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Vegetation Quality Field Assessment Sheet

Habitat Hectares Scoring Method - Version 1.3 - October 2004

Site Name / No.

Location

Date

Assessor(s)

Map Name / No.

AMG / MGA

Tenure

EVC

Bioregion

Site Condition Score

1. Large TreesMax 10 pts

Canopy genera only, at or above benchmark DBH.

Category	>70% health	30–70% health	<30% health
None present	0	0	0
>0-20% of benchmark #/ha	3	2	1
>20-40% of benchmark #/ha	4	3	2
>40-70% of benchmark #/ha	6	5	4
>70-100% of benchmark #/ha	8	7	6
>= benchmark #/ha	10	9	8

Canopy health: >70% 30-70% <30%

SCORE/ 10

Health = proportion of expected healthy canopy cover present. Dead trees = 0%.

2. Tree Canopy CoverMax 5 pts

Trees reaching >=80% of EVC benchmark mature height.

Category	>70% health	30–70% health	<30% health
<10% of benchmark cover	0	0	0
<50% or >150% of benchmark cover	3	2	1
>=50% and <=150% of benchmark cover	5	4	3

Canopy health: >70% 30-70% <30%

SCORE/ 5

Over-abundance vs benchmark never scores zero (min 1 if canopy present).

4. Lack of WeedsMax 15 pts

Category	No high threat	<=50% high threat	>50% high threat
>50% weed cover	4	2	0
25-50% weed cover	7	6	4
5-25% weed cover	11	9	7
<5% weed cover**	15	13	11

High-threat proportion: None <=50% >50%

SCORE/ 15

** Weed cover <1% AND high-threat weeds present = score 13.

6. Organic LitterMax 5 pts

Fallen dead plant material detached from parent, <10 cm diameter at ground level.

Category	Native litter	Non-native litter
<10% of benchmark cover	0	0
<50% or >150% of benchmark cover	3	2
>=50% and <=150% of benchmark cover	5	4

Dominated by: Native Non-native

SCORE/ 5

3. UnderstoreyMax 25 pts

Indigenous species only. Assess what is currently observed.

LF	# spp obs	Bmk # spp	% cov obs	Bmk % cov	Present	Modified
Totals >					0	0

Present: Bmk <10% cover: any specimen observed. Bmk >=10% cover: life form occupies >=10% of benchmark cover.

Modified: Bmk <10%: <50% benchmark spp diversity OR no reproductively-mature specimens. Bmk >=10%: <50% benchmark cover OR <50% spp diversity OR >=50% cover largely from immature canopy specimens with <10% reproductively-mature cover.

Understorey Score		Pts
All strata and life forms effectively absent		0
Up to 50% of life forms present		5
>=50% to <90% present	>=50% of present LFs substantially modified	10
>=50% to <90% present	<50% of present LFs substantially modified	15
>=90% of LFs present	>=50% of present LFs substantially modified	15
	<50% of present LFs substantially modified	20
	None substantially modified	25

SCORE/ 25

5. RecruitmentMax 10 pts

Woody spp only (taller than prostrate shrub). Multiple eucalypt spp = one species.

Woody species in habitat zone	Adequate recruitment






# woody spp in EVC benchmark (SS and taller):

Category		High div.*	Low div.*
No cohort - EVC not driven by episodic events		0	0
No cohort - episodic EVC	Clear evidence of appropriate episodic event	0	0
No cohort - episodic EVC	No clear evidence of appropriate episodic event	5	5
Evidence of >=1 cohort	<30% of woody spp adequately recruiting	3	1
	30-70% of woody spp adequately recruiting	6	3
	>=70% of woody spp adequately recruiting	10	5

Woody spp diversity: High (>50% benchmark) Low (<=50%)

SCORE/ 10

* High diversity = >50% benchmark woody species diversity.

7. LogsMax 5 pts

Fallen timber >=10 cm diameter, per 0.1 ha. Cut stumps >=10 cm <1.3 m = 0.5 m each.

Category	Large logs present*	Large logs absent
<10% of benchmark length	0	0
<50% of benchmark length	3	2
>=50% of benchmark length	5	4

Large logs (dia >= 0.5x bmk DBH): Present (>=25% bmk length) Absent

SCORE/ 5

EVCs with no large tree component: score as if large logs present.

Vegetation Quality Field Assessment Sheet - Page 2

Habitat Hectares Scoring Method - Version 1.3 - October 2004

Landscape Context Score

8. Patch SizeMax 10 pts

All contiguous native vegetation (any EVC, tenure, quality). Corridors >=50 m wide count.

Category	Score
<2 ha	1
2-5 ha	2
5-10 ha	4
10-20 ha	6
>20 ha, significantly disturbed*	8
>20 ha, not significantly disturbed*	10

SCORE/ 10

* Sig. disturbed per RFA Old Growth analyses. Effectively all remnants in fragmented rural landscapes.

9. NeighbourhoodMax 10 pts

% native veg within nested radii of habitat zone centroid. Round to nearest 20%.

Radius	Weight	Score
100 m	x0.03	-
1 km	x0.04	-
5 km	x0.03	-
-2 if neighbourhood significantly disturbed:		-2

Total (rounded) >-

SCORE/ 10

Includes wetlands, lakes, estuaries, rivers. Minimum score = 0.

10. Distance to CoreMax 5 pts

Core area = any native vegetation patch >=50 ha (any type/tenure/quality).

Distance	Not sig. disturbed	Sig. disturbed
>5 km	0	0
1-5 km	2	1
<1 km	4	3
Contiguous	5	4

Core area disturbed? No Yes

SCORE/ 5

Final Habitat ScoreTotal / 100

Site Condition Score							Landscape Context			TOTAL /100
Large Trees /10	Tree Canopy /5	Lack Weeds /15	Under- storey /25	Recruit- ment /10	Organic Litter /5	Logs /5	Patch Size /10	Neigh- bour- hood /10	Dist Core /5	TOTAL /100

Scores sync automatically from selections above. Final table cells can also be edited directly.

Habitat Hectares

Score / 100 x ha = - habitat ha

Field Notes