Assessment Methods

There are many ecological, social and economic reasons for wetland assessment. In each case, assessment methods may be quite specific and are usually purpose driven. However, a number of broad categories of wetland assessment are recognised here. Assessment may be undertaken to:

• document the physical and biological characteristics of a wetland, or a group of wetlands (that is, wetland inventory)
• classify a wetland, or group of wetlands, into ‘like’ categories for research or management purposes
• investigate and understand wetland ecosystem function, including both hydrologic mechanisms (for example, water source, connectivity, water regime) and biotic mechanisms
• monitor wetland condition or ‘health’, either in a single event survey (that is, a ‘snap-shot’ survey) or through time in a structured sampling program
• quantify the risk to wetland structure, function and/or value(s) in relation to an identified threat, action or known/potential impact
• assist in establishing wetland intervention or investment priorities
• monitor specific wetland components/parameters, such as water quality, in response to an identified threat or known/potential impact (for example, surveillance monitoring adjacent to high risk commercial operations)
• determine conservation values (or ecological values) in a wetland, or group of wetlands, for purposes such as protection, prioritisation and rehabilitation.

Scientists and resource managers rely on wetland assessment to guide decision making, increase community awareness and to identify long-term trends in the condition of wetland resources.

There are a number of programs of wetland assessment in Queensland. Given the broad scope of uses for wetland assessment, it is not surprising that many wetland assessment methods have been developed for use in Australia. Each method has been developed with purpose, application, resources available to assessors, and accuracy of results in mind. For these reasons, when commencing an assessment exercise it is important to consider the type and scale of the assessment, the range of methods and resources available, and to choose the most appropriate. For example, if the outcome requires the prioritisation of wetlands for funding, an assessment based on biodiversity alone may be inadequate and community capacity criteria may also need to be included. Choosing an unsuitable method can result a time consuming and costly assessment that may not give desired results.

WetlandInfo provides a portal to access a range of other assessment programs, assessment methods and assessment results. For a list of assessment tools used in Australia go to the assessment method toolbox and associated guideline.

The intent of the toolbox is to describe recent assessment methods:

• across a range of scales from regions to habitats
• for freshwater, estuarine and marine wetlands
• appropriate for different purposes.

Some key wetland assessment programs and methods include:

Aquatic Conservation Assessment (ACA) using AquaBAMM — a method for assessing wetland conservation values.

Wetland classification (part of the broader DERM Wetland Mapping and Classification).

A Decision Support System (DSS) developed to help prioritise investment in wetland management activities.

Last updated: 27 August 2009