soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

More recent approaches to monitoring prefer not to use terms
such as condition, trend, succession, climax or other
ecologically qualified concepts. The writer believes that
whichever approach is used, an understanding of the dynamics
and grazing value of the plants is essential to reliable
interpretation of field data. Such understanding requires
answers to a range of questions as listed in the section
below.
SAMPLING AND INTERPRETATION
If condition assessment is to be objective and meaningful, it
must be based on measurable attributes which can be applied,
on a quantitative basis, to a variety of sites. In addition,
unless condition ratings can ultimately be related to
management and a causal relationship established, condition
and trend assessment can easily degenerate into no more than
an academic exercise and may be what has been called "painful
elaboration of the obvi~us~~.
Over the years, many criteria or indicators of condition have
been proposed and used. Because the relative importance of
the possible indicators differs according to the specific
situation and the factors which are applicable to the
environments concerned, no single choice of plant or soil
indicator can be accepted as best for all cases.
The following plant attributes are desirable, in the sense
that they contribute to both the productivity and stability of
the ecosystem:
a. Acceptability to grazing animals (palatability).
b. Productivity in terms of dry matter yield.
c. Perenniality as reflecting soil stabilizing ability and
both more permanent and uniform production.
d. Drought tolerance.
e. Nutritive value in terms of digestibility and protein
content.
The contribution of Friedel (1988) and Tongway and Smith
(1989) to both sampling site selection and yield estimation
have been important in developing a new approach to
monitoring. Their papers to this workshop emphasize once
again- the importance of clarity of.objectives before an
effective system of monitoring can be achieved.
In developing a local assessment system based on local
standards, decisions are required on at least four major
issues, and in the following sequence:
a. The criteria of condition to be employed.
b. The intensity and accuracy of sampling required.
c. The actual scoresheet details.
d. The weighting of criteria according to importance.