Appendix 3: Vegetation Descriptions for Willows Road Farm and Potential Vent Raise Sites Boffa Miskell Ltd | Waihi North Project | Terrestrial Ecology Values and Effects of the WUG Archey’s frog abundance. The leaf litter was patchy in depth throughout the site. ‘Threatened / At Risk’ plant species were not present within the survey area. Other survey information: Site 2 was surveyed for Archey’s frogs over three nights in 2021 (Table 2). Weather conditions were favourable for frog emergence (>13 C° and >80% relative humidity), with vegetation, leaf litter and soil recorded as ‘Moist-Wet’ during two survey nights (Cree 1989) (Table 2). Leaf litter and soil were moist, but vegetation was dry on the 11 April. Three frogs were located, two on epiphytes and one in the leaf litter. No ‘Threatened / At Risk’ invertebrate species were identified during frog surveys. Table 2: Survey details from Archey’s frog searches at Site 2 Date Survey Effort (hrs) Average Temperature (C°) Average Relative Humidity (RH) % Number of frogs found 30/03/2021 11 18.55 93 2 11/04/2021 8 17.55 98.05 0 14/04/2021 5.25 13.25 98.4 1 Suitability for vent site: The vegetation and physiography of Site 2 is suitable for a vent site as the area is relatively flat and has no threatened flora. The site overall is assessed as unsuitable due to the location of Archey’s frogs found, making this site impractical. Site 3 Site 3 sits within a steep gully. Nikau and tree ferns are the prominent plant species, with no mature forest species exceeding >40 cm DBH. The leaf litter is thicker under the tree ferns, with fallen logs also providing suitable frog habitat. Rewarewa, kanono, pigeonwood and hangehange seedlings and saplings are patchily present. Kiekie and supplejack are abundant in places. Vegetation is not suitable for roosting bats and no ‘Threatened / At Risk’ flora species were identified.
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