General ausplots school
- 2. Environmental Monitoring Ben Sparrow Ausplots Director TERN The University of Adelaide
- 3. 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.
- 4. 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 change Environmental change
- 6. Step 1. – Using Lego construct a healthy environment
- 9. Why is it a health environment? Mitch (5) No Dead Trees A house for Mr Frog under the leaves A house for Mr Bat Shade for Mr Scorpion Good because there are lots of trees and plants
- 11. Why is it a Healthy Environment? Jake (7) No Dead Trees Lots of trees Lots of animals (frog, scorpion, snake, crocodile, bat) Lots of flowers Weeds under rock Trees with roots showing Safe places for animals to live.
- 12. After Eyre et. al. 2011 Population Ecology Community Ecology Biogeography/ Landscape Ecology
- 13. Monitoring
- 14. Which is better? They are all important! The most important parts are actually the arrows! Need to use them together
- 16. Surveillance Monitoring – What and where is it changing? Landscape monitoring – When and Where is it changing? Targeted Monitoring - Why is it changing?
- 17. Discuss measures
- 18. AusPlots Designing a surveillance monitoring network for Australia.
- 19. NOT 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
- 20. - 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
- 21. Objectives of AusPlots National 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 available To Work out what change is happening where (and how much)
- 22. 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
- 23. S1 NEN5N4N3N2N1NW W5 W4 W3 W2 W1 SW S2 S3 S4 S5 SE E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 What do we collect?
- 24. Voucher Specimens for official Identification and future use.
- 25. 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
- 28. Basal Wedge
- 30. Soil Metagenomic Samples 9 Samples across the site Top 3cm of soil and crust Dried and stored
- 31. Soil Pit
- 32. 9 x 30cm Subsites to sample variability Store samples in bags and prepare for NSA on return from the field
- 33. Bulk density • How much does the dirt weigh?
- 34. 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
- 35. Ellude to what analysis avalible
- 36. Full method details available at: http://www.ausplots.org/useourinfrastructure/ Under the heading of Accepted Method.
- 37. AusPlots
- 38. 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
- 39. Addresses knowledge gaps Located where there is a NEED for data
- 41. Have also made methods on : Tall Eucalypts Condition / Health Woodlands Animals, With ongoing work on: Fungi (mushrooms) Ants and Bugs A Quicker method What to do when we go back to a site
- 44. 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 NSW NSWNT WA WA NSW National TERN TERN TERN TERN QLD
- 45. 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.
- 46. Field App: Plot Creation 46
- 47. Field App: Site Description 47
- 48. Field App: Veg. Vouchering 48
- 49. Field App: Point Intercept 49
- 50. Field App: Basal Wedge 50
- 51. Field App: Structural Summary 51
- 52. Field App: Plot Upload 52
- 53. Data Delivery System Field Collection Curation Database Storage Retrieval
- 54. Data Delivery: Soils to Satellites http://soils2sat.ala.org.au/ala-soils2sat/login/auth
- 57. 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.
- 58. 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
- 60. • 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.
- 61. 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.
- 62. What can AusPlots offer you? www.ausplots.org.au For details including Volunteering, HDR, Data, methods, Samples, Training, App etc. Ben.sparrow@adelaide.edu.au 08 8313 1201