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 Other survey information: Two surveys for Archey’s frogs were completed in favourable survey conditions (>13 C° and >80% relative humidity) (Table 7). The vegetation, leaf litter and soil were recorded as ‘Moist-Wet’ during surveys (Cree 1989). Three out of the four frogs were found in the leaf litter. Table 7: Survey details from Archey’s frog searches at Site 7. Date Survey Effort (hrs) Average Temperature (C°) Average Relative Humidity (RH) % Number of frogs found 13/04/2021 4.5 14.4 100 1 20/04/2021 7.25 16.3 95.1 3 Suitability for vent site: The site is unsuitable as a vent shaft option because of the size/maturity of the vegetation (>40 cm DBH) and the presence of native frogs. Site 8 The canopy in Site 8 is dominated by nikau and tree ferns. Supplejack is a prominent plant species in the undergrowth and mid-layer. The undergrowth is well shaded by tawa, mapou, rewarewa, kanono, pigeonwood and miro saplings. A large miro is in one corner but can be avoided during clearance. Lots of leaf litter and dead rotten logs. Plenty of epiphytes, including kiekie and tank lily. ‘Threatened / At Risk’ plant species were avoided during site selection. The vegetation is considered to be not suitable for bat roosting. Other survey information: Site 8 has suitable habitat features for Archey’s frogs. The site was surveyed for Archey’s frogs over three nights in suitable survey conditions (>13 C° and >80% relative humidity) (Table 8). Vegetation, leaf litter and soil were recorded during surveys as ‘Wet-moist’ (Cree 1989). No frogs were found in Site 8. One lizard survey was completed when conditions were too dry for frog surveys. No lizards were observed. Additional lizard, bird and bat surveys will need to be completed before vegetation clearance. No ‘Threatened / At Risk’ invertebrate species were observed during frog surveys. Table 8: Survey details from Archey’s frog searches at Site 8. Date Survey Effort (hrs) Average Temperature (C°) Average Relative Humidity (RH) % Number of frogs found 21/04/2021 5 14.4 100 0 12/05/2021 6 16.3 95.1 0 12/05/2021 7.25 14 100 0 26/04/2021 Lizard survey 1.5 10.8 91 0
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