Ecological Communities - Biological Surveys
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| Digging a pitfall trapline in
the Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands |
To complete Statewide coverage by 2015 (including surveys and mapping)
Since 1971, the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage
has been conducting systematic biological surveys of the vegetation and vertebrate
fauna of large regions of the State as part of the Biological Survey of South Australia.
From 1984 the Biological Survey has been overseen by the South Australian
Biological Survey Coordinating Committee which comprises representatives from
the South Australian Museum, the Departments of Transport, Urban Planning
and the Arts, Environment and Heritage and Primary Industries and Resources
SA. This committee is currently chaired by Dr Tony Robinson, Manager, Biological Survey and Monitoring,
Department for Environment and Heritage.
Surveys covering most of the South Australian biogeographic
regions have been undertaken by the Department for Environment and Heritage.
- Substantially improve our knowledge of the biodiversity of South Australia
- Improve our ability to adequately manage nature conservation into the future
- Measure the direction of long-term ecological change
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| New species of Peplidium from Lambina Station near Marla |
- Determine the distribution of plant and terrestrial vertebrate species throughout the state
- Assess vegetation and fauna condition
- Establish base line data for future monitoring
- Produce structural and floristic vegetation maps
- Compile biological data from a range of sources
- Improve land management and conservation decisions
- Plant data collected at the same place as animal data
- Voucher specimens collected for Plant Biodiversity Centre
- Additional plants in area recorded opportunistically
- Biological detail such as life form etc. recorded
- Plants recorded depend strongly on seasonal conditions
Animals
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| Carpet Python
Morelia spilotata |
- Presence of animals determined by combination of trapping and identifying
calls, tracks, scats etc
- Voucher specimens collected for SA Museum
- Data on age, sex and reproductive state recorded
- Opportune data obtained by active search, spotlighting etc
- Success of trapping depends on seasonal conditions
- Invertebrates also sampled but less intensively
- Conducted by Biological Survey and Monitoring
section
- Derived from Landsat image classification, aerial photography and ground truthing
- Structural vegetation mapping at a scale of 1:250,000 in cattle and Aboriginal Lands
- Structural vegetation mapped at scale of 1:100,000 in sheep country
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One of 4,000 permanently marked
quadrats. |
- Conducted by Planning SA with input from Biological Survey and Monitoring
section
- Derived from colour air photos, PATN analysis and ground truthing
- Floristic vegetation mapping at a scale of 1:50,000
Location of Floristic Vegetation Study
Areas (950Kb PDF)
Native Vegetation
Information for NRM Mapping Fact Sheet (550Kb PDF)
- Baseline data to assess changes in vegetation composition
- Baseline line data to assess changes in fauna composition
- Approximately 15,000 (4,000 permanently marked) sites established so far
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| Preparing for a Biological
Survey on St Francis Island south of Ceduna, Eyre Peninsula |
Information will continue to be collected over the next 15 years
to complete the first snapshot for the Biological Survey of South
Australia. To ensure that this information is collected as consistently
as possible, detailed survey manuals have been produced. They cover
the Vegetation Survey
(1Mb PDF) and Vertebrate
Survey (3Mb PDF) techniques required
to enable the data collected to contribute to the Biological Survey
of South Australia Database.
For all published Survey Reports contact:
DEH Information
Phone: (61 8) 8204 1910
Fax: (61 8) 8463 3900
Email: DEH Information
R Brandle,
Biological Survey and Monitoring,
Department for Environment and Heritage
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