Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia
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Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia PrioriTies, STraTegies anD TargeTS HERO IMAGE - ONE IMAGE ONLY NO COLLAGES June 2010 Department for Environment and Heritage www.environment.sa.gov.au Acknowledgements The Department for Environment and Heritage coordinated the preparation of this document. It is the culmination of several years project work, representing contributions from numerous individuals, agencies and other organisations. The Department would like to acknowledge the many people and organisations who contributed to the development of this report. Early drafts were compiled by Monique Blason and Sandy Carruthers. The primary author of the current version of the strategy is Lisa Farroway. Significant contributions to the finalisation of this version were made by Andrew Willson and Beatrice Hurrell. The preparation of this report would not have been possible without the efforts and support of various steering committee members including Wendy Stubbs, Brenton Grear, Jody Gates, Andrew West, Adrian Stokes, Chris Morony and Ben Moulton. Other individuals who provide valuable expertise are Amelia Hurren, Julia Bignall, Ben Fee, Glen Sholtz and staff of DEH’s Adelaide Region Biodiversity Conservation Unit. All information in this report was correct at the time of printing. Except where otherwise indicated, all figures and photographs have been provided by the Department for Environment and Heritage. Cover photo - silky tea tree (Leptospermum lanigerum) swamp and candle bark forest (Eucalyptus dalrympleana ssp. dalrympleana), Sinclair’s Gully, Norton Summit. Photo by Sonia Croft. Citation: DEH (2009) Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region, South Australia. Priorities, Strategies and Targets. © Department for Environment and Heritage Produced by the Corporate Communications Branch All rights reserved June 2010 FIS 90346 ISBN 978-1-921466-36-6 Contents PART 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose and scope 1 1.2 Region description 4 PART 2 Biodiversity State and condition 7 2.1 What the region previously looked like 8 2.2 What the region currently looks like 9 PART 3 Approaches and framework for conservation 16 3.1 Impacts of modification and landscape change on biodiversity 16 3.2 Conservation planning principles 17 PART 4 Conservation of biodiversity 23 4.1 Conservation of terrestrial and coastal biodiversity 23 4.1.1 Conservation of landscapes 26 Fragmented high cover landscapes 28 Disproportionately cleared fragmented landscapes 30 Recently fragmented landscapes 34 Presumed fragmented landscapes 37 Fragmented coastal landscapes 40 Relictual landscapes 44 4.1.2 Conservation of ecological communities 47 Conservation targets for ecological communities 52 Heathy forest 55 Heathy woodland 57 Shrubland 60 Grassy woodlands 62 Grassland 66 Mallee 68 Riparian 71 Wetland 75 Coastal vegetation 77 4.1.3 Conservation of species 90 Threatened species 90 Declining species 95 Endemic species 96 Abundant native species and native species in conflict 98 4.1.4 Aquatic ecosystem conservation programs 103 4.2 Mitigation of threatening processes 109 PART 5 Stakeholders 114 PART 6 Improving planning integration, application and knowledge 118 PART 7 References and further reading 119 PART 8 Appendices 131 PART 1 Introduction This part outlines what this report aims to achieve, and includes a regional description. 1.1 Purpose and scope Informing biodiversity conservation in the region In South Australia, the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges (AMLR) region is unique – relatively high rainfall, hilly topography and surrounded west and south by coastal environments. The diversity of landscapes within a comparatively small area supports a diverse array of ecosystems and species. Many species are endemic to the region or geographically separated from other State or interstate populations. The region is also home to over one million people residing in both urban and rural areas. The environmental health of the region is therefore important for both quality of life and economic prosperity. However, historic native vegetation clearance has been significant and only approximately 13% of original native vegetation remains in the region. Species have become extinct and many more are continuing to decline. Biodiversity conservation in the AMLR region aims to maintain, restore and halt the decline in ecological processes, vegetation communities and species. However, there is a limited amount of funding and resources available for biodiversity management, with an increasing level of accountability to ensure public funds are wisely spent. There is a need, therefore, to prioritise and ensure that works are targeted to meet specific and achievable outcomes. This report aims to inform existing regional biodiversity programs and funding bodies about conservation priorities, and proposes strategies and targets to achieve effective management of these priorities. It does this by assessing the current biodiversity status of the region (mainly through an analysis of vegetation decline) using current landscape planning principles, and by linking with other relevant regional planning processes. Conservation targets and actions are set at a variety of biological and spatial scales. There are high-level targets for managing landscapes as a whole, combined with targets for managing specific ecological communities, and targets related to conserving threatened species and other species that require conservation efforts. While many strategies and targets developed in this document are ambitious and require significant levels of additional resources to implement, others can be achieved with existing resources through improved information sharing, planning and regulatory processes. This report also provides a framework with which to develop conservation management priorities. However, it is acknowledged that ‘one document cannot do all’ and there are challenges ahead to develop a fully integrated planning framework which can drive relevant regional biodiversity management at a variety of biological and spatial scales (and which is relevant to State and National conservation goals). This document and the underlying analysis is intended to be dynamic, to change with new knowledge, new data and changing conditions. As mapping data is improved and new information becomes available from research and monitoring activities, strategies and targets should be modified. 1 Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region, South Australia Links to planning processes AMLR NRM Plan Outputs during the development of this report were used in formulating key biodiversity targets in the AMLR Natural Resource Management Board’s plan Creating a Sustainable Future – An Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region. The Department for Environment and Heritage (Adelaide Region) is currently implementing several NRM threatened species and vegetation management programs, the direction of which have been guided by this integrated planning approach. South Australia’s Strategic Plan and No Species Loss South Australia’s Strategic Plan (SASP) details a series of targets that provide a path towards a prosperous and better future for South Australia. The plan includes targets relating to increasing economic growth, including expansion of mineral exploration and production, and increasing the population of South Australia. There are also environmental targets, including a target to lose no known native species as a result of human impact. This target is addressed through No Species Loss – A Nature Conservation Strategy for South Australia 2007-2017, the implementation of which will be assisted by this report for the AMLR region. NatureLinks Another SASP target involves the development of five ‘NatureLinks’ biodiversity regions across the State. This report will help deliver the NatureLinks goal of integrated ecosystem management across the landscape. Regionally, the Cape Borda to Barossa NatureLink Strategy will facilitate the implementation of many priorities proposed in this report through assessing key challenges facing landscape scale conservation initiatives and progressing solutions to these challenges. Photo: © DEH Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region, South Australia 2 The Plan for Greater Adelaide (2009-2038) This plan guides how the state government proposes to balance population and economic growth with the need to preserve the environment and protect the heritage, history and character of the greater Adelaide region. The policies in this plan will have an important influence on statutory planning processes in relation to increasing the consideration of biodiversity in development planning processes. The implementation of these policies will rely heavily on priority-setting information such as that contained within this report. Regional Recovery Pilot Project This report and the Regional Recovery Plan for Threatened Species and Ecological Communities of Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia were prepared concurrently and are closely integrated. Successful implementation of both species management requirements and habitat reconstruction targets are dependent on each other.Legislative context Legislative context The content in this report is guided by, and informs, legislation and policy. Appendix 1.1. lists core or primary relevance documents which drive or provide