Is 500m 2 an effective plot size to sample floristic diversity for Queensland's vegetation?

Species area curves from 37 sites spanning the diversity of native vegetation in Queensland were examined. For the majority of sites investigated a 500 m 2 plot captured about 80-90% of the vascular plant species present at the time of sampling. Floristic data collected for grassland, heathland, acacia shrublands and most eucalypt woodlands using a 500 m 2 plot is appropriate for floristic analysis and adequately represent the vascular plants present at the site at the time. Using a larger plot would only slightly increase the species capture at a site but it would generally be more efficient to increase the number of sites sampled to more adequately capture the diversity across the extent of the vegetation type. However for many Queensland rainforest communities, a much larger sample size is required to capture the full species richness of a site.