Vegetation assessments
When preparing a Data Report for a native vegetation clearance application, accredited consultants must use the right assessment tools for each of these instances:
- native scattered trees
- native vegetation in the agricultural region of South Australia
- native vegetation in the arid zone of South Australia.
The below information and instruction manuals are available to assist consultants to collect, record and present information correctly in their Data Reports.
Scattered Tree Assessment Manual
The Scattered Tree Assessment method is suitable for assessing scattered trees in the following instances:
- Individual scattered trees (i.e. canopy does not overlap)
- Dead trees (when considered native vegetation - see fact sheet)
- Clumps of trees (contiguous overlapping canopies) if the clump is small (approximately less than 0.04 hectares)
- For both scattered trees and clumps:
- the ground layer is comprised wholly or largely of introduced species
- some scattered colonising native species may be present, but they represent less than 2% of the ground cover
- the area around the trees consists of introduced pasture or crops.
This manual applies to the following Landscape SA regions:
- Hills and Fleurieu
- Eyre Peninsula
- Kangaroo Island
- Northern and Yorke
- Murraylands and Riverlands
- Limestone Coast.
Resources:
Scattered Tree Assessment Manual
Scattered Tree Assessment Field Datasheet
Scattered Tree Assessment Scoresheet
Bushland Assessment Manual
The Bushland Assessment method is suitable for assessing vegetation in the agricultural region of South Australia, including the following Landscape SA regions:
- Hills and Fleurieu
- Eyre Peninsula
- Kangaroo Island
- Northern and Yorke
- Murraylands and Riverland
- Limestone Coast.
Resources:
Bushland Assessment Field Datasheet (less than 0.5 ha)
Bushland Assessment Field Datasheet
Bushland Assessment Scoresheet
Rangelands Assessment Manual
The Rangelands Assessment method is suitable for assessing vegetation in the arid zone of South Australia, including the following Landscape SA regions:
- SA Arid Lands
- Alinytjara Wilurara.
Resources:
Rangelands Assessment Field Datasheet
Rangelands Assessment Scoresheet
Marine Assessments
Please contact the Native Vegetation Branch on nvc@sa.gov.au for further information.
Data storage
Data collected from these assessments is stored by the department and periodically uploaded to the Biological Databases of South Australia (BDBSA).
