South Eastern Australia Temperate Woodlands
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Conservation Management Zones of Australia South Eastern Australia Temperate 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: Yanga or Murrumbidgee Valley National Park – Paul Childs/OEH Page 4: River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) – Allan Fox Page 10: Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) – Trent Browning Page 16: Gunbower Creek – Arthur Mostead Page 19: Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) – David Kleinert Page 22: Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) – John Turbill/OEH Page 23: Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) – Matt Clancy Page 24: Growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis) – Alexander Dudley Page 26: Red Darling-pea, Red Swainson-pea (Swainsona plagiotropi), listed as vulnerable – Anna Murphy Page 27: Gunbower Forest – John Baker Page 28: Gundabooka National Park – Nick Rains, Parks Australia Page 32: Budgee Creek, Barmah Forest – John Baker Page 33: Superb Parrot (Polytelis swainsonii) – David Ingram Page 34: Eucalyptus woodlands with tussock grass (Eucalyptus moluccana) – Wendy Hawes@The Envirofactor Page 35: Eucalyptus woodlands with a shrubby understorey, Grey Box (Eucalyptus macrocarpa) Grassy Woodland – Department of the Environment Page 36: Saltbush and/or bluebush (Atriplex vesicaria) – Murray Fagg Page 37: Callitris forests and woodlands (Callitris glaucophylla), Gundabooka National Park – Murray Fagg Page 38: Other tussock grasslands, South Western Slopes bioregion – Department of Environment Back Cover: Yanga or Murrumbidgee Valley National Park – Paul Childs/OEH © 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 Eastern Australia Temperate 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����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15 Ramsar and Nationally Important Wetlands�������������������������������������������������������������������17 World and National Heritage ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19 Major National Reserve System properties �������������������������������������������������������������������� 20 EPBC Act (1999) threatened ecological communities ������������������������������������������������� 21 EPBC Act (1999) threatened species ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������22 EPBC Act (1999) migratory species ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 27 Threatened endemic species ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 28 Invasive species ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30 Vegetation profiles and management recommendations ��������������������������������������� 33 Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Eastern Australia Temperate 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 Eastern Australia Temperate Woodlands Zone at a glance Area of zone: Population density: 18,798,291 hectares % of Australia: 2.03 people 2.44% per square kilometre Zone population characteristics Zone employment characteristics 400,000 391,450 350,000 3.7% 300,000 250,000 200,000 Number of people 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 otal T er 65 Ov a second language English as ndigenous 96.3% I outh (15–24) Y Employed Unemployed Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data 3 / Conservation Management Zones of Australia, South Eastern Australia Temperate Woodlands Major cities and towns Population Top five agricultural commodities Value (millions) Cobar 3,827 Cereals for grain $2,189 Cobram 5,417 Fruit $749 Corowa – Wahgunyah 6,327 Dairy $747 Deniliquin 7,494 Beef $420 Echuca – Moama 16,820 Wool $389 Forbes 6,795 Total value of agricultural Griffith 17,630 commodities (including other $6,168 commodities not listed here) Kerang 3,564 Kyabram 5,652 Leeton 6,711 Climate characteristics* Mulwawa 8,692 Mean annual temperature 16.3 Celsius Namurkah 3,840 Mean Maximum of the Hottest Month 31.9 Celsius Narrandera 3,864 Mean Minimum of the Coldest Month 2.9 Celsius Parkes 10,021 Mean Annual Rainfall 414.3 mm Seymour 3,625 Uniform Shepparton – Mooroopna 42,754 (though Southern Swan Hill 9,362 Dominant rainfall season regions Tatura 3,678 Winter Temora 3,874 dominant) Wangaratta 17,388 * The figures are interpolated 75-year means (1921 to 1995) representing the period prior to the onset of rapid climatic warming. Cited in: Williams KJ, Belbin L, Austin MP, Stein J, Ferrier S (2012) Which environmental variables