Conservation Management Zones of Australia
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Conservation Management Zones of Australia South Western Australia Mallee Woodlands Prepared by the Department of the Environment Acknowledgements This project and its associated products are the result of collaboration between the Department of the Environment’s Biodiversity Conservation Division and the Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN). Invaluable input, advice and support were provided by staff and leading researchers from across the Department of Environment (DotE), Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the academic community. We would particularly like to thank staff within the Wildlife, Heritage and Marine Division, Parks Australia and the Environment Assessment and Compliance Division of DotE; Nyree Stenekes and Robert Kancans (DoA), Sue McIntyre (CSIRO), Richard Hobbs (University of Western Australia), Michael Hutchinson (ANU); David Lindenmayer and Emma Burns (ANU); and Gilly Llewellyn, Martin Taylor and other staff from the World Wildlife Fund for their generosity and advice. Special thanks to CSIRO researchers Kristen Williams and Simon Ferrier whose modelling of biodiversity patterns underpinned identification of the Conservation Management Zones of Australia. Image Credits Front Cover: Peak Charles National Park – Jo-Anne Blunn Page 4: Peak Charles National Park – Jo-Anne Blunn Page 7: Recherche Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae grisea) – Georgina Steytler Page 10: Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) – Alan Couch Page 14: Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus) – Matt Clancy Page 15: Peak Charles Drummondita (Drummondita longifolia) – Atlas of Living Australia Page 17: Nuytsland Nature Reserve – Jo-Anne Blunn Page 19: Short-billed Black-cockatoo, Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) – Ralph Green Page 22: Honey Possum (Tarsipes rostratus) feeding on a Banksia inflorescence – Ryan Ellis, WA Museum Page 24: Spotted-thighed Frog (Litoria cyclorhyncha) – Mark Sanders, EcoSmart Ecology Page 25: Mount Ragged, Cape Arid National Park – Tourism Western Australia Page 26: Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala) – Mark Sanders, EcoSmart Ecology Page 27: Eucalyptus woodlands with a shrubby understorey – Murray Fagg Page 28: Mallee with a dense shrubby understorey (Eucalyptus calycogona) – Brooker and Kleinig Page 29: Mallee with an open shrubby understorey – Dean Nicolle Back Cover: Peak Charles National Park – Jo-Anne Blunn © Commonwealth of Australia, 2015. The Conservation Management Zones of Australia profile is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see here. Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Western Australia Mallee Woodlands Contents Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners and Country ����������������������������������������������2 Introduction ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2 Zone at a glance �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 Population characteristics �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 Employment, volunteering and incomes ��������������������������������������������������������������������������9 Agriculture, Natural Resource Management practices and sources of NRM advice ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 Land tenure, land use, Native Title and Local Government Areas ������������������������� 13 Zone vegetation characteristics����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 14 Major National Reserve System properties �������������������������������������������������������������������� 16 EPBC Act (1999) threatened ecological communities ��������������������������������������������������17 EPBC Act (1999) threatened species ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 18 EPBC Act (1999) migratory species ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 21 Threatened endemic species ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������22 Invasive species ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 24 Vegetation profiles and management recommendations ��������������������������������������� 26 Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Western Australia Mallee Woodlands Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners and Country The Australian Government acknowledges Australia’s Traditional Owners and pays respect to Elders past and present of our nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities� We honour the deep spiritual, cultural and customary connections of Traditional Owners to the Australian landscape, including Australia’s waterways, land and sea country� Introduction The 23 Conservation Management Zones of Australia are geographic areas, classified according to their ecological and threat characteristics. The zones are also aligned with the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia. The Conservation Management Zones provide a way of understanding Australia’s natural environment that will assist in long-term conservation planning and help the Australian Government to better design, deliver and report on Natural Resource Management (NRM) investments, including ensuring alignment of national NRM priorities with local action. The Conservation Management Zones also provide a filter through which to make national environmental and socio-economic data more accessible and comprehensible, and a framework for gathering on-ground knowledge and expertise about the environment. This will improve information flow to the Australian Government about regional NRM requirements, best practice management, emerging NRM issues and knowledge gaps. The Conservation Management Zones do not represent any change to existing administrative boundaries or governance structures, but aim to support the NRM and wider community to cooperatively manage environmental assets across boundaries, where they share common threats, ecological characteristics and stakeholders. Each Conservation Management Zone profile contains a standard suite of nationally available ecological and socio-economic information. We hope that this information will enable Australians of all ages and backgrounds to engage with, understand and appreciate Australian landscapes, and support all Australians to manage our natural resources more effectively. The profile information provides an indicative, high-level stock-take of the environmental and socio-economic landscape and it is not intended to be comprehensive. It should also be noted that, at present, the profiles contain only limited information on aquatic ecosystems, coastal assets and Indigenous land management practices. In future, consultation and comprehensive literature reviews will enable us to provide more complete information. 2 / Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Western Australia Mallee Woodlands Zone at a glance Area of zone: Population density: 3,415,839 hectares % of Australia: 0.02 people 0.44% per square kilometre Zone population characteristics Zone employment characteristics 1,000 391,450 904 800 1.8% 600 Number of people 400 200 0 otal T er 65 Ov a second language English as ndigenous 98.2% I outh (15–24) Y Employed Unemployed Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data 3 / Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Western Australia Mallee Woodlands Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions Climate characteristics* South Coast Natural WA Mean annual temperature 16.0 Celsius Resource Management Inc Mean Maximum of the Hottest Month 28.9 Celsius Rangelands Natural Resource WA Management Coordinating Group Mean Minimum of the Coldest Month 5.0 Celsius Mean Annual Rainfall 351.2 mm Top five agricultural commodities Value (millions) Dominant rainfall season Winter Cereals for grain $281 * The figures are interpolated 75-year means (1921 to 1995) Oilseeds $106 representing the period prior to the onset of rapid climatic warming. Cited in: Williams KJ, Belbin L, Austin MP, Stein J, Ferrier S (2012) Wool $31 Which environmental variables should I use in my biodiversity model? International Journal of Geographic Information Sciences 26(11), Lamb $29 2009–2047. (Data derived from Australian Climate surfaces version 2.1 for the ANUCLIM-BIOCLIM package). Beef $24 For future climate projections please refer to: Total value of agricultural http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/ commodities (including other $497 commodities not listed here) Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data 4 / Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Western Australia Mallee Woodlands National Reserve System area Native Title area Although there have been no Native Title Determinations finalised within this Conservation 27% Management Zone, it continues to represent important Indigenous heritage values and places that are of deep significance to Indigenous persons and