Ground-based survey methods for The Living Murray assessment of condition of river red gum and black box populations

"January 2010".

Project Number: Monitoring at Hattah Lakes, and Lindsay Wallpolla and Mulcra islands 09/10 - M/BUS/323.

MDFRC item.

Assessment of river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.) and black box (Eucalyptus largiflorens F.Muell) condition is fundamental to informing progress toward the ecological objectives of The Living Murray program across the majority of the Icon Sites. To ensure consistent reporting of river red gum and black box condition throughout The Living Murray, this suite of standard methods is to be incorporated into the Icon Site Condition Monitoring plans and all field assessments of river red gum and black box condition are to be carried out using these methods. Figure 1 outlines how the ground survey data collected at the Icon Sites is analysed and reported. Condition monitoring of river red gum and black box is reported in two ways, Stand Condition and Tree Condition. Stand condition of river red gum and black box is determined using the TLM stand condition model. The TLM stand condition model uses the relationship between ground surveys of condition at permanent monitoring sites and remotely sensed data, which covers the whole Murray River floodplain, to predict the condition of river red gum and black box stands. The model estimates stand condition across all Icon Sites supporting river red gum and black box populations, allowing stand condition to be mapped across the distribution of these vegetation types and categorised into stand condition classes (good, moderate, poor, degraded and severe). Tree condition of river red gum and black box is determined from ground survey only, and determines the condition of 30 trees within a particular assessment site. The condition of trees at each site is determined by combining the assessment of crown extent and crown density. Additional condition indicators include new tip growth, epicormic growth, extent of bark cracking and leaf die-off, which may indicate the future direction of tree condition. The tree condition assessment also collects contextual information at both the scale of the individual tree and the assessment site scale to aid in the interpretation of the condition assessments. The methods outlined in this document for determining stand and tree condition are recommended as the standard methods for assessing condition of river red gum and black box populations in the Murray-Darling basin. This document is split into three sections: Section 1 provides background information on the natural history and ecology of the two species. Section 2 outlines the field surveys required to inform the TLM Stand Condition Model for river red gum and black box. Section 3 outlines the field surveys required to conduct the TLM Tree Condition Assessment for river red gum and black box. The methods presented here have been collated, in consultation with ecologists and Icon Site monitoring staff, by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to provide a standard approach to assessing condition of river red gum and black box populations within The Living Murray Icon Sites. This will allow consistent reporting across The Living Murray and allow direct comparison among Icon Sites.