This report provides the monitoring protocols for cultivated land wellsites. These protocols have been adapted from the Pilot program report Ecological Recovery Monitoring of Certified Wellsites: Field Data Collection Protocols for Cultivated Lands . A separate report contains the Field Datasheets to be used in conjunction with these protocols.
The sampling design and protocols sample two different areas within a single assessment unit (called the Monitoring Site): the wellsite, and a reference area (i.e., a paired comparison design). For the purposes of this protocol, the wellsite is restricted to the disturbance footprint of the well pad. The reference area, selected so as not to have a footprint of human disturbance, is the reference against which ecological recovery is assessed.