Transect 2 – Near Boat Ramp

Location:

Humphries Hill 36°26'42" S 146°3'29" E

The transect is located going across the walking track a very short distance from the Boat Ramp heading away from Mokoan Hub.

Equipment:

Writing and recording materials

Photographic and georeferencing equipment (will also provide time)

10m plus tape measure and one metre ruler

Graph paper (for background photographing flowers)

Plant Identification chart

Luxi App for measuring light

Water, hand trowel and gear for washing hands if also collecting soil texture data

Measuring change

  • How does the vegetation change going up the hill?
  • Is there a location where there is change that indicates the height of the reservoir? What features indicate past shorelines?
  • Are native bushes, grasses and herbs surviving in any of the locations? How has the damming of the area affected trees? Are trees in this area regenerating?
  • Are there seedlings of trees? Are there stands of similar aged trees? Where do they occur?
  • What is the dominant ground cover? Does it change?
  • How does the soil change? What are the explanations for soil change?
  • Are some plants affected by natural annual changes in water level?

Terms

Tree taller than five metres

ShrubFrom 50cm to 5 metres

Herbless than 50cm

Ground covermaterial flat on the ground

StagDead tree with branches

Stump Only broken of trunk left

SeedlingYoung growing tree

Eucalypt – EuGenus of trees

Flowering – flPlants that are flowering

Seeds – sPlants with seeds, seed cases or fruits on them

(

Tree
more than 5 metres

/ Shrub
0.5 to 5 metres / Herb and grass
Up to 0.5 metres / Ground cover including leaf litter / Tree Sapling
Less than 5 metres

Stag

/ Stump
/ Logs and rocks
/ Leave profile blank for bare ground / Canopy of tree over or shading transect

Legend for vegetation profile

Method

Step 1 – Location

  • Locate the transect line of star pickets.
  • Once at the boat ramp, you only need to walk a short distance before away from the Mokoan Hub. The line a metal pickets runs across the track and drainage ditch.
  • Picket 1 is at the top of the incline. Pickets are still being added as the water in the wetland retreats from evaporation.
  • Only walk on the mown side of the star pickets and do not walk on the other side so the ground vegetation isn’t trampled.
  • Decide if you will start at the lowest or highest point of the transect.
  • Remain snake aware.

Step 2 – Transect diagram

  • Use the transect graphs to draw the profile of the vegetation
  • Use the symbols in the legend for vegetation profile to approximately draw in the plants. Include all trees and shrubs. With herbs and grasses you do not need to count the numbers. Just cover the bottom of the profile with symbols.
  • There is a height on the graph but heights only need to be approximate.
  • Draw in the plants and other physical objects that occupy the first one metredepth of the transec. Include the canopy of trees and the branches of stags that overhang and shade the transect.
  • As the topography changes, record the approximate angle of the land. Use the water bottle side on to find the level and the graph paper for an approximate angle.
  • Use several profiles graphs to draw the entire transect. See end of the page for photocopy sheets
  • Use the identification sheet to name the trees and shrubs.

Transect profile graph

Which section of the transectis this 20 m profile? (eg section1 & 2) ______

Angle of slope______

20m
5m
0.5M /

0 5m 10m 15m 20m

Transect profile graph

Step 3 – Quadrat vegetation and ground cover

  • Your class will probably divide this task up and share results. Decide as a class which site of the star picket you will measure the quadrat.
  • The quadrat will be 1metre by 1 metre. Use your 1m ruler. Start from the corner of the star picket away from the mown track. Try not to disturb the plants and ground cover.
  • You are to identify everything covering the ground including:
  • Inorganic materials such as bare soil, rocks, rocks, non-natural materials eg litter
  • Living materials including leafy plants, moss, lichen, fungus, trunk, logs, sticks leaf litter.
  • Recording can be made by
  • A photograph and at least one 1m ruler along an edge of the quadrat
  • A labelled diagram
  • Ticking the quadrat chart and estimating the % cover for different vegetation and ground cover.
  • Photograph plant structures eg flowers with the graph paper behind the plant.
  • Cane grass is a key species needed to regenerate the wetlands back towards ahealthy habitat. Record if cane grass is present, young small plants or mats of established plants. See identification sheet.


Quadrat number ______Draw and label what is observed in a 1 metre sq quadrat

% shade from Canopy ______
% cover from bushes 0.5 – 5m ______
% cover grasses 15 – 50 cm ______
% cover herbs 15 – 50cm ______
% cover from plants less 15cm _____
% cover leaf litter______
% cover bare ground ______
% cover logs ______
% cover twigs ______
Cane grass young – yes/no
Cane grass patch – yes/no
Total number of species ______
Describe any damage

Light intensity Lux______Soil typetexture ______

Step 4 – Quadrat light intensity

  • Measure the light my using a Lux App. Measurements needs to be in Lux units. Point the camera on the smart phone or tablet upwards.
  • Make sure the same method is used to get each.
  • Record the lux on the quadrat chart

Step 5 – Quadrat soil texture

  • Refer to the activity Soil data monitoring to find out how to classify soil texture.
  • You will need water for the soil, the chart in the Soil data monitoring activity to classify the soil, a trowel for digging and hand cleaning water and towel.
  • Only collect soil from the mown area next to the quadrat. Do not dig holes in the quadrat.
  • Use the hand trowel to scrape away the top surface of leaves including rotting leafs. Dig a small hole into the soil so there is enough to make a small ball that will fit in the palm of the hand.
  • Follow the procedures using Soil data monitoring and record your data on the quadrat chart.
  • Replace the soil back into the hole to repair the surface when finished.

Conservation

The transect needs to remain undisturbed so changes can be recorded in the future.

  1. Remain on the mown area.
  2. But do not clamber up any steep inclines
  3. Do not disturb the ground while collecting data from the transects and quadrats.
  4. Take soil samples from the mown area. Make sure any holes are covered up afterwards.
  5. Do not pick or remove plant samples from the transect.
  6. Gravel areas are some of the old shorelines. The waves have exposed some Aboriginal artefacts. Gravel areas must not be disturbed.

Which section of the transect is this 20 m profile? (eg section1 & 2) ______

Angle of slope______

20m
5m
0.5m /

0 5m 10m 15m 20m

Transect profile graph

Which section of the transect is this 20 m profile? (eg section1 & 2) ______

Angle of slope______

20m
5m
0.5m /

0 5m 10m 15m 20m

Transect profile graph

Which section of the transect is this 20 m profile? (eg section1 & 2) ______

Angle of slope______

20m
5m
0.5m /

0 5m 10m 15m 20m

Transect profile graph

Quadrat number ______Draw and label what is observed in a 1 metre sq quadrat

% shade from Canopy ______
% cover from bushes 0.5 – 5m ______
% cover grasses 15 – 50 cm ______
% cover herbs 15 – 50cm ______
% cover from plants less 15cm _____
% cover leaf litter______
% cover bare ground ______
% cover logs ______
% cover twigs ______
Cane grass young – yes/no
Cane grass patch – yes/no
Total number of species ______
Describe any damage

Light intensity Lux______Soil texture ______

Quadrat number ______Draw and label what is observed in a 1 metre sq quadrat

% shade from Canopy ______
% cover from bushes 0.5 – 5m ______
% cover grasses 15 – 50 cm ______
% cover herbs 15 – 50cm ______
% cover from plants less 15cm _____
% cover leaf litter______
% cover bare ground ______
% cover logs ______
% cover twigs ______
Cane grass young – yes/no
Cane grass patch – yes/no
Total number of species ______
Describe any damage

Light intensity Lux______Soil texture ______

Plant identification photosto come

Plant name / Photo / Photo / Transect 1 / Transect 2 / Transect 3
Euc
Euc
Euc
Describe any changes to the canopy of this large River Red Gum – photo taken January 1 2017. /

The Cassiniaarcuata bushes in this photo have gone brown with the area being covered by water for the first time in 7 years. Describe if the bushes are recovering or regenerating. (local native plant)

/
Why has the ground cover plants changed from January 36°26'43" S 146°3'31" E /
Look for different evidence of physical features and same age shrubs or trees to identify various shorelines. /
Most thistles along the transect where just starting to flower January 1. At what stage are the flowers? /

Followup – EVCs

Locate Humphries Hill on the EVC map.

EVCs will be found under Vegetation in the Map Layer Menu

Refer to for specific details about Winton Wetland EVCs

What EVC or EVCs according to mapshare is within the transect?

Discuss whether you agree or disagree with the EVC classifications for your transect.