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System Title |
4.7 Environment Bay of Plenty Framework for Monitoring Ecological Integrity |
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| Keywords | land systems; bioclimatic zones; ecological districts; ecological units; eco-units; landform components |
| Description | A combination of Land Systems, Bio-climatic Zones and Ecological Districts were used to define ecological units called Eco Units. Landform components were defined and illustrated for each eco-unit. Examples of landform components included floodplains, alluvial floodplains, back swamps, dissected terraces and estuarine mudflats. Each landform component was described within the context of the Bio-climatic Zone, Ecological District, historic vegetation mapping and current land cover (LCDB). GIS databases were established to provide spatial layers depicting:
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| Original Purpose | To be used for monitoring ecological integrity in the Bay of Plenty Region. |
| Status | Lucas Associates, with Landcare Research and Wildland Consultants Ltd., were contracted by Environment BOP to develop the framework in 1998. |
| Organisation | Environment Bay of Plenty |
| Jurisdiction | Bay of Plenty Region |
| Contact person/position | Greg Pemberton |
| Address | Environment Bay of Plenty P O Box 364 Whakatane Phone +64 0800 368 267 Facsimile + 64 0800 368 329 Email: greg@envbop.govt.nz |
| Available format | GIS databases, accompanied by hard copy model 3-D drawings and charts. |
| Access | |
| Geographical coverage | Bay of Plenty Region |
Operational Specifications |
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| Scale of Operation | Scales of 1:50 000, 1:25 000 and 1:10 000 for specific areas of interest.
1:500,000 for regional maps depicting Land Systems, Ecological Regions and Districts, Bio-climatic Zones; 1840 vegetation; 1840 Vegetation without Human Modification; 1996 Landcover. |
| GIS Compatibility | Yes |
| Relationship between levels in the classification system | The relationships between Land Systems, Ecological Districts and Bio-climatic
zones are determined by expert opinion to assist in depicting Eco-unit boundaries.
It is not yet clear how all the data layers will interact to facilitate this. |
| Contributing databases/ classification systems | Land Cover Database |
| Contributing database GIS compatibility | Yes |
| Relationship with other classification systems and spatial frameworks. | Bio-climatic Zones Ecological Regions and Districts LCDB classification system |
| Relationship with other databases | N/A |
Current and emerging use for: |
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| Assisting with determining historic state/ baseline | Eco-Units can be used as the basis for collating information on historical indigenous vegetation. |
| Assisting with determining current state/ baseline | Eco-Units can be used as the basis for collating information on current land cover (use and vegetation). |
| Asssisting with scenario building and modelling of possible futures | |
| Risk Assesment | Collation of information by Eco-unit could focus on particular and vulnerable types of Eco Unit. |
| Monitoring site selection and sample design | It is not yet clear how the Eco-units will be used as a basis for site selection and sample design. |
| Aggregating and reporting data locally, regionally and/or nationally | The depiction of Eco-units relies on expert opinion. This implies that it could be difficult to achieve a nationally consistent classification system suitable for the aggregation and reporting of data. It may be possible to minimise inconsistencies if a standardised set of procedures were developed and a review process implemented. One person may be required to provide an overview. |
User friendliness/public and decision maker understanding
- Eco-units can provide a communication tool for community, resource managers and decision makers.
- The monitoring framework itself is reasonably complex, as it is derived from a range of classification systems and expert opinion.
System strengths
- The system operates at a range of scales and so provides for a variety of uses.
- Provides a tool to focus data collection.
Current limitations of framework
- The definition of eco-units is subjective and relies on the background knowledge of the people involved.
- It may therefore be difficult end up with a nationally consistent system.
- The system has not yet been tested as a monitoring framework, and it is not clear how it will work in practice.
- The relationship between the classification systems used to derive the Eco-units is not yet clear.
References
Lucas Associates; Lynn,J, Landcare Research; Wildland Consulting Ltd. 1998. A framework for Monitoring Ecological Integrity in the Bay of Plenty region. A Report to Environment Bay of Plenty.