Selecting indicators
Selecting indicators that are relevant to your situation is a critical part of all monitoring plans. This section of the Land Manager’s Monitoring Guide provides a decision support tool to help you identify indicators that maybe relevant to your situation. The decision support tool is divided into 4 levels of information:
1. Enterprises or production systems
- Some of the key agricultural enterprises or production systems in Queensland
- Clusters of key management activities
- The specific tasks undertaken as part of property management. This level describes the key management activities and lists some of the potential direct impacts of those activities.
- The potential direct environmental impacts of the management activities are described and the secondary or associated impacts are listed. Not all of the listed impacts will be realised in every situation. A risk assessment may be necessary to determine which potential impacts pose a serious threat in your circumstance. For each impact an indicator for monitoring has been suggested.
You can access the content of the various levels via many different pathways. Below is an example of how you might browse through the different levels to find relevant indicators for an extensive grazing enterprise.
Step 1: Using the links at the top of this page or the navigation to the left of the page choose "enterprise or production system" and then choose "extensive grazing."
Step 2: From the list of options provided choose the land practice of interest, for example "pasture management".
Step 3: From the list of options provided choose the management activity of interest, for example "grazing land stocking rate".
Step 4: From the list of options provided select the direct impact of concern, for example "reduced ground cover". For each direct impact a suggested indicator/s is provided. In addition, associated impacts and suggested indicators are also provided.
Alternatively, you may choose to start browsing at the land practice, management activity or impact level of information or even go directly to an indicator without using the decision support tool.
Last updated: 06 September 2010