A Baseline of Vegetation Health for the Buntine Marchagee Recovery
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A Baseline of Vegetation Health for the Buntine Marchagee Recovery Catchment. Gunyidi Pool c. 1978 Photo D.B. Lyons Gunyidi Pool 2004 Photo Jeff Richardson Jeff Richardson1, Greg Keighery1 and Wes Manson2 1 CALM Woodvale 2 CALM Geraldton MARCH 2005 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................IV SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................V INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................1 METHODS..............................................................................................................................................1 TRANSECT ESTABLISHMENT .................................................................................................................2 PLANT HEALTH ....................................................................................................................................4 PLANT SPECIES, SIZE CLASSES AND TAXONOMY ...................................................................................4 COMMUNITY TRANSECTS .....................................................................................................................4 EXISTING VEGETATION MAPPING ........................................................................................................4 FAUNA NOTES ......................................................................................................................................5 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................5 W001 ...................................................................................................................................................5 W002 ...................................................................................................................................................5 W004 ...................................................................................................................................................5 W006 ...................................................................................................................................................7 W007 ...................................................................................................................................................7 W008 ...................................................................................................................................................7 W009 ...................................................................................................................................................7 W010 ...................................................................................................................................................8 W011 ...................................................................................................................................................8 W015 ...................................................................................................................................................8 W016 ...................................................................................................................................................9 W017 ...................................................................................................................................................9 W018 ...................................................................................................................................................9 W019 ...................................................................................................................................................9 W022 .................................................................................................................................................10 W052 .................................................................................................................................................10 W056 .................................................................................................................................................10 W059 .................................................................................................................................................10 W061 .................................................................................................................................................11 W063 .................................................................................................................................................11 W064 .................................................................................................................................................11 W070 .................................................................................................................................................11 W071 .................................................................................................................................................11 W072 .................................................................................................................................................12 W074 .................................................................................................................................................12 SPS 201..............................................................................................................................................12 SPS 203..............................................................................................................................................12 RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................................................12 REFERENCES .....................................................................................................................................13 APPENDIX A: DATA COLLECTION SHEETS..............................................................................14 SITE DESCRIPTION..............................................................................................................................14 DATA SHEET FIELD DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................18 APPENDIX B VEGETATION AND DISTURBANCE DESCRIPTION FOR EACH OF THE SAMPLED WETLANDS.....................................................................................................................19 -ii - APPENDIX C COMMUNITY TRANSECT FOR EACH OF THE WETLANDS ........................21 APPENDIX D PLANT DATA.............................................................................................................26 APPENDIX E PLANT SIZE CLASS DEFINITIONS ......................................................................65 APPENDIX F GROUND INTERCEPT DATA.................................................................................67 APPENDIX G: FAUNA RECORDS...................................................................................................70 -iii - Acknowledgements We would like to thanks all the landholders (private and local government) for access to their land. Alison Doley for describing the history of her property and for help in the field. Bill Muir and Andy Williams (CALM Woodvale) for fieldwork. CALM Jurien Bay for accommodation. Mike Lyons, Neil Gibson and David Mickle (CALM Woodvale) for assistance in developing methods. Thanks to Glen Daniel (CALM, Geraldton) for Figure 1. Also, we would like to thank those that reviewed the document: Mike Lyons, Jodie Watts and Anthony Desmond. -iv - Summary This document reports on a baseline of vegetation health in priority wetlands of the Buntine-Marchagee Recovery Catchment (BMRC). This baseline is established to allow for the monitoring of the impacts of hydrological change and the success of on- ground works as part of the BMRC program. Vegetation transects were installed and vegetation health recorded at each of the 27 identified priority wetlands. Methods used for vegetation health are consistent with that used the Salinity Action Plan. This document outlines: • The methods of installation; • describes the wetlands and fringing vegetation; • identifies wetland vegetation (where appropriate); and • reports on opportunistic fauna records from the wetlands/fringing vegetation. Vegetation health data and transect photographs are in the attached CD. We recommend the following: • These wetlands should be resampled in three years time using the methods described in this document. As the health categories are not largely influenced by normal yearly cycles the season of sampling is unimportant. • As the hydrology of wetlands is complicated and poorly understood the region should consider the installation of further transects around these wetlands. • Fertile specimens of all species designated Melaleuca uncinata complex and any plants not identified to species level in this report or in the attached spreadsheet be collected, vouchered with State Herbarium and data updated accordingly. • It is