The Ecological Monitoring System Australia (EMSA) is a set of nationally standardised survey modules aimed at improving the collection, management and storage of ecological field data. EMSA has been developed by TERN in collaboration with DCCEEW, NRM groups and the Science community to support on-ground projects. EMSA provides users with a set of field methods, user manuals and an associated app, Monitor, enabling reliable and repeatable quantification of ecological change across Australian ecosystems. Data collected through Monitor is stored and managed in the Biodiversity Data Repository.
Since the introduction of EMSA, 30 NRM groups working across 51 projects have collected over 1400 datasets. This includes laying out over 130 1 ha plots. Data collected includes floristics, vegetation cover and condition, bird, small mammal and invertebrate counts, and feral animal counts. EMSA will provide the foundation for a rich source of ecological trend data across Australia going forward.
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Authors:
Jacqueline de Chazal
Ashley Leedman
EJ Henderson
