PhD Scholar
Measuring Native Vegetation Quality in North West Victoria
E-mail: lara.boyd@anu.edu.au

The importance of protecting and conserving biodiversity is reflected in legislation and policy at all levels of government. Implementing strategies to achieve biodiversity conservation requires effective, accurate and reliable tools, in particular a vegetation condition assessment tool. Such tools are being developed for identifying conservation priorities, monitoring rehabilitation programs, assessing development applications, managing conservation incentive programs, educating landholders, and state-of-the-environment reporting. In Victoria, government agencies currently use the Habitat Hectares method to evaluate vegetation condition, however the efficacy of this method for all vegetation types has not yet been established. The aim of this project was to refine an assessment tool for the Mallee-type vegetation of North West Victoria. Vegetation condition was determined using a range of assessment tools and basic ecological survey techniques at 32 sites across North West Victoria. Comparison of the data collected by different methods suggests that while the Habitat Hectares method was useful in indicating vegetation condition, other methods were more accurate. Based on these analyses, this project will construct a new method for measuring vegetation condition in the Mallee.