🌿 At the recent Maitland Youth Forum, Stacy, Miranda and Marg undertook a ‘Rapid Appraisal of Riparian Condition’ (RARC) with students at Pebble Creek, Gillieston Heights.
Developed by the Australian River Restoration Centre (www.arrc.com.au), the RARC index is a good indicator of the biodiversity and functioning of riparian zones and resulting catchment quality.
The (RARC) index is made up of five sub-indices, each with a number of indicators:
- Habitat continuity and extent
- Vegetation cover and structural complexity
- Dominance of natives versus exotics
- Standing dead trees, hollows, fallen logs and leaf litter
- Indicative features such as canopy and understory regeneration and native grasses
How did the Creek score? We came up with a score of 19/50😬
On the bright side, many lessons were learned through the process.
The majority of canopy trees onsite are comprised of Casuarinas and Eucalypts but are immature and more of them are needed to provide continuity, protect the soil, provide shade and habitat.
The midstory is almost non-existent and ground covers were primarily weedy grasses. Because it is in a disturbed state with little resilience, revegetation should be continued to bring the appropriate local indigenous species back into the mix.
If you would like to undertake a RARC on your site, contact Stacy for more information.