Parliamentary Research Service · Australian Biodiversity Under Threat J Introduction Biodiversity. greenhouse effect and the southern oscillation index are environmental terms which

Robert BodenConsultant to

Science, Technology, Environment and Resources Group29 May 1995

ParliamentaryResearch Service

Research Paper No, 261994/95Australian Biodiversity Under Threat

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CONTENTS

Major Issues _ _ 1

Introduction 3

What is it about Australia's environment which encourages biodiversity? 3Isolation 3Size 4Rainfall : 4Soils 4Fire 4Summary 5

Australian biodiversity 5Species diversity 5Vegetation and habitat diversity " 6

Importance of biodiversity 9

New uses for plant biodivenity 9Phannaceutical products 10Cutflowers 10Forest tree seed 10

Land use and vegetation change 11Past and present land use patterns 11Vegetation change 12

Threats to divenity 17Species lost and under threat 17Loss of habitat. 18Feral animals and weeds " " 20Erosion and soi Idegradation 21Fire 21Dieback disease 21lIIegal trapping 22

Conserving biodiversity 22Plant communities 22Research and survey 23International conservation agreements 24Parks and reserves system 24Other public lands 25Private and leasehold land 26

References 29

Appendix 32

TABLES

1. Proportions of endemics at the species level for each major species group 6

2. Forest cover in world regions 12

3. Decline in forest cover 1788-1980 for each Australian State andmainland Territory 13

4. Decline in woodland cover 1788-1980 for each Australian State and mainlandTerritory 14

5. Changes in vegetative cover between 1788 and 1980 17

6. Numbers of endangered. vulnerable and presumed extinct species in Schedule 1ofthe Endangered Species Protection Act /992 (at 30 April 1993) 17

FIGURES

I. Major vegetation types in Australia 7

2. Distribution of threatened (endangered and vulnerable plant species) 16

3. The distribution of the koala 19

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat I

Major Issues

The tenn biodiversity, or biological diversity, has recently emerged from the scientific literatureinto everyday language. The reason for this lies in an awakening to the fundamental importanceof biodiversity to Australia's wellbeing and the recognition of increasing threats to it.

Plants and animals and their environments are major factors in attracting international touristswith over 75 per cent identifying natural scenery and wildlife as key elements in their decision tocome to Australia. In addition, it has been estimated that at least 10 million Australians visitnatural environments each year and over four million visit major zoological gardens. Ahousehold survey carried out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1993-94 revealed that 42.3per cent of the Australian population over the age of 18 years visited at least one botanic gardensin the previous year.

This paper describes the geographical characteristics which have resulted in Australia beingrecognised as one of about a dozen world centres of megadiversity which, together, account for60-70 per cent of the world's biodiversity. The extent of Australia's biodiversity is described intenns of species and habitats and its economic and cultural importance.

The major changes to biodiversity which have occurred since European settlement and are stilloccurring, are identified. By far the most significant change is the continued clearing of nativevegetation with the subsequent loss of species of plants and animals and their habitats.

Compared to other major inhabited countries Australia is the least forested, making vegetationmanagement one of the most important resource management issues. In about 200 years,approximately 50 per cent of the forest and 35 per cent of the woodland has been cleared. Theannual rate of clearing is still between 500 000 and 600 000 hectares; an area equivalent to aboutfive and a half million 'quarter acre' house blocks. Most clearing is occurring in Queensland andNSW: 450 000 ha and ISO 000 ha respectively in 1990. Areas cleared in Victoria, Tasmania andSouth Australia were much less: 6 156 ha, 5 999 ha and 4 4 71 ha respectively.

Since European settlement, 115 species of plants and animals have become extinct and about300 are classified as endangered and therefore at risk of extinction in the short tenn unless theexisting threats to them are removed or drastically reduced. Leigh and Briggs (1992)identified grazing and agriculture. mostly following clearing, as responsible for well over 90per cent of plant extinctions and by far the major present and future threat to plant speciesclassified as endangered nationally.

Feral animals and weeds have had major impacts on the Australian natural environment. Rabbits,pigs and faxes are three of more than seventy species of animals which have been introduced andbecome established in the wild since European settlement began. At least 2 000 species ofintroduced plants are now a pennanent part of the landscape; it is estimated that the total cost ofweeds to the Australian economy is $4 000 million annually.

Road and rail easements are significant areas of public land. In Victoria, for example, roadsoccupy about 2.5 per cent of the State. In 1987 there were 870 OOOkm of roads in Australia.While a large part of the road reserve is dedicated to its primary purpose of carrying traffic, inrural areas there are often extensive verges which are important habitat for plants and some

Australian Biodiversity Under Throot Z

animals. The significance of road easements for biodiversity conservation has been recognisedby the Australian Road Research Board which has prepared a draft National Strategy forRoadside Reserve Management.

There is no doubt that the survival of animals is linked with that of vegetation. But while thework of Dr Harry Frith and others who followed him clearly indicates that vegetation types havefonned the most practical basis for detennining conservation reserves in the past, it is unwise toassume that protecting examples of all of them will necessarily ensure that the diversity ofanimals is also adequately conserved.

The major effort to protect biodiversity lies within the parks and reserves system which nowoccupies about 6.4 per cent of the country. This system does not adequately cover the range ofhabitats, however, and it is becoming increasingly clear that private land and land managed byother public agencies must playa larger role in conserving Australian biodiversity.

Two ways of achieving this would be stronger controls on clearing remnant native vegetation onboth public and private land and greater incentives for private landowners and leaseholders tobecome involved in nature conservation. Justification for public funding of such incentives lies inrecognising that it is the increasing number of urban dwellers which is driving the increasingdemand for food, fibre, water and recreation, most of which comes from rural land. It also lies inthe concept of intergenerational equity, bener known in the Australian ethos as 'wanting to lookafter the kids'.

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat J

Introduction

Biodiversity. greenhouse effect and the southern oscillation index are environmental termswhich now appear daily in the media and are part of the curricula in schools and collegesaround the country.

Biodiversity, or biological diversity as it is sometimes called, is the variety of life on whichthe health of our environment depends. It comprises all living plants. animals includinghumans, micro-organisms and their habitats. It is the source of foods, fibres, medicines,building materials and recreational opportunities. Expressed in landscapes and seascapes itprovides inspiration for art, culture and reflection on the meaning of life.

According to the draft National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia (1994),biodiversity is considered at three levels:

• genetic diversity - the variety of genetic information contained in all of the individualplants, animals and microorganisms that inhabit the earth. Genetic diversity occurswithin and between the population of organisms that comprise individual species as wellas among species;

• species diversity - the variety of species on the Earth;

• ecosystem diversity • the variety of habitats, biotic communities and ecologicalprocesses.

This paper aims to explain why Australian biodiversity is different and special and why itis important to conserve it. Clearly, society's demands put pressure on biodiversity. Someof these threats, how they are being handled now, and how they might be handled better,are discussed in the paper.

Australians are sometimes apt to blame the inadequate knowledge of the past for thepresent state of the environment. We now have much of the knowledge to do better, but dowe have the will to ensure that future generations can be grateful?

What is it about Australia's environment whichencourages biodiversity?

The case for conservation of Australian plants and animals and their habitats is often based onthe argument that Australia is very different from the rest of the world, particularly thenorthern hemisphere where the vast majority of people live. But, is this really true and, if so,why?

Isolation

Australia was originally part of a huge land mass called Gondwanaland consisting of whatis now Antarctica, South America, Africa, India and New Zealand. It broke free about 40million years ago and began drifting slowly northwards, isolated from other lands by deepoceans which only a few birds and marine mammals could cross. About ten million yearsago the Australian tectonic plate made contact with that of Asia enabling some invasionfrom the north by plants and animals. The first human settlers arrived between 40 000 and

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat if

60 000 years ago bringing some new species with them. However it is only in the last 200years that major introductions of new plants and animals have occurred.

This history means the great majority of native plants and animals have evolved misolation and are therefore very different from those in other parts of the world.

Size

The large size of the country, about 7.68 million square kIn or 5.7 per cent of the land surfaceof the earth, is also important. It is nearly 25 times the area of Great Britain and Ireland andabout equivalent to the United States of America, excluding Alaska. It spans 4 000 kIn eastto west and about 3 700 kIn north to south with 39 percent in the tropics and 61 percent in thetemperate zone.

Rainfall

Australia's geographic position in relation to large ocean masses results in an intensiveatmospheric circulation pattern. Rainfall is not only low but unreliable over much of thecountry. varying widely from year to year. Droughts and floods occur so frequently in manyareas they are considered part of the 'normal' climatic pattern. In these areas successful plantsand animals are those adapted to withstand both very wet and very dry periods as well asaverage conditions.

The average annual rainfall is only 42 mm compared to 86 rnm for the world's land surfacesas a whole. This means there are few large rivers and the largest, the Murray River system,has a very small average run-off. By contrast. run-off from the Mississippi is 40 times, theCongo 118 times and the Amazon is 148 times greater than the Murray.

Soils

There has been no significant mountain building in the last 100 million years and no recentvolcanic activity (both of which result in new soil formation). Australian soils are thereforevery old. Even though annual rainfall has been low, the long period over which it has actedon the soils has resulted in severe leaching of nutrients so that naturally occurring nitrates andphosphates are about half those of some overseas soils.

Prairie soils which enable crops to be grown throughout vast areas of the United States andCanada are poorly represented in Australia. Generally low phosphorus levels mean that manynative plant species have become so well-adapted to this condition they will not thrive inphosphate-enriched soils in cultivation. Naturally saline soils are common due to ineffectualcontinental drainage.

Fire

Fire was part of the natural environment long before humans arrived and many native plantsdeveloped adaptions related to periodic burning. The natural fire pattern was changed byAboriginal people who developed 'fire stick fanning' to drive game out into the open when

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat 5

hunting, to clear paths through the rainforest and to regenerate plant food for themselves andthe animals they used.

It has been demonstrated convincingly that the sedgeland of the west coast of Tasmania is theresult of long use of fire which gradually changed the original rainforest, dominated by thefire-sensitive beech, Nothofagus cunninghamii, through a phase of mixed eucalypts andrainforest to scrub and finally heath and sedgeland. With cessation of Aboriginal burning,rainforest is invading its former habitat in some places.

Different fir~ regimes were used in different parts of the continent. In Amhem Land firemanagement was designed to spare fire-sensitive jungle thickets which contain many edibleplants that do not readily regenerate after burning. Wide firebreaks were burnt around theseareas early after the wet season so that later burning in the dry period would not enter theprotected areas.

Aborigines had no capacity or incentive to put fires out and camp fires were left to smoulderand hunting fires to bum themselves out. Regular burning of tribal territory every three orfour years prevented the accumulation oflitter and disastrous wildfires.

The fire pattern changed again with European settlement. Frequent light burning gave way toattempts to prevent fire which inevitably led to large accumulations of fuel and devastatingfires. Contemporary Australians are still trying to come to terms with the 'red steer'.

Summary

This combination of long isolation, large size, rainfall, soils and fire prevalence has producedan array of plants and animals which are different from those in the rest of the world; sodifferent in fact that considered together over 80 per cent of Australian plants and animalsoccur only in this country.

Not only are Australia's plants and animals different from those in the rest of the world butthey are very different from each other. It is these differences which make up biodiversity.

Australian biodiversity

Species diversity

Some idea of biodiversity on a world basis can be gained when it is recognised that there aremore than 9 000 species of birds, 6 300 species of reptiles, 4 000 species of mammals, 4 000species of amphibians, 21 000 species of fish, 275 000 species of plants and over 1 millioninvertebrates and micro-organisms (Australian Academy of Science, 1994).

Some parts of the world are richer than others in numbers of species of plants and animals.Australia is accepted internationally as one of about a dozen megadiversity countries whichbetween them account for 60-70 per cent of the world's biodiversity (DASET. 1991).

AuslraJian Biodwersily Under Threat 6

Australia has the planet's second highest number of reptile species (750), is fifth in floweringplants (22 000), and tenth in amphibians (200) (House of Representatives StandingCommittee on Environment, Recreation and the Arts, 1992).

lbe richness of biodiversity is reflected in the fact that there are more species of antsinhabiting Black Mountain in Canberra than in the whole of Britain. Furthennore, onlyI 600 vascular plants are found in Britain compared to the much smaller area around Sydneywhich has over 2000 species (Flannery, 1994).

As indicated above, a distinctive feature of Australia's plants and animals is that many speciesare endemic, that is, they are found naturally only in Australia. The proportions of endemicsat the species level for each major group are presented in Table 1 and range from 45 per centfor birds to almost 100 per cent for insects.

Table J

Proportions of endemics at the species levelfor each major species group.

Species Group Number of Australian Proportion of endemicSpecies species oAt

Birds 777 45Reptiles 750 89Mammals 282 82Amphibians 200 93Invertebrates est. 225 000 generally high approaching

100 for some groupsFlowering Plants 22000 85Source. Dept. ofthe Environment, Sport and TerritorIes, J994

Vegetation and habitat diversity

In its simplest expression there are seven major land vegetation or habitat types in Australiaalthough within each there is a myriad of different associations, each with its individualcomplement of plants and animals. The major vegetation types are open and closed forest,woodland, shrubland, scrub (mostly mal lee), heath and herbland or grassland (Figure J)

Although the boundaries between vegetation types are sharp on maps, in reality they are oftengradual and fluctuate over time. For example, the boundary between woodland and openforest and woodland and grassland may often be hard to detect and certainly the more mobileanimals move freely from one to the other. Birds in particular may rest and nest in the forestbut feed in the open grassland most of the time.

Vegetation types are classified according to height, fonn and density of crown coverprojected onto the ground leading to terms like closed or tall forest, open forest, woodlandand grassy woodland. Within the major vegetation types, descriptive terms indicating themost obvious species are used. For example, river red gwn forest, yellow box woodland,brigalow scrub and kangaroo grassland are common terms.

Source:


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Figure 1: Major Vegetation Types in Australia

Leigh, J., Boden, R and Briggs. J (198-1) £r/ine' and Endangered Planls ofAustralia, Macmillam Australia.


It is rather more difficult to describe animal habitats in tenns of the species within them. Thisis due in part to the fact that botanists have produced vegetation classifications to meet theirown purposes which do not necessarily have much to do with the distribution of vertebratefauna. For example, botanists attach less significance than zoologists to habitat features suchas dead or decaying trees with holes or hollows essential for some animals.

There are also many difficulties with the animals themselves. The distribution of amphibiansand reptiles seems to be controlled largely by micro-environment rather than by broadvegetation associations. Soil hardness, ground vegetation, amount of shade and other factorsmay be more important to some small manunals than vegetation structure at a level which canbe seen and mapped.

Migratory species may live in different habitats at different times of the year; for example. itis estimated that 44 per cent of the 260 species of birds found near Canberra spend part of theyear elsewhere. An example is the pink robin, Petroica rodinogasler, which lives inrainforest in Tasmania in summer and woodland on the mainland in winter. This patternagain emphasises the importance of habitat conservation at both ends of migratory paths, andoften in between, for some species to survive. On an international scale this concept formsthe basis for agreements between Australia and some other countries such as China and Japanfor the protection of birds which migrate between them. There are at least 55 species ofwading birds in Australia, 35 of which are regular migrants from Asia. It would be sadlyironic for the Japanese goverrunent to protect the grasslands where the Japanese snipe.Gallinago hardwickii, breeds if, when it migrates to Australia in summer. the estuaries andmud flats it needs have been converted to destination resorts for tourists, many of them alsofrom Japan.

Where forest, woodland. scrub and grassland tend to merge into one another it is difficult toassign an animal to one particular vegetation type. Also some species are 'fringe dwellers'inhabiting the interface between one plant community and another and are favoured by amosaic of different types.

Despite these difficulties the late Dr Harry Frith in his· pioneering work Wildlife Conservation(published in 1973) was able to determine the approximate distribution of most species ofbirds and mammals among the different vegetation associations Australia wide. Woodlandwas found to support more species than any other vegetation type.

Among the birds 323 species (48 per cent) are able to live in woodlands and to 227 species (34 per cent)it is the most important habitat; 20 per cent of the bird species are practically confined to it. Among themammals the percentages are higher; excluding the bats, 135 species (76 per cent) live in woodlands andto 227 species (34 per cent) it is the most important habitat; 20 per cent of the bird species are practicallyconfined to it. Among the mammals the percentages an: higher, excluding the bats, 135 species (76 percent) live in woodlands. It is the main habitat of 30 per cent of the mammal species and the greatmajority of these live nowhere else (Frith, 1973).


There is no doubt that the survival of animals is linked with that of vegetation. But while thework of Dr Harry Frith and others who followed him clearly indicates that vegetation typeshave fonned the most practical basis for detennining conservation reserves in the past, it isunwise to assume that protecting examples of all of them will necessarily ensure that thediversity of animals is also adequately conserved.

Importance of biodiversity

Biodiversity provides variety in human food and is the source of many medicines andindustrial products. It is also important in enriching human cultural life and stimulatingartistic endeavour. One of the great deprivations identified by people who have beenconfined as hostages for long periods is the absence of other living things around them; thesound of birds, the scent of flowers.

Plants and animals and their environments are major factors in attracting international touristswith over 75 per cent identifying natural scenery and wildlife as key elements in theirdecision to come to Australia. In addition, it has been estimated that at least 10 millionAustralians visit natural environments each year and over four million visit major zoologicalgardens (DEST, 1993). A household survey carried out by the Australian Bureau of Statisticsin 1993-94 revealed that 42.3 per cent of the Australian population over 18 years of agevisited at least one botanic gardens in the previous year (Fagg and Wilson, 1994).

Biodiversity is economically important in protecting water catchments from extreme eventssuch as floods and droughts. A Victorian Government sponsored study calculated thefinancial benefit of water supplied to Melbourne from forested catchments at $250m per year(Read, Sturgess and Associates, 1982). Not only is the yield from vegetated catchments moreconsistent than from cleared catchments but the filtering process through leaf litter results inwater of high quality.

The top few centimetres of soil are fundamental to continued productivity of the land.Diverse soil microorganisms living there are essential for litter breakdown and nutrientrecycling while plant roots in the zone prevent erosion and soil loss. Biodiversity inmicroorganisms is also essential in the breakdown and absorption of many pollutants andwastes created by humans.

New uses for plant biodiversity

The importance of native timbers in the Australian economy began with the export of the firstred cedar, commonly known as 'red. gold', from Sydney within seven years of settlement.Although cedar logging had virtually ceased by the beginning of this century due tooverexploitation, eucalypt woodchips remain important, if somewhat contentious, exportproducts.


Pharmaceutical products

An example of a less contentious use of a native plant product is the discovery of thechemical compound conocurvone in a Western Australian smokebush belonging to the genusConospermum. Conocurvone has shown promise as a treatment for AIDS.

Following the discovery of conocurvone, the Western Australian Department of Conservationand Land Management established three vital principles to be followed in furtherdevelopment. These are:

• that the species be protected;

• that Australian science be involved directly in developing the compowld; and

• that in the event a drug is developed, then the community of Western Australia should gainan equitable share of the profits (Letter from Acting Executive Director CALM to theEditor, The Bulletin 7/1/93).

A research consortium of government and university scientists was established to developconocurvone to a marketable product. In addition to the phannaceutical aspects, researchinvolves determining methods of vegetative propagation and limits on wild harvesting ofsmokebush.

The cost of developing a natural plant product into a marketable drug is enormous and theWestern Australian Government has joined with an Australian company to carry out furtherresearch. It has been estimated that if the early promise shown by concurvone is realised andit becomes a successful drug the State could receive royalties by the year 2002 of $100million a year (Armstrong and Hooper, 1994).

Cutflowers

Export of native wildflowers and plants is an expanding industry which has grown from $2min 1981 to $22m in 1993. Almost two-thirds are fresh flowers from Western Australia butdried flowers and foliage are also important and other states are now participating. The topcustomer countries are Japan, USA, Germany and the Netherlands (RIRDC, 1994).

The domestic market for cut flowers is estimated to have a present retail value of S250-350mbut at this stage only 5-8 per cent of the market is native flowers with exotics like roses,carnations and daffodils being more popular. This is clearly an area where national tastecould be changed.

Forest tree seed

Apart from limited alpine areas above the treeline, rainforest, extreme desert and sometreeless grassland, the Australian landscape is distinguished by gum trees and wattles. Thereare more than 500 species of eucalypts, 800 species of acacia and I 200 tree species ofrainforest origin. Over 90 per cent of these species are found only in Australia.

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat 1J

About 200 tree species are commercially significant in Australia and overseas at this stageand there is considerable interest in the potential of others for both their wood andpharmaceutical products.

About 25~30 tonnes of tree seed worth S9m are exported annually to over 130 countries toestablish plantations for timber, firewood, amenity and erosion control. Export of thisamount of seed raises a dilemma in relation to access to Australia's unique forest geneticresources (Fryer, 1994). On the one hand, it may be argued that Australia has relied heavilyon imported genetic resources for its agricultural industries and should reciprocate with forestgenetic resources. On the other hand the Convention on Biological Diversity encouragescountries to conserve genetic resources and to seek an appropriate share of the benefits. Abalance between 'free' exchange for research and development for commercial purposes needsto be achieved. Fryer (1994) recommended that State and Commonwealth forestry agenciesdevelop policies which would meet commitments under international agreements whileprotecting sovereignty over biological resources.

Land use and vegetation cbange

Past and present land use patterns

Australian land use has progressed through three major phases. The first ~as the Aboriginalphase of hunting and gathering which lasted for more than 40 000 years. The second phasecovered just over a hundred years of European colonisation from 1788 to early this century.It involved pioneering agriculture, grazing and timber harvesting. Mining was intensivewhere it occurred but occupied only a relatively small part of the country.

The third phase from the early 1900s has seen consolidation of the pioneering efforts,intensification of land use and large increases in land productivity where new scientific ortechnical discoveries could be applied.

About 64 per cent of the country is allocated to agriculture and grazing. However, only 4 percent of this area is cropped and 6 per cent is sown pasture. The remaining 90 per cent ismodified or unmodified native vegetation some of which is vulnerable to clearing.

There has been an increase in the area allocated to mining as open-eut methods have beendeveloped for extraction of coal and iron ore. Beach sands have been mined for rutile andzircon. Urban expansion, often onto agricultural land, and alienation of coastal and estuarineareas for industrial, recreational and tourist activities have occurred. Even so, only about 0.6per cent of the country is used for urban development, transport routes and mining although itmust be recognised that these activities have influences well beyond the area where theyoccur. For example, urbanisation requires raw materials such as sand and gravel during theconstruction phase and once established, draws on other land for water, food and recreation.


In a discussion of vegetation clearance controls In South Australia, Bradsen (1994)emphasised that

modem agriculture only exists because of the demands of cities which in tum can existonly because of modem agriculture...it must be acknowledged that the whole communityhas a responsibility, and a legitimate interest in, the sustainability of both agriculture andbiodiversity.

Australia has about 417 000 sq km of native forests but the area available for logging is onlyabout 134 000 sq k.m after inaccessible areas, roads, streambanks and other reserves areexcluded. There are 8 918 sq Ian of softwood and 846 sq Ian of hardwood plantations (RAe,1991).

Land fonnally dedicated to nature conservation has increased to 403 867 sq km or about 6.4per cent of the total land surface (Hooy and Shaugnessy, 1991). Aboriginal land occupiesabout 12 per cent while the remainder is either unused or put to other undefined uses.

Vegetation change

Compared to other major inhabited regions of the world. Australia is the least forested,making vegetation management one of the most important resource management issues(Table 2).

Table 2Forest cover in world regions

Geographic Region Forest area 'OOOsq km Forest area aspercentage of totalland area

Former USSR 7916 36South America 7393 37North America 4593 25Asia (excluding USSR) 3619 14Africa 2359 8Europe 1370 29Australia 417 5

World Total 27667 23Source. AustralIan Academy a/ScIence, /994

An inquiry into the use of Australian forests and timber by the Resource AssessmentCommission (1991) found that about 50 per cent of forest had been cleared or severelymodified since European settlement. Calculations made by Wells, Wood and Lautreproduced in the State of the Environment Source Book published in 1986 (Table 3) alsoindicate about 50 per cent loss of forests.

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat IJ

Table 3Decline in forest cover 1788-1980

for each Australian State and mainland Territory

State or Territory % with forest 0/0 with forest 0.10 of originalcover 1788 cover 1980 forest cover lost

NSW 20 6 70Vic 38 13 66Qld 21 11 47WA I 0.4 60SA 0.2 0.07 66Tas 47 25 47NT 4 3 25ACT 59 26 56Australia 9 4.5 50

Source. State ofthe Environment In Australia. Source Book., AGPS /986

While loss of woodland has not been as great, it still amounts to about 35 per cent (Table 4).

There are more endangered and vulnerable plant species in some parts of the country than inothers. Figure 2 (see page 16) taken from Briggs and Leigh (1995 in press) shows thenumber of threatened (endangered and vulnerable) plant species in each of 80 botanicalregions across Australia. Generally the high numbers occur along the eastern seaboard and inthe south-west of Western Australia where the greatest amount of clearing has taken place.The high number in Cape York results from both clearing and overcolJecting of orchids andferns.

Examination of the figures presented in Tables 3 and 4 reveals that the percentage of forestand woodland lost varies markedly from state to state with the south-eastern states, where themajority of Australians live, suffering most. Even within individual states there isconsiderable variation in intensity of clearing. In some cases this is related to the type ofnative vegetation and new technology. For example. 'the development of new clearingtechniques has allowed the almost complete destruction of the brigalow and now, the poplarbox woodlands' (in Queensland) (Kirkpatrick, 1994).


Table 4Decline in woodland cover 1788-1980

for each Australian State and mainland Territory

State or Territory 0/0 woodland 0/0 woodland cover 0/0 of originalcover in 1788 in 1980 woodland cover

lost

NSW 57 31 46Vic 34 8 76Qld 28 20 28WA 14 9 36SA 6 3 50Tas 31 20 35NT 22 22 -ACT 38 13 66Australia 23 15 35

Source. State o/the EnVIronment In Australta. Source Book. AGPS 1986

The mean annual deforestation rate for forest and woodland from 1788-1985 has beenestimated at 359 OOOha or 0.09 per cent per annum (AUSLIG, 1990) (Forest and woodlandwere defined as natural vegetation dominated by trees. excluding mallee and mangroves).

Estimates compiled recently for the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reveal that theannual rate of clearing forest and woodland, largely for agriculture, between 1983-93 was568 OOOha, far exceeding the average annual rate for the past 200 years. Even more alarmingare the annual figures for the latter part of this decade. In 1988,719 OOOha were cleared andin 1990 the figure still reached 665 OOOha (NGG1 Committee, 1994).

These figures were obtained from a range of sources within each state and territory.However, the Inventory includes the qualification that '...these figures are very preliminaryestimates which we have no way of verifying until land clearing rates can be developed usingremotely sensed data'. Even with this qualification, however, the present rate of clearing faroutstrips the capacity of any programmes to 'regreen' the country. For example, the OneBillion Tree program is likely to replant at best 50 OOOha per year. While it is significant inaddressing the most denuded areas and is supported by other Landcare programs such as Savethe Bush, the gap between treed and untreed land can only widen dramatically each year ifpresent clearing rates are allowed to continue.

Clearance is usually expressed in hectares while planting is expressed in numbers of trees.This obscures the reality that some areas of malIee have a tree density before clearing ofI 000 trees per hectare. 'In blue gum woodland and stringy bark woodland numbers ofsignificant or mature trees are estimated to range between 50-100 and 100-900 trees perhectare respectively' (Bradsen, 1995). Where understorey plants are concerned, the figuresare far higher. For example, counts of up to 7 900 broom bush per hectare have beenrecorded where it is relatively pure and 5 200 as a combined understorey on Kangaroo Island(Bradsen, 1995).

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat /5

It must also be recognised that clearing removes not only the trees but the shrubs. grasses andother small plants which comprise the whole plant community. When the plants are lost soare the animals including the insects and often the soil fauna which depend upon them.

Most clearing is occurring in Queensland and NSW; 450 OOOha and 150 OOOha respectively in1990. Areas cleared in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia were much less: 6 156ha,5 999ha and 4 471 ha respectively.

The dynamics of vegetation change are reflected in results published by AUSLlG, 1990, andpresented in simplified form in Table 5 taken from the Australian Academy of Sciencetextbook for senior school students Environmental Science.

The biggest change in the type of vegetation cover between 1788 and 1980 has been theincrease of 130 per cent in the area of grasslands and pastures at the expense of the forest,woodland and shrubland.

Grassland in southern Australia, however. is now dominated by exotic grass species. Thesweeping expanses of native grasses which excited early explorers like Major Mitchell havebeen lost. It is estimated that a staggering 99.5 per cent of native grasslands in Victoria havebeen destroyed in only 150 year.; (Scarlett et aI, 1992). Not only have the native grasslandsspecies gone but also the animals that lived there.

This loss of grassland species is exemplified in a record by pioneering journalist John Galepublished in 1927. While walking through what is now the centre of Canberra, John Galecame across a flock of plain turkeys (bustards) 'scores in number' which 'continued feeding.merely parting to permit my passing though the flock' (Gale, 1927).

The only turkeys to be found now in Canberra are domesticated ones in supermarket freezers!

A massive reduction in the rate of clearing native vegetation accompanied by replantingnative species of trees, shrubs and grasses is essential if further loss of plant and animalspecies is to be avoided. Existing remnants of native vegetation must be protected andencouraged to expand to fonn first corridors and then broad superhighways linking nationalparks and nature reserves.

. - Australian Biodiversity Under Threat

••

.....

Figure 2: Distribution of threatened (endangered and vulnerable)plant species.

Source: Briggs, 10 and Leigh, JH (1995), Rare or ThreaJened Australian Plants, 1995 RevisedEd. CSIRO Melbourne (in press).

16


Table 5Changes in vegetative cover between 1788 and 1980

(thousand sq km)

Vegetation 1788 1980 Changes in cover%

Forest 690 390 -43Woodland 1 570 1070 -32Open woodland 1650 2000 +21Shrubland 1610 860 -47Open shrubland 1470 2020 +37Grassland and 500 1 150 +130pasture

Source. EnVIronmental &tence, AustralIan Academy a/Science, /994

Tbreats to diversity

Species lost and under threat

Since European settlement began, about 74 species of flowering plants and 41 species ofbirds and mammals have become extinct. Many others are threatened with extinction unlessactions are taken to remove or relieve the threatening processes.

Species which are presumed extinct, endangered or vulnerable on a national basis are listed inschedules to the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 which came into effect on 30 April1993 (Table 6). See also Figure 2, a map of threatened Australian plant species.

Table 6Numbers of endangered, vulnerable and presumed extinct species

in Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species Praleclion Act 1992 (at 30 April 1993)

Groups Endangered Vulnerable Extinct

Fish 7 6 0Amphibians 7 2 0Reptiles 6 15 0Birds 25 25 20Mammals 28 18 21Plants 226 660 74

Total 229 726 115Source. Austrahan Nature ConservatIon Agency, /994Note: There is no /isting/or invertebrates, e.g., insects

Other schedules to this Act provide for listing endangered ecological communities and keythreatening processes. No ecological communities have been scheduled to date although adiscussion paper has been released which outlines the views of the Endangered Species


Scientific Subcommittee on the process proposed for listing endangered ecologicalcommunities under the Endangered Species Protection Act (Endangered Species ScientificSubcommittee, 1995).

Key threatening processes listed in Schedule 3 of the Act are:

• Predation by the European red fox (Vulpes vulpes);

• dieback caused by the root-rot fungus (Phytophthora cinnamoml);

• predation by feral cats;

• competition and land degradation by feral rabbits; and

• competition and land degradation by feral goats.

Leigh and Briggs (1992) identified grazing and agriculture, mostly following clearing, asresponsible for well over 90 per cent of plant extinctions and by far the major present andfuture threat to plant species classified as endangered nationally.

The question must be asked: when will 'excessive vegetation clearing' be recognised as a 'keythreatening process' in the Commonwealth Endangered Species Protection Act?

Loss of habitat

One of the difficulties in gammg general acceptance of the significance of habitat lossthrough clearing arises because a few very obvious animals, including the larger kangaroosand some parrots, have actually increased in numbers as land has been cleared and pasturesestablished. The )994 commercial culling quota set by governments for large kangaroos was4170100.

The land development ethic which prevailed in Australia gave credit to those who cleared thebush to make way for cows, sheep and wheat. Eucalypts were regarded as the farmer'senemy_ Before the bulldozer appeared after World War n they had to be removed laboriouslyby hand but 'shot up again as soon as your back was turned'.

Hunting individual animal species like the koala and harvesting specific timber species likered cedar were obvious actions exerting direct pressure on species. By contrast, loss ofhabitat is more insidious and less subject to public criticism.

TIlis anomaly is epitomised in the old English verse:

The law goes hard on man or womanWho steals the goose from offthe commonBut lets the greater sinner looseWho steals the common from the gOOje.


Activities which foHow clearing such as introduction of exotic crops and grasses. fertilisers.pesticides. weeds, exotic animals and subsequent increases in erosion and soil salinity allmake it more difficult for remnant habitat to survive and native plants and animals torecolonise.

Extensive clearing on private land has relegated many rare plants to roadsides where they arevulnerable to weed competition, changes to the water table, dust, pollution from motorvehicles and direct damage during vegetation control methods involving mowing and use ofherbicides. Animals sheltering in roadside remnant vegetation are vulnerable to similaradverse effects and have the added risk of being killed by vehicles.

The koala, one of Australia's national symbols, is a striking example of the impact on speciesnumbers through loss of habitat. Leaves from only a few species of eucalypt are an essentialcomponent of the koala's diet. Although it will eat leaves of other eucalypts and sometimeseven other types of tree, one or two particular species always fonn the major part of the diet.Koalas are found natura1ly only in forests containing these particular trees and as forests havebeen cleared koala numbers have declined. This is illustrated in Figure 3 showing theprobable range of the koala in 1788 compared to the very limited current distribution.

, .."', .,"

",

pr~blf"ange

Dol ~l.n in 1788

.~pproIim.J11.'curr('flld,lol"l>l>llon 1b.1\.<.-don siJ:h1inlo-s in r~"Ccnl

N~'ooruJ KU.lI~ Sur'...."1

Figure 3: The distribution oftbe koalaSource: £m>ironmental Science. 1994 Australian Academy a/Sciences.

derivedfrom ECOS 735 Spring /992 CSIRO


Other threats beside loss of habitat include feral animals and weedy plants. dieback disease.uncontrolled fire, erosion and soil loss. illegal trapping of animals (particularly birds andreptiles), illegal harvesting of plants such as orchids and palms. and uncontrolled use ofherbicides.

Feral animals and weeds

About 73 vertebrate animals have been introduced and become established in the wild sinceEuropean settlement. In addition, there are many introduced insects, other invertebrates suchas snails, and disease-causing organisms.

Introduced animals which have had major direct effects on native species through predationinclude the domestic cat. wild dog and fox. For example, foxes and feral cats contributesignificantly to the endangered status of both malleefowl. Leipaa acellata, and the westernswamp tortoise. Pseudemydure umbrina.

Introduced animals which have destroyed habitat and have thereby adversely affected nativeanimal species include the rabbit. feral pig. horse, donkey. water buffalo. camel and Europeancarp. The vulnerable status of the Lord Howe Island Woodhen, Tricholimnas sylverstris. isdue in part to egg predation by rats and habitat damage by pigs and goats introduced to theisland. Similarly. the vulnerable status of the bilby, Macro/is lagatis, is due in part tocompetition with rabbits for burrows.

At least 2 000 exotic plants are now a pennanent part of the Australian biota. Ross (1976)calculated the rate of introduction of non-Australian plant species to Victoria had averagedfive to six species per year over the previous 100 years and there was no sign that this wasdiminishing.

The estimated total cost of weeds to Australia annually is $4 DOOm (Australian Horticulture,1991) and the annual losses due to one species, blackberry, in New South Wales. Victoria andTasmania rose from $42m in 1988 to at least $77m in 1990.

These costs relate primarily to the impact on agricultural and pastoral production. However.some weeds are major problems in conservation reserves and have the potential to reducebiodiversity through competition. Bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera, has become amajor problem invading coastal vegetation; giant sensitive plant, Mimosa pigra, hascolonised floodplains in the top end of the Northern Territory; and Athel pine. Tamarixaphylla. is expanding in some of the dry river beds in Central Australia.

In some cases introduced species may cause genetic contamination. For example, NorfolkIsland pine. Araucaria he/erophylla, is endemic to that South Pacific island and is the onlyspecies of Araucaria occurring there. A small plantation of Queensland Hoop pine,A.cunninghamii. was established on Norfolk Island but was subsequently removed to preventthe possibility of hybridisation and consequent genetic contamination of the native NorfolkIsland pine.

Australian Biodiversity Under Threat ] J

Introduced honey bees may have adverse effects on native bees and pollination of somenative plants. Commercial beehives are now prohibited in some conservation areas.

Leigh and Briggs (1992) estimated that weed competition was the cause of extinction of fourplant species. It was also the past threat to 12 and the present and future threat to 57 speciesnow classifled as endangered.

Erosion and soil degradation

Soil erosion following a combination of excessive tree clearing, extension of cropping intomarginal lands, droughts and feral animals such as the European rabbit, is the major factor insoil degradation in Australia. A national survey in 1975 revealed that degradation hadoccurred on 55 per cent of the arid zone due largely to deterioration of vegetation followed bywind erosion. In the non-arid zone 68 per cent of extensive cropping land, 63 per cent ofintensive cropping land and 36 per cent of grazing land had deteriorated to the extent thatremedial work was needed. In present values, the cost of construction works to treat landdegradation is estimated to far exceed $A2 billion (Robert, 1989).

High salt levels are typical of large areas. Salinity problems have been exacerbated by landmanagement involving removal of tree cover with subsequent rises in the water table. Theproblem of high salt levels has increased markedly in irrigated areas and 10 000 sq kIn in thenon-arid zone are considered degraded through salinity.

Fire

Many Australian plants are adapted to fire and may even require burning to open woodyfruits or crack hard seed coats. However, if plants do not have time to mature and produceseed 'between burns they may be replaced by other species. The fire frequency for heathlandis about ten years and more frequent burning will lead to the disappearance of some heathplants. Birds such as ground parrots tend to disappear from heath if the fire pattern does notensure their food supply.

High intensity wild fires such as those which occurred in New South Wales in 1994 candestroy local populations of animals unable to fly or flee from the fire. This aspect isparticularly important for sedentary animals in relatively small patches of remnant vegetationwhere recolonisation after fire is difficult and any animals which do survive the fire maystarve through loss of food plants.

Dieback disease

Dieback disease caused by the cinnamon fungus, Phytophthora cinnamomi, is widespreadacross Australia and is of particular concern in the south-west of Western Australia where ithas spread into some conservation reserves. About 50 per cent of Cape Ie Grande NationalPark and more than 20 per cent of Stirling Range National Park are infected. The WesternAustralian Department of Conservation and Land Management also estimates that 70 per centof Two People Bay Nature Reserve, habitat for the vulnerable noisy scrub-bird, Atrichornisclamosus, is infected by a combination of dieback and aerial canker.


Dieback fungus attacks plants at their roots preventing uptake of water and nutrients to thestems and leaves. PI~ls may collapse within two weeks of infection.

It is estimated that 2 000 plant species are threatened including banksias which are importantin the wildflower trade and honey industry and as a food source for many birds and smallmammals.

Cinnamon fungus has already struck heathlanc\s in Tasmania, rainforests in Queensland and, to a lesserextent, the eucalyptus forests of New South Wales and Victoria. Hardest hit are the jarrah forests ofWestern Australia (Sydney Morning Herald. 24 September 1994).

The fungus is spread when infected soil is moved from place to place by bushwalkers,vehicles, roadworks and even sharp-hoofed feral pigs and native animals with dusty paws.No cure has yet been found and control centres on quarantining infected areas and completewashdown of vehicles moving through these areas.

As indicated earlier Phytophthora cinnamomi is listed as a key threatening process in theCommonwealth Endangered Species Protection Act (1992).

megal trapping

Illegal trapping of fauna and harvesting plants has a severe conservation impact when it isconcentrated on uncommon and threatened species which have special appeal to collectorsbecause of their rarity. There is often associated cruelty to animals when attempts are madeto hide them during transport either within Australia or to overseas destinations. Birds andreptiles are the main animal targets while orchids from North Queensland have a readymarket overseas.

Conserving biodiversity

Plant communities

Much of the effort in biodiversity conservation has been directed. at identifying and protectingrare and threatened. species. Without this effort more species would become extinct and thereare very few people who would consciously wish to add to the number of species now knownonly from herbarium and museum specimens. Australia already holds the record for thehighest number of mammal extinctions of any country. a record which cannot be held withany pride.

In general, public sympathy and support is easier to muster for an endangered species than anendangered community. This explains in part why public appeals to save the helmetedhoneyeater, Lichenostomas me/anops cassidix, or the northern hairy-nosed wombat,Lasiorhinus krefjiii, are more successful than appeals to conserve the community or habitatwhere they live. Sometimes of course, an animal can be a focus of interest for habitatconservation as in the case of the long-footed potoroo, P%rous /ongipes, in the south-easternforests of New South Wales.


Emphasis on species conservation has, however, overshadowed the need for communityconservation and more attention must be given to this aspect in the interests of conservingbiodiversity.

The importance of community conservation is evident in the example of the interaction of thesugar glider, black wattle, apple box and scarab beetle. Sugar gliders are common in eucalyptforest and woodland although being nocturnal, they are not often seen. They feed on scarabbeetles, eating up to 1S large adults per hour at night when the beetles are active. Scarabbeetles feed voraciously on eucalypt foliage, sometimes causing defoliation. Theirappearance is seasonal, however, and sugar gliders must have alternative food when scarabbeetles are absent. Research in Victoria has shown that gums produced by black wattle andapple box are the major food for sugar gliders in winter. Tree hollows, groundcover,flowering trees and shrubs also improve the habitat for gliders although without black wattlethey will not survive through winter. In the absence of gliders, scarab beetles may increase innumbers to the point where trees are defoliated and dieback sets in (Smith, 1993). If treesdie, the watertable rises, bringing salts to the surface and resulting in soil degradation andpoor quality runoff water.

Major advances in developing techniques for direct sowing of native seed mixtures havehelped to improve opportunities to reconstruct plant communities but we need to learn moreabout seed ripening times and gennination requirements There are major long tennbiodiversity advantages in attempting to restore communities rather than replanting treesalone.

Research and survey

Research and survey is fundamentally important to Australian nature conservation.Universities, museums, herbaria, zoological and botanical gardens, various divisions ofCSIRO and territory, state and Commonwealth departments all play important roles withfunding provided by governments directly and through private agencies such as theWorldwide Fund for Nature.

Much of Australia's biodiversity is still not studied (Richardson, 1984). More than SO percent of the estimated 200 000 Australian invertebrate species and 2S per cent of higher plantsremain to be described. Historically, scientific effort has been concentrated on conspicuouselements of the flora and fauna. Organisms such as fungi, protozoa and arthropods which arefundamental to the function of terrestrial ecosystems have been ignored.. These organisms areintegral to such diverse functions as biogeochemical cycles, nutrient uptake, maintenance ofsoil fertility and pollination (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment,Recreation and the Arts, 1992).

Some conservation reserves have been established without detailed surveys of flora and faunawithin them. Such surveys are essential as a basis for monitoring the effects of managementto ensure that the values which justify reservation are being retained.

Surveys may uncover unknown species, greatly enhancing the scientific value of the reserve.The recent discovery of a previously unknown species of native conifer in a secluded gorge inthe Wollemi National Park in NSW is a prime example (The Canberra Times 1S December


1994). There appear to be only forty specimens of this tree whose closest relatives are fossilAraucarites known only from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods 200 to 65 million yearsago. This discovery is as significant to science as that of the dawn redwood, Metasequoiaglyptostroboides, in a remote valley in China in 1941. Millions of dawn redwoods are nowgrown as ornamental trees and Wollemi pine may have similar potential.

Volunteers are playing an increasing role in research and survey work. The Atlas ofAustralian Birds produced by the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union in 1984 was basedon observations by more than 3 000 volunteers 'who had passively watched birds in their ownbackyards from Cairns to Perth, Wyndham to Oodnadatta' and then 'trekked into the outback'(Blakers, Davies, Reilly, 1984).

The Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management now runs aprogram where volunteers actually pay for the opportunity of joining expeditions to workwith research scientists in the field.

One of the consequences of having such a diverse flora and fauna with so many endemicspecies is that ecological and conservation based research must be carried out in Australia. Itcannot be carried out in other countries.

Apart from the human 'need to know' which has always driven inquiry. competent researchand implementation of findings is an investment in ensuring that Australia's biodiversitycontinues to anract international tourists.

International conservation agreements

Australia's strong commitment to international conservation agreements since the 1970s hasoften been clouded in controversy over 'states' rights' although supported in principle.

A list of agreements to which Australia is a party (Appendix) is a measure of national andinternational concern for nature conservation. It is also clear recognition that, despite ourgeography, Australia is part of the world scene where migratory birds and marine species andinternational trade in wildlife are concerned.

Implementation of these agreements is provided for in nature conservation legislation whichregulates management of conservation reserves and protection of native plants and animalsboth in reserves and on other public and private land.

Parks and reserves system

The national parks and reserves system on public land which began in earnest with theestablishment of Royal National Park south of Sydney in 1879, the second only in the world, is afundamental component of conservation of biological diversity. In fact, it 'is the major toolpresently available to protect biodiversity' (Flannery, 1994).

The reserve system has grown remarkably in the last 115 years and now covers 50 millionhectares or about 6.4 per cent of the country. Like many other activities in Australia, the patternof development varied from state to state and there was no national approach. In some cases,


reserves stopped at a state border even though the same habitat continued into the adjacent areaand was in equal need of protection.

Attempts to examine the adequacy of the reserve system in covering the diverse range ofecosystems have long been made by academics and organisations like the Australian Academyof Science. It was not tackled at the parliamentary level, however, until 1970 when the House ofRepresentatives established a Select Committee to inquire into the state of wildlife conservationin Australia.

The Select Committee considered the adequacy of the national park and reserve system andrecommended:

That a national policy be initiated aimed at acquiring such portion of the total land area of each State andTerritory in the fonn of secure national parks and reserves as will ensure that all habitat types will bepreserved (Recommendation 2(a), House of Representatives Select Committee on Wildlife Conservation,1972).

The area of national parks and reserves at 30 June 1972 was 16 001 921ha or 2.1 per cent ofthe country. Although it now occupies 6.4 per cent it still does not fully represent the rangeof Australian biodiversity.

In 1993 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment, Recreation andthe Arts inquired into the role of protected areas in conserving biodiversity. The Committeeheard evidence of major gaps in the system and recommended:

(7) that, in setting up a core protected area system nationwide, the Commonwealth set as a minimumtarget the representation of at least 80 per cent of bioregional ecosystems in core protected areas by thetum of the century (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment, Recreation and theArts, 1993.)

The Committee recognised a need for definition and agreement between the States,Territories and the Commonwealth on the range of bioregions and urged the Australian andNew Zealand Environment and Conservation Council, ANZECC, to address this.

An Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia, IBRA, project has been initiated bythe Australian Nature Conservation Agency working with State and Territory agencies and80 bioregions identified (Thackway and Cresswell, 1995). When these are validated andoverlaid by the existing reserve system they will form an agreed basis for determiningpriorities in land reservation for Commonwealth funding under the National ReservesSystem Cooperative Program, NRSCP (ANCA, 1994).

Other public lands

The great diversity which exists in Australian flora and fauna together with the fact thatmany species occupy small ranges scattered across the continent mean that:

To protect all biodiversity within reserved lands would require a huge increase in the reserved landssystem (Flannery, 1994)

This is not likely to occur, and other means of conserving biodiversity will need to be found.Society will also have to make some difficult decisions on the amount of biodiversity whichis needed or can be afforded.


While national parks and nature reserves are the mainstay of nature conservation, otherpublic lands (and private lands, see below) have important roles to play. Forestry legislationin all states provides for areas within state forests to be set aside for special purposesincluding conservation of flora, fauna and landscapes (Boden, )984). In some cases theareas are regarded as reference stands which can be used to assess the effects of forestmanagement. In others, they have been established to protect rare species. For example, theBunal Forest Preserve near Inverell in NSW contains Baker's mallee, Eucalyptus bakeri, andseveral other unusual tree occurrences; and the Whipstick Forest Park near Bendigo inVictoria includes the rare Whirrakee wattle, Acacia williamsonii.

Road and rail easements are significant areas of public land. In Victoria, for example, roadsoccupy about 2.5 per cent of the state. In 1987 there were 870 OOOkm of roads in Australia.While a large part of the road reserve is dedicated to its primary purpose of carrying traffic,there are often extensive verges in rural areas which are important habitat for plants andsome animals.

Remaining native vegetation on roadsides often provides evidence of the type of vegetationwhich occurred before adjacent paddocks were cleared and is therefore a useful guide torehabilitation programmes. They are also seed reservoirs for revegetation projects ifharvested carefully. A measure of the importance of road and rail reserves as habitat forthreatened plants lies in the fact that roadworks are the major threat to 61, or more than aquarter of species classified as endangered (Leigh and Briggs, 1992).

Linear easements, including fonner stock routes, act as corridors for wildlife movement andmay be particularly important in assisting some species to move from areas which are burnt.Sugar gliders have been known to disperse more than one kilometre along roadside corridorsand can survive at high densities in linear forest habitats of little more than a single tree inwidth. Ironically, they may initially survive better than the trees themselves which sufferwhen reduced to a thin band exposed on both sides.

The significance of road easements for biodiversity conservation has been recognised by theAustralian Road Research Board which has prepared a draft National Strategy for RoadsideReserve Management (Farmar-Bowers, 1994).

Private and leasehold land

The area of nature conservation reserves on public land has increased markedly in recentyears. 1bis often appears to be stimulated by imminent elections suggesting the politicalimportance attached to this aspect of nature conservation. Unfortunately, additions to thereserves system have occurred at times of shrinking management resources, including staffnumbers. There is therefore a growing perception that present reserves are not adequatelymanaged. This has increased opposition among some rural communities to furtheracquisitions.

Under these circumstances, innovative ways need to be found to encourage landholders tomanage native vegetation on their land for conservation rather than relying only on thepublic reserve system.


Two-thirds of the State of Victoria is privately owned and some of it contains importanthabitats not represented on public land. Between 80 and 95 per cent of the original nativevegetation in the wheat belt of NSW has been cleared and what little remains is on privateland (Sivertsen, 1994).

A Land for Wildlife Scheme has now been operating successfully in Victoria for severalyears. Over 2 500 properties covering more than 270 OOOha of private land of which some5 000 - 7 OOOha are managed for wildlife, are participating. The brolga, Grus rubicundus, isa majestic bird standing up to 1.4 metres tall and living for forty years. It fonnerly occurredin large numbers in Victoria but only about 600 birds now remain there. About a third ofthis population migrates each year to the southern Grampians in Western Victoria wherethey forage for fallen grain and insects in stubblefields after the wheat, barley and oats havebeen harvested. Pizzey (1994) believes these birds rely:

... for nearly six months every year on the tolerance, goodwill and generosity of a few dozen privatelandholders.

The display perfonned by this magnificent bird is as elegant as Graham Pizzey's eloquentdescription of it:

As they drop steeply to earth with raised necks and lowered legs, several indulge in wild aerobatics.Once down, they leap and bow, toss tufts of straw in the air, go bounding off with widespreadwings...For brolgas. and everything a brolga does is touched with a wild spirit.

While it is appreciated that this type of conservation is species rather than communityoriented, it is biologically significant for a nomadic or migratory species like the brolga andvaluable in stimulating public interest in wildlife conservation.

The 'stick' approach to protecting native vegetation on private land comes from controls onland clearing. South Australia pioneered the concept of clearance controls and voluntaryHeritage Agreements in the Native Vegetation Management Act 1985. This legislation wasreplaced by the Native Vegetation Act 1991 which controls the clearance of native vegetationas well as having a number of initiatives to assist conservation, management and research ofnative vegetation on lands outside the declared parks and reserves system.

An analysis of the perfonnance of the scheme since it was introduced in 1985 has recentlybeen prepared by J R Bradsen, Chainnan of the (SA) Native Vegetation Council, which isresponsible for decisions on clearance applications and for providing advice to the Ministerof Environment and Land Management on the condition of native vegetation in SouthAustralia (Bradsen, 1995).

An integral part of the legislation provides for Heritage Agreements between the landownerand the State Government for the protection in perpetuity of a particular area of nativevegetation. The landowner retains ownership of the property and there is no right of publicaccess without landowner approval. In return for entering into the Heritage Agreement thelandholder may be compensated for the cost of fencing to protect the area from grazing, maybe released from rates and taxes on the land, and may receive some management assistancethrough the Native Vegetation Fund.


By 1994 more than 850 agreements had been signed for the protection of 550 OOOha ofbushland. Areas of land covered by individual agreements range in size from about twohectares to 10 OOOha with an average size of about 400ha. Assuming a natural stocking rateof between 300 and 400 trees per hectare this amounts to saving about 200 million trees andthe associated understorey.

Some other states have introduced similar schemes and the Australian and New ZealandEnvironment and Conservation Council has recently established a working group to developa coordinated national approach to nature conservation on private land. One scheme to beassessed for suitability to the Australian scene is the Ecological Sensitive Area concept nowbeing applied in the European Union (Bridgewater, 1994).

In South Australia over $70 million in financial assistance has been paid to landowners whohave entered into heritage agreements to save bushland on their fanns. This may seem ahigh figure but it is only about 35 cents per tree saved. It is less than the cost of planting andhas the added benefit of saving the interacting plant and animal community.

The tenn intergenerational equity has now joined biodiversity as part of the commonlanguage. Stated simply, it means ensuring that children and grandchildren inherit a countryas rich and diverse as their parents and grandparents did. The ethos of intergenerationalequity, which most Australians know better as 'wanting to look after the kids', is expressedmost strongly in times of war. It should be expressed equally strongly now in the battle toconserve biodiversity.


References

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AIIstraJian Biodiversity Under Threat 30

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Appendix

International Conservation Agreements to which Australia is a Party

Antarctic Treaty

China-Australia Migratory Birds Agreement (CAMBA)

Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage

Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals

Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the SouthPacific Region

Convention on Biological Diversity

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources

Convention on the Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

Convention on the Conservation ofNature in the South Pacific

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)

International Tropical Timber Agreement

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