ‘urban forest’, includes all trees across public and private land.
Accurate, timely and relevant data and mapping underpins smart decisions and fosters a shared understanding of the city’s urban greening profile. This data supports the State Government and key stakeholders, including local governments, to monitor vegetation trends, make strategic decisions and clearly report progress over time.
Data collection process
Since 2014, the WAPC has sourced urban vegetation data from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency.
High-resolution aerial imagery of the Perth and Peel regions is captured through the State Government’s Urban Eye program. The raw data is turned into useful data products which is available to all departments for various work, including urban greening. Procurement was managed by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) prior to 2021, and by Landgate since 2023.
The aerial images, combined with spatial data provided by DPLH, are analysed using CSIRO's Urban Monitor program. Urban Monitor employs satellite imagery and advanced analytics to monitor green cover, land use and changes in vegetation over time.
Once the Urban Monitor data is received from CSIRO, Landgate transfers the Geographic Information System (GIS) data files for analysis by DPLH.
Currently, aerial imagery is captured annually in late January. Urban greening data is processed and updated every two years and published publicly on the Urban Tree Canopy Dashboard (UTCD) further below.
What’s new?
The 2024 urban vegetation data for the Perth and Peel regions was released 29 May 2025 and is available on the Urban Tree Canopy Dashboard (UTCD) under the ‘2024 Canopy Data’ tab (see further below). Several minor updates have been made to the UTCD and data methodology, with additional refinements planned.
FAQs – 2024 tree canopy data
Show moreWhat areas of the Perth and Peel regions does the UTCD cover?
The dashboard reports on vegetation coverage within specific land use categories in Perth and Peel (see ‘New data methodology’ below), some of which includes the Perth Hills and well-vegetated State forests.
What was the tree canopy cover for the Perth and Peel regions in 2024?
Tree canopy cover in 2024 was 22%.
What is the most recent comparable year, and what was the tree canopy cover then?
The most recent comparable year is 2020, which reported a tree canopy cover of 16% for the street blocks, roads and parks land use categories.
Does this mean that the city’s tree canopy cover increased by 6% from 2020 to 2024?
No. The 2024 data uses a revised methodology that is more comprehensive and spatially accurate than previous years. This new method will be used for all future datasets (see ‘New data methodology’ below).
What would the 2020 tree canopy cover be if calculated using the revised 2024 methodology?
It would be 21%, which indicates that Perth and Peel’s tree canopy cover has increased by 1% from 2020 to 2024.
What is the State Govt doing to increase tree canopy cover in the Perth and Peel regions?
The State Government is committed to its ambitious target of increasing Perth and Peel’s urban tree canopy to 30% by 2040. Released later this year, the Urban Greening Strategy for Perth and Peel will help create well-planned, leafy and liveable communities through a new urban greening grant program, financial incentives and other support.
The strategy is part of the Cook Government’s coordinated, whole-of-government approach to enhance climate resilience and address challenges in our growing city, such as rising urban heat.
FAQs – New data methodology
Show moreWhen did the data methodology change?
The data methodology changed with the 2024 dataset and will be used for all future datasets. The previous method was used for the 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 tree canopy datasets.
Why was the data methodology revised?
In 2024, the data methodology was revised to provide a more comprehensive and spatially accurate picture of urban vegetation and tree canopy cover. There are many ways to capture and process urban greening data, with various methodologies and decisions on what areas and types of land or vegetation to include. This revision – the first since 2014 – ensures that the data reflects the most accurate and holistic view of our urban environment.
What are the main changes to the data methodology?
The revised methodology now includes reporting on additional vegetation types, such as grass and shrubs less than 3 metres tall. It also introduces three new land use categories – rural, water and other infrastructure – in addition to existing categories – street blocks, roads and parks.
How does the new methodology impact the 2024 dataset?
Including these new land use categories means the measure of tree canopy accounts for an extra 6% of canopy cover previously unreported, resulting in a total canopy cover of 22% for 2024.
Due to the change in methodology, the 2024 data cannot be directly compared to earlier datasets within the UTCD. This is why the dashboard’s ‘Change in canopy cover’ tab does not display the 2024 data.
FAQs – 2022 tree canopy data availability
Show moreIf urban greening data is updated every two years and published on the UTCD, why isn’t the 2022 data available?
The 2022 data was not included due to the transition of data procurement and contract management responsibilities from DPLH to Landgate between 2021 and 2023. This transition aimed to enhance canopy data accessibility across the WA public sector.
Will the State Government process and publish the 2022 data?
Yes, the 2022 data will be retrospectively processed and published to address this crucial data gap. The new methodology will be applied to enable a direct comparison between 2022 and 2024.
DPLH continues to work with Landgate to enhance urban greening data, tools and mapping, including further refinements to the UTCD.
Urban tree canopy dashboard
The WAPC’s Urban Tree Canopy Dashboard (UTCD) is an interactive snapshot of tree canopy coverage across the Perth and Peel regions. It shows the growth, loss or change of urban canopy in a given area over time. Information is available at a suburb or local government area level, and can be viewed by different land use categories and local planning scheme zones.
Whilst it provides data and trends for all suburbs within Perth and Peel, the dashboard is not intended as a comparison tool between local governments, as each area is subject to different environmental conditions, land uses and community needs.
The UTCD can be accessed below, along with helpful Guidance Notes for using the dashboard, and a Technical Summary.
Click through pages 1 to 3 (see bottom middle of the window below) to explore the dashboard. Click the small arrow in the bottom right corner to view it in full screen mode.
Better Urban Forest Planning
Many local governments in Perth and Peel already have urban forest strategies prepared in consultation with their communities. The urban forest mapping data at the link below is made available to local governments to help them monitor the tree canopy in their local area.
Summarised to mesh block level (ABS), the mapping data is available on PlanWA. More detailed GIS shapefiles are available to local government users via SLIP (Shared Location Information Platform). These platforms will be updated with 2024 data over the coming weeks.
Developed in association with the WA Local Government Association (WALGA), the Better Urban Forest Planning guide helps local governments and the broader community plan and manage urban forests for current and future generations.
Print this page
