Ecological Field Survey

• Audit Title

• Site Name

• Tenure

• Date

  Date

• Assessor

DEVELOPMENT TYPE AND LOCATION

• Development type

  Select Well Pad Pilot Well + Dam Monitoring Roads & Tracks Work over Gas Processing Facility Dam Pipeline Seismic Line Property (area) wide

  • Well Pad
  • Pilot Well + Dam
  • Monitoring
  • Roads & Tracks
  • Work over
  • Gas Processing Facility
  • Dam
  • Pipeline
  • Seismic Line
  • Property (area) wide
• Centre of Ecological Stratification Unit (ESU) or 100 x 100 m area GDA 94, MGA zone 55 or 55 Easting Northing
  Address

• Other description

Photos from centre of ESU

• North

  Media

• Notes

• East

  Media

• Notes

• South

  Media

• Notes

• West

  Media

• Notes

Photos of landscape and features

• Take photo

  Media

• Notes

• Take photo

  Media

• Notes

• Take photo

  Media

• Notes

• Take photo

  Media

• Notes

LANDFORM AND PHYSIOGRAPHY

• LANDFORM estimated within 500m (broad assessment- view if the area; choose the most characteristic feature - ONE ONLY)

  PLAINS

  HILL, MOUNTAIN, TABLELANDS

  DUNES

  STREAMS

  WATER

• Choose type

  Slope or hill not specified

  Cliff, steep rock, rocky ledge, rocky outcrop, scarp, crevice

  Coastal rocky headland

  Top, crest of mountain or ridge

  Jump-up, mesa, tableland, plateau

• Choose Plains Type

  Select Downs - open, rolling, ashy, pebbly Alluvial plain or flat, floodplain Inland clay pan, salt flat, salt pan Coastal tidal flat or salt flat Unspecified, flat, gentle, slopes, undulating terrain

  • Downs - open, rolling, ashy, pebbly
  • Alluvial plain or flat, floodplain
  • Inland clay pan, salt flat, salt pan
  • Coastal tidal flat or salt flat
  • Unspecified, flat, gentle, slopes, undulating terrain

• Choose type

  Fossil coastal dune, high dune

  Coastal dune - unspecified, beach dune, recent dune, low dune, coastal sand dune

  Inland dune, inland sand hill

• Choose type

  Permanent lake, river, stream, watercourse, levees and/or their banks

  Seasonal or intermittent creek, gully, drainage line, ravine, gorge, outwash

  Inland channel country, stream distributary system, intermittently flooded

• Choose type

  Freshwater lake, lagoon, spring

  Freshwater swamp, marsh, soak, seepage area

  Gilgai, melon hole, sinkhole

  Saltwater, sea, swamp

• SLOPE

  Select Level (<1%) Gently sloping (1-4%) Moderately sloping (5-10%) Strongly sloping (11-24%) Moderately steep (25-38%) Steep (39-55%) Very steep (56-100%) Slope >100% (45 degrees)

  • Level (<1%)
  • Gently sloping (1-4%)
  • Moderately sloping (5-10%)
  • Strongly sloping (11-24%)
  • Moderately steep (25-38%)
  • Steep (39-55%)
  • Very steep (56-100%)
  • Slope >100% (45 degrees)

• ASPECT

  Select North South East West North East North West South East South West Nil

  • North
  • South
  • East
  • West
  • North East
  • North West
  • South East
  • South West
  • Nil

• SOIL COLOUR

  Select White Black Yellow Grey Orange Pale Brown Dark Red Mottled

  • White
  • Black
  • Yellow
  • Grey
  • Orange
  • Pale
  • Brown
  • Dark
  • Red
  • Mottled

• SOIL (list is in order of increasing clay content)

  Select Sand Loamy Sand Clayey Sand Sandy Loam Loam (>20 % clay) Silty Loam Sandy Clay Loam Clay Loam Clay Sandy Loam Silty Clay Loam Light Clay Light Medium Clay Medium Clay Medium Heavy Clay Heavy Clay Saline Mud

  • Sand
  • Loamy Sand
  • Clayey Sand
  • Sandy Loam
  • Loam (>20 % clay)
  • Silty Loam
  • Sandy Clay Loam
  • Clay Loam
  • Clay Sandy Loam
  • Silty Clay Loam
  • Light Clay
  • Light Medium Clay
  • Medium Clay
  • Medium Heavy Clay
  • Heavy Clay
  • Saline Mud

• EROSION

  Absent

  Scattered

  Frequent

• EROSION TYPE

  Select Tunnelling Sheet Rill Gully Mass Failure Stream-bank

  • Tunnelling
  • Sheet
  • Rill
  • Gully
  • Mass Failure
  • Stream-bank

DISTURBANCE

• Disturbance estimated within ESU or 100 x 100 m area (broad assessment - random meander)

• LANDUSE

  Select Grazing Forestry Cropping Conservation Mining Other

  • Grazing
  • Forestry
  • Cropping
  • Conservation
  • Mining
  • Other

• Briefly describe 'other'

• EVIDENCE OF DISTURBANCE

  Select Clearing Cultivation Regrowth Logging Thinning No Disturbance

  • Clearing
  • Cultivation
  • Regrowth
  • Logging
  • Thinning
  • No Disturbance

• Is there dieback?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Dieback

• SITE CONDITION

  Very Good

  Good

  Moderate

  Poor

  Degraded

• FIRE SCARS

  Absent

  Scattered

  Frequent

• Time since

  Recent

  Old

• Average height (m)

• Disturbance notes

VEGETATION STRUCTURE AND CONTEXT

• Estimated within ESU or 100x100 m (broad assessment - random meander)

• MICROHABITAT(S) present

  Select CEST - coastal and estuarine Rf - rainforest (including SEVT) H - heath FOR - forest WDL - woodland GRL - grassland IMP - improved pasture LKE - lake/dam RIP - riparian SHR - shrubland SW - swamp/wetland DIS - disturbed areas (e.g. roadsides, cropping land, urban areas)

  • CEST - coastal and estuarine
  • Rf - rainforest (including SEVT)
  • H - heath
  • FOR - forest
  • WDL - woodland
  • GRL - grassland
  • IMP - improved pasture
  • LKE - lake/dam
  • RIP - riparian
  • SHR - shrubland
  • SW - swamp/wetland
  • DIS - disturbed areas (e.g. roadsides, cropping land, urban areas)

• ECOLOGICAL DOMINANT LAYER (EDL)

  Select T1 T2 S1 S2 G

  • T1
  • T2
  • S1
  • S2
  • G

• Average height (m) of EDL

• Average DBH (cm) of EDL

• Canopy cover (%) of EDL

  >70% (dense/closed)

  30-70% (mid-dense)

  10-30% (sparse)

  <10% (very sparse)

  n/a

• Functional shrub layer density (<2m)

  Dense/closed

  Mid-dense

  Sparse

  Very sparse

  Absent

THREATENED FLORA, TYPE A FLORA AND WEEDS

• Declared and locally significant
  Locations across ESU

• Species information

Species info

• Species name

• Density

• Waypoint/polygon

• Easting

• Northing

• Photos

  Media

VEGETATION FLORISTICS

• Record all species within 50 x 50 transect

• Transact start compass bearing

• Start easting

• Start Northing

• End Easting

• End Northing

• STRATUM
  

• Choose the stratum to input information

  Select E T1 T2 T3 S1 S2

  • E
  • T1
  • T2
  • T3
  • S1
  • S2

• E

• Height range (m) from

• Height range (m) to

• Canopy cover (%)

• T1

• Height range (m) from

• Height range (m) to

• Canopy cover (%)

• T2

• Height range (m) from

• Height range (m) to

• Canopy cover (%)

• T3

• Height range (m) from

• Height range (m) to

• Canopy cover (%)

• S1

• Height range (m) from

• Height range (m) to

• Canopy cover (%)

• S2

• Height range (m) from

• Height range (m) to

• Canopy cover (%)

SPECIES

• Record ground cover species within 50 x 10m transect

• Species list and details

Species

• Common name/collection name

• Species name

• Sample (field no.)

• Stem count
  50 x 10m plot or 50 x 2 m plot for dense cover in S1 and S2
  Denote plot type employed

• E

• T1

• T2

• T3

• S1

• S2

• Totals

• E

• T1

• T2

• T3

• S1

• S2

Ground cover

• Record in five 1m x 1m quadrants along 50m transect (total in each quadrant =100)

• Quadrant 1

• Photo

  Media

• Native perennial grass

• Native other grass (if relevant)

• Native forbs and other species (non-grass)

• Native shrubs (<1m)

• Non-native grass

• Non-native forbs and shrubs

• Litter

• Rock

• Bare ground

• Cryptogram

• Quadrant 2

• Photo

  Media

• Native perennial grass

• Native other grass (if relevant)

• Native forbs and other species (non-grass)

• Native shrubs (<1m)

• Non-native grass

• Non-native forbs and shrubs

• Litter

• Rock

• Bare ground

• Cryptogram

• Quadrant 3

• Photo

  Media

• Native perennial grass

• Native other grass (if relevant)

• Native forbs and other species (non-grass)

• Native shrubs (<1m)

• Non-native grass

• Non-native forbs and shrubs

• Litter

• Rock

• Bare ground

• Cryptogram

• Quadrant 4

• Photo

  Media

• Native perennial grass

• Native other grass (if relevant)

• Native forbs and other species (non-grass)

• Native shrubs (<1m)

• Non-native grass

• Non-native forbs and shrubs

• Litter

• Rock

• Bare ground

• Cryptogram

• Quadrant 5

• Photo

  Media

• Native perennial grass

• Native other grass (if relevant)

• Native forbs and other species (non-grass)

• Native shrubs (<1m)

• Non-native grass

• Non-native forbs and shrubs

• Litter

• Rock

• Bare ground

• Cryptogram

• Mean for each type

• Native perennial grass

• Native other grass (if relevant)

• Native forbs and other species (non-grass)

• Native shrubs (<1m)

• Non-native grass

• Non-native forbs and shrubs

• Litter

• Rock

• Bare ground

• Cryptogram

REGIONAL ECOSYSTEM MAPPING

• Mapped RE - RE CODE

• Survey result

• Mapped RE - EPBC Status

• Survey result

• Mapped RE - VM Act Status

• Survey result

• Mapped RE - Biodiversity Status

• Survey result

• Agree with mapped RE?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If no, please provide justification from field data

FAUNA HABITAT

• Within 50 x 10m transect

• No. of trees with hollows (>10cm)

• Per hectare (x20)

• No. of hollow logs

• Per hectare (x20)

• Total length of logs (>10cm)

• Per hectare (x20)

• No. of logs (>10cm)

• Per hectare (x20)

FAUNA HABITAT FEATURES

• Estimated within ESU or 100 x 100 m (broad assessment - random meander)

• Cliffs/outcrops

  Absence

  Presence

• Wetland/Swamp/Waterbody

  Absence

  Presence

• Waterway

  Absence

  Presence

• Potential for nectar/pollen

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Potential for fleshy fruiting plants

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Potential for seeding grass cover

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Dense shrub/grass shelter

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Large Eucalypts (>30cm DBH)

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Large non-Eucalypts (>20cm DBH)

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Large rocks (>30cm)

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Small rocks (10-30cm)

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Leaf litter depth

  Absent

  Single layer

  Multiple layers

  Deep layers

• Leaf litter coverage

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Termite mounds (>50cm)

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Rock piles

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Trees with shedding bark

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Soil cracks

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Koala feed trees

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

• Mistletoe/epiphytes

  Absence

  Scattered

  Common

  Abundant

FAUNA SIGNS

• Estimated within ESU or 100 x 100m area (broad assessment - random meanders)
  GPS ALL POTENTIAL BREEDING PLACES BUT NOT NECESSARILY ALL FAUNA SIGNS
  
  Fauna signs: animal tracks, feed scars, scratches, diggings, scars, casts, bones, feathers, other
  Breeding places: nests, burrows, shelters, drays, bowers, other

• Enter information regarding fauna signs

Fauna Signs

• Fauna sign/Breeding place

• Likely species/group

• Conservation status

  Endangered

  Vulnerable

  Near Threatened

  Special Least Concern -koala, echidna, platypus, migratory species

  Colonial Breeding Species - microbats, wetland birds

• Coordinates GDA 94 Easting

• Coordinates GDA 94 Northing

• Other information (eg. Age, collected, active/inactive)

AC RECOMMENDATIONS - SITE PREPARATION

• Fauna spotter catcher required?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If yes, why?

• Ecologist required?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If yes, why?

• Species management plan required?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• If yes, why?

• Minimal disturbance suitability assessment :
  
  Suitable - if all 4 questions are yes
  

• Is the vegetation suitable for slashing only ?<br>

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the slope <5% ?<br>

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Is the clay content >20% ?<br>

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Are gilgais absent?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Suitable for minimal disturbance?

  Yes

  No

  N/A

• Notes