Table 1. Similarities and differences between VAST2 and biodiversity-‐based vegetation and habitat (BBVH) monitoring and reporting systems e.g. Habitat Hectares Purpose of framework
Definition of sites
Representativeness of transformation sites Temporal context
Spatial or landscape context
Assessment of change
Change is assessed relative to reference/ benchmark state/s for each attribute/indicator
Role of effects of land management in assessing site-‐ based condition Information hierarchy
No. of vegetation attributes including species composition, vegetation structure No. of ecological function attributes
No. of landscape fragmentation attributes Indicator scoring and weighting
Importance of major natural disturbances e.g. cyclone, fire, drought, flood Data types used in site assessments
VAST2 Tracking change and trend in the transformation (condition states) of a plant community over time due to land management interventions. Vegetation cover classes include native, non-‐native and non-‐vegetated classes. A site is a mapped unit: spatially uniform throughout in terms of geology, soils, landform pattern and pre-‐European plant community A site is assumed to be representative of reference state/site and of repeating patterns in the landscape Repeated assessments using dates (years) in a historical record of land management practices (first settlement to present day) Transformation sites are assumed to be representative of repeating patterns in the landscape of land use and management histories Equivalent
A site is a patch of native vegetation A site is assumed to be representative of benchmark pre-‐European plant community Once-‐off assessment (pre-‐European/pre-‐clearing and present day) A site comprises a patch of remnant or modified native vegetation which is assessed relative to unmodified landscape fragmentation Equivalent
Critical. An historical record of land management practices (interventions) and corresponding impacts /effects on 22 indicators is compiled to provide a continuous data stream over time 22 indicators are aggregated into 10 attribute groups; 10 attribute groups are aggregated into 3 components of vegetation condition; 3 components of vegetation condition are aggregated into one transformation index for each year of the historical record 12 indicators including structure and composition
Not used
10 indicators relating to the regenerative capacity of the plant community, soil (hydrology, nutrients, structure, biota), fire regime, reproductive potential of plant community Nil
~3 attribute relating to the regenerative capacity of the plant community and habitat values
Indicators are scored 0 to 1 (0 = removed, 1 = no change from reference). A reference state (100%) is comprised of a weighted index: species composition (18%), vegetation structure (27%) and regenerative capacity (55%). A transformation state is comprised of an index i.e. < or = to 100% Only important where natural disturbance/s interact with land use and management to diminish/enhance the transformation site relative to the reference state Observational, qualitative and quantitative
A transformation is scored out of 75% for plant community and habitat attributes and attributes of the degree of fragmentation of proximate native vegetation are scored out of 25%. Attributes are not weighted. Very important as they determine the quality of the vegetation and habitat relative to benchmark state
Richard Thackway -‐ 25 August 2013
BBVH Assessing the site condition of a plant community for biodiversity planning and management applications
Vegetation and habitat attributes are aggregated into two scores: site condition (vegetation and habitat) and landscape fragmentation ~ 4 indicators including structure and composition
~3 attributes
Qualitative and quantitative