Monitoring and evaluation: Resource Condition Indicators
For each 'matter for target' identified by the National Framework for Natural Resource Management Standards and Targets, an overall indicator called an 'indicator heading' is been developed. For each 'matter for target' there are also a number of dimensions related to resource condition issues. The 'recommended indicators' detail these dimensions and how to measure them.
The 'recommended indicators', or resource condition indicators, are listed below under the 'indicator headings'. The 'indicator headings' may, over time, include more than one 'recommended indicator', or a number of ways of measuring the same outcome.
The format for listing the indicators is:
Matter for target
- Indicator heading
- Recommended indicators
Land salinity
Soil condition
Native vegetation communities' integrity
- Native vegetation extent and distribution
(status: for advice)
- The extent of present native vegetation by IBRA subregion measured in hectares (status: recommended)
- The extent of each priority native vegetation type by IBRA subregion measured in hectares (status: recommended)
- The remaining proportion of each native vegetation type by IBRA subregion measured as a percentage of the pre-European extent (status: recommended)
- Native vegetation condition
(status: for advice)
- The proportion of each native vegetation type in each IBRA subregion that is estimated to be in specified condition classes based on a selected set of attributes (status: for advice)
Integrity of inland aquatic ecosystems (rivers and other wetlands)
- River condition (status: for advice)
- Benthic macroinvertebrate community assemblages (status: for advice)
- Fish community assemblages (status: for advice)
- Benthic diatom community assemblages(status: for advice)
- Riparian vegetation community assemblages (status: for advice)
- Riverine physical structure and in-stream habitat (status: for advice)
- Water quality (status: for advice)
- Hydrology (status: for advice)
- Wetland ecosystem extent and distribution
- Extent of regionally significant wetlands
- Wetland ecosystem condition (status: for advice)
- Colour (status: for advice)
- Dissolved oxygen and temperature (status: for advice)
- Extent of inundation (status: for advice)
- Macroinvertebrate diversity and community composition (status: for advice)
- Macroinvertebrate index (status: for advice)
- Macroinvertebrate indicator species (status: for advice)
- Nutrients (Phosphorus and Nitrogen) (status: for advice)
- Transparency (status: for advice)
- Vegetation (status: for advice)
- Phytoplankton (status: for advice)
Estuarine, coastal and marine habitat integrity
- Estuarine, coastal and marine habitat extent and distribution (status: for advice)
- Animal kills (status: for advice)
- Animal or plant species abundance (status: for advice)
- Animals killed or injured by litter (entanglement, starvation, suffocation) (status: for advice)
- Benthic microalgae biomass (in intertidal sand/mudflat communities) (status: for advice)
- Biomass, or number per unit area, of epiphytes (in seagrass or mangrove communities) (status: for advice)
- Biomass, or number per unit area, of macroalgae (in rocky shore, rocky reef or coral reef communities) (status: for advice)
- Chlorophyll a (status: for advice)
- Coral bleaching (status: for advice)
- Death of marine mammals, endangered sharks and reptiles caused by boat strike, shark nets or drum lines (status: for advice)
- Dissolved Oxygen (DO) (status: for advice)
- Estuary mouth opening/closing (status: for advice)
- Extent/distribution of key habitat types (status: for advice)
- Extent/distribution of subtidal macroalgae (status: for advice)
- Frequency of algal blooms in estuarine, coastal and marine waters (status: for advice)
- Occurrence of animal disease/lesions in estuarine, coastal and marine systems (status: for advice)
- Occurrence of imposex (status: for advice)
- Pest species (number, density, distribution) (status: for advice)
- pH (status: for advice)
- Presence/extent of litter (status: for advice)
- Salinity (status: for advice)
- Seagrass: depth range (status: for advice)
- Sedimentation/erosion rates (status: for advice)
- Targeted pathogen counts (status: for advice)
- Total nutrients in the sediment WITH dissolved nutrients in the sediment (status: for advice)
- Total nutrients in the water column WITH dissolved nutrients in the water column (status: for advice)
- Toxicants in biota (status: for advice)
- Toxicants in the sediment (status: for advice)
- Turbidity/water clarity (status: for advice)
- Water-current patterns (status: for advice)
- Water soluble toxicants in the water column (status: for advice)
- Water temperature (status: for advice)
- Estuarine, coastal and marine habitat condition
- Condition of habitat at significant sites of selected estuarine, coastal and marine habitats
Nutrients in aquatic environments
- Nitrogen in aquatic environments (status: agreed)
- Total Nitrogen + flow leaving sub-catchment or whole catchment (status: agreed)
- Phosphorus in aquatic environments (status: agreed)
- Total Phosphorus + flow leaving sub-catchment or whole catchment (status: agreed)
Turbidity/suspended particulate matter in aquatic environments
- Turbidity/suspended solids (status: agreed)
- Turbidity (status: agreed) or
- Total suspended solids (TSS) + flow (status: agreed)
Surface water salinity in freshwater aquatic environments
- In-stream salinity (status: agreed)
- Total dissolved solids (TDS) + Flow OR (status: agreed)
- Electrical conductivity (EC) + Flow (status: agreed)
Significant native species and ecological communities
- Selected significant native species and ecological communities extent and conservation status (status: for advice)
Ecologically significant invasive species
- Selected ecologically significant vertebrate invasive species extent and impact (status: for advice)
- Selected ecologically significant invasive vegetation species extent and impact (status: for advice)