Oakajee Mid-west Rail Vegetation Monitoring Program...infrastructure through pastoral and freehold...

Oakajee Mid-west Rail Vegetation Monitoring Program

Prepared for

Oakajee Port and Rail

22 November 2010

Oa ka j ee M id - w e st R a i l Veg et a t io n M o n i t o r in g P ro g r am

© E C O L O G I C AL AU S T R AL I A P TY L TD i

DOCUMENT TRACKING

ITEM DETAIL

Project Name Oakajee Mid-west Rail Vegetation Monitoring Program

Project Number 10PERECO-0030

File location P:\SYNERGY\Projects\10PERECO-0030 OPR Rail veg mntrng procedure

Prepared by Dr Paul Frazier

Approved by Mr Warren McGrath

Status Final

Version Number 1

Last saved on 22 November 2010

Cover Photo http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au/content_migration/plantations/species/arid/mulga.aspx

This report should be cited as ‘Eco Logical Australia 10 November 2010. Oakajee Mid-west Rail

Vegetation Monitoring Program. Prepared for Oakajee Port and Rail.’

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This document has been prepared by Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd.

Disclaimer

This document may only be used for the purpose for which it was commissioned and in accordance with the contract between

Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd and Oakajee Port and Rail. The scope of services was defined in consultation with Oakajee Port

and Rail, by time and budgetary constraints imposed by the client, and the availability of reports and other data on the subject

area. Changes to available information, legislation and schedules are made on an ongoing basis and readers should obtain up

to date information.

Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for or in respect of any use of or reliance upon this

report and its supporting material by any third party. Information provided is not intended to be a substitute for site specific

assessment or legal advice in relation to any matter. Unauthorised use of this report in any form is prohibited.


© E C O L O G I C AL AU S T R AL I A P TY L TD ii

Contents

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1

2 Impacting Process ................................................................................................................. 2

3 Monitoring Approach ............................................................................................................ 6

4 Remote Sensing Data & Analysis ......................................................................................... 8

5 Baseline Vegetation Condition Assessment ...................................................................... 10

6 Ongoing monitoring and directed field assessment .......................................................... 14

6.1 Remote sensing .................................................................................................................... 14

6.2 Directed field assessment ...................................................................................................... 14

6.3 Permanent quadrat monitoring ............................................................................................... 15

7 Monitoring Triggers and Actions ........................................................................................ 19

8 Review of monitoring program ........................................................................................... 22

9 Reporting ............................................................................................................................. 23

References ....................................................................................................................................... 24


© E C O L O G I C AL AU S T R AL I A P TY L TD iii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Proposed Oakajee Port and Rail Corridor with sheet flow dependent vegetation communities

identified in Astron (2010) ..................................................................................................................... 3

Figure 2 Two-tiered monitoring approach .............................................................................................. 7

Figure 3: Baseline sheet flow dependent vegetation ............................................................................ 12

Figure 4: Risk based assessment of potential impacts of altered sheet flow adapted from Astron (2010).

........................................................................................................................................................... 13

Figure 5: Risk monitoring procedure .................................................................................................... 17

List of Tables

Table 1: Impacts of linear infrastructure on sheet flow and sheet flow dependent vegetation.................. 5

Table 2: Satellite imaging systems (Frazier et al. 2010) ......................................................................... 9

Table 3: Summary of baseline data collection methodology ................................................................. 14

Table 4: Rapid field checking protocol ................................................................................................. 15

Table 5: Summary of ongoing monitoring methodology ....................................................................... 18

Table 6: Satellite based monitoring triggers for further investigation ..................................................... 19

Table 7: Field based monitoring triggers and responses for site specific management responses ........ 20


© E C O L O G I C AL AU S T R AL I A P TY L TD 1

1 Introduction

Oakajee Port and Rail Pty Ltd (OPR) plan to construct 530 km of rail formation and associated

infrastructure through pastoral and freehold land in the northern mid-west region of WA.

The following document describes methods and design for a monitoring program to assess indirect

impacts of the rail formation and environmental engineering works on sheet flow to sheet flow mulga

vegetation communities for the Oakajee Port and Rail Development (OPRD). This report has been

informed by a literature review that included but is not restricted to previous studies completed for the

proposed railway development.

In its submission on the Oakajee Rail Development Public Environmental Review (PER) for the rail

proposal (Assessment No. 1818 under the Environmental Protection Act 1986), the DEC Environmental

Management Branch raised concern that the indirect impacts on significant flora were not addressed

sufficiently and further that a monitoring program with identified trigger levels needed to be developed.

This procedure represents a monitoring and assessment program that addresses these concerns.

The monitoring program provides an integrated approach using multi-temporal remote sensing analysis

with supporting directed ground surveys/assessments to provide vegetation condition information

across the potential impact area to detect changes requiring on-ground response. Two tiers of trigger

levels for action are proposed. The first is based on early change detection by the remote sensing,

which would trigger further on-ground investigation. The second tier of responses is triggered based on

results of directed ground assessment or changes detected in permanent monitoring plots/quadrats,

following which remedial actions to mitigate and ameliorate any significant impacts on key flora species

are implemented.



2 Impacting Process

The OPRD has been designed to provide key rail and port infrastructure for iron ore transport in

Western Australia. The proposal includes approximately 570 km of rail line (including spurs and loops)

with associated direct disturbance of native vegetation in a final operating corridor of less than 100m

width (OPRD PER, 2010). Of interest to this monitoring program are potential indirect impacts that may

be associated with the development of linear infrastructure (primarily the rail line) on sheet flow

dependent vegetation (SFDV). Sheet flow dependent Mulga (Acacia aneura communities) are of

particular interest, however, other SFDV are also of potential interest (Astron, 2010). Astron (2010)

have identified that over 75,000 ha of potential SFDV exist within a 4 km corridor (2 km either side) of

the proposed rail line (Figure 1).

The rail line and associated infrastructure construction could impact on the identified vegetation

communities outside of the direct area of disturbance from a disruption in sheet flow through

interception, concentration and pooling. Sheet flow is water movement in a broad, sheet-like film,

typically over a very gentle downhill slope. Such water movement is over relatively smooth rock and soil

surfaces and does not concentrate into channels larger than rills (Miller et al., 2002). Sheet flow is

typically low volume and represents low velocity water dispersal, thus low energy and low potential for

erosion (Ludwig et al., 1997). Sheet flow is an important source of water in arid and semi-arid zones in

Australia and many vegetation formations rely on sheet flows for adequate moisture absorption to

support growth.

Linear infrastructure such as rail lines and roads that require raised embankments, sections of cut and

fill and water diversion works such as culverts and spillways have the potential to intercept and divert

sheet flow. Key consequences of linear infrastructure works on sheet flow include:

• Water ponding upslope of infrastructure;

• Reduced sheet flow (water starving) down slope of infrastructure;

• Concentrated water flow through diversion infrastructure, with potential to cause erosion and

subsequent deposition; and

• Channel formation.



Figure 1: Proposed Oakajee Port and Rail Corridor with sheet flow dependent vegetation communities identified in Astron (2010)


© E C O L O G I C AL AU S T R AL I A P TY L TD

SFDV refers to vegetation communities that are dependent on sheet flow for key aspects of survival and

reproduction. The most widely recognised SFDV communities are sheet flow Mulga, in particular,

Acacia aneura communities. Acacia aneura is an evergreen perennial tree or shrub up to 15 m tall.

This species is well adapted to arid conditions with thick skinned phylodes that stand erect to minimise

sun exposure and sunken stomatas to minimise moisture loss from phylodes. It is able to grow in poor

soils through a symbiotic relationship of nutrient fixing bacteria, Rhizobium around its root system. It is a

very slow growing and long lived species, up to 200 years. Acacia aneura is important in the arid

ecosystems for nutrient capture and in slowing down surface run off and localised hydrological regimes

(Dunkley 2002).

The growth habits and reproductive capacity of Acacia aneura are pertinent to the survey design and

remediation works proposed for impact monitoring of the rail line development. Acacia aneura does not

have distinctive morphological features as a juvenile plant and it can be very hard to determine the age

of a specimen. Therefore assessing recruitment activity of this species will require long-term repeat

surveys.

Acacia aneura reproduces by seed. It flowers after summer and winter rain, however, it is the summer

flowering that produces mature fruit. The quality of this fruit is reported to be dependent on the quantity

of winter rain. Seed dormancy can be broken by a range of environmental factors including bushfire and

germination dependent on optimum temperature range between 20-30 degrees and adequate moisture

availability (Winkworth 1973). Strong seed set after flowering is a good indicator of healthy and vibrant

specimens.

Given the ability of sheet flow Mulga to survive in arid environments, the consequences of altered sheet

flow in these environments may appear in short (e.g. erosion) to long (e.g. slow decline from reduced

water) time spans (Table 1).



Table 1: Impacts of linear infrastructure on sheet flow and sheet flow dependent vegetation

IMPACT ON

SHEET FLOW LOCATION

IMPACT ON SHEET FLOW

DEPENDENT VEGETATION TIMESCALE

Water Ponding Upslope of

infrastructure

Excess water leading to change in SFDV

• Increased growth and recruitment with increased water

• Decreased growth and recruitment with increased water

• Invasion of exotic and native plants (weeds) in altered environment

Short to long-term

(months to decades)

Water Starving Down slope of

infrastructure

Reduced water leading to decreased

growth and recruitment

Long-term (years to

decades)

Erosion Down slope of

infrastructure, below

culverts

Concentrated flow leading to erosion Short to medium-term

(months to years)

following large rainfall

events

Deposition Down slope of


culverts

Erosion and transport of sediment leading

to deposition

Short to medium-term

(months to years)


events

Channel

formation

Down slope of


culverts

Concentrated flow leading to erosion and

channel formation

Short to medium-term

(months to years)


events



3 Monitoring Approach

Given the extent of the rail line and potential for indirect impacts on SFDV, an integrated two tiered

remote sensing and targeted ground survey monitoring design is proposed (Figure 2). Remote sensing

data capture will provide information of vegetation condition and extent across the entire impact area

(both direct and indirect impact regions) with repeat capture providing quantitative information on

changes in vegetation condition (Hick et al. 1999). Remote sensing identified anomalies will be

targeted for ground survey to provide detailed condition information. In addition to anomaly directed

field survey a set of permanent control and impact field monitoring sites is proposed for baseline data

and ongoing monitoring. The permanent field monitoring will ground-truth the remote sensing analysis

and relating changes detected in the vegetation image, not necessarily attributed to sheet flow impacts,

with parameters such as foliar density, species richness, diversity, % cover, canopy and stem diameter.

The use of remote sensing data capture allows for early detection of change across the entire length of

the rail whereas field survey based monitoring alone would be limited to representative sampling,

detecting change only within the surveyed plots. A very large number of monitoring plots would be

required in solely field based monitoring program to provide even close to the extent of coverage

satellite image capture and time series analysis can provide. Remote sensing supported by field

measurements provides complete coverage of impacts across the length of the rail in areas at risk of

sheet flow impacts while still providing on-ground results for calibration and interpretation.

Although the primary purpose of the monitoring is to detect changes in SFDV as a result of sheet flow

disruption, the program is likely to and designed to also pick up other impacts such as significant weed

infestations and disturbance caused by erosion and sedimentation. Significant weed infestations are

likely to be detected as changes in image derived vegetation density information and weed richness and

cover will be recorded in supporting ground surveys. Erosion and sedimentation result in loss and/or

smothering of vegetation, which would also register in imagery, and would be targeted for ground

survey.



Figure 2 Two-tiered monitoring approach



4 Remote Sensing Data & Analysis

Satellite remotely sensed data have been used to assess vegetation condition and extent since the

operation of the first Landsat system in 1972 (Jensen 2005). Currently there are many dedicated multi-

spectral satellite remote sensing systems that offer specific band combinations designed to provide

vegetation specific information. Typically these satellite systems capture 4-7 discrete bands or portions

of the electro-magnetic spectrum including Blue, Green, Red and Near Infrared in addition to mid-

infrared bands (Table 2).

Of these commonly available systems only RapidEye currently offers a combination of high to medium

resolution (6.5 m pixels), large area coverage (1000s of km2 per capture) and high revisit capture (daily)

that make it feasible for monitoring SFDV over large areas.

There are several common vegetation indices that have been developed specifically for multi-spectral

satellite images to assess vegetation vigour (Rouse et al. 1973, Huete 1988, Jensen 2005, Fitzgerald et

al. 2010, Frazier et al. 2010; Equations 1 and 2). The most common is the Normalised Difference

Vegetation Index (NDVI) with the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) being a variant applied for

regions of relatively low vegetative cover.

Equation 1: NDVI = (NIR-Red) / (NIR+Red)

Equation 2: SAVI = ((NIR-Red) (1 + l)) / (NIR+Red+l)

NIR = Near Infrared Band, Red = Red Band, l = Soil scaling factor (ranging from 0 to 1)

The RapidEye image offers a red-edge band that provides opportunities for additional vegetation

indices that might improve vegetation assessment potential. Of note is the Normalised Difference Red

Edge (NDRE, Equation 3).

Equation 3: NDRE = (NIR-Red Edge) / (NIR+Red Edge)

Red Edge = red edge band on RapidEye.



Table 2: Satellite imaging systems (Frazier et al. 2010)

SATELLITE SYSTEM

SPATIAL

RESOLUTION

SWATH

WIDTH

REVIST TIME

IN DAYS

SPECTRAL RESOLUTION

(NM)

GeoEye Multispectral 2 m

(B) 450 – 520

(G) 520 – 600

(R ) 630 – 690

15 km < 3 (off-nadir) (NIR) 760 – 900

Panchromatic 0.5 m 450 – 900

RapidEye Multispectral 6.5 m

77 km

at nadir but

constellation

makes

much larger

footprint

Daily

(B) 440 – 510

(G) 520 – 590

(R ) 630 – 685

Red Edge 690-730

(NIR) 760 – 900

(G) 500 – 590

Spot 5 Multispectral 10 m

(R) 610 – 680

(NIR) 790 – 890

120 km 26 (< 5 off-

nadir) (SWIR) 1580 – 1750

Panchromatic 2.5 m 480 – 710

Landsat

ETM Bands 1-5, 7 30 m

(B) 450 – 520

(G) 520 – 600

(R) 630 – 690

(NIR) 760 – 900

(SWIR) 1550 – 1750

185 km 16 (SWIR) 2080 – 2350

Band 6 120 m

(TIR) 10400 – 12500

Panchromatic 15 m

MODIS Bands 1 & 2

only shown 250 m

(R) 620 – 670

2330 km < 2 (NIR) 840 – 880



5 Baseline Vegetation Condition Assessment

An initial assessment of vegetation condition and variability will be undertaken using existing mapping

(Astron 2010) and a RapidEye satellite image of the area captured in late summer or early spring

(Feb/Mar) (Figure 3). The image capture is timed to coincide with the increased growth and seed set

associated with the slight summer dominant rainfall in the region (OPRD PER 2010). ELA will trial and

compare results from the NDVI, SAVI and NDRE over the target area to select the most appropriate

vegetation index for the assessment and monitoring process. The best vegetation index will be

selected and assessed for obvious regions of variable vegetation cover density within the defined

potential direct and indirect impact zones and in control (no impact) zones. Data from impact and

control regions of SFDV will be extracted and compared using ANOVA or a Generalised Linear Model.

Ground survey will be undertaken using quadrats directed to sites within the main mapped SFDV areas,

including sites from regions of relatively high and low vegetation cover as determined by the SAVI

image. Further, at least half of the impact ground survey sites will be located in areas identified by

Astron (2010) as high to very high risk of sheet flow impacts (Figure 4).

Table 3: Baseline and permanent quadrat experimental design

Control and Impact Areas (Astron 2010) Cover as given by SAVI No. of Quadrats

Control (no impact) High 5

Low 5

Very High Impact High 5

Low 5

High Impact High 5

Low 5

Moderate Impact High 5

Low 5

Field quadrats will consist of 20 m by 20 m square quadrats that are located with a DGPS to an

accuracy of greater than 1 m. Within each quadrat the following parameters will be recorded:

• Full floristics and native species recruitment

o Species lists

o Species richness, % cover for species, diversity (i.e. Shannon-Wiener index)



• Foliar density estimate

• Vertical foliar photograph at each of the quadrat vertices

• Foliar condition (qualitative observation of stress eg browning or loss of leaves)

• Stem counts

• DBH of canopy trees

• Weed presence and abundance

• % bare soil

• % crypotgams

• % litter

• Large Woody Debris

• Disturbance (tracks etc)

• Sediment erosion or deposition

• Photos of site from permanent location to be noted for future monitoring

Following baseline data collection, these quadrats will be surveyed annually (Section 6.3).

All sample data will be collated and impact and control data will be compared using ANOVA or

MANOVA (multiple analyses of variance) to determine statistically significant differences. It is

anticipated that the field survey will be conducted in March/April following capture and analysis of the

RapidEye image.



Figure 3: Baseline sheet flow dependent vegetation



Figure 4: Risk based assessment of potential impacts of altered sheet flow adapted from Astron (2010).



Table 3: Summary of baseline data collection methodology

DATA

TYPE

LOCATION /

EXTENT PROCESS

SCALE &

RESOLUTION

TIMING

GIS &

remote

sensing

Entire impacted

area with control

sites

GIS stratification based on

vegetation mapping

Vegetation condition

assessment from satellite

image

Vegetation

mapping to

1:10,000 scale

Satellite image <

10 m pixel size

Image capture in late

summer/early spring

to coincide with slight

summer dominate

rainfall

Ground

survey

Approximately 40

survey quadrats

distributed across

control and impact

zones

Detailed quadrat based

field survey collecting

parameters as per

Section 5.

20 m by 20 m

quadrats with

detailed internal

data collection

March/April following

analysis of satellite

imagery

6 Ongoing monitoring and directed field assessment

Ongoing monitoring will be based on capture and analysis of RapidEye imagery with directed field

survey and repeat survey of the established permanent sites.

6.1 REMOTE SENSING

The RapidEye imagery (or equivalent) will be captured annually in late summer early spring (Feb/Mar)

as anniversary captures to minimize sun angle and seasonal ground cover changes between captures.

The imagery should then be processed into the appropriate vegetation index and assessed visually and

statistically in key mapped SFDV categories as described in the Baseline Monitoring description.

Further statistical analysis should be undertaken using time series analysis to compare changes in the

same target areas through time.

Image to image change detection through subtraction of subsequent vegetation index images will

highlight areas of relative decline or increase in vegetation biomass. These images will determine the

basis of any directed field assessment to identify the cause of change between image dates (refer to

triggers for directed field assessment.

6.2 DIRECTED FIELD ASSESSMENT

The directed field assessment methodology will require a site specific rapid assessment based on the

impacting factor, on-ground effect, management plan and action (



Table 4). The need for this field assessment and the direction for where it is to be undertaken will arise

from the specific changes observed in the remote sensing (Section 7).



Table 4: Rapid field checking protocol

PARAMETER METHOD

Foliar Condition

Estimate

Meandering traverse in impact area documenting foliar condition and noting obvious

areas of declining condition

Tree loss (patch size

reduction Note location and extent of dead trees, identify impacting factor (if apparent)

Weed invasion Document key weed species, estimate of % of weed cover in defined impact area

Channel formation On ground inspection: note length, width and depth of channel, indicate areas of erosion

Erosion/sedimentation On ground inspection record nature and extent of erosion (location, erosion type, depth of

soil loss)

Sedimentation

(deposition)

On ground inspection record nature and extent of sedimentation (location, extent, depth,

sediment calibre)

6.3 PERMANENT QUADRAT MONITORING

Independent of the directed field assessment, each of the permanent quadrats established for the

baseline vegetation condition assessment (Section 5) will be revisited annually and the following

parameters recorded (every year in March/April):

• Foliar density estimate

• Weed presence and abundance

• Vertical foliar photograph at each of the quadrat vertices

• Large woody debris

• New disturbance (tracks etc)

• Sediment erosion or deposition

• Photographic monitoring

In addition, the following additional parameters should be recorded every 3 years:

• Full floristics and native species recruitment

• Stem counts

• DBH

• % bare soil

• % crypotgams

• % litter



It is intended to review this program every three years and in the sixth year, following the second full

field parameter collection, determine which, if any, of the measurements should continue to be

collected. This will include consideration of the evaluated likely or proven effectiveness of the remote

sensing and responsive directed field assessments (as per Section 6.1 and 6.2) to detect and respond

to detrimental change.



Figure 5: Risk monitoring procedure



Table 5: Summary of ongoing monitoring methodology

DATA

TYPE

LOCATION /

EXTENT PROCESS

SCALE &

RESOLUTION

TIMING

GIS and

remote

sensing

Entire impacted

area with control

sites

GIS stratification based on

vegetation mapping

Vegetation condition

assessment from satellite

image

Vegetation

mapping to

1:10,000 scale

Satellite image <

10 m pixel size

Image capture in late

summer/early spring

to coincide with slight

summer dominate

rainfall

Rapid field

plots

As directed by

remote sensing

analysis

Rapid qualitative

assessment of identified

anomalies (Table 4)

Site specific

assessment



imagery

Permanent

plots

Up to 40 survey

quadrats distributed

across control and

impact zones

Detailed quadrat based

field survey

20 m by 20 m

quadrats with

detailed internal

data collection



imagery



7 Monitoring Triggers and Actions

A two tiered system of triggers for action is proposed based on responding to changes across the length

of the rail (Figure 2 Two-tiered monitoring approach).

The first tier of response is triggered by changes detected in the satellite image and remote sensing

time series analysis, which instigates further investigation including targeted rapid on ground

assessments of condition and vegetative cover (Table 6).

The second tier of response is triggered if changes are confirmed or discovered on-ground through the

targeted on ground assessments or as part of the permanent quadrat monitoring program (



Table 7). These triggers instigate the development of site specific management responses and remedial

actions.

Table 6: Satellite based monitoring triggers for further investigation

RESPONSE TRIGGER KEY

PERFORMANCE

INDICATOR (KPI)

INVESTIGATION ACTION

Statistical change in a

region not consistent

with regional patterns

Remote sensing

time series

analysis

Corroborate statistical analysis

with visual image inspection

Investigate via rapid field

checking protocol (as required)

Change detection

identifies area of

significant change (> 1

std dev from average) in

area greater than 0.1 ha

Remote sensing

change detection

Investigate sources of change

via desktop assessment:

1. Obvious external

influence e.g. fire,

major storm, or

unrelated

development)

2. Potentially due to

altered sheet flow,

significant weed

infestation, and/or

erosion /

sedimentation.

Respond to change based on

likely source of impact:

1. Identify region of

change and tag it as

non-project specific

impact; or if

2. Undertake directed

field investigation via

rapid field checking

protocol (Table 4).

Assess against field

based monitoring

triggers (Table 7)



Table 7: Field based monitoring triggers and responses for site specific management responses

RESPONSE

TRIGGER

KEY

PERFORMANCE

INDICATOR (KPI)

ACTION CLOSE-OUT

REQUIREMENTS

Greater than 25%

decline in patch foliar

density in SFDV

communities

Directed field

inspection and

assessment using

rapid field checking

protocol (Table 4)

in response to Tier

1 change

Foliar density

estimates and %

cover

measurements in

permanent

quadrats

Identify potential cause and respond if

decline is attributable to:

3. Culvert blockage or design

inadequate - starving down

slope areas of water

4. Water pooling causing

adverse effect on SFDV

5. Sediment deposition and/or

erosion causing adverse

effect on SFDV.

Review of Surface Water

Management Plan and possible

culvert/drain engineering repair or

reinstallation.

Develop site specific SFDV recovery

plan and implement plan.

Establish site specific ground survey

quadrat, assessed and incorporated

into ongoing permanent monitoring

program

Site specific recovery reported

Site inspected

Management plan reviewed,

recovery plan prepared and

both implemented

SFDV recovers to normal

regional levels

Quadrat established and

incorporated into routine

monitoring

Site recovery report

incorporated into annual

reporting

% weed cover > 25%

of site

% weed cover as

measured in rapid

field checking

protocol (Table 4)

in response to Tier

1 change

% weed cover

measured in

permanent

quadrats

Determine if invasive environmental

or declared weed

Enter location and extent of

infestation (within limits of inspection)

into GIS database

If so, engage contractors to undertake

weed control

Revisit site in following year and

measure % weed cover again.

Repeat control and monitoring if

% weed cover still > 25%

GIS records of infestation

Weed control program

completed

Monitoring indicates

decrease in % weed cover

Erosion/sedimentation

occurring

Inspections as part

of rapid field

checking protocol

Identify potential cause and respond if

decline is attributable to:

Site inspected

Management plan reviewed



RESPONSE

TRIGGER

KEY

PERFORMANCE

INDICATOR (KPI)

ACTION CLOSE-OUT

REQUIREMENTS

(Table 4) in

response to Tier 1

change

Observations in

permanent

quadrats

1. Culvert blockage or design

inadequate

2. Water pooling

3. Grade of rail embankments

Review of Surface Water

Management Plan and possible

culvert/drain engineering repair or

reinstallation.

and implemented

10% of more decline

in species richness or

diversity

Number of species

and Shannon-

Wiener index for

diversity

measurement in

permanent

quadrats

Investigate sources of change via

desktop assessment:

1. Obvious external influence

e.g. fire, major storm, or

unrelated development)

2. Potentially due to altered

sheet flow

3. Potentially due to other

aspects of construction of

operation of rail

Respond to change based

on likely source of impact:

1. Monitor recovery; or

2. Implement actions

as if ‘% decline in

patch foliar density

in SFDV

communities’

above; or

3. Review and revise

management plans,

address threatening

processes and

undertake

supplementary

seeding. Continue

to monitor.



8 Review of monitoring program

The monitoring program will be reviewed every three years and revised and reissued if necessary for

implementation. Following the sixth year of field assessments, the requirement for permanent quadrat

monitoring will be reviewed. This will include consideration of the evaluated likely or proven

effectiveness of the remote sensing and responsive directed field assessments (as per Section 6.1 and

6.2) to detect and respond to detrimental change.



9 Reporting

OPR will provide the DEC with a concise summary of findings on an annual basis. The implementation

of the program will also be subject to internal audits and will be reported in annual compliance

assessment reports to the DEC.



References

Astron (2000) Oakajee Port and Rail, Risk Assessment of Rail Corridor, Potential Impacts on Sheet

Flow Dependent Vegetation, Astron Environmental Services.

Dunkerley, DL. (2001) Infiltration rates and soil moisture in a groved mulga community near Alice

Springs, arid central Australia: Evidence for complex internal rainwater redistribution in a runoff-runon

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Fitzgerald G, Rodriguez D, O’Leary G. (2010) Measuring and predicting canopy nitrogen nutrition in

wheat using a spectral index – The canopy chlorophyll content index (CCCI). Field Crop Research 116

318-324.

Frazier P, Jenkins R, Trotter T. (2010) Monitoring the effect of longwall mine subsidence on native

vegetation and agricultural environments. ACARP C15015 (Australian Coal Association Research

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Hick, P., Caccetta, M., Corner, R. 1999. An assessment of vegetation condition and monitoring strategy

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Jensen, J. 2005. Introductory Digital Image Processing: A remote sensing perspective. Prentice Hall,

Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.

Ludwig, J., Tongway, D., Freudenberger, D., Noble, J. and Hodgkinson, K. (eds.) 1997. Landscape

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Miller J.T., Andrew R.A. and Maslin B.R. (2002). Towards and understanding of the variation in the

Mulga complex (Acacia aneura and relatives). Conservation Science WA. 4: 19�35.

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Oakajee Mid-west Rail Vegetation Monitoring Program...infrastructure through pastoral and freehold...

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