Counting plants: The extent and adequacy of monitoring for a continental-scale list of threatened plant species

Lavery, Tyrone H.; Lindenmayer, David B.; Blanchard, Wade; Carey, Alex; Cook, Emma; Copley, Peter; Macgregor, Nicholas A.; Melzer, Rhonda; Nano, Catherine E. M.; Prentice, Laura; Scheele, Ben C.; Sinclair, Steve; Southwell, Darren; Stuart, Stephanie; Wilson, Melinda

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109193

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…However, it is extraordinary how infrequently environmental management actions and species responses to them are monitored (e.g., [38, 39, 40•]). This is true in such different fields as agri-environment schemes [41], river restoration [42], and threatened animal and plant species conservation [27,43,44]. As an example of targeted monitoring of the effectiveness of a management intervention, a large-scale, long-term monitoring program was employed at Booderee National Park in south-eastern Australia to quantify the outcomes of a major weed control program.…”

Section: Quantifying the Effectiveness Of Management Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why We Need to Invest in Large-Scale, Long-Term Monitoring Programs in Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology

Lindenmayer

Lavery

Scheele

2022

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

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Purpose of Review Large-scale and/or long-term monitoring has many important roles in landscape ecology and conservation biology. We explore some of these roles in this review. We also briefly discuss some of the key design issues that need to be considered when developing long-term, large-scale monitoring to ensure it is effective. Recent Findings Much has been written on the importance of ecological monitoring, but the record on monitoring in landscape ecology and conservation remains generally poor. For populations of many species and for many environmental management interventions, monitoring is rarely done, or done well. This review outlines some of the reasons it is critical to invest in well-designed, implemented, and maintained monitoring. New ways of using monitoring data, such as in environmental accounting and mandated environmental reporting, might provide avenues for garnering greater support for monitoring programs in the future. Summary We discuss seven of the most important roles of monitoring in landscape ecology and conservation biology. These are (1) documenting responses to environmental change, (2) answering key ecological questions, (3) testing existing ecological theory and developing new theory, (4) quantifying the effectiveness of management interventions, (5) informing environmental prediction systems, (6) engaging citizen scientists and the general public, and (7) contributing data and other insights to environmental initiatives. We illustrate these key roles with examples, drawn from existing large-scale, long-term work in a range of environments in Australia. We argue that some of these functions can only be realized if a monitoring program is well designed, implemented, and maintained.

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Section: Quantifying the Effectiveness Of Management Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why We Need to Invest in Large-Scale, Long-Term Monitoring Programs in Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology

Lindenmayer

Lavery

Scheele

2022

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

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“…This deficiency of basic knowledge hampers our ability to focus attention on the best avenues for monitoring and recovery. In addition, it can mean that more well-studied species, for which immediate threats are known and for which recovery plans are published, are more likely to be prioritized for monitoring over less well-studied species (Lavery et al, 2021). Rare and restricted species are often overlooked in conservation prioritisation, because they are assumed to face fewer immediate threats compared to more widespread threatened species (Silcock, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Strict random stratified designs are commonly proposed for surveys of rare plants in many Australian guidelines, as they are thought to provide the least biased estimates of occupancy (e.g., Cropper, 1993; Department of Environment, 1998). However, this strategy has low resolution power and is inefficient for capturing rare species with clumped distribution (Edwards et al., 2005; Lavery et al., 2021; Philippi, 2005). For rare species, it can be more effective to target searches to locations where they are more likely to be found, based on known or assumed habitat requirements of the species (Kalton & Anderson, 1986; Philippi, 2005), combined with random searching in other nearby habitats (Edwards et al., 2005; Poon & Margules, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid on‐ground assessment after the 2019–2020 megafires reveals new information on rare and threatened plants in northern New South Wales, Australia

Saunders,

Andrew,

Mitchell‐Williams

et al. 2024

Austral Ecology

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Lack of ecological knowledge is a major challenge for effective conservation of threatened plant species in Australia as disturbance events, such as wildfire, increase in frequency and magnitude. Rapid on‐ground surveys are increasingly important to inform recovery strategies for rare and threatened plants in response to extreme wildfire events, yet resources are rarely available to deploy time‐sensitive surveys. Here, we utilize a rapid on‐ground survey and monitoring program to document basic biological and ecological information for 21 rare and threatened plant species from the New England bioregion in northern New South Wales, which were affected by the catastrophic 2019–2020 megafires. Our results fill an important knowledge gap of ecology, population size, distribution and response to fire for these taxa, document for the first time a species distribution pattern within the Torrington State Conservation Area and reveal previously undocumented plant–insect interactions for nine species, including likely pollination of Persoonia terminalis ssp. terminalis and Monotaxis macrophylla by native bee (Hymenoptera) and fly (Diptera) species. Our findings reveal that two species (Cassinia heleniae and Hakea macrorrhyncha) have scarce distribution and low population sizes, despite neither having a conservation listing and their threat status should be urgently assessed. Simple rapid on‐ground surveys can be more cost effective for delivering long‐term conservation outcomes for rare and threatened taxa and we advocate that future funding and prioritisation processes must support the immediate delivery of such surveys in response to disturbance events.

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“…Federal Office for the Environment, 2017), the maintenance of the integrity of particular ecosystems (e.g. Phalan et al, 2019), and the protection of particular endangered species (Lavery et al, 2021;Scheele et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the vast majority of Australia's threatened vertebrates are not monitored well enough for managers to detect and respond to declines in their distribution and abundance (Scheele et al, 2019). A similar set of deficiencies besets Australia's threatened plants (Lavery et al, 2021). The very limited number of monitoring programs for threatened species in Queensland is another prime example.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eight things you should never do in a monitoring program: an Australian perspective

Lindenmayer

Legge

Maron

et al. 2022

Environ Monit Assess

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Monitoring is critical to gauge the effect of environmental management interventions as well as to measure the effects of human disturbances such as climate change. Recognition of the critical need for monitoring means that, at irregular intervals, recommendations are made for new government-instigated programs or to revamp existing ones. Using insights from past well-intentioned (but sadly also often failed) attempts to establish and maintain government-instigated monitoring programs in Australia, we outline eight things that should never be done in environmental monitoring programs (if they aim to be useful). These are the following: (1) Never commence a new environmental management initiative without also committing to a monitoring program. (2) Never start a monitoring program without clear questions. (3) Never implement a monitoring program without first doing a proper experimental design. (4) Never ignore the importance of matching the purpose and objectives of a monitoring program to the design of that program. (5) Never change the way you monitor something without ensuring new methods can be calibrated with the old ones. (6) Never try to monitor everything. (7) Never collect data without planning to curate and report on it. (8) If possible, avoid starting a monitoring program without the necessary resources secured. To balance our “nevers”, we provide a checklist of actions that will increase the chances a monitoring program will actually measure the effectiveness of environmental management. Scientists and resource management practitioners need to be part of a stronger narrative for, and key participants in, well-designed, implemented, and maintained government-led monitoring programs. We argue that monitoring programs should be mandated in threatened species conservation programs and all new environmental management initiatives.

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Counting plants: The extent and adequacy of monitoring for a continental-scale list of threatened plant species

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

Why We Need to Invest in Large-Scale, Long-Term Monitoring Programs in Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology

Why We Need to Invest in Large-Scale, Long-Term Monitoring Programs in Landscape Ecology and Conservation Biology

Rapid on‐ground assessment after the 2019–2020 megafires reveals new information on rare and threatened plants in northern New South Wales, Australia

Eight things you should never do in a monitoring program: an Australian perspective

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