CONSULTING

Flora Surveys

Flora and Vegetation Surveys

In order to plan for conservation, rehabilitation and environmental management, it is necessary to know what flora and vegetation is on site and what condition it is in. Our capability in the area of flora and vegetation includes undertaking surveys in accordance with DPaW standards, identification of native and non-native species, vegetation type assessment, identification of Declared Rare Flora (DRF), priority and threatened flora, vegetation condition, mapping and weed mapping. We can follow various mapping protocols and field survey methods and provide advice on which is best for your project.

  • Level 1 & 2 Surveys

    Level 1 surveys involve traversing the site and recording vegetation types, vegetation condition and listing all flora species observed on a handheld GPS device. Level 2 surveys involve setting up quadrats, typically 2 per vegetation type, or in some cases transects within the site. All flora species located within the quadrat, height and percentage cover are recorded and samples taken for further identification. Opportunist sightings of flora species not already recorded within a quadrat is also recorded. Other information recorded includes GPS coordinates, vegetation type and condition, soil type and colour, aspect, landscape, surface rock, soil rock content, drainage, bare ground cover, leaf litter cover and depth. Photos are also taken of each quadrat.

  • Vegetation Condition

    Vegetation Condition is assessed and ranked from Pristine to Completely Degraded using the Keighery scale described in Bush Forever Volume 2 (Government of Western Australia, 2000).

  • Vegetation Structure

    Vegetation structure is assessed using the NVIS framework for growth forms and height classes.

natural area

Native & Non-native Flora Studies

Natural Area can assist with all aspects of flora surveying, mapping and reporting. Our team of professionals are experienced with native and non-native WA flora species.

What We Do

A typical flora survey will include:

GIS

Our field teams utilise Trimble Juno handheld GPS devices for mapping in the field and recording accurate GPS data. Data is processed using MapInfo which is fully compatible with ArcGIS.