BOOBOOK ECOLOGICAL CONSULTING
Protected plant flora surveys
Protected Plant Flora Surveys
What are protected plant flora surveys?
Protected plant flora surveys (PPFSs) are conducted to locate any critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, threatened or near threatened plants that may be present in a particular area.
In conducting PPFSs, the Department of Environment and Science’s Flora Survey Guidelines – Protected Plants: Nature Conservation Act 1992. dictate:
- The extent of the area to be surveyed,
- The methods of surveying and reporting, and
- The qualifications needed by persons conducting these surveys.
As per these guidelines, protected plant surveys include a desktop assessment to determine which threatened flora may occur within the project area. In a desktop assessment, we:
- Review the results of previous flora surveys,
- Ground-truth regional ecosystem and flora habitat assessments and
- Conduct database searches (e.g. Atlas of Living Australia, WildNet).
Once the desktop assessment is complete, we conduct an in-depth field inspection. This commonly includes both timed meander surveys and plot-based surveys:
- Meander surveys: Walking in a certain habitat type and recording all species until a 30-minute period passes with no additional species recorded
- Plot-based surveys: Describing and counting plants within a 50m x 10m plot (transect).
At Boobook Ecological Consulting, we are both qualified and experienced in conducting PPFSs. For examples of our work, visit our Insights page.
Who needs to undertake protected plant flora surveys?
Queensland legislation requires land development proposals to acknowledge that protected plants may be present in the affected area.
The agriculture sector is also captured by this legislation, and land owners whose land is classified as Category X under a PMAV are not necessarily exempt.
If you are a landholder whose land falls within a mapped buffer around a known protected plant record – the ‘blue circle’ found on a Protected Plants Flora Survey Trigger Map – you will require a PPFS to be completed before any development can take place.
How we can help
Boobook Ecological Consulting’s team of expert ecologists are approved and experienced in conducting PPFSs.
We have spent decades searching for and identifying rare and threatened plants, from forest trees to tiny herbs. We have also worked with both commercial and private clients, predominantly on grazing lands where the landholder is proposing to control woody regrowth.
To find out how we can help, contact us.
What our clients say
The science of a shared world
Boobook Ecological Consulting has built its success on decades I first-hand knowledge of the natural ecosystems of the southern Queensland drylands combined with practical understanding of the complex pressures that impinge on Australia’s fragile environment.
