The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Monitoring plants and plant communities

Monitoring involves the collection and analysis of repeated observations or measurements to evaluate changes in condition and/or progress toward meeting a management objective. Information is provided here about monitoring plants. 

DOC staff monitoring Lepidium on the Chatham Islands. Photo: John Sawyer.

Monitoring is done:

• To determine the effectiveness of conservation management work
• To detect trends in the condition of species or plant communities as a result of environmental changes.

There are a number of monitoring techniques that are useful when monitoring plant populations, plant communities or ecosystems or the effects of conservation management activities:

• Presence / absence surveys
• Photopoints
• Number count
• Mapping spatial extent

Grids are often used when monitoring small species. Photo: John Sawyer

For more information about monitoring see*:

• Measuring and monitoring plant populations (file size 5MB) by Caryl L. Elzinga, Daniel W. Salzer and John W. Willoughby 
  
• Permanent plot method for monitoring changes in indigenous forestsby Rob Allen (Landcare Research)
• Formak - Forest Monitoring and Assessment Kit (website)

*The Network is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

This page last updated on 6 Nov 2012