Field data representing aerial cover of the herbage and woody species layers were collected along transects radiating away from water at 2 sites grazed by cattle in central Australia. Graphical representation of the litter and herbage components demonstrate that gradients of decreasing cover attributable to increasing grazing pressure occur along all, or sections, of each transect. Highly significant correlations exist between the field data and satellite indices of vegetation cover. Localised shrub increase and patches of recent erosion obscured trends of increasing cover with distance from water on parts of some transects. Soil surface state (describing past erosion) was a significant covariate of cover change at 1 site. The ability to characterise gradients of increasing vegetation cover with distance from water using both field and satellite data should mean that the grazing gradient method, when used with satellite data, is a suitable technique for assessing the extent of landscape recovery following good rainfall.