In order to understand what is happening to the landscape, it is essential that landholders monitor any changes taking place. It is no longer solely sufficient to subjectively cast an eye over the country and decide by gut feeling that stock numbers should be increased or decreased. This method may work well in the short term but long term changes are easy to miss and records need to be accurately kept. More objective measuring of the state of the landscape is essential, not only for the landholders use but for people outside the pastoral industry to see what is happening in the rangelands. There is no comprehensive or perfect system for measuring changes but monitoring sites are a tool to help measure some changes. In the future other tools may be available.

Pastoral Monitoring System Sites

All pastoral stations now have PMS (Pastoral Monitoring System) sites put in place by the Department of Agriculture. Some of these have been in place since 1977. They are photographic sites 13.5 m long by 5 m wide at the front and 13m wide at the back, marked by permanent pegs. Perennial plants within the area are counted and recorded on a regular basis with photos updated. Pastoralists assess their own sites whenever they wish and the Department of Agriculture assesses all station sites on their 5 yearly pastoral inspections. By knowing whether there is an increase or decrease in perennial plant numbers and the plants involved, reasons for the changes can be considered (such as overstocking, feral animal grazing, drought, erosion of topsoil etc) and changes in management can take place accordingly.

WA Rangeland Monitoring Sites

In addition to PMS sites there are at least 2 WARMS (WA Rangelands Monitoring Sites) sites on each pastoral lease throughout the rangelands which are assessed by the government every 5 years.

EMU Monitoring Sites

The EMU (Ecosystem Management Understanding) project has further developed monitoring sites. Pastoralists who have attended EMU workshops now look at critical points on their leases and record the condition of soil and vegetation, using various criteria, over a larger area (generally one hectare) than the PMS sites. More indicators are taken into account and photographs are taken from the ground as well as the air.

Individual Station Monitoring

As well as the above monitoring methods, landholders often have an extensive collection of photographs which they use for comparison over many years. Old written records, especially with descriptions of the country, are also very useful in determining how the landscape looked in earlier times.