Plot Description Module. In 'Ecological Field Monitoring Protocols Manual using the Ecological Monitoring System Australia'

This module is one of many that form the Ecological Field Monitoring Protocols Manual using the Ecological Monitoring System Australia (EMSA), available at https://emsa.tern.org.au/documents. The Plot Description Module records basic physical information about a plot, including landform, slope and aspect, lithology, disturbance, fire history and vegetation type. The information collected aligns with national guidelines from the Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook (also known as the Yellow Book; NCST 2009), Guidelines for Surveying Soil and Land Resources (also known as the Blue Book; McKenzie et al. 2008) and the NVIS Australian Vegetation Attribute Manual (NVIS Technical Working Group 2017), as well as a number of state and territory guidelines.

The Plot Description Module includes two protocols to describe a core monitoring plot:

1. Enhanced protocol – used to describe the landform, land surface and vegetation of a plot when it is established (i.e. first visit).
2. Standard protocol – used to describe the vegetation of an established plot that has previously been described using the enhanced protocol (i.e. revisit).

The protocols use standardised methods and terminologies that align with national guidelines for surveying land and vegetation, including the Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook (also known as the Yellow Book; NCST 2009), Guidelines for Surveying Soil and Land Resources (also known as the Blue Book; McKenzie et al. 2008), and the Native Vegetation Information System (NVIS) Australian Vegetation Attribute Manual (NVIS Technical Working Group 2017).