12. Compiling an enhancement plan
Some things to look at include changing the:
- Light
- Moisture
- Temperature
- Effect of competition - eg other vegetation
- Human intervention (Salisbury School wrapped their quadrats in DANGER KEEP OUT tape)
- Predation, grazing
- Food sources for birds/lizards
- Food sources for fungi and plants
- Preventing erosion
Our expert David Havell suggests from a plant point of view that the main thing is to improve the structure (the many parts of the metre working together as a whole) of the quadrat so it can support a diversity of species and an increase in the numbers of each species. So, the quadrat needs to provide food and shelter for the species in the system.
Some signs to show enhancement would be:
- Good growth of plants and fungi
- Complexity of vegetation (lots of different types)
- Fruit and seeds (these can be tiny) as a food source
Peter Buchanan, Landcare Research mycologist, says:
Fungi need moisture so you could add water to the plot or cover the plot to create a moist atmosphere.
You will probably have hundreds of fungi in your plot in a microscopic feeding form called ‘hyphae' which are tiny thread-like structures. The visible stage of the fungi is the fruiting stage or structure.
Do you have a tree in your plot? Look in the soil around the roots – the roots may look altered and this could be caused by a fungi invasion. This interaction is good for both the tree and the fungi – the tree provides carbohydrate and minerals for the fungi, and the fungi improves the nutrition of the soil, which is good for the tree.
If you have a magnifying glass you might even see tiny fungi around the base of a blade of grass
A reminder…
Brainstorm all the changes you could make to improve your quadrat and then choose one to fair test.
You conduct one by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same (but, yes you can divide your quadrat into four and try four different tests).
More thoughts about the bigger picture if you think your quadrat is already healthy:
- Bird encouragement - Improve the native species by encouraging one species of bird
- Look at what is best suited to this area eg locally sourced plants and seed
- Adding layers of bark or stones for lizard/insect/spider homes
- Looking at what was in the area originally and ways of returning it to that state
After enhancing your quadrat next term, how will you tell if there has been an improvement?
You will be doing another audit to check on how many life forms are in your plot, looking for more of the species found in May, and any new species which have been attracted to your quadrat.
For example if there were one species of Invasive Alien residing in your quadrat (such as a German wasp or Australian rainbow skink), an enhancement plan would be to simply pull it out or remove it.