Rainforest Restoration Activities in Australia’s Tropics and Subtropics Tropics Rainforest Restoration Activities in Australia’s RESEARCH REPORT Rainforest Restoration Activities in Australia’s Tropics and Subtropics Carla P. Catterall and Debra A. Harrison Catterall and Harrison Rainforest CRC Headquarters at James Cook University, Smithfield, Cairns Postal address: PO Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, AUSTRALIA Phone: (07) 4042 1246 Fax: (07) 4042 1247 Email: [email protected] http://www.rainforest-crc.jcu.edu.au The Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management (Rainforest CRC) is a research partnership involving the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management Commonwealth and Queensland State Governments, the Wet Tropics Management Authority, the tourism industry, Aboriginal groups, the CSIRO, James Cook University, Griffith University and The University of Queensland. RAINFOREST RESTORATION ACTIVITIES IN AUSTRALIA'S TROPICS AND SUBTROPICS Carla P. Catterall and Debra A. Harrison Rainforest CRC and Environmental Sciences, Griffith University Established and supported under the Australian Cooperative Research Centres Program © Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management. ISBN 0 86443 769 2 This work is copyright. The Copyright Act 1968 permits fair dealing for study, research, news reporting, criticism or review. Selected passages, tables or diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provided acknowledgment of the source is included. Major extracts of the entire document may not be reproduced by any process without written permission of the Chief Executive Officer, Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management. Published by the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management. Further copies may be requested from the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, James Cook University, PO Box 6811 Cairns QLD, Australia 4870. This publication should be cited as: Catterall, C. P. and Harrison, D. A. (2006). Rainforest Restoration Activities in Australia’s Tropics and Subtropics. Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management. Rainforest CRC, Cairns, Australia (94 pp). Cover Images © (Top) Restoration practitioners, North Queensland (photograph courtesy of John Kanowski). (Centre) Aerial view of extensively cleared landscape (photograph courtesy of John Kanowski). (Bottom) Viewing a seven year-old Wet Tropics Tree Planting Scheme plantation at Pelican Point (photograph courtesy of Heather Proctor). Layout by B. Kuehn and S. Hogan June 2006 For copies of this document, visit: www.rainforest-crc.jcu.edu.au This report is dedicated to the memories of Geoff Tracey, the pioneer of rainforest restoration in Australia; Brad Dorrington, who supported the early vision of a Wet Tropics regional inventory; and Garry Werren, who worked tirelessly to disseminate knowledge of degradation and restoration in Australia's tropical rainforests. i Rainforest Restoration Activities in Australia’s Tropics and Subtropics CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. v Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ vi Abbreviations Used in this Report........................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 2. Reforestation Efforts in the Tropics and Subtropics to 1999......................................7 2.1 Audit of Reforestation Sites up to 2000......................................................................7 2.2 Numbers of Projects and Who Was Involved.............................................................9 2.3 Characteristics of Projects........................................................................................11 3. NHT-funded Projects in the Wet Tropics to 2002 .......................................................17 3.1 Background, Aims and Geographical Scope............................................................17 3.2 The Wet Tropics Regional Directory Database and Website ...................................18 3.3 Characteristics of NHT1 Vegetation Projects ...........................................................21 3.4 Challenges and Resources ......................................................................................31 3.5 On-ground Monitoring..............................................................................................32 4. Discussion and Conclusions .......................................................................................33 4.1 The Nature of Reforestation Efforts..........................................................................33 4.2 Costs of Restoration in Rainforest Landscapes .......................................................35 4.3 Ecological Benefits Relative to Investment ..............................................................36 4.4 The Potential for Large-scale Reforestation.............................................................37 4.5 Future Issues in Rainforest Restoration ...................................................................40 References............................................................................................................................47 Appendix 1A: Proforma Used for Reforestation Audit: Full Version .....................................55 Appendix 1B: Proforma Used for Reforestation Audit: Short Version ..................................57 Appendix 2: Proponents Undertaking Revegetation Projects ...............................................59 A: Details of Listed Proponents for Audit Projects in the Tropics and Subtropics 1991-1999 .......................................................................................59 B: Proponents of Vegetation Works in the Wet Tropics During NHT1..........................60 Appendix 3A: Restoration Audit Project Goals by Area and Number of Projects..................61 1: Numbers of Projects in Different Size (area in ha) Categories.................................61 2: Total Target Area (Estimated by Proponent) of Projects in Different Size (area in ha) Categories.....................................................................................62 Appendix 3B: Sites with Area >15 ha: Details......................................................................63 Appendix 3C: Sites Established Before 1990: Details..........................................................65 Appendix 4: Reforestation Audit: Number of Projects and Revegetation Area by Landscape Zone................................................................................................................67 iii Catterall and Harrison Appendix 5: Wet Tropics Regional Directory Web Search Page Operation..........................68 A: List of Drop-down Menus .........................................................................................68 B: Example of a Search ................................................................................................69 Appendix 6: Wet Tropics Regional Directory Database Structure and Components ............71 A: Core Data Tables .....................................................................................................71 B: Satellite Tables.........................................................................................................72 Appendix 7A: Wet Tropics Regional Directory Data Fields and Definitions for Vegetation-related Activities...................................................................................................73 Appendix 7B: Definitions of Keywords for Vegetation-related Activities................................74 Appendix 8: Characteristics of Individual Projects Whose Main Goal Involved Vegetation Works...................................................................................................................77 Appendix 9: Projects Within the Wet Tropics Tree Planting Scheme (WTTPS)....................81 iv Rainforest Restoration Activities in Australia’s Tropics and Subtropics ABSTRACT Large areas of Australian rainforest were converted by European settlers to pasture and cropland, with undesirable environmental consequences. This report describes the nature of efforts to restore rainforest cover to the eastern tropics and subtropics, where the largest rainforest areas were found. Since around 1990, a complex array of government-sponsored schemes has provided financial subsidies to encourage and assist restoration. A striking feature has been the high level of community involvement. Most projects targeted the banks of creeks and rivers, and were less than five hectares in area. Total areas reforested region- wide were modest (less than 1% of the area of past clearing). The unit cost of vegetation reinstatement was around AU$20,000 / ha, but costs of projects below 2.0 ha in area often greatly exceeded this. The value of such small-scale projects may be in community engagement, whereas good ecological outcomes are more likely with larger-scale projects. The cost of reinstatement is also