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Surface expression groundwater dependant ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems dependent on the discharge of groundwater on a permanent or intermittent basis to meet all or some of their water requirements so as to maintain their communities of plants and animals, ecological processes and ecosystem services. Surface expression GDE area features include wetlands and regional ecosystems that have some groundwater dependency. Information about the location and extent of known and potential GDEs was sourced from expert knowledge, literature and existing datasets. This dataset is one of five datasets that describe the distribution of known and potential GDEs across the landscape. The complete set of GDE datasets is: 1. Surface expression GDE points, 2. Surface expression GDE lines, 3. Surface expression GDE areas, 4. Terrestrial GDE areas, 5. Subterranean GDE areas. As the different types of GDEs represent different overlapping layers or cross-sections of the landscape, it is recommended that the datasets be mapped in the order of listing shown above (i.e. surface expression GDE points on top) to maintain logical consistency and assist visualization. |