Download Monitoring - NSW Minerals Council

Mine Rehabilitation
Monitoring for Successful
Biodiversity Outcomes
Chase Dingle - IAR
Overview
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Boggabri Coal Mine
Background
Biodiversity refuge
Monitoring
Methods
‘Beyond’ BACI monitoring
Results
Objectives achieved?
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Boggabri Coal Mine
• 15 km NE of Boggabri in
Leard State Forest (8,134ha)
• Liverpool Plains Sub region
• LSF Zoning 4
• forestry, recreation, mineral
extraction
• Surrounded by agriculture cropping, sheep and wheat
• Mine rehab →
regeneration/reinstate forest
• Forestry production
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Rehab Background
• Mining began 2006
• Rehab preparation – Nov 2007
– Plant lines – rip and mound
– Rows 5 metres apart
– Aerial seeding
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70% Rhodes (Chloris gayana)
10% Premier digit grass (Digitaria sumutsii)
10% green panic (Panicum maximum var trichoglume)
10% Bisset creeping blue grass (Bothriochloa insculpta)
– Grass planting to reduce erosion
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Background - Native tree species
• Available spp
– Eucalyptus crebra (narrow leaf
ironbark)
– Allocasuarina leuhmannii (Bull oak)
– Eucalyptus blakelyi (Blakely’s gum)
– local box gums – white, grey, yellow
• Seed sourced from Leard SF
• Issues
• Kangaroos
• Rhodes grass
Eucalyptus blakelyi - Blakely’s gum
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Background - Rehab focus
• Initial trials focussed on
– establishing successful tree species
– ripping and planting densities
– fertilisers and supplements
• Change to adaptive management due to
– Rhodes grass impacts on
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soil moisture
tree growth
native diversity of understorey
fauna habitat
• Include non indigenous native tree species
– Increased growth rates
– Fast establishment of structure, habitats & food resources
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Biodiversity refuge
• The mine adjoins a refuge within the regional
landscape – Leard State Conservation Area (to the
north west)
• Refuge contains moderate diversity - a range of
species, birds and bats
• NSW DoPI requirement – reinstate forest
• Zoning 4 – forestry, recreation, resource extraction
• Therefore reinstate biodiversity
• Therefore monitor for biodiversity
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Vegetation Communities (project boundary)
Grassy Woodlands on Fertile Soils
Shrubby Woodland/Open Forest on Skeletal
Soils
Grasslands
Riverine Woodlands
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Ecological Communities (project boundary)
Three TECs:
• White box, Yellow Box, Blakely’s Red Gum
Woodland
• Plains Grass grassland (Brigalow Belt Sth
Bioregion)
• Weeping Myall Woodland
• All listed under NSW TSC Act 1995 and EPBC
Act 1999
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Species composition (project boundary)
• 427 plant spp
– 365 spp (86%) native
– 2 threatened spp - TSC Act or EPBC Act
• (Pomaderris queenslandica (Scant Pomaderris),
• Pultenaea setulosa (vulnerable – EPBC Act)
• 194 animal spp
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6 amphibian spp
129 birds spp
31 mammal spp
28 reptile spp
21 threatened (TSC Act), 4 threatened
(EPBC Act), 2 migratory (EPBC Act)
Pultenaea setulosa
Strophurus williamsii - Eastern Spiny-tailed Gecko
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Monitoring – the beginning
• A monitoring program for biodiversity was
established in February 2006 as part of the
Boggabri Coal Project.
• Provision of a monitoring program was included
in the mine’s Operational Environmental
Management Plan, with a number of drivers for a
comprehensive monitoring program
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Why monitor biodiversity in Leard SF?
• Conditions of original consent
• Conditions of extension consents – NSW DoPI and
SEWPaC
• To establish a baseline understanding of the biodiversity
values being impacted and success of the rehabilitation
works being undertaken at Boggabri Coal
• To test predictions about impacts, detect unforeseen
impacts and assess effectiveness of mitigation measures
• Increase acceptance and reduce unwarranted criticism of
the impacts of the project
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Biodiversity Monitoring
To date:
• 8 years biodiversity monitoring
within Leard SF and region
• 6 years targeted threatened
species surveys within Leard
SF and the region
Funnel Trap line for reptiles and small mammal trapping
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Monitoring – Beyond BACI
• The commonly accepted monitoring design for
biodiversity monitoring on a mine site is ‘Beyond BACI’
design (Underwood 1992), with BACI referring to
Before/After Control/Impact and the ‘beyond’ element
relating to the use of multiple control sites instead of just
one.
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Monitoring design to date
• Best Practice - beyond BACI design (Before/After
Control/Impact and the ‘beyond’ element relating to
the use of multiple control sites instead of just one.)
• Impact - 4 monitoring sites within Leard SF
• Beyond - 4 sites in each of Vickery State Forest and
Rocklea. (Vickery changed to offset sites Nandewar Ra.)
• To date, monitoring sessions completed over 8
periods
• Before- February 2006 (before start of mining),
• After - May 2006, March 2007, May 2008, January 2009,
May 2010, July 2011 and August 2012.
• Both univariate and multivariate statistical procedures
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What to monitor
• Variables measured at each of the sites
included:
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Vegetation: species and weed diversity
Birds: species diversity and numbers
Bats: species diversity, numbers and activity
Invertebrates: species diversity
Underwoodisaurus milii - Thick-tailed Gecko
Neophema pulchella –
Turquoise Parrot
Nyctophilus geoffroyi - Lesser Long-eared Bat
Prostanthera sp
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Methods
The following surveys were done at each survey
site (randomly selected within the location):
• Two 100 m transect surveys of vegetation cover
abundance
• Invertebrates surveyed using two 100 m
transects with ten pitfall traps in each
• Two nights of microbat recordings using AnaBat
• Two 20 minute point bird census surveys on
non-consecutive mornings
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Methods – statistical analysis
Univariate analysis of species richness
• Comparison of the change in species richness of
each of the four groups monitored (i.e.
vegetation, birds, microbats and invertebrates)
through time and tests the significance of these
changes.
Multivariate analysis of species richness
• Comparison of the similarity (or dissimilarity) of
the species of the four groups monitored at each
site based on both the species richness and
composition.
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Univariate analysis species richness
Vegetation
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Univariate analysis species richness
Birds
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Univariate analysis species richness
Invertebrates
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Multivariate analysis
Vegetation
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Multivariate analysis
Birds
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Multivariate analysis
Invertebrates
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Rehab Biodiversity Monitoring
February 2008 to May 2012
Ninox connivens - Barking Owl
Underwoodisaurus milii - Thick-tailed Gecko
Pterostylis boormanii - Greenhood
Rehab monitoring
• Surveys were designed and conducted using
same methods that were currently being
undertaken for the Boggabri Coal biodiversity
monitoring program.
• Allowing Leard SF sites to provide detailed
baseline for the establishment of rehabilitation
• The sampling involved bird surveys, invertebrate
pitfall trap surveys, microchiropteran surveys,
biobanking plots and vegetation transects.
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Survey sites - Rehab
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‹#›
Rehab photographic monitoring (2012)
RH2008 – four years old
RH2010 – two years old
RH2011 – one year old
RH2012 – current
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Native fauna spp richness
• 30 bird species
* Threatened
bird species, Vulnerable
under NSW TSC Act
Bird Species diversity
– woodland and grassland
– Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus)
– Double-barred Finch (Taeniopygia
bichenovii)
– *Speckled Warbler
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(Pyrrholaemus sagittatus)
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*
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– Turquoise Parrot (Neophema
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pulchella)
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Neophema pulchella - Turquoise Parrot
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Analog Leard SF
RH 2011
RH 2010
Reference Site
Average bird species richness comparison
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RH 2008
Rehabilitation Fauna July 2011
Rehab area
Common name
Australian Pipit
Australian Wood Duck
Brown Quail
Brown Treecreeper
Scientific name
Anthus australis
Chenonetta jubata
Coturnix ypsilophora
Climacteris picumnus
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Common Bronzewing
Double-barred Finch
Galah
Grey Shrike-thrush
Inland Thornbill
Jacky Winter
Little Lorikeet
Magpie-lark
Pied Butcherbird
Red-winged Parrot
Speckled Warbler (TS)
Superb Fairy-wren
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Variegated Fairy-wren
Weebill
White-plumed Honeyeater
White-winged Fairy-wren
Yellow Thornbill
Yellow-rumped Thornbill
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Common Wallaroo
Acanthiza uropygialis
Phaps chalcoptera
Taeniopygia bichenovii
Cacatua roseicapilla
Colluricincla harmonica
Acanthiza apicalis
Microeca fascinans
Glossopsitta pusilla
Grallina cyanoleuca
Cracticus nigrogularis
Aprosmictus erythropterus
Pyrrholaemus sagittatus
Malurus cyaneus
Cacatua galerita
Malurus lamberti
Smicrornis brevirostris
Lichenostomus penicillatus
Malurus leucopterus
Acanthiza nana
Acanthiza chrysorrhoa
Macropus giganteus
Macropus robustus
No Spp. (count)
Total
12m
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Forest
Average bird abundance comparison
36m
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3
10
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65
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Native fauna spp richness
Invertebrates
• 335 invertebrates from 13 morpho-species in 2yo rehab
• Ants most abundant group
• Leard State Forest has a greater invert diversity
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Invertebrate species diversity
• Often the first invertebrates to
colonise new areas on
rehabilitation sites
• Bio indicator of the success of
the rehabilitation (Andersen et
al. 2003)
• Vital in seed dispersal,
pollination
• Can have an impact upon
seed predation
Av. Invert. diversity comparison
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Analog Leard SF
RH2010
Site Reference
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Summary - flora (2012)
• 48 plant spp (incl 8 exotic)
• Averages of 21.4 native spp/rehab site and 5 exotic
spp/rehab site
• Overall rehab = 67% diversity compared with analogue
sites in LSF
• sites >2yo have relatively high number of spp
characteristic of the critically endangered community of
White Box Yellow Box Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy
Woodland and derived native grassland (EPBC Act)
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Summary – fauna (2012)
• Majority of birds commonly occurring spp inhabiting
grassland habitats
• Bird spp diversity, including woodland species and
honeyeaters, increasing over time with structural diversity
• Low invert diversity compared with LSF
• Abundance data for inverts higher than LSF due to high
numbers of ants recorded
• Invert diversity and relative abundance of ants requires
further analysis and review to determine potential impacts
on improved seed dispersal and predation
• Microbat diversity and abundance lower than LSF ← Low
structural diversity not optimal for foraging
• 2 macropod spp recorded
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Monitoring cumulative impacts
• Maules Creek Mine and expansion of Boggabri Coal
Mine within Leard SF require biodiversity monitoring
as conditions of consent
• Cumulative impacts are focus for the government
(water, air, noise etc.) and include biodiversity
• Some monitoring sites within Leard SF required
relocation to accommodate extension, extensive
existing baseline data available
• The expansion of the existing monitoring
programme is relatively simple
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Cumulative impacts on Leard
Benefits of cumulative monitoring
• Seen to be pro-active and best practice by consent
authorities and community
– By providing a biodiversity monitoring report addressing
cumulative impacts as part of AEMR reporting
• Use of existing databases, herbarium and invert
collection for sampling and data analysis
• Proven methodology and agencies’ acceptance
• Demonstrates the effectiveness of the current
mitigation measures
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Summary of 2012 ‘beyond’ monitoring
• High spp diversity in most survey techniques
• Data provide good information on the biodiversity of LSF
and the opportunity to continue monitoring potential
changes in biodiversity values as a result of ongoing
mining activities
• Results indicate that undisturbed areas of LSF remain in
a relatively similar biodiversity condition over the history
of the program, since mining began
• Identifies additional plant, bird and microbat spp in LSF,
= good inventory of species likely to be affected as mine
progresses
• Includes seven threatened bird spp and five threatened
microbat spp
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Trends
• Leard State Forest remains in a relatively similar
biodiversity condition over the history of the program
– no impacts from mining
• Univariate analysis of the data generally found that
Leard State Forest was experiencing similar trends
to either Vickery State Forests and/or Rocklea
• Multivariate analysis did not identify any significant
trends occurring in Leard State Forest that were not
also occurring in the control sites
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Mine extension to include offset monitoring
• Monitoring required for
management actions within
biodiversity offsets
• NSW DoPI Approval
requirement
• SEWPaC Approval requirement
• Both Govs require cumulative
Biodiversity Management Plans
• Use similar monitoring sites to
inform both requirements –
control sites
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Objectives achieved?
 Trials helped establish endangered
communities
x Issues with Rhodes grass
 Using data efficiently improves rehab
methods and communities
 Univariate analysis – LSF similar trends
to control sites.
 Multivariate analysis – no significant
trends in LSF not in control sites
 ↑ing vegetation structure
 ↑ing biodiversity compared with analogue
sites
 Community and government acceptance
Psephotus haematonotus - Red-rumped Parrot
Litoria caerulea - Green Tree Frog
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