ASSESSMENT OF THE MONITORING PROTOCOL
The protocol used to assess the condition of remediated sites was satisfactory, however better methods could be devised, particularly now that drones are used more widely. They can capture images( UAV photography), elevation data( UAV photogrammetry) and, hopefully soon, ground cover data at a small enough scale that is currently not available from satellites. The advanced LCAT provided a way of indicating the stability of the soil at the site because, in the more natural landscapes of extensive grazing, land condition reflects soil stability. The Gully Monitoring Tool( GMT) was useful to collect images and information on the various structures, but it doesn’ t have any summarising capability, such as a stability rating.
Ideally, landholders would be more involved in the monitoring of the sites and this would help to develop ownership of the site, as well as enable timely maintenance. While it is accepted that the ability for a grazing operation to conduct regular monitoring will vary, it would be good to have more clearly established the landholder’ s agreed level of involvement at the beginning of the project.
NQ DRY TROPICS 53