1.1 General

1.1.1 The “Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point and Associated Works Project” (hereinafter referred to as “the Project”) comprises a new Boundary Control Point (BCP) proposed at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai (LT/HYW), its connecting road and other associated works; and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report (Register No.:AEIAR-161/2011) of the Project has identified that ~6.2ha of secondary woodlands will be directly lost due to the construction of the portals of tunnels and some sections of the connecting road. Subsequently, creation of a 18.6 ha compensatory woodland at Cheung Shan has been recommended in the EIA report to avoid residual ecological impacts from the Project.

1.1.2 Under the Environmental Permit (EP-404/2011/D), an updated Woodland Compensation Plan (WCP) detailed with the planting strategy and the subsequent maintenance and monitoring requirements of the compensatory woodland has been submitted and approved by the Authority in the 4^th Quarter of 2015, and a revision of the updated WCP (i.e., WCP Revision 2) has been approved by EPD in 2017.

1.1.3 The woodland compensation include an initial planting phase and enhancement planting phase over a 6 years period on the grassland and shrubland at Cheung Shan, i.e., the “Woodland Compensatory Area” (WCA) as shown in the Drawing No. 60212563/SK7037 of the WCP and included here as Appendix A; and the planting works fall within the work scope of Contract No. CV/2013/08 Liantang/ Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point Site Formation and Infrastructure Works - Contract 6.

1.1.4 As part of the EM&A’s requirements of the Project and in accordance with the latest status of the planting program (refer to the “as-built” plan as shown in Appendix B for details), this submission presents the findings of the 8^th quarterly vegetation monitoring after the first year of initial planting, and covers the Reporting Period from Jun 2019 to Aug 2019. On the other hand, it should be noted that despite the Stage 2 of the enhancement planting work undertaken in August 2019 has covered all of the 9 monitoring quadrats, addressing their condition and reporting of their survival rate during the transect inspection and quadrat monitoring would be out of scope for the monitoring in this reporting period, and they would be monitored in accordance to the monitoring program, i.e., bi-monthly during the first year of the enhancement planting phase.

2. Monitoring requirements

2.1 Monitoring Program of the Initial and Enhancement Planting Phases

2.1.1 According to the Section 6.5 of the WCP (ver. 2), the frequency of the monitoring is proposed to be bi-monthly during the first year of the initial planting phase and should be reduced to quarterly from the second year.

2.1.2 Change of monitoring frequency if needed will be advised by the Project Ecologist of the ET and approved by Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) before implementation.

2.2 Monitoring methodology

2.2.1 An inspection walk monitoring by means of “transect route” and “direct observation” has been undertaken within the WCP as such to provide an overview and observe the general condition of the WCA; After due considerations of the latest planting arrangement within the WCA, the potential trampling damage to the planted seedlings, as well as the limitations in visibility, site access and safety concern when undertaking the monitoring among the steep hillslope, the transect routes has been selected to cover all representative areas where planting has been undertaken within the WCA as far as practicable.

2.2.2 The transect routes are illustrated in Appendix C, and the following observations have been made during the inspection walk:

· Weather condition during the time of monitoring

· The general condition of the WCA, including any signs of anthropogenic or natural disturbance/events (such as landslide, lighting strikes, wildlife damage) that has affected the health condition of the planted seedlings, or regeneration or invasive of grassy or self-seeded weedy plants that would or have affected the establishment of the planted vegetation

· The general health condition of each planted species graded in “Good”, “Fair” or “Poor” with the following criteria:

i) Phenology – signs of any abnormality in the phenology of the species (such as abnormal flowering/fruiting/ leaf shedding)

ii) Foliage – colour, size and general appearance, signs and severity of insect and fungal infection

iii) Branches – presence and extent of die-back, and signs and severity of insect and fungal infection

iv) Stem/Trunk - signs and severity of cavities or internal/external decay; signs and severity of insect infection and mechanical damage

2.2.3 Since the monitoring approach adopted for the transect inspection, i.e., “direct observations”, would not yield any quantitative information, the survival rate (%) of the planted seedling will be evaluated from the results collected from the quadrat sampling as detailed in next section.

2.3 Quadrat Sampling

2.3.1 A sampling approach has been proposed in the WCP to monitor the survival rate of the planted seedlings by the use of nine 20mx20m quadrats which are to be evenly located within the planted area of the WCA. Based on the as-built planting plan provided by the contractor (see Appendix B), as well as the local topography of the planted area within the WCA, the practicality in accessing, placing and monitoring nine 20m x 20m fixed quadrats within the planted area of the WCA has been extensively reviewed, 2 of the monitoring quadrats are fixed on the ridgeline of Cheung Shan and 7 of them are located on the north-facing slope of the WCA (see Appendix C).

2.3.2 Information collected within each sampling unit include:

· General condition of the sampling quadrat especially those factors that would or have found affected the survival rate of the planted vegetation, including biological or environmental factors (such as inter-specific competition as well as signs of stress from water, heat, or pest and disease, etc)

· The total number of established seedlings for each planted tree and shrub species

· Health condition of each planted species graded in “Good”, “Fair” or “Poor” with the following criteria:

i) Phenology – signs of any abnormality in the phenology of the species (such as abnormal flowering/fruiting/ leaf shedding)

ii) Foliage – colour, size and general appearance, signs and severity of insect and fungal infection

iii) Branches – presence and extent of die-back, and signs and severity of insect and fungal infection

iv) Stem/Trunk - signs and severity of cavities or internal/external decay; signs and severity of insect infection and mechanical damage

2.3.3 The survival rate of the planted species during the initial planting phase will be evaluated against the referenced baseline updated for the monitored quadrats after the supplementary planting work undertaken in September 2017, and if needed the implementation of the measures as detailed in the “Trigger and Action Levels” specified in the Table 3 of the WCP would be recommended (included here as Table 1 below) .

Table 1 Trigger and Action Levels for Monitoring and Action Plan

Parameters	Trigger and Action Level	Action Plan
General Health Condition of planted species (i.e. good/fair/poor; based on parameters e.g. wilting, insect attack, disease, fungal infection, browsing damage)	Trigger Level: % of individual plant species in poor health condition >20%	- the ET should inform Contractor and IEC immediately; - identify the causes(s) of the exceedance; - advise Contractor the necessity of replanting
	Action Level: % of individual plant species in poor health condition >30%	- the ET should inform Contractor and IEC immediately; - identify the cause(s) of the exceedance; - advise remedial action and work out solution including change of species in re-planting, re-soiling of the target areas; and seek acceptance from AFCD; - once the remedial action has been accepted by AFCD, the Contractor should implement the remedial action.
Survival of Planted Species (i.e. dead)	Trigger Level: Survival rate of individual plant species <80%	- the ET should inform Contractor and IEC immediately; - identify the causes(s) of the exceedance; - advise Contractor the necessity of replanting.
Survival of Planted Species (i.e. dead)	Action Level: Survival rate of individual plant species <70%	- the ET should inform Contractor and IEC immediately; - identify the cause(s) of the exceedance; - advise remedial action and work out solution including change of species in re-planting, re-soiling of the target areas; and seek acceptance from AFCD; - once the remedial action has been accepted by AFCD, the Contractor should implement the remedial action.

2.3.4 Since most of the planted native species are also naturally grown within the WCA and it would be infeasible and impracticable to differentiate whether the individual plant encountered along the transect or within the quadrat is planted, natural recruited, or regenerated after the pre-planting clearance of the site; and hence all established individuals of the planted species found within the sampling unit has been counted during the monitoring.

2.3.5 The WCA monitoring was undertaken by the Environmental Team (ET) and under the supervision of the Qualified Ecologist of the ET, and the Qualified Ecologist has also undertaken a joint transect inspection with representative of the IEC in the reporting.

2.4 Reporting

Bi-monthly Woodland Compensation Monitoring Reports

2.4.1 The results and findings of the bi-monthly (i.e., once every two months) monitoring including the landscape inspection during the first year of the initial planting phase and the first year of the enhancement planting phase will be recorded in a bi-monthly woodland compensation monitoring reports prepared and submitted by the ET Leader within 10 working days from the end of each reporting month. The details to be included in the report will follow the Section 7.3 of the WCP.

Quarterly Woodland Compensation Monitoring Reports

2.4.2 Starting from the second year of the initial planting phase and the enhancement planting phase, the frequency of the monitoring is reduced to quarterly basis, the results and findings of the quarterly monitoring as well as the landscape inspection after the first year of the initial planting phase and the first year of the enhancement planting phase shall be recorded in the quarterly woodland compensation monitoring reports prepared and submitted by the ET Leader within 10 working days from the end of each reporting month. The details to be included in the report will follow the Section 7.3 of the WCP.

3. Results

3.1 Transect Inspection

3.1.1 The transect inspection was carried out on 27^th August 2019 with the ecological specialist of the IEC, an overview of the site condition is presented in Appendix D. According to the information provided by the Main Contractor, Stage 2 of the Phase 1 of the enhancement planting within the WCA, as well as the replacement planting of the monitoring quadrats, were completed in the 2^nd half of August 2019 and right before the transect inspection (see Appendix E for the enhancement/replacement planting proposal). Moreover, the as-built planting plan of the replanting works, including whereabout those species were planted outside the monitoring quadrats, is not available for reference during the time of this reporting, as such it is assumed that the planting works within the quadrats has been undertaken in accordance to the replanting proposal and the following presents the observations made along the transect route:

· It was a rainy day with occasional sunshine during the 2^nd half of the transect inspection.

· New planting of species from the proposed replacement and enhancement planting proposal were noted along the inspection transect, and site preparation works include vegetation clearance/weeding in those planting areas has also been noted. Moreover, mechanical damage to existing woody vegetation within the planting area has been observed occasionally along the transect (such as Rhodomyrtus tomentosa and Melastoma sanguineum).

· The overall health condition of the species planted for the initial planting phase as well as those newly planted as replacement planting was found to be generally fair; and the shrubs Rhaphiolepis indica and the deciduous tree Sapium discolor, where the former was found in small size and the latter was barely seen during the previous transect inspection, were found to be larger in size and appeared in higher frequency along the transect.

· Unplanted seedlings with propagation bag intact were occasionally noted along the transect.

3.1.2 The general health condition of the species planted in the initial planting phase, based on the observations made along the transect, is tabulated in the following table.

Table 2 Health condition of the established seedlings noted during the transect inspection

Species	Health Condition
Species	Good	Fair	Poor
Trees
Acacia confusa		√
Acacia mangium	√
Castanopsis fissa		√
Litsea glutinosa		√ ⁽²⁾
Mallotus paniculatus		√ ⁽²⁾
Phyllanthus emblica		√⁽²⁾
Sapium discolor		√ ^{(1), (2)}
Schima superba	√⁽²⁾
Liquidamber formosana		√⁽³⁾
*Shrubs*
Gordonia axillaris	√ ⁽⁴⁾
Melastoma candidum		√ ⁽²⁾
Melastoma sanguineum		√ ⁽²⁾
Rhaphiolepis indica		√ ⁽²⁾
Rhodomyrtus tomentosa		√ ⁽²⁾
Ilex asprella		√ ⁽⁵⁾
Psychotria asiatica		√ ⁽⁶⁾

Note:

(1) Deciduous species encountered in higher frequency when compared with previous monitoring

(2) Self-seeded seedlings or wild population of this species was presence within the planting area (initial planting) of the WCA, and since it is impracticable and sometimes unfeasible to differentiate them from the planted seedlings, the health condition was evaluated as a whole for this species encountered during the transect walk.

(3) Planted as substitution for Litsea glutinosa during replacement replanting in Aug 2019

(4) Include newly planted individuals as substitution for Melastoma candidum during replacement replanting in Aug 2019

(5) Planted as substitution for Melastoma sanguineum during replacement replanting in Aug 2019

(6) Planted as substitution for Rhaphiolepis indica during replacement replanting in Aug 2019

3.2 Quadrat Sampling

3.2.1 The nine 20m x 20m sampling quadrats have been placed within the planted area of the WCA, and at area where the majority of the seedlings were planted and considered suitable for long term monitoring; in which 2 of them were located on the ridgeline and the rest are located on the north-facing slope of Cheung Shan (see Appendix C). The quadrat monitoring was conducted on 27^th and 28^th August, and the weather was rainy on 27^th August but sunny on the 28^th August. Appendix D illustrates the condition of the quadrats during the time of monitoring.

3.2.2 It is understood that replanting work has been undertaken during the reporting period and species substitution has been proposed for 2 tree species (Litsea glutinosa and Sapium discolor) and 3 shrub species (i.e., Melastoma candidum, Melastoma sanguineum and Rhaphiolepis indica). Moreover, in the absence of the as-built replanting quantity during the time of reporting, it is assumed the replanting work has been undertaken in accordance to the replanting proposal shown in Appendix E.

3.2.3 Accordingly, the baseline quantity referenced for evaluating the survival rate of the initial planting work has also been reviewed to reflect the latest planting arrangement of the initial planting phase, and revised based on the following principles with the results shown in Table 3 for information:

· Species newly planted as substitution: reference baseline quantity will refer to those shown in the replanting proposal (including Liquidamber formosana, Ilex asprella and Psychotria asiatica)

· Species being substituted during the replanting work in Aug 19: the reference quantity for evaluating survival rate will revise to the number of plants of that species reported during the previous monitoring session (including Litsea glutinosa, Sapium discolor, Melastoma sanguineum, Melastoma candidum and Rhaphiolepis indica)

· Species planted in the original planting program being used as substitution for other species: the reference quantity for evaluating survival rate will revise to the number of plants of that species reported during the previous monitoring, plus those newly planted as substitution (including Gordonia axillaris and Schima superba)

· Species being replanted with no substitution: there would be no change in reference baseline (including Phyllanthus emblica and Rhodomyrtus tomentosa)

Table 3 Revised Baseline Quantity Referenced for Evaluating Survival Rate of the Initial Planting Phase

Species	Reference baseline ^	Qty. Recorded in Previous Monitoring Reporting^#	Planted Qty. in Aug ‘19 (Replacement Planting)^$	Revised Baseline Reference
Acacia confusa	113	89	n/a	113
Acacia mangium	193	161	n/a	193
Castanopsis fissa	39	43	n/a	39
Litsea glutinosa	79	40	0	40
Mallotus paniculatus	80	162^#	n/a	80
Phyllanthus emblica	64	34	30	64
Sapium discolor	39	13	0	13
Schima superba	82	108^#	26⁽²⁾	108
Liquidamber formosana	n/a	0	39⁽¹⁾	39
Gordonia axillaris	148	213^#	216⁽³⁾	364
Melastoma candidum	352	136	0	136
Melastoma sanguineum	313	216	0	216
Rhaphiolepis indica	438	276	0	276
Rhodomyrtus tomentosa	824	443	381	824
Ilex asprella	n/a	0	97⁽⁴⁾	97
Psychotria asiatica	n/a	0	162⁽⁵⁾	162
^ updated in Sep 2017 in accordance with the “as-built” planting plan for the initial planting phase as well as the monitoring findings between Aug 2017 and Nov 2017 # include self-seeded plants, and the extra qty. recorded would not be added into the reference baseline for the Mallotus paniculatus, Schima superba and Gordonia axillaris $ since a-built qty. is yet available during time of reporting, it is assumed that the replanting work has been undertaken in accordance to the replanting proposal (1) Planted as substitution for Litsea glutinosa (2) Planted as substitution for Sapium discolor (3) Planted as substitution for Melastoma candidum (4) Planted as substitution for Melastoma sanguineum (5)Planted as substitution for Rhaphiolepis indica

3.2.4 The monitoring result of the reporting period and the survival rate of the species planted for the initial planting phase are shown in Table 4 and Table 5 below.

Table 4 The number of seedling recorded for each species within the sampling quadrats

		*Quantity and General Health^ Condition of the Seedling Recorded in Each Sampling Quadrat**									Total Qty.
		R1	R2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7	S8	S9	Total Qty.
*Trees*
Acacia confusa#		15	13	6	4	11	4	6	6	18	83
Acacia mangium #		25	28	19	11	19	0	13	19	23	157
Castanopsis fissa		3	8	1	4	2	7	3	5	3	36
Litsea glutinosa		7	6	3	2	1	1	3	2	1	26
Mallotus paniculatus		20	5	7	12	18	21	9	18	24	134
Phyllanthus emblica		4	11	5	5	15	3	2	9	5	59
Sapium discolor		2	0	1	0	1	0	2	1	5	12
Schima superba^$		12	17	12	15	9	72	1	0	0	138
Liquidamber formosana^$		3	0	0	4	11	8	5	8	7	46
*Sub-Total*		91	88	54	57	87	116	44	68	86	691
*Shrubs*
Gordonia axillaris^$		35	41	46	49	76	36	37	29	32	381
Melastoma candidum		18	5	17	19	19	10	3	5	7	103
Melastoma sanguineum		9	46	27	28	47	3	12	13	23	208
Rhaphiolepis indica		26	38	31	12	25	19	22	27	32	232
Rhodomyrtus tomentosa		41	64	34	25	55	28	36	38	57	378
Ilex asprella^$		9	8	2	7	25	10	15	14	7	97
Psychotria asiatica^$		16	13	44	22	24	11	8	18	39	195
*Sub-Total*		*154*	*215*	*201*	*162*	*271*	*117*	*133*	*144*	*197*	1594
Notes: ^	General Health Condition: · Good - No. in normal font type (e.g., “99”) · Fair - No. in Italic font (e.g., “99”) · Poor - No. in italic & underlined (e.g., “99”)
*	the quantity include all individuals of the planted species within the quadrat regardless whether they are self-seeded or planted for the enhancement planting phase (see Section 2.3.4)
#	it is assumed that thinning has been undertaken during the enhancement planting work
$	Seedlings also planted for enhancement planting phase

Table 5 Survival Rate of the Species Planted for the Initial Planting Phase

Species	Reference baseline ^	Total Qty.# Recorded in Quadrat Monitoring (Aug’19)	*Survival Rate (%)**
Acacia confusa	113	83	73.5
Acacia mangium	193	157	81.3
Castanopsis fissa	39	36	92.3
Litsea glutinosa	40	26	65.0
Mallotus paniculatus	80	134	100.0
Phyllanthus emblica	64	59	92.2
Sapium discolor	13	12	92.3
Schima superba	108	138	100.0
Liquidamber formosana	39	46	100.0
Gordonia axillaris	364	381	100.0
Melastoma candidum	136	103	75.7
Melastoma sanguineum	216	208	96.3
Rhaphiolepis indica	276	232	84.1
Rhodomyrtus tomentosa	824	378	45.9
Ilex asprella	97	97	100.0
Psychotria asiatica	162	195	100.0

^ updated in Sep 2017 in accordance with the “as-built” planting plan for the initial planting phase as well as the monitoring findings between Aug 2017 and Nov 2017

# include self-seeded plants and seedlings planted for enhancement planting phase

* no. in bold denotes the survival rate trigger action listed in Table 1

3.2.5 Based on the recorded data and observations made within the sampled quadrats and the data presented in Tables 4 and 5, the following provides a brief account of the findings from the quadrat monitoring:

· Health condition: Generally speaking the health condition of the planted tree/shrub species was mostly in fair or good condition, except the newly planted seedlings where leave shedding have been observed

· Since seedlings of Schima superba, Liquidamber formosana, Ilex asprella and Psychotria asiatica has also been proposed to plant within the monitoring quadrats under the enhancement planting proposal, the survival rate of these 4 species will be further evaluated in the next monitoring report, when the evaluation will also be referenced to the as-built quantity of the enhancement planting work as a whole

· The survival rate of two species was found below 70% during the monitoring period, including the Litsea glutinosa (65%) and Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (45.9%); whilst replanting for the latter species has just completed before the monitoring work and the newly planted seedling may yet recovered from the transplanting shock, the survival rate of Rhodomyrtus tomentosa will be further reviewed in the next monitoring.

· The decrease in the survival rate of Litsea glutinosa may due to the disturbance caused by the replanting/enhancement planting work, and similarly its survival rate will also be further monitored before any remedial action recommended.

· Although the survival rate of Acacia confusa is <80%, it is assumed that, as part of the site preparation during the enhancement planting work, thinning of the two Acacia sp. would has been undertaken within the monitoring quadrats and ultimately the survival rate of these two species will drop below 70%, as such remedial action is considered unnecessary for these two species once the enhancement planting work commenced.

· -End-




			Job No.: TCS00694/13

			Agreement No. CE 45/2008 (CE) Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point and Associated Works

			Ecological Monitoring Report for the Woodland Compensation Area (June 2019 to August 2019)
			Prepared For
			Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD)

Version	Date	Remarks
1	10 September 2019	First Submission
2	13 September 2019	Amended according to the IEC’s comments on 12 September 2019