Environmental Monitoring

Ben SparrowAusplots Director

TERNThe University of Adelaide

What will we cover today?

Types of environmental monitoring. Details of each type.

Ausplots as an example.

Two practical exercise to experience some of these issues.

Environmental monitoring

Survey/ Field Trip/ Excursion is about working out what is there

Monitoring is about going to the same place again and again to see how it has changed

Seasonal and long term changeEnvironmental change

Step 1. – Using Lego construct a healthy environment

Why is it a health environment?Mitch (5)

No Dead TreesA house for Mr Frog under the leaves

A house for Mr BatShade for Mr Scorpion

Good because there are lots of trees and plants

Why is it a Healthy Environment?Jake (7)No Dead TreesLots of trees

Lots of animals (frog, scorpion, snake, crocodile, bat)Lots of flowers

Weeds under rockTrees with roots showing

Safe places for animals to live.

After Eyre et. al. 2011

Population Ecology

Community Ecology

Biogeography/ Landscape Ecology

Monitoring

Logo

Which is better?They are all important!

The most important parts are actually the arrows!

Need to use them together

RadiographerSurgeon

Registrar

GPTheatre Nurse

AnestesiologistNurse

AdministratorRadiologist

Surveillance Monitoring – What and where is it changing?

Landscape monitoring – When and Where is it changing?

Targeted Monitoring - Why is it changing?

Discuss measures

AusPlotsDesigning a surveillance monitoring network for Australia.

NOT

Logo

Because we want to know if there is a problem, but we don’t have the resources to have the fire

department everywhere all the time!

Surveillance Monitoring

- ecological research infrastructure (the core environmental information that everyone uses – Like road infrastructure)

– Make new and old information available for everyone, from backyards to global

– Collect new data in important areas and where we don’t know much.

In the context of AusPlots the Plots and their associated data are considered to be infrastructure.

TERN

Objectives of AusPlotsNational network of surveillance and ecosystem baseline assessment sites

Measuring soil and vegetation the same way everywhere and

Putting them in sensible places and

Collect plots by

Analyzing the data (What change is happening) and making samples available to researchers and

Making data availableTo

Work out what change is happening where (and how much)

About Our Method

• Has to be practical – easy to use

• “It’s not about developing the perfect method, but rather understanding how imperfect the method is.”

Modular Methods• Pick which bits are collected where

• Mostly we collect everything

S1

NEN5N4N3N2N1NW

W5

W4

W3

W2

W1

SW S2 S3 S4 S5 SE

E1

E2

E3

E4

E5

What do we collect?

Voucher Specimens for official Identification and future use.

Vouchers for genetic and isotope analysis

1. Take around 10 cm2 from each voucher specimen

2. Place into a synthetic tea bag and seal

3. Label with adhesive voucher label and scan with app

4. Place bag in box with ⅓ cup silica granules (self indicating and non-indicating granules)

5. Seal box and ensure it is labelled with plot identifier. Preferably 1 box per plot.Change silica every few days until indicator no longer changes colour.

6. Samples can then be used for isotope and DNA analyses

+ Duplicates for Dominant

species

Point Intercept Data

Basal Wedge

During

After

Leaf Area Index

Soil Metagenomic Samples

9 Samples across the siteTop 3cm of soil and crustDried and stored

Soil Pit

9 x 30cm Subsites to sample variability

Store samples in bags and prepare for NSA on return from the field

Bulk density

• How much does the dirt weigh?

2.5m

1.45m

The tripod is set up at each apex of the triangle and a full set of photos taken for 360 degrees at each point.

The centre point is a star dropper standing 1.3m tall (if at all possible) with a mark ( the top of the mark) set 25cm from the top of the pole.

Photopoints

Ellude to what analysis avalible

Full method details available at:

http://www.ausplots.org/useourinfrastructure/Under the heading of Accepted Method.

AusPlots

Stage 1. Where to go in Australia?

Stage 2. Which ones to do first?

Stage 3. What do we already know?

Stage 4. Does it seem a good site when we get there?

Where? - Stratification

Addresses knowledge gaps

Located where there is a NEED for

data

Have also made methods on :Tall EucalyptsCondition / HealthWoodlands Animals,

With ongoing work on:Fungi (mushrooms)Ants and BugsA Quicker methodWhat to do when we go back to a

site

How is it achieved?Extensive Networking / Collaboration / input to the process

Engage with Agricultural, Environmental, Forestry communities as well as NGO’s – Input from all Rangeland States and Territories

The challenges of this kind of project are greater socially than they are scientifically!

SA SA

National

NationalNational

Collaborator

TAS QLD

NSW

NSWNSWNTWA

WA NSW

National

TERNTERN

TERN TERN

QLD

One method agreed upon and used across the country

http://www.ausplots.org/

Designed to be used with our training course

New modules being added – Check back regularly.

Field App: Plot Creation

46

Field App: Site Description

47

Field App: Veg. Vouchering

48

Field App: Point Intercept

49

Field App: Basal Wedge

50

Field App: Structural Summary

51

Field App: Plot Upload

52

Data Delivery System

Field Collection

Curation

DatabaseStorage

Retrieval

Data Delivery: Soils to Satellites

http://soils2sat.ala.org.au/ala-soils2sat/login/auth

Data Delivery: Aekoshttp://www.aekos.org.au/

Field team

• Based in Adelaide• Provides consistency• Best way to use

scarce resources – Would prefer to have state based teams in the future if funding allowed.

• Well equipped• Can train others• Work in conjunction

with state agencies where possible.

• Work well together in trying conditions.

Training courses• At least one per

year• A day of lectures

explaining all aspects of the

method• A day learning

each component of our method

(Vegetation, Soils and Technical

Aspects)• Focuses on

theoretical and practical aspects

• Pragmatic• Held in the

Rangelands

• Presentations to community groups.

• Workshops• Targeted

presentations (state agencies, fed Govt.)

• Briefing ministerial advisors

• Well maintained website• Conference presentations• International reference groups /

tours• Regular TERN Newsletter articles

to large mailing list.

How to get samples

At Present have collected approximately:>10,000 Soil samples~2700 Soil metagenomic Samples

>15000 Voucher specimens~ 15000 Genetic Samples~ 16000 Dominant Genetic replicates

All of which can be access following standard protocols

Information pack available for download at our website

Details how to get access.

What can AusPlots offer you?www.ausplots.org.au

For details including Volunteering, HDR, Data, methods, Samples, Training, App etc.

Ben.sparrow@adelaide.edu.au08 8313 1201