Goondicum Station.

Terrestrial Mammals Asset Account.

Environmental Account: AU00040
Environmental Asset: Terrestrial mammals (Fauna)
Asset Account ID: AU00040F1
Registration date: 14 June 2022
Certification date: 23 August 2022
Certification level: AfN-Verified
Purpose: Inform sustainable management of the property
Current land use: Grazing
Area: 6,789 ha
Method: AfN-METHOD-F-01

Technical Report

Asset Account snapshot.

Asset summary - baseline.

Asset statement.

14 July 2022 - Registration date
23 August 2022 - Certification date - AfN - Verified
10 October 2023 - Annual Certification Compliance Report (ACCR) -
Over the past 12 months, no significant events have been reported or identified. Mining activities on a 144-hectare portion of the property have ceased, and the remediation process is underway.
29 October 2024 - Annual Certification Compliance Report (ACCR)
No significant event or material change in land use was reported or identified.

Significant outcomes.

The first year of environmental data collection at Goondicum Station has documented an ecosystem in excellent condition despite drought conditions at the time of survey. The high Econd® and Pcond values recorded at Goondicum Station in this baseline year demonstrate that a sustainable grazing enterprise can operate alongside a healthy ecosystem that supports populations of native species. In coming years, the Campbells aim to include additional environmental assets in the Goondicum Station Account, including birds and freshwater ecosystems.

Limitations & disclosures.

Stratification - Most mammal species targeted by this method are mobile and utilise a range of habitats for foraging and shelter. We therefore decided to treat the entire property as a single assessment unit. In order to maximise our detection rate for a wide range of species, sampling targeted niche habitats that were too small to be worth considering as an assessment unit.

Drought conditions - Climatic conditions are a strong influence on fauna populations, limiting the availability of resources and thereby impacting the abundance and distribution of target species. The data were collected at the end of a significant period of drought and the fauna scores may be lower than they would be if collected in an average year.

False negatives - The survey failed to detect several species that are known to occur on the property. This includes yellow-bellied gliders, squirrel gliders and eastern ringtail possum. The later species is relatively abundant, particularly in and around the homestead. This reflects the hit-and-miss nature of wildlife surveys in general. In subsequent years, additional sites may be included where species are known to occur or have been observed in the past.

Reference species list - Small mammals were not included in this account, as it was not possible to reliably identify those species. This resulted in the exclusion of 12 species of rodent or marsupial based on size alone, that may occur on the property, but could not be reliably identified from wildlife camera images. As camera quality and AI classification improves it may be possible to include more species in analyses.