Transect 1- Humphries Hill

Transect 1- Humphries Hill

Location:

Humphries Hill 36°26'19" S 146°8'23" E

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?
Are native bushes, grasses and herbs surviving in any of the locations?
Are there seedlings of trees?
What is the dominant ground cover?
How does the soil change? What are the explanations for soil change?
Is there evidence of past agriculture?
Is there evidence of past Aboriginal people?
Which areas have the most native plants?

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.
There are 12 pickets. Each picket is 10 metres apart. Picket 1 is at the top of the hill. The transect is 110m long.
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.
Avoid Red-backed spiders by not picking up cans and bottles and turning over logs.

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 transect. 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.

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

Safety

Red-backed spiders will only occur hidden away underneath or inside something. To avoid Red-backed spiders

Do not pick up any old cans or bottles
Do not overturn logs
Do not poke around old building materials or metal equipment that you may find.

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

Light intensity Lux______Soil texture ______

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

Light intensity Lux______Soil texture ______

Plant identification photosto come

Plant name / Photo / Photo / Transect 1 / Transect 2 / Transect 3
Euc
Euc
Euc
Describe features that show past shore lines when the dam was filled. /
On January 1 there were hundreds of dead Christmas beetles on the ground. Can you still find dead bettles? /
Find the nest at 36°26'18" S 146°8'25" E. On January 1 there were three large White-faced heron chicks in the nest. Is the nest still being used? /
On Humphries Hill on January 1 there were two species of cicadas calling. Are cicadas still calling? /

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.