What is monitoring?

Monitoring is the systematic collection of data over time to test a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a concept that is not yet verified but that, if true, would explain certain facts or phenomena. In the context of biodiversity conservation, the hypothesis posed by the monitoring project usually relates to the effect that management strategies are having, or will have, on the condition of a natural area, a species or an ecological community.

Data from monitoring allows people to make informed decisions about management practices, and make changes to those practices if necessary. Monitoring provides information which can:

• analyse change over time, e.g. by comparison with baseline data;
• monitor any effects from a particular management action, or measure any effects from a specific threat;
• ascertain ecological patterns and processes;
• address gaps in biological knowledge; and
• engage stakeholders on a local, state or national level and inform decision making by government and the public.

When undertaking monitoring, it is very important that standard techniques or procedures are used, repeated and documented. The collection of monitoring data allows trends over time to be assessed and analysed. If the data are not collected using standard, repeatable measures, it is often not possible to compare them.

When designing a monitoring project, it is critical that the question proposed to be answered by monitoring is clearly defined. The monitoring procedures need to be tailored to the species, site or community of interest. All existing research and knowledge about the site or species should be taken into consideration. For more information on designing a monitoring project, see the document  Designing a Monitoring Project for Significant Native Fauna Species (167.27 kB). 

Monitoring of threatened and priority species and ecological communities

The department actively undertakes monitoring of the threatened and priority flora, fauna and ecological communities of Western Australia. This monitoring supports and informs management practices by the Department and the community.

Monitoring may be undertaken by personnel both within and outside the department:

• to assess progress on actions outlined in recovery plans;
• to meet national or international reporting requirements;
• as a condition of approval from an Animal Ethics Committee; and/or
• as a condition of a development approval.

Monitoring can focus on:

• collecting biological data about the species itself, such as wing measurements, size, number etc.;
• the species response to a disturbance event such as a fire, change in groundwater levels, impact of grazing, or impact from pollution;
• the effect of a management action, such as the effect of weed control on the density of the target weed species, or the recruitment of a species after translocation to a new environment.

The department is keen to involve the community in the monitoring of species and ecological communities. Observations of threatened species and ecological communities can be reported to DEC. To obtain the appropriate forms and more information see the Standard Report Forms page.

Particular skills are often needed to establish or participate in monitoring programs, and it may be worthwhile undertaking some training. For more information on participating in monitoring efforts see DECs volunteer programs page. Alternatively, if you are looking for more information on establishing monitoring programs see our Designing a fauna monitoring program, Standard Operating Procedures and Monitoring Protocols pages.

Monitoring of native vegetation

 Native Vegetation Condition Assessment and Monitoring Manual for Western Australia (4.08 MB).
- This manual covers the establishment of quadrat-based monitoring to determine native vegetation condition and was produced as part of a Commonwealth funded project.

Below are further reports generated during the project:

•  Vegetation Condition & Vegetation Mapping I.
  Critical Global Review of Approaches to Assessment of Vegetation Condition (1.36 MB)
•  Vegetation Condition & Vegetation Mapping II.
  Design of Vegetation Condition Assessment Mapping Programme (778.65 kB)
•  Resource Condition Monitoring - Native Vegetation Integrity Project
  Literature Review: Vegetation Condition Assessment, Monitoring & Evaluation V4 (October 2008) (618.08 kB)
•  Remote Sensing Vegetation Condition Assessment Case Studies in Western Australia (844.8 kB)
• The Application and Definition of Attributes for Defining Survey Plots Vegetation Condition Assessment in Western Australia (722.01 kB).

Forest and wetland monitoring programs

There are also monitoring programs for the forests and wetlands of Western Australia.
Forest Check
Science Fact Sheets

Surveys, and how they differ from monitoring

A survey is an exercise in which a set of observations are made about one or more components of an ecosystem. Monitoring is a series of surveys, repeated over time, that are designed to test a specific hypothesis. For example, a survey might involve counting the number of waterbirds present at a wetland at any one point in time. This is not monitoring, unless the count is repeated over time in order to test a theory about the effect of any management of the site on the bird population.

The department surveys the flora, fauna and ecological communities of Western Australia.

Links

EPA survey guidelines

DEC’s biological surveys

Western Shield

Science and research