The Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS) - operating a regional scale monitoring system

Abstract

The Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS), a state government monitoring activity, provides information on change in Western Australia’s pastoral rangelands. It consists of a set of permanent sites, on which measurements of perennial vegetation (direct census in shrublands and perennial grass frequency and woody cover in grasslands) and assessments of soil surface condition are recorded at either 3-year (grasslands) or 5-year (shrublands) intervals. Data collection is non-destructive. Site distribution is based on vegetation type, and WARMS reports at the vegetation type or regional level, not individual site or property level. Operating WARMS requires a range of defined conventions to ensure that personnel changes and the interval between samplings at any one site do not lead to confounding of results through variation in how data are collected. The number of sites (1622) and program timeframe (decadal) mean that data storage and management issues are critical. Data interpretation, including the interpretive framework and use of ancillary data to assist in interpreting causality, and provision of information products relevant to a range of users are also important operational aspects. A companion paper addresses the institutional requirements for WARMS, system design and the rationale behind this design.

Estimating Ground Cover in the Mixed Prairie Grassland of Southern Alberta Using Vegetation Indices Related to Physiological Function

“…However, these methods are labor intensive and time consuming. Consequently, data collection is often confined to reference areas of a limited size (Milton et al 1998;Rangeland Management Branch 2004;Novelly et al 2008). The spatially intensive nature of satellite imagery offers the ability to monitor native grassland on the landscape level (Tueller 1989;Hunt et al 2003).…”