Tier 1 monitoring system

Properties in these pastoral districts are monitored by RMOs based in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs.

Monitoring sites are selected with a view to satisfying three levels of assessment at various scales:

• the pastoral based assessment
• advisory agencies’ assessment
• land administrative agency’s assessment.

The goal of this program is the achievement of sustainable use of pastoral lands in the NT through prevention of land degradation and ensure regeneration activities are implemented when required.

The aim of the program is to provide objective information that will:

• assist pastoralists in the management of rangeland resources
• provide information to pastoralists', land administration agencies and wider community about changes to rangeland resources
• enhance understanding of the response of rangelands to climatic, seasonal and management – related impacts.

The monitoring program objective is to:

• encourage adoption of appropriate management practices to ensure the sustainability of the natural resource and provide intergenerational equity
• assess range condition and trend
• interpret trends and the implications for productivity and management
• involve pastoralists, thus ensuring credibility and acceptance of monitoring by industry and increase landholders awareness and understanding of monitoring techniques and data
• provide information with potential to be incorporated into remote sensing techniques.

Monitoring sites comprise two steel pickets located 10 metres apart, set in pasture types preferred by stock, about three to four kilometres from stock water and easily accessible from station tracks or fence lines.

A photograph is taken at the site from the sighting picket looking towards the central (tagged) picket. When establishing the sites, RMOs also list the plant species present and assess the relative proportion of major species, within a 50 metre radius of the central (tagged) picket.

On future visits, RMOs list the plant species and the percentage cover on the site and make comparisons to past inspections. Erosion of the soil, type and severity, is also noted and compared with earlier visits.

The information gathered includes:

• the date of the visit
• location of site using a Global Positioning System
• general description of the site – such as black soil plain, tall open woodland with grassy understorey, etc.
• percentage of sand gravel and rock present (visual estimation)
• site’s location in the landscape e.g.: crest, upper slope, mid slope, flat, stream channel etc
• land system – type or unit if available
• colour of soil (wet and dry)
• colour of rock (wet and dry)
• fire – time of year fire went through area, intensity, frequency
• number of pasture species grazed by herbivores
• utilisation – cattle activity
• total grazing pressure on the resource – taking into consideration
  • the number of cattle
  • feral animals such as camels, donkeys, horses, rabbits
  • native species present including termites and kangaroos.
• vegetation information – using recorded measurements of ground cover, trees, and shrubs gathered by using one square metre quadrats at 5m intervals along a 60m transect from the photograph site picket
• other information gathered will include an estimated percentage of bare ground, organic litter such as fallen leaves and seed, and an estimation of rock covering the site
• tree density and the number and heights of shrubs within the transect.

All of the information gathered at each site is entered into a central database along with the photographs of each site so reports can be created at regular intervals for the Board and for the lessees.

Pastoralists are encouraged to revisit their property's monitoring sites every 12 months or after a significant climatic event (e.g. rain, drought, fire) to re-photograph the sites and complete site data sheets.

Before and after scenario photographs are very useful records, and pastoralists are often in the best position to photograph these situations. Some pastoralists are already photographing their sites every six months.

These records help take the guesswork out of remembering how the country used to be. They provide a visual and written record of pastoral and seasonal conditions, paddock management, weed encroachment, and soil disturbance.

Pastoralists can then compare photos and records showing pasture condition with weather patterns and stocking levels. RMOs also carry out a re-assessment of the sites and a general overview each property every five  years.

Many of the current monitoring sites were first established by various NT Government Departments, CSIRO and commissioned consultants.

These particular sites provide a lengthy pictorial and written history of the changes in pasture composition. Some sites were first established during the drought in the early 1960s.

Other sites were established before the big rainfall events in the early 1970s and provide valuable information on change such as woody shrub encroachment of some open country.