New South Wales South West Slopes Bioregion Scoping Study

NSW BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY

Draft Report

June 2001

© NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 2001. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 6

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 8

Objectives of bioregional assessments...... 8

Objectives of the scoping exercise...... 9

Project management ...... 9

2. THE STUDY AREA ...... 11

Climate ...... 13

Geology...... 13

Tenure ...... 14

Environmental provinces or landscapes ...... 15

Native vegetation ...... 16 Major vegetation communities...... 17 Clearing patterns ...... 21

Threatened flora...... 24

Fauna...... 25 Amphibians ...... 26 Reptiles...... 28 Birds ...... 30 Mammals (bats)...... 32 Mammals (excluding bats)...... 33

3. GAPS IN MAJOR DATA-SETS ...... 36

Vegetation mapping ...... 36

Fauna...... 37

2 Amphibians ...... 38 Reptiles...... 38 Birds ...... 38 Mammals...... 38 Overall...... 39

4. THREATENING PROCESSES ...... 40

Clearing...... 40

Salinity...... 44

Simplification of the ground stratum ...... 45

5. A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF CONSERVATION PRIORITIES...... 47

Overall conservation options...... 47

Formal reserves ...... 48

State Forests...... 49

Other crown land ...... 50

Leasehold land...... 51

Freehold land...... 51

Summary...... 52

6. TOWARDS A CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT OF THE SWS...... 53

Suggested criteria for a conservation assessment of the SWS ...... 53 Comprehensiveness...... 53 Functional importance...... 53 Vulnerability to threatening processes ...... 54

Options for a conservation assessment of the SWS...... 54 Undertake a detailed assessment over the entire study area...... 54

3 Undertake an assessment over the Upper SWS Province based on vegetation community mapping...... 55 Confine assessments to strategic areas...... 55 Undertake assessment over entire bioregion using existing datasets...... 55

Recommended option...... 56 Preferred option...... 58

7. REFERENCES ...... 60

MAPS ...... 63

A SUMMARY OF DATA LAYERS RELEVANT TO THE NSW SOUTH WEST SLOPES BIOREGION...... 89

Abiotic data-sets with broad coverage across bioregion...... 89

Major vegetation mapping projects...... 91

APPENDIX 2 ...... 94

Bird records held for the study area...... 94

APPENDIX 3 ...... 100

A STUDY OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ISOLATED TREES AND SMALL REMNANTS UNDERTAKEN AS PART OF THE SCOPING EXERCISE...... 100

A DISCUSSION PAPER FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE RIVERINA HIGHLANDS REGIONAL VEGETATION COMMITTEE

...... 101

Philip Gibbons...... 101

SUMMARY...... 102

4 INTRODUCTION ...... 103 Connectivity ...... 103 Comprehensiveness adequacy and representativeness...... 104 Use of paddock trees by fauna ...... 104 Resources provided by native paddock trees not provided by pine plantations...... 105 Other ecosystem services provided by paddock trees...... 105

Paddock trees in the Riverina Highlands...... 105

DISCUSSION ...... 111

Conclusions ...... 112

Acknowledgements...... 113

References ...... 113

5 Executive summary

The NSW Biodiversity Strategy (1999) identified the New South Wales South West Slopes Bioregion (SWS) as one of the priority bioregions for assessment in NSW.

A scoping exercise for a conservation assessment of the SWS was undertaken between May 2000 and February 2001. The objectives of the scoping study were to: (1) assemble a technical working group; (2) collate available data; (3) identify gaps in available data; and (4) provide recommendations for an ensuing assessment.

The SWS is an area of just over 8 million ha within the Murray-Darling Basin. A total of 1.3% of this area is in formal conservation reserves.

The bioregion contains 16% native vegetation cover. Vegetation communities dominated by Yellow Box, Blakely’s Red Gum, White Box, Red Box and Grey Box generally occur at less than 10% of their pre-European distribution. A study undertaken as part of the scoping exercise utilising high-resolution satellite imagery found that small remnants represent a substantial proportion of the remaining vegetation of these communities. This study is appended. The least cleared communities are those that dominate ridges and steep terrain such as Black Cypress Pine, Red Stringybark and Dwyer’s Red Gum.

Our databases contain 24 plant species that are listed on the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act 1995).

Our databases list 479 fauna species occur in the bioregion. Forty-nine species are listed on the TSC Act 1995. It has been estimated that 17 mammal species may be extinct in the bioregion and 85 bird species are either extinct or in decline.

Approximately 2/3 of the bioregion’s vegetation has not been mapped to a standard that is suitable for a comprehensive bioregional assessment. Fauna records (which are predominantly presence-only) are biased towards reserves and State Forests. Freehold land is generally undersampled for fauna. A pilot investigating methods for mapping native vegetation on the SWS was undertaken as part of this scoping exercise and will be reported separately.

6 Major threats to biota in the bioregion are clearing, ground-stratum simplification salinity and climate change. Contributing factors include pine plantation establishment, cropping, grazing and firewood collection.

A preliminary conservation assessment based on division of the bioregion into 91 landscapes indicated that formal reserves contributed substantially to the representation of 7 landscapes, State Forests to the representation of 8 landscapes, other crown lands (excluding Travelling Stock Reserves) to the representation of 3 landscapes, leasehold land to the representation of 5 landscapes and freehold land to the representation of 30 landscapes. Freehold land therefore makes the greatest contribution to conservation in the bioregion.

Options for continuing the bioregional assessment are discussed in light of the anticipated budgetary constraints. Regardless of the course of action that is adopted, a long-term strategy for improving data-sets is necessary.

A number of the key data layers that are available for the bioregion have been compiled on a CD that has been lodged with the Conservation Assessment and Data Unit, Southern Directorate, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

7 1. Introduction

The NSW Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) (New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife

Service 1999) identified bioregional planning as a priority for achieving biodiversity conservation. Bioregions are areas with broadly comparable climate, lithology, terrain, vegetation, fauna and land use attributes (Thackway and Cresswell 1992). The bioregionalisation undertaken by Thackway and Cresswell (1992) for Australia has been used as the basis for bioregional planning in NSW. Six bioregions were identified as a priority for assessment in NSW (Table 1). Each has <3% of total area in the formal reserve system

(Pressey et al. 2000) (Table 1).

Table 1. Bioregions identified as a priority for assessment in NSW and the proportion of each in the formal reserve system (Source: Pressey et al. 2000).

Bioregion % native vegetation cover % formal reservation Brigalow Belt South 40.3 2.6 Cobar Peneplain 69.2 1.7 Darling Riverine Plains 65.7 1.0 Nandewar 35.6 2.0 Riverina 72.2 0.4 NSW South West Slopes 16.1 1.3

Objectives of bioregional assessments

The objectives of the bioregional assessments in NSW as identified in the NSW State

Biodiversity Strategy (National Parks and Wildlife Service 1999) can be summarised as follows:

8 S Identify areas and features of high biodiversity significance and advise on appropriate

conservation measures;

S Present data in a bioregional context;

S Fill gaps in key bioregion-wide data layers;

S Assemble a common set of medium-scale information layers for each bioregion;

S Make data available for use in the full range of ongoing plans and strategies; and

S Collect data relevant for identifying priorities for CAR reserve system in NSW.

Objectives of the scoping exercise

This report is the first draft of the findings of a scoping exercise for a bioregional assessment of the NSW South West Slopes Bioregion (SWS). The purpose of the scoping exercise was to:

S assemble a Technical Working Group to oversee the bioregional assessment;

S review existing data available for the bioregion;

S identify gaps in existing data;

S develop a framework for completing a comprehensive bioregional assessment of the

bioregion.

Project management

This scoping exercise is the result of work undertaken between May 2000 and February 2001. A Technical Working Group was convened early in the project. It comprised of 10 representatives from a range of government and non-government agencies and institutions

9 (Table 2). The Technical Working Group met on 27 July 2000 and 30 November 2000 and will be reconvened when the project receives additional funding.

Table 2. Members of the Technical Working Group.

Name Organisation

Mike Austin CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems

Geoff Burrows Charles Sturt University

Nicholas Klomp Charles Sturt University

Nic Gellie DeepEco Consulting

Ian Davidson Greening Australia

Mike Dunn NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation

Warwick Bratby State Forests of NSW

Roger Good NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

Stephen Wall NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

Sue Briggs NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service

The project received $53,000 in the first financial year (2000/01). The Southern Directorate of NPWS has been allocated $130,000 for the 2001/02 and 2002/03 financial years to continue an assessment of the conservation status of woodlands in the bioregion. Recommendations are made in light of this level of funding.

10 2. The study area

The SWS is as an extensive area of foothills and isolated ranges on the lower, inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range (Thackway and Cresswell 1995). The bioregion extends in a band from just south the Murray River (in Victoria) north to Dubbo, bounded to the east and west by Tumut and Narrandera respectively (Figure 1, Map 1). In NSW this bioregion covers an area of 80 874 km2, out of a total area for the bioregion in Australia of 84 278 km2 (Thackway and Cresswell 1995).

11 # # WELLINGTON MUDGEE

CONDOBOLIN PAR KES # #

WEST WYALONG #

YOU NG # BOOROW A #

NARRANDERA #

GUNDAGAI WAGGA WAGGA # #

ALBURY #

Figure 1. The NSW South West Slopes (SWS) Bioregion.

12 Climate

The mean annual rainfall occurs in a gradient of high values (up to approximately 1200mm) in the east, to low values (approximately 400mm) in the west (Map 2). Mean annual rainfall for a range of towns within, or adjacent to, the study area is listed in Table 3. Mean annual temperatures occur in a gradient from low values in the south and east to higher values in the north and west (Map 3). Mean daily maximum temperatures for a range of towns in, and adjacent to, the SWS, are provided in Table 3.

Table 3. Mean annual rainfall and mean daily temperatures for major towns in, and adjacent to, the SWS.

Town Mean annual rainfall (mm) Mean daily maximum temperature (degrees C)

Dubbo 587.0 24.5

Albury 784.7 21.3

Condobolin 472.3 24.0

Gundagai 713.6 22.4

Mudgee 669.1 23.0

Yass 649.3 20.7

Geology

Major geological types as described by Pressey et al. (2000) are western alluvials (inactive)

(33% of bioregion), sedimentary: multidominant (21% of bioregion), acid igneous intrusives

(18% of bioregion) and acid volcanics (extrusives) and associated sediments (10% of

13 bioregion). The geological types as mapped by Pressey et al. (2000) at 1:250,000 are listed in

Table 4 and illustrated in Map 4.

Table 4. The area and % of bioregion represented by different geological types mapped at

1:250,000 across the study area.

Map codeGeology Area (km2) % of bioregion 2 Inland sand dunes 8 0.01 3 Inland plain sediments 524 0.65 4 Western alluvials (inactive) 26866 33.30 5 Continental colluvial/residual deposits 1751 2.17 9 Sedimentary: coarse grain dominant 2072 2.57 10 Sedimentary: fine grain dominant (non-calcareous) 3495 4.33 11 Sedimentary: multi-dominant 16749 20.76 15 Acid igneous intrusives 14473 17.94 17 Acid metamorphics 282 0.35 20 Basic/intermediate igneous & associated sediments & metasediments 4299 5.33 26 Ultra basic igneous intrusives 141 0.17 27 Western floodplains (active) 1159 1.44 28 Eastern alluvials 3 0.01 30 Sedimentary: calcareous 465 0.58 31 Acid volcanics (extrusives) & associated sediments 8402 10.41

Tenure

A summary of the extent of different tenures across the bioregion is provided in Table 5 and Map 5. Freehold land represents 96% of the bioregion. Formal reserves occur over 1.3% of the bioregion. These figures do not include additions made to the south-east corner of the bioregion (Riverina Highlands) as a result of the Southern NSW Regional Forest Agreement.

Table 5. Major tenures in the study area (excludes Travelling Stock Reserves and Crown

Road Reserves).

Tenure Area (km2) Percent of bioregion

Crown land 320 0.40

14 Tenure Area (km2) Percent of bioregion

Leasehold 578 0.72

Freehold 77546 96.10

Reserves 1011 1.25

State Forests 1234 1.53

Environmental provinces or landscapes

The use of environmental boundaries rather than administrative boundaries has developed as a principle in land use planning. This principle led to the Interim Bioregionalisation of Australia

(Thackway and Cresswell 1995), in which the continent was divided into 80 terrestrial biogeographic regions – 17 occurring in NSW – on the basis of similarities in climate, geology, terrain and vegetation. This process was part a coordinated approach towards identifying reservation biases at the continental scale. The South West Slopes is one of these bioregions (Map 6).

Morgan and Terry (1990), further divided the 11 biogeographic regions in western NSW into provinces. The South West Slopes was divided into an Upper Slopes Province and Lower

Slopes Province (Map 7).

Pressey et al. (2000) undertook finer divisions of these provinces across the state in order to examine gaps and priorities in the conservation reserve system at a scale approaching that of decisions about land use (Siversten and Metcalf 1995). They intersected the province boundaries of Morgan and Terry (1990) with mean annual temperature, mean annual rainfall, ruggedness classes and geological types across NSW to arrive at 1486 landscapes. Thus, this was the first consistent statewide layer of information that could be used as a surrogate for

15 environmental variation. In the absence of better information for the SWS, we have used this layer as a basis for a preliminary identification of gaps in sampling, clearing patterns and reservation across the SWS.

Ninety one of the 1486 landscapes identified by Pressey et al. (2000) occur within the SWS bioregion (Map 8). Seven of these landscapes cover 74% of the bioregion. These seven landscapes are on relatively flat terrain, occur predominantly on sediments, inactive alluvials and igneous intrusives and are split fairly evenly between the upper slopes (eastern half of the bioregion) and the lower slopes (flatter western half of the bioregion) (Table 6).

Table 6. A summary of the dominant landscapes in the SWS bioregion, the features that characterise these and the proportion of each reserved.

Landscape Area (ha) % of bioregion Ruggedness Geology ProvinceC codeA (1-3)B 795 611490 7.58 1 Sedimentary – multi-dominant upper slopes 796 763553 9.46 1 Acid igneous intrusives upper slopes 801 487954 6.05 1 Western alluvials (inactive) upper slopes 829 596756 7.40 1 Acid volcanics (extrusives) and upper associated sediments slopes 865 2190648 27.15 1 Western alluvials (inactive) lower slopes 879 832356 10.32 1 Sedimentary – multi-dominant lower slopes 890 478698 5.93 1 Acid igneous intrusives lower slopes Total 5961455 73.89 A Landscapes as defined by Pressey et al. . B Based on neighbourhood analysis (1.75km diameter) of each grid cell in a 250m DEM (Pressey et al. 2000). C Provinces as defined by Morgan and Terry (1990).

Native vegetation

Ritman (1995) has mapped the woody vegetation in the study area to a resolution of 25x25m.

They also undertook a broad structural classification of vegetation for this area. This was

16 subsequently updated by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (Barson et al. 2000). Pressey et al.

(2000) combined these data for the bioregion, adding potential areas of native grasslands

(from a visual inspection of satellite imagery), but at a 1km2 resolution (Map 9). We have used the latter layer in an analysis of vegetation patterns across the bioregion. Patterns among smaller patches of vegetation are also discussed.

Other vegetation mapping programs have been conducted over parts of the bioregion. These are summarised in Appendix 1.

Major vegetation communities

We have used data from four vegetation mapping projects undertaken in the study area: vegetation mapping undertaken for the Southern NSW CRA, North East Victoria CRA, the

Interim Assessment Process and the Central Lachlan. In each of these projects, the predicted extent of each vegetation community prior to clearing was compared with the current extent

(Table 7). The communities have been described only according to the dominant tree species, although detail of other species is provided in the individual studies. Data for grasslands and other non-woody communities are not available.

17 Table 7. A summary of the percent of different woodland communities remaining on the South West Slopes. Figures are extant vegetation expressed as a proportion to the predicted pre-1750 extent of each community. The approximate mapping extent of the three studies undertaken in NSW (Central Lachlan, Tumut Interim Assessment Process and Riverina Highlands mapping done as part of the Southern CRA) are illustrated in Figure 4, while the North East Victoria CRA was undertaken adjacent to the study area.

Dominant tree Dominant overstorey % remaining species species in community Central Tumut (IAP) Riverina North East (species in brackets may, Lachlan Highlands Victoria or may not be indicative) (CSIRO, (CRA) (CRA) NPWS) E. pauciflora E. pauciflora, A. dealbata 73 E. macrorhyncha E. macrorhyncha, E. 58.2 dives, E. bridgesiana E. macrorhyncha, E. 57.2 54.2 dives, E. mannifera E. macrorhyncha, E. 48 64.1 64.8 49.4 goniocalyx (E. dives) E. macrorhyncha, E. 49.6 26.5 polyanthemos (E. rossii) E. macrorhyncha, E. 13 13.0 albens (E. polyanthemos) E. dwyeri E. dwyeri, A. doratoxylon 68 99.6 (C. endlicheri) E. dealbata E. dealbata 100.0 E. dealbata, C. endlicheri, 25 A. doratoxylon E. sideroxylon E. sideroxylon, E. 45.1 macrorhyncha E. sideroxylon, E. blakelyi, 6.9 E. goniocalyx E. sideroxylon, E. dwyeri 34 E. sideroxylon, E. 13 microcarpa E. sideroxylon, C. 20 endlicheri E. bridgesiana E. bridgesiana, E. 33.5 macrorhyncha E. bridgesiana, E. 8 blakelyi, E. melliodora E. albens E. albens 6.1 1.7 E. albens, E. melliodora 4 E. albens, E. microcarpa 6 E. goniocalyx E. goniocalyx, E. blakelyi, 9 E. melliodora E. melliodora E. melliodora 80.2 E. melliodora, E. blakelyi 98.11.8 E. melliodora, E. 35.6 microcarpa E. melliodora, E. 7.5 macrorhyncha, E. albens E. melliodora, E. 1.7 microcarpa, E. albens E. blakelyi E. blakelyi 6.5 E. blakelyi, C. endlicheri 5 E. blakelyi, E. albens 5.2

18 Dominant tree Dominant overstorey % remaining species species in community Central Tumut (IAP) Riverina North East (species in brackets may, Lachlan Highlands Victoria or may not be indicative) (CSIRO, (CRA) (CRA) NPWS) E. camaldulensis E. camaldulensis 10 1.8 7.6 9.2 E. camaldulensis, E. 10 14.7 melliodora E. camaldulensis, M. 3 florulenta, A. stenopylla C. cristata, E. 6 camaldulensis C. endlicheri C endlicheri, 79.9 C. endlicheri, E. 57 macrorhyncha C. endlicheri, C. 49 tetragona, E. macroryncha C. endlicheri, B. 26 cunninghamiana, E. sideroxylon C. glaucophylla C. glaucophylla, E. albens 2 C. C. cunninghamiana 15.9 78.2 cunninghamiana E. microcarpa E. microcarpa, C. 21 glaucophylla E. microcarpa, C. cristata 2 E. microcarpa, E. albens, 0.9 E. melliodora A. leuhmanii, E. 3 microcarpa E. populnea E. populnea, C. 7 glaucophylla

Communities containing White Box, Yellow Box, Blakely’s Red Gum, Grey Box, Poplar

Box, White Cypress Pine, or River Red Gum generally occur over an area that is less than

10% of their predicted distribution prior to clearing (Table 7). These figures are often consistent between studies, suggesting that this pattern will generally hold across the entire

SWS bioregion. Communities dominated by Mugga Ironbark occur over an area between 7% and 13% of their predicted distribution prior to clearing if associated with species indicative of flatter parts of the landscape, such as Blakely’s Red Gum, Long-leaf Box and Grey Box.

When associated with species occurring on the hills and ridges, such as Black Cypress Pine,

19 Dwyer’s Red Gum or Red Stringybark, this association occurs over an area between 20% and

45% of its predicted distribution prior to clearing. Communities dominated by species indicative of the ridges and hills in the study area, such as Black Cypress Pine, Tumbledown

Gum, Dwyer’s Red Gum and Red Stringybark remain relatively uncleared, occurring over an area estimated to be generally over 50% of their distribution prior to clearing. However, some communities dominated by these species (e.g. Red Stringybark with Red Box), may cover a smaller proportion of their predicted distribution prior to clearing (Table 7).

As there is not complete coverage of mapped vegetation communities across the bioregion, we have not undertaken an analysis of the extent to which different communities are represented in the formal reserve system. However, these data are available for the Riverina

Highlands portion of the study area following the completion of the Southern Comprehensive

Regional Assessment. For communities containing any of the box or red gum species, less than 10% was represented in the reserve system, with no representation of Yellow Box and

Blakely’s Red Gum (Table 8).

Table 8. Representation of major vegetation communities of the South West Slopes in the

Comprehensive Adequate and Representative reserve system for Southern NSW.

Vegetation community pre-1750 % in CAR reserve system 108 E. macrorhyncha/E. dives/Hibbertia obtusifolia/Poa 44 siebriana 119 E. macrorhyncha/E. polyanthemos/Hibbertia 9 obtusifolia/Gonocarpus tetragynus 120 E. macrorhyncha/E. albens/Hydrocotyle laxiflora/Microlaena 2 stipoides 121 E. macrorhyncha/E. goniocalyx/Gonocarpus tetragynus/Poa 30 siebriana 160 E. blakelyi/E. melliodora/Danthonia racemosa 0 161 E. melliodora/Danthonia racemosa 0 162 E. blakelyi/Carex appressa 0

20 Clearing patterns

Using data collected at a resoluton of 1km2, Pressey et al. (2000) estimated that 16.1% of the

SWS contained native vegetation cover. This makes the SWS the most cleared of all bioregions in NSW. The other most cleared bioregions in NSW are Nandewar (35.6% native vegetation cover), the Brigalow Belt South (40.3% native vegetation cover), the New England

Tableland (44.4% native vegetation cover) and the South East Highlands (47.2% native vegetation cover).

We examined broad clearing patterns by major tenures at a scale of 1km2 for the study area.

The vegetation and tenure layers are described in Pressey et al. (2000). The tenure layer includes four categories: (1) reserves: mainly secure reserves under the National Parks and

Wildlife Act [1974], but also Flora Reserves managed by State Forests and some Crown reserves managed by the Department of Land and Water Conservation; (2) unreserved public land (State Forest, vacant Crown land, and various Crown reserves not managed primarily for nature conservation); (3) leasehold land: land leased from the State Government, mainly for pastoral use in the Western Division but for various purposes elsewhere; and (4) private land.

The initial tenure layer was completed in late 1997. To that layer was added the most recent available digital coverage of National Parks and Wildlife Service reserves (August 1998) and the boundaries of extensive new forest reserves formalised in December 1998 via the CRA processes. Further additions to secure reserves that were identified in the Southern CRA were not included in this analysis.

The per cent cover of native vegetation in each of the major tenures is summarised in Figure

2. We have separated state forests from other crown from for the purposes of this analysis.

The highest estimated native vegetation cover occurred in reserves (81%) and state forests

21 (57%). Leasehold land contained 52% vegetation cover and other crown land contained 37% vegetation cover. Freehold land contained 13% vegetation cover.

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Per cent native vegetation native cent Per 0 Crown land Leasehold Freehold Reserves State Forests

Figure 2. Pattern of native vegetation cover by major tenures. For definitions of major tenures see text.

We estimated the amount of remnant native vegetation in each of the Local Government Areas (LGA’s) that overlaps the SWS (Table 9, Map 10). The estimates range from 1% in the Culcairn Shire to 68% in Tumbarumba Shire. Other Shires with high vegetation cover such as Carrathool and Greater Lithgow do not overlap substantially with the bioregion.

Table 9. The percent of native vegetation (mapped at a resolution of 1km2) that occurs in each of the Local Government Areas that intersect the SWS bioregion.

Local Government Area % Native Vegetation Albury 8 Bland 12 Blayney 15 Boorowa 15 Cabonne 23 Carrathool 69 Coolamon 10 Cootamundra 20 Corowa 5 Cowra 22 Crookwell 24 Culcairn 1 Dubbo 34

22 Local Government Area % Native Vegetation Evans 36 Forbes 14 Greater Lithgow 66 Griffith 4 Gundagai 16 Gunning 20 Harden 6 Holbrook 26 Hume 5 Junee 5 Lachlan 23 Leeton 17 Lockhart 20 Mudgee 32 Narrandera 23 Narromine 14 Parkes 16 Rylstone 59 Temora 8 Tumbarumba 68 Tumut 54 Urana 55 Wagga Wagga 10 Weddin 19 Wellington 13 Yass 24 Young 8

There was a clear positive correlation between ruggedness and native vegetation cover

(Figure 3). That is, there is a clear bias towards clearing on the flatter parts of the landscape.

These tend to be more fertile and therefore more suitable for intensive forms of landuse such as grazing and cropping. Few part of the landscape with a ruggedness index <20 contain

>10% native vegetation cover, so conservation options in these areas are limited. These are also likely to be the areas with greatest vulnerability to future clearing.

23 70 60 50 40 30 20

Per cent native vegetation 10 0 0 20406080100 Ruggedness index

Figure 3. The per cent of native vegetation that occurred on each of the ruggedness scores across the SWS. Ruggedness is the standard deviation of elevations within an area with a diameter of 1.75km around each grid cell in the data-set (Pressey et al. 2000).

The geological types that contained the highest percentages of native vegetation were sediments (except calcarous sediments), (active) western floodplains and acid volcanics (extrusives). The geological types that were most cleared of native vegetation were the western alluvials (inactive), acid metamorphics, inland plain sediments and acid metamorphics, although the latter three types covered only a relatively small proportion of the study area.

There were four landscapes (as defined by Pressey et al. 2000) that covered an area >500,000ha and for which the percentage of native vegetation cover was <10%. These essentially cleared landscapes occurred on terrain with a low ruggedness index, but on a range of geological types including inactive alluvials, sediments (multi-dominant), acid volcanics (extrusives) and associated sediments and acid igneous intrusives. The most extensive landscape that was essentially uncleared (71% native vegetation) occurred on inactive alluvials (in the western portion of the SWS).

Threatened flora

The NSW Wildlife Atlas contained 124 records of 24 plant species listed on the NSW

Threatened Species Conservation Act. These species are listed in Table 10.

24 Table 10. Flora listed in the NSW that have been recorded in the SWS bioregion.

Species Records held in Atlas

Ammobium craspedioides 5

Amphibromus fluitans 4

Austrostipa wakoolica 36

Bothriochloa biloba 1

Brachyscome muelleroides 5

Caladenia arenaria 3

Caladenia tessellata 1

Callitriche cyclocarpa 1

Dichanthium setosum 1

Diuris tricolor 1

Eucalyptus cannonii 5

Goodenia macbarronii 7

Haloragis exalata 1

Indigofera efoliata 2

Kippistia suaedifolia 2

Lepidium aschersonii 4

Lepidium hyssopifolium 4

Philotheca ericifolia 13

Senecio garlandii 5

Swainsona murrayana 2

Swainsona plagiotropis 2

Swainsona recta 14

Zieria ingramii 2

Zieria obcordata 3

Total 124

Fauna

Our databases, which include data from the NSW Wildlife Atlas, CSIRO, the Australian

Museum, Birds Australia and the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme contained 162,120 records of vertebrate fauna in the study area. A total of 479 vertebrate taxa are represented,

25 including 49 species listed on the TSC Act 1995 (Table 11). It is important to note that there are many data that have been collected in the bioregion that did not appear in our databases. It would take a substantial amount of resources to identify these data, negotiate data licence agreements with the custodians and get these data into a formal that is consistent with the chosen data format. There were insufficient resources to undertake this exercise as part of the present scoping study.

Table 11. A summary of records held in our databases.

Number of taxa Species listed on TSC Act Records

Amphibians 23 5 1124

Reptiles 88 3 1891

Birds 304 26 155071

Bats 18 4 1070

Mammals 46 11 2964

TOTAL 479 49 162120

Bauer et al. (undated) found that there was a strong positive correlation between fauna species richness and flora species richness throughout their study area (south-west cypress zone).

Species richness also varied geographically, possibly in response to rainfall and topographic relief (Bauer et al. undated).

Amphibians

Our database of amphibians, which includes data from the NSW Wildlife Atlas, CSIRO and the Australian Museum, contains 1124 records for the bioregion (Map 11). In total there were

26 23 species identified for the study area (Table 12). Not contained in our databases were records of Litoria aurea (Green and Golden Bell Frog) from the Tumut area (Courtice and

Grigg 1975).

Table 12. Amphibians records held for the study area.

Species Species Individuals Conservation status code 3025 Cyclorana platycephalus 15 3058 Limnodynastes dumerilii 50 3059 L. fletcheri 58 3060 L. interioris 159 3061 L. peronii 2 3062 L. salmini 26 3063 L. tasmaniensis 415 3064 L. terraereginea 3 3086 Neobatrachus sudelli 19 3098 Notaden bennettii 8 3112 L. ornatus 15 3117 Pseudophyrne bibronii 14 3119 P. pengilleyi 1 Vulnerable 3131 Crinia parasignifera 30 3134 C. signifera 55 3135 C. sloanei 18 3151 Uperoleia rugosa 71 3158 U. laevigata 2 3168 Litoria booroolongensis 4 Endangered 3171 L. caerulea 44 3191 L. latopalmata 12 3204 L. peronii 71 3207 L. raniformis 21 Endangered 3210 L. rubella 5 L. aurea Endangered 3329 Uperoleia sp. 1 3902 Crinia sp. 5 Total 1124

27 Reptiles

There were a total of 87 species of reptiles from a total of 1850 records obtained for the study area from the NPWS Wildlife Atlas, CSIRO and the Australian Museum (Table 13, Map 12).

A record for Suta flagellum (Little Whip Snake) occurs just outside the study area near

Tumbarumba (Lemckert, 1998). This species are listed as Vulnerable on the TSC Act 1995.

Table 13. Reptile records held for the study area. There are 87 taxa in total.

Code Species Number of Conservation records status 2017 Chelodina longicollis 31 2034 Emydura macquarii 10 2059 Diplodactylus intermedius 22 2077 Diplodactylus vittatus 49 2082 Gehyra dubia 2 2092 Gehyra variegata 53 2109 Lucasium damaeum 1 2118 Oedura lesueurii 3 2120 Oedura monilis 1 2123 Oedura robusta 1 2126 Phyllodactylus (or Christinus) 73 marmoratus 2138 Underwoodisaurus milii 47 2139 Underwoodisaurus sphyrurus 1 2144 Aprasia parapulchella 5 Vulnerable 2159 Delma impar 4 Vulnerable 2160 Delma inornata 53 2164 Delma plebeia 1 2170 Lialis burtonis 15 2175 Pygopus nigriceps 10 2177 Pogona barbata 85 2185 Ctenophorus fordi 2 2194 Amphibolurus muricatus 23 2195 Amphibolurus nobbi 59 2204 Pogona vitticeps 1 2214 Eulamprus heatwolei 1 2252 Physignathus lesueurii 2 2271 Varanus gouldii 16 2282 Varanus tristis 1 2283 Varanus varius 86 2290 Anomalopus lentiginosus 1

28 Code Species Number of Conservation records status 2318 Carlia tetradactyla 50 2320 Carlia vivax 1 2326 Cryptoblepharus carnabyi 81 2374 Ctenotus regius 1 2375 Ctenotus robustus 109 2384 Ctenotus strauchii 7 2386 Ctenotus taeniolatus 54 2389 Ctenotus uber 2 2392 Ctenotus allotropis 11 2408 Egernia cunninghami 12 2413 Egernia inornata 1 2425 Egernia saxatilis 2 2429 Egernia striolata 142 2430 Egernia whitii 15 2441 Hemiergis decresiensis 7 2450 Lampropholis delicata 8 2451 Lampropholis guichenoti 24 2452 Saproscincus mustelinus 1 2458 Niveoscincus coventryi 2 2459 Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii 2 2464 Bassiana platynota 3 2475 Lerista bougainvillii 3 2492 Lerista muelleri 48 2499 Lerista punctatovittata 1 2519 Menetia greyii 12 2526 Morethia boulengeri 165 2557 Eulamprus quoyii 1 2559 Eulamprus tenuis 1 2561 Eulamprus tympanum 2 2578 Tiliqua nigrolutea 2 2580 Tiliqua scincoides 29 2583 Trachydosaurus rugosus 49 2586 Ramphotyphlops australis 4 2588 Ramphotyphlops bituberculatus 36 2599 Ramphotyphlops nigrescens 2 2603 Ramphotyphlops proximus 23 2606 Ramphotyphlops wiedii 14 2625 Morelia spilota 8 2640 Acanthophis antarcticus 2 2647 Cacophis squamulosus 1 2655 Demansia psammophis 5 2669 Furina diadema 15 2673 Hemiaspis damelii 2

29 Code Species Number of Conservation records status 2681 Notechis scutatus 9 2682 Leiolopisma duperryi 1 2690 Pseudechis australis 2 2692 Pseudechis guttatus 18 2693 Pseudechis porphyriacus 38 2698 Pseudonaja nuchalis 7 2699 Pseudonaja textilis 124 2711 Simoselaps australis 2 2722 Suta suta 12 2726 Suta spectabilis dwyeri or Unechis 25 dwyeri 2734 Vermicella annulata 24 2813 Suta spectabilis or Uncechis 5 spectabilis 2911 Aprasia sp. 1 2969 Morelia spilota variegata 4 Total 1891

In woodland ecosystems, factors such as ground debris (including logs and shrubs) are important for reptiles. Bauer et al. (undated) found that reptile richness was positively associated with shrub and log abundance. Areas with very sparse understorey such as

Ganmain, Kindra, Lester and Conapaira South State Forests contained a maximum of two reptile species (Bauer et al. undated). Based on comparisons with data collected in the north- west cypress belt, the south-west cypress belt was depauperate of reptile species – both terrestrial and arboreal species (Bauer et al. undated).

Birds

Our database, which includes information from the NSW Wildlife Atlas, CSIRO, the

Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme and Birds Australia, contained 155 071 records of bird fauna and a total of 304 species (Appendix 2, Map 13). We have removed all species for which there was only a single record. Twenty-six species of birds recorded in the study area were listed on the TSC Act 1995.

30 In a review of bird decline in the wheat-sheep belt of eastern Australia, which overlaps with the study area, 245 species of landbirds were identified (Reid, 1999). Eighty-five of these species were recorded as locally extinct, declining, or otherwise at risk in at least one of the studies reviewed. A list of 20 declining species (identified as being at risk in at least three studies) was identified (Table 14).

Reid (1999) recommended that the most fertile and better-watered portions of the landscape should become the major focus of landscape restoration for woodland birds, suggesting that these habitats are productive and probably better buffered from stochastic events such as droughts. In this study, grazing pressure from stock was viewed as the greatest risk factor in the decline of habitat suitability at the patch-scale.

Table 14. A list of 20 declining species identified to occur in the wheat-sheep belt of NSW.

Declining species are those, in addition to species listed as vulnerable or threatened, that were identified in at least three separate studies to be at risk (Source: Reid 1999).

Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae Painted Button-quail Turnix varia Brown Treecreeper Climateris picumnus Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza uropygialis Southern Whiteface Aphelocephala leucopsis Jacky Winter Microeca fascinans Red-capped Robin Petroica goodevovii Hooded Robin Melanodryas cucullata Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis Grey-crowned Babbler Pomatostomus temporalis White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus Varied Sitella Daphoenositta chrysoptera Crested Shrike-tit Falcunculus cristata Crested Bellbird Oreoica gutturalis Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta White-browed Woodswallow Artamus superciliosus Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus

31 Diamond Firetail Stagonopleura guttata

In their study of the cypress zone in the western half of the study area, Bauer et al. (undated) recorded 145 species of birds. They detected a strong positive correlation between bird species richness and plant species richness. Of 38 species for which foraging observations were recorded, 20 species (53%) foraged predominantly in the overstorey, while the remaining 18 species (47%) foraged predominantly in the understorey. Ten of the 18 understorey species took 90% or greater of their food from the ground-layer. Just east of the study area in the Australian Capital Territory, Freudenberger (1999) found positive correlations between the presence of many woodland bird species and patch size and habitat complexity score (>20% shrubs, 10-50% cover of herbs, logs and litter).

Mammals (bats)

Our database, which includes information from the NSW Wildlife Atlas, CSIRO and the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme, contained 1070 records of bats and a total of 18 taxa (Table 15). Four of these species are listed on the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. Channing (2000) recorded an additional species (Large-footed Myotis Myotis adversus) that is listed on the TSC Act 1995 and was not in our database.

Table 15. Bats recorded in the study area. There is a total of 18 taxa.

Code Species Count Conservation status 1280 Pteropus poliocephalus 2 Vulnerable 1281 Pteropus scapulatus 12 1303 Rhinolophus megaphyllus 6 1321 Saccolaimus flaviventris 1 Vulnerable 1324 Nyctinomus australis 32 1326 Mormopterus planiceps 48 1332 Nyctophilus timoriensis 16 Vulnerable 1334 Nyctophilus gouldi 79 1335 Nyctophilus geoffroyi 208 1341 Miniopterus schreibersii 7 Vulnerable 1349 Chalinolobus gouldii 125

32 Code Species Count Conservation status 1351 Chalinolobus morio 39 1362 Scotorepens greyii 13 1364 Scotorepens balstoni 44 1378 Vespadelus regulus 45 1379 Vespadelus vulturnus 260 1022 Vespadelus darlingtoni 67 1810 Vespadelus sp. 66 Total 1070

Mammals (excluding bats)

We obtained 2964 records comprising 46 mammal species (excluding bats) for the study area

(Table 16). All mammal records (including bats) are illustrated in Map 14. This database does not include records from a recent survey of mammals and bats on the SWS (Channing 2000), nor the survey of the southern cypress zone by Bauer et al. (undated). The list includes 10 introduced species. Eleven species are listed as either extinct, endangered or vulnerable on the

Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The Squirrel Glider population in the Wagga

LGA is also listed as an Endangered Ecological Community under the TSC Act 1995.

Goldney (1987) identified 17 mammal species believed threatened or extinct in the Central

West Region of NSW (Table 17). Eight of these species (Western Quoll, White-footed Rabbit

Rat, Gould’s Mouse, Western Barred Bandicoot, Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat, Pig-footed

Bandicoot, Brush-tailed Bettong, Eastern Hare Wallaby) were not in our databases.

Table 17. Mammal records held for the study area. There are 46 species in total.

Code Scientific name Records Conservation status 1001 Ornithorhynchus anatinus 74 1003 Tachyglossus aculeatus 117 1008 Dasyurus maculatus 18 Vulnerable 1017 Phascogale tapoatafa 7 Vulnerable 1027 Antechinus flavipes 157 1028 Antechinus stuartii 23 1043 Antechinomys laniger 2 Endangered

33 Code Scientific name Records Conservation status 1048 Planigale tenuirostris 2 1061 Sminthopsis murina 12 1072 Sminthopsis crassicaudata 57 1097 Perameles nasuta 2 1106 Macrotis lagotis 10 Endangered 1113 Trichosurus vulpecula 298 1115 Trichosurus caninus 1 1129 Pseudocheirus peregrinus 155 1133 Petauroides volans 6 1136 Petaurus australis 1 Vulnerable 1137 Petaurus norfolcensis 21 Vulnerable 1138 Petaurus breviceps 46 1147 Acrobates pygmaeus 23 1150 Cercartetus nanus 3 1162 Phascolarctos cinereus 184 Endangered 1165 Vombatus ursinus 28 1175 Potorous tridactylus 3 Vulnerable 1184 Bettongia lesueur 1 Extinct 1187 Aepyprymnus rufescens 1 Vulnerable 1201 Onychogalea fraenata 1 Endangered 1215 Petrogale penicillata 6 Vulnerable 1242 Wallabia bicolor 281 1261 Macropus rufogriseus 131 1263 Macropus fuliginosus 4 1265 Macropus giganteus 499 1266 Macropus robustus 30 1275 Macropus rufus 4 1395 Rattus fuscipes 14 1408 Rattus rattus 47 1409 Rattus norvegicus 2 1412 Mus musculus 94 1415 Hydromys chrysogaster 28 1510 Oryctolagus cuniculus 218 1511 Lepus capensis 38 1521 Capra hircus 38 1523 Cervus dama 1 1531 Canis familiaris 14 1532 Vulpes vulpes 223 1536 Felis catus 39 Total 2964

34 Table 18. Mammals considered threatened or extinct in the Central West Region of NSW

(Source: Goldney 1987).

Common name Scientific name Tiger Quoll Dasyurus maculatus Western Quoll Dasyurus geoffroyii Brush-tailed Phascogale Phascogale tapoatafa Kultarr Antechinomys laniger Bilby Macrotis lagotis Western Barred Bandicoot Perameles bougainville Pig-footed Bandicoot Chaeropus ecaudatus Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis Koala Phascolarctos cinereus Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat Lasiorhinus krefftii Brush-tailed Bettong Bettongia penicillata Burrowing Bettong Bettongia lesueur Rufous Bettong Aepyprymnus rufescens Bridled Nailtail Wallaby Onychogalea fraenata Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby Petrogale penicillata Eastern Hare Wallaby Lagorchestes leporides White-footed Rabbit-rat Conilurus albipes Gould’s Mouse Pseudomys gouldii

Bauer et al. (undated) recorded 36 mammal species from the south-west cypress zone, of which 11 species were introduced. Arboreal mammal species richness was positively correlated with eucalypt species richness. Mammal species richness generally was positively correlated with shrub abundance and log abundance (Bauer et al. undated).

35 3. Gaps in major data-sets

A summary of the relevant data-sets available across the bioregion is provided in Appendix 1.

In this section, the gaps in major data-sets are identified.

Vegetation mapping

There have been four contemporary projects that have mapped vegetation communities across substantial areas of the SWS. These are: (1) the southern wheatbelt vegetation mapping

(Siverston and Metcalfe 1995); (2) forest type mapping as part of the Tumut Interim Forest

Area project; (3) vegetation mapping of the central Lachlan (Austin et al. 2000); and (4) vegetation mapping undertaken as part of the Southern Regional Forest Agreement (Maguire et al. 2000). The approximate extent of these projects is illustrated in Figure 4. However, approximately two-thirds of the study area has not been mapped at the community level. Most of the SWS will be mapped by 2004 as part of DLWC’s Statewide Vegetation Mapping

Program, although the central portion of the bioregion is not presently scheduled for mapping under this program. As part of the scoping exercise for the SWS, a pilot vegetation mapping project was conducted across the Boorowa 1:100,000 mapsheet, or that gap indicated on

Figure 4 that is not mapped in the mid Upper Slopes Province in the eastern portion of the study area. This project will be completed in July 2001.

36 Figure 4. The approximate extent (by 1:100:000 mapsheets) of vegetation mapping projects that have been undertaken in the South West Slopes. The right diagonal hatching is Austin et al. (2000), much of which overlaps with Siverston and Metcalfe (1995) (dots). The vertical shading is the Tumut Interim Forest Area mapping and the horizontal shading is Maguire et al. (2000) where it overlaps with the former.

Fauna

We have used the landscapes defined by Pressey et al. (2000) as a basis for undertaking a gap analysis in survey intensity across the SWS bioregion. However, only those landscapes that cover an area of at least 1000ha (53 of the 91 landscapes) are used for the purposes of a gap analysis in survey effort. The remaining 38 landscapes each cover an area of <1000 ha, or a total area of 11309 ha which is equivalent to 14% of the total area of the bioregion. We used

37 the number of records for each taxonomic group as an indicator of survey intensity, so these results should be treated with caution.

Amphibians

All of the amphibian records were obtained from 24 of the 91 landscapes identified by

Pressey et al. (2000) that occur in the bioregion. Using the number of records obtained in each landscape as an index of survey intensity, we compared the number of records of amphibians recorded in each landscape (as a proportion of the total amphibian records) with the area of each landsape (as a proportion of the total area of the bioregion). Those landscapes that cover a large area and were most undersampled were: 865, 796, 829, 890, 808 (Map 15). The most adequately sampled landscapes were: 887, 879, 801, 823 and 897.

Reptiles

Reptile records came from 31 of the 91 landscapes identified by Pressey et al. (2000). The most undersampled landscapes that represent relatively extensive areas in the bioregion were:

865, 796, 890, 795, 808, 831 and 901 (Map 16). Those landscapes that were relatively well sampled were: 879, 801, 887, 934, 837 and 876.

Birds

There is good coverage across the study area of bird records. As part of the Atlas of

Australian Birds, each 10’ grid has been surveyed across the study area, however these records are not geocoded to any greater precision and therefore may not be useful for analysis.

Mammals

The most undersampled landscapes were: 796, 801, 808, 829, 865 and 890 (Map 17). The relatively well-sampled landscapes were: 822, 823, 837, 876, 879, 887, 934 and 1208.

38 Overall

Landscapes generally least surveyed for all taxa were 796, 808, 865 and 890. These are on predominantly flat landscapes (ruggedness=1) and in freehold tenure (Map 18).

39 4. Threatening processes

There are three major processes threatening biota on the SWS: clearing, simplification of the ground stratum and climate change.

Clearing

The Department of Land and Water Conservation clearing register for that Department’s

Murrumbidgee Region (which is predominantly in the SWS) indicated that between 1997 and

2000, clearing occurred over a gross area of 50,146ha. Most clearing was of scattered

(paddock) trees and the reasons listed were plantation establishment, cropping, irrigation, vineyards and residential development and roading. The Visy Mill Facilitation Act 1997 nominates 30,000ha of land on the SWS that will be potentially converted to pine plantations.

The Draft Plantations and Reafforestation (Code) Regulation 2000 indicated that patches up to 1.0ha could be cleared for the purposes of establishing pine plantations, although this figure has been subsequently revised to 0.5ha partly as a result of work described below.

One principle that is commonly employed in conservation assessment throughout Australia requires sufficient examples of all vegetation types to be represented in the landscape, with emphasis on the best examples (Commonwealth of Australia 1997; Native Vegetation

Advisory Council undated). Some vegetation communities on the SWS (e.g. dominated by

Dwyer’s Red Gum), predominantly occur as large patches in relatively good condition, i.e. they contain relatively few weeds, they support a mixture of trees from different age-classes and have high habitat complexity. Other woodland communities (e.g. Yellow Box and

Blakely’s Red Gum) occur over a small proportion of their previous distribution and are highly fragmented and modified. In a relative sense, small, highly modified patches of these communities are therefore important in terms of regional conservation.

40 This pattern was demonstrated when we examined remnant vegetation using high-resolution satellite imagery in the Holbrook area as part of the scoping exercise (Gibbons and Boak

2000). The complete study is attached in Appendix 3. Overall, patches of vegetation <0.04ha

(approximately 1-2 mature trees) represented 5% of all woody vegetation in the study area and patches <0.1ha (approximately 1-5 mature trees) represented 9% of all woody vegetation.

Patches of woody vegetation <0.5ha, <1.0ha and <10ha represented 25%, 33% and 57% of total tree-cover respectively. Patches >10ha contained 43% of all woody vegetation (Figure

5).

100 90 80 70 60 50

Per cent 40 30 20 10 0 <0.04 <0.1 <0.5 <1 <5 <10 <50 <1500

Patch size (ha)

Figure 5. Cumulative per cent of total woody vegetation cover, by patch-size, in the Holbrook area (Gibbons and Boak 2000).

However, the patch-size distribution of vegetation differed significantly between woodland communities. For some vegetation communities, most tree-cover occurred in larger patches.

Virtually all (99.5%) of the community dominated by Dwyer’s Red Gum and Currawang

(Acacia doratoxylon) occurred in one patch. The majority (72%) of the community dominated by River Red Gum occurred in four linear patches >10ha.

For the other woodland communities, small patches of vegetation contributed considerably towards the total area of that vegetation type. Most of the community dominated by Red

Stringybark, Red Box and Long-leaf Box occurred in patches of 0.1-0.5 ha (30%) and 1-5ha

41 (30%). Overall, 8% occurred in patches up to 0.04ha, 17% occurred in patches up to 0.1ha,

46% occurred in patches up to 0.5ha, 61% in patches up to 1ha and 91% in patches up to 5 ha.

For the communities dominated by Blakely’s Red Gum and Yellow Box, the majority of the predicted extent occurred in patches between 0.1-0.5ha (25%) and patches 1-5ha (24%).

Overall, 8% occurred as patches <0.04ha, 16% as patches <0.1ha, 42% in patches <0.5ha,

55% as patches <1ha, 79% in patches <5ha, and 84% in patches <10ha. The balance (16%) occurred as patches >10ha. A similar pattern occurred for the community dominated by White

Box. Most of this vegetation type occurred in patches between 0.1-0.5ha. Ten per cent of this vegetation type occurred as patches <0.04ha, 21% as patches <0.1ha, 59% as patches <0.5ha and 77% as patches <1ha. The remaining 23% occurred in patches between 1-10ha.

This pattern, if indicative of much of the SWS, has some profound implications with respect to conservation in this bioregion. First, it indicates that >50% of woody vegetation was in patches <5ha. Patches <5ha do not support many of the declining woodland bird species. For example, Freudenberger (1999) found that patches <5ha supported <20 bird species, and only supported the sensitive species if connected with substantial areas of native woody vegetation.

Thus, the enlargement of remnants, and the improvement of connectivity between remnants, may be required to improve the conservation status of these species.

The study also indicated that reasonable retention targets for many woodland communities will only be achieved by protecting very small, often highly modified, patches of vegetation.

When assessed in isolation, such patches would generally be considered to have poor value for conservation: they often support a ground layer of predominantly introduced species such as Phalaris (Phalaris aquatica), they may lack any eucalypt regeneration, they may be isolated from other native vegetation, and may contain pest species such as the Noisy Miner

(Manorina melanocephala). However, the study by Gibbons and Boak (2000) indicated that patches <0.5ha represented around 50% of all remnant vegetation for those woodland

42 communities that occur on flatter parts of the landscape, such as those dominated by Yellow

Box, Blakely’s Red Gum and White Box.

There is a progressive decline in the condition of isolated trees and smaller patches of woodland, especially where they occur on freehold land. This is due to the factors mentioned in the previous paragraph and a general absence of regeneration. Gibbons and Boak (2000) simulated the implications of the progressive loss of these smaller patches of vegetation in the context of regional woodland conservation in the Holbrook area (Table 19). The predicted distribution of woodland dominated by Blakely’s Red Gum and Yellow Box was reduced from 6.8% to 6.2% of its pre-1750 distribution if patches <0.04ha were lost, to 5.7% of its pre-1750 distribution if patches <0.1ha were lost, to 4.0% of its pre-1750 distribution if patches <0.5ha were lost and to 3.1% of its pre-1750 distribution if patches <1.0ha were lost.

The pattern was most severe for the predicted distribution of the White Box community, which was reduced from 8.4% of its pre-1750 distribution to 1.9% if patches <1.0ha were lost.

Table 19. Predicted changes to the extent of different woodland types in the Holbrook area

(compared with their predicted pre-1750 distribution) after the loss of patches of different areas.

% of predicted pre-1750 extent Woodland all patches if patches if patches if patches if patches type <0.04ha lost <0.1ha lost <0.5ha lost <1.0ha lost Dwyer’s Red 16.4 16.4 16.4 16.3 16.3 Gum, Currawang River Red 23.3 22.9 22.5 20.5 19.8 Gum Red 5.9 5.4 4.9 3.2 2.3 Stringybark, Red Box, Long-leafed Box Blakely’s Red 6.8 6.2 5.7 4.0 3.1 Gum, Yellow Box

43 % of predicted pre-1750 extent Woodland all patches if patches if patches if patches if patches type <0.04ha lost <0.1ha lost <0.5ha lost <1.0ha lost White Box 8.4 7.5 6.6 3.4 1.9

Smaller patches of vegetation also contribute to connectivity across the SWS. Connectivity between remnants is important for maintaining population viability. Connectivity on a broader scale is important for migratory species (e.g. Superb Parrot, Swift Parrot) and as insurance against climate change. Gibbons and Boak (2000) examined the spatial juxtaposition of remnant vegetation under different scenarios of vegetation loss (e.g. through clearing or an absence of recruitment. The results are summarised in Table 20. Isolated trees and very small patches of trees contributed substantially to connectivity across the landscape.

Table 20. Changes to the number of patches, and the mean distance between them, with the simulated loss of patches <0.04ha, <0.1ha, <0.5ha and <1.0ha.

all patches if patches if patches if patches if patches <0.04ha <0.1ha <0.5ha <1.0ha removed removed removed removed Number of 16346 6766 3666 875 429 patches Mean distance 247 267 294 451 663 between patches (meters)

Salinity

The SWS contains the most extensive areas of mapped salinity in NSW according to data compiled by Littleboy et al. (2001) (Map 19). A total of 93,000ha of land in the SWS was affected by salinity as mapped by Littleboy et al. (2001). Briggs et al. (pers comm) have identified that salinity threatens a significant area of woody vegetation in NSW. Isolated trees and small remnants in agricultural areas are most at risk (Briggs et al. pers comm).

44 Simplification of the ground stratum

Much of the ground stratum within remnant native vegetation in the SWS has been modified due to practices such as grazing, weed invasion and firewood collection. For example, in a survey of remnant vegetation in the Central Lachlan portion of the SWS, Austin et al. (2000) found that 30% of 1163 plots were considered to be in ‘good’ condition (i.e. O50% native plant cover in the lower vegetation layer). A summary of these data by some of the major vegetation communities is provided in Table 21. For communities dominated by White Box,

Yellow Box or Apple Box, the percent of plots in ‘good’ condition was <3.2%. These figures may be underestimates as sampling for this study was predominantly on public land that is not grazed or cultivated.

Table 21. The % of plots measured to be in good condition (i.e. O50% native plant cover in the lower vegetation layer) by Austin et al. (2000) in the Central Lachlan portion of the SWS.

Vegetation community % plots in ‘good’ condition

E. albens 1.3

E. melliodora, E. blakleyi 1.8

E. bridgesiana, E. melliodora, E. blakleyi 3.2

E. microcarpa 20.6

E. camaldulensis 22.0

Callitris endlicheri, E. sideroxylon 70.0

Callitris endlicheri, E. macrorhyncha 96.7

Overall 29.8

45 Firewood collection is also a major issue on the SWS. The region is the major source of firewood for Canberra – the largest cool-climate city in Australia. Driscoll et al. (2000) listed

Yellow Box, Ironbark, Blakely’s Red Gum, Red Box and River Red Gum as the most frequently burnt firewood species in Australia. These species a prominent on the SWS are are indicative of the most cleared and highly modified vegetation communities. McNally et al.

(2000)predicted that the amount of coarse woody debris in forests dominated by River Red

Gum was less than 15% of pre-European levels. Driscoll et al. (2000) listed 55 vertebrate species that are threatened by firewood collection.

46 5. A preliminary assessment of conservation priorities

The natural landscapes developed by Pressey et al. (2000) was one of the few data layers available for the entire bioregion. We used this layer in conjunction with vegetation cover

(1km2 woody and potential grasslands) and tenure to conduct an analysis of the representation of different landscapes in reserves and other tenures. We confined our assessment to 91 of the

134 landscapes (i.e. were at least 100ha in extent). It should be noted that all data used in this analysis had a grid cell resolution of 1km2 and not all crown lands (e.g. Travelling Stock

Reserves and roadsides) were included in the analysis.

Overall conservation options

Twelve percent of all landscapes on the SWS contained no native vegetation (as mapped at

1km2). Twenty-four percent of all landscapes contained <5% native vegetation (Map 20).

Forty-eight percent of all landscapes contained ?15% native vegetation cover and 65% of landscapes contained ?30% native vegetation cover. Sixteen percent of all landscapes contained >50% vegetation cover. Greater detail is provided in Table 22. Thus, opportunities for achieving representative conservation outcomes have been forgone over a considerable proportion of the SWS from past clearing. This suggests that restoration should be a major component of any long-term conservation strategy in this bioregion.

Table 22. The percentage of landscapes that contain different levels of native vegetation cover.

Percent native vegetation Percent of all landscapes 012 1-5 12 6-10 12

47 Percent native vegetation Percent of all landscapes 11-15 12 16-20 12 21-30 5 31-50 18 >50 16

Formal reserves

Seven of these 91 landscapes were reasonably protected in the formal reserve system (i.e. mainly secure reserves under the National Parks and Wildlife Act [1974], but also Flora

Reserves managed by State Forests and some Crown reserves managed by the Department of

Land and Water Conservation). Four of these seven landscapes were between 31% and 54% protected in formal reserves and the remaining three landscapes were between 13% and 19% protected in formal reserves (Table 23). The extent of these seven landscapes is illustrated in

Map 21. Thus, 84 of the 91 landscapes had a reasonably small percentage (<13%) represented in the reserve system. Sixty-nine of these landscapes were not represented in the reserve system. Therefore, formal reserves do not capture a substantial proportion of the majority of natural landscapes that occur in the bioregion.

Table 23. Landscapes substantially represented in the formal reserve system.

Landscape number Percentage protected in formal reserves 896 13 940 14 960 19 822 31 932 50 934 54 1093 50

48 State Forests

We examined the contribution of State Forests to the representation of landscapes in the bioregion. Twenty-six State Forests made a substantial contribution to the representation of eight landscapes (Map 22). Seven of these eight landscapes were less than 13% protected in the formal reserve system. The contribution of State Forests to these landscapes is summarised in Table 25. Thus, certain State Forests potentially make a substantial contribution to the representation of an additional eight landscapes not captured substantially, or at all, in the formal reserve system.

Table 24. State Forests that made a substantial contribution to the protection of landscapes in the SWS.

State Forest Ardlethan Back Creek Bendick Murrell Billapaloola Binya Boxalls Coradgery Curra Dungeree Gillenbah Green Hills Gunningbland Killonbutta Mandagery Manna Mejum Monumea Gap Narrandera Red Hill Walleroobie Warraderry West Cookeys Plains Wyalong Wyrra

49 State Forest Yeo Yeo Young

Table 25. Landscapes for which State Forests make a substantial contribution to protection.

Landscape number Percentage protected in formal Percentage protected in formal reserves alone reserves and State Forests 817 0 8 823 10 14 897 0 4 940 14 29 952 6 13 1133 0 33 1207 0 15 1285 0 100

Other crown land

We also examined the contribution of vacant crown land and other crown reserves not managed for nature conservation to the representation of landscapes. Other crown land made a substantial contribution to the protection of three landscapes (Table 26). The distribution of the landscapes substantially protected by other crown land is illustrated in Map 23. Other crown lands (as mapped) therefore make a modest contribution to the representation of landscapes in the bioregion. However, it is important to note that the scale of the analysis precludes the contribution of smaller parcels of crown land, such as Travelling Stock

Reserves (TSR’s), which are considered to contain some of the best examples of lowland vegetation in the study area. Further discussion of the contribution of smaller parcels of land to conservation outcomes in the bioregion can be found later in this section.

Table 26. Landscapes for which vacant crown land and other crown reserves not managed for nature conservation make a substantial contribution to protection.

50 Landscape number Percentage protected in formal Percentage protected in other crown reserves and State Forests lands 431 0 6 951 0 47 1128 11 37

Leasehold land

We also examined the contribution of leasehold land to the protection of each landscape.

Leasehold land contributed substantially to the representation of five landscapes (Map 24).

The contribution made by leasehold land to the representation of these landscapes is also detailed in Table 27.

Table 27. Landscapes for which vacant crown land and other crown reserves not managed for nature conservation make a substantial contribution to protection.

Landscape number Percentage represented in other Percentage represented in leasehold tenures land 892 0 8 952 13 (formal reserves) 32 960 19 (formal reserves) 48 964 0 25 1025 0 11

Freehold land

Sixty-three of the 91 landscapes occurred almost exclusively (>90%) on freehold land. Thirty of these landscapes contained O15% native vegetation (Map 25) and 14 of these landscapes contained O30% native vegetation. Thirty-one landscapes that occurred almost exclusively

(>95%) on freehold land contained <10% vegetation cover and 20 of these landscapes contained <5% vegetation cover. Despite the large number of landscapes that occur on freehold land and are predominantly cleared, freehold land nevertheless makes the largest

51 single contribution to a reasonable level of representation of each landscape in the bioregion

(Table 28).

Summary

A summary of the number of landscapes substantially represented in each tenure is provided in Table 28. Freehold land makes the most substantial contribution to the conservation of landscapes in the SWS.

Table 28. A summary of the number of landscapes substantially represented in each tenure.

Tenure Number of landscapes substantially protected

Formal reserves 7

State Forests 8

Other Crown Lands 3

Leasehold 5

Freehold 30

52 6. Towards a conservation assessment of the SWS

In this section we identify: (1) potential criteria that should be used to guide the identification of important areas for conservation on the SWS, (2) some options for a conservation assessment, and (3) a recommended course of action given the anticipated funding constraints.

Suggested criteria for a conservation assessment of the SWS

It is suggested that a bioregional assessment of the NSW South West Slopes should be guided primarily by the following selection criteria:

Comprehensiveness

Comprehensiveness demands that protected examples of every ecosystem are represented in the landscape. Vegetation types have commonly been used as surrogates for ecosystems, although ecosystems can also be derived by abiotic variables (e.g. Pressey et al. 2000) or a combination of abiotic and biotic variables (e.g. Ferrier et al. 1999), provided they are defined at an appropriate scale. Comprehensiveness was a criterion that guided land allocation in the

Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process (Commonwealth of Australia 1997) and is one of the principles identified by the Native Vegetation Advisory Council (NVAC) (undated) for the preparation of Regional Vegetation Management Plans in NSW. Due to the fact that certain ecosystems in the SWS are highly modified, relatively disturbed examples of these may be integral to meeting, or at least approaching, this criterion.

Functional importance

The SWS is not presently an ecologically sustainable landscape. The importance of areas in terms of maintaining or restoring landscape function is an important principle that should

53 guide the selection of areas for conservation. Thus, the contribution of biota to maintaining population viability, mitigating salinity and mitigating climate change are issues that must be paramount in identifying priorities for conservation. For example, scattered individual trees in a grazed landscape may not be the best available example of an ecosystem in the landscape, but may have increased importance in the landscape if they represent an important corridor for fauna movements or occur in a recharge zone.

Vulnerability to threatening processes

In a climate of limited resources and ongoing threats, vulnerability is an important issue to address because it enables an assignment of priority to conservation actions (Pressey et al.

2000) and highlights elements of the landscape that must be included in the assessment. Thus, areas that meet other criteria and are likely to be impacted by threatening processes (e.g. clearing) should be given priority for conservation. However, prioritising areas for conservation actions according to threats should be balanced by the ability of the conservation action to contribute to the mitigation those threats. For example, it would be correct to identify a patch of vegetation as a priority for protection because it is likely to be cleared, but it may not be correct to identify a patch as a priority for protection if it has a high probability of disappearing regardless of whether it is afforded protection (e.g. if it occurs in a particularly bad salt-affected area).

Options for a conservation assessment of the SWS

Undertake a detailed assessment over the entire study area.

This is not a viable option in the medium term given the size of the study area, the coverage of key data-sets and the likely funding situation for 2001/02-2002/03 ($130,000). The

Southern CRA, which was approximately two-thirds of the area of the SWS was completed with a budget of $10 million.

54 Undertake an assessment over the Upper SWS Province based on vegetation community mapping

This is a feasible option in the Upper Slopes Province because extant and pre-1750 vegetation mapping exists over all but approximately three 1:100,000 mapsheets. A pilot study undertaken as part of this scoping exercise tested the feasibility of using vegetation modelling to map the extant and pre-1750 distribution of communities instead of aerial photographic interpretation (see Austin et al. 2000). One 1:100,000 mapsheet was mapped at a total cost of approximately $30,000. This project will be reported separately in July 2001. An analysis of irreplaceability could then be undertaken using these data to identify areas that are important for conservation across the Upper Slopes Province. Priorities could then be set by constructing a layer of threatening processes (e.g. potential clearing) and areas of functional importance (e.g. recharge, connectivity). This exercise may be achievable within the anticipated budget ($130,000).

Confine assessments to strategic areas

A further option is to confine the conservation assessment to strategic areas. Likely candidates would be future Regional Vegetation Management Plan boundaries (e.g. Central Riverina) or areas with high clearing pressure (e.g. areas targeted for pine plantation establishment). The detail at which the assessment is undertaken will be dependent on the area over which an assessment would be undertaken. This approach would be similar to the previous option in that vegetation mapping should be the primary data layer that is assembled using the methods piloted in this bioregional assessment in conjunction with the Southern Directorate of NPWS.

Undertake assessment over entire bioregion using existing datasets

Another option is to build on the preliminary assessment and data compilation undertaken here to complete a preliminary assessment over the entire bioregion. This could be achieved

55 by combining the layers used by Pressey et al. (2000) with flora and fauna data to develop landscapes which reflect biotic and abiotic components based on an analysis of dissimilarity

(see Ferrier et al. 1999). An analysis of irreplaceability could then be undertaken using the method described by Eardley (1999). Priorities could then be set using a layer combining threats (e.g. potental clearing) and areas with functional importance (e.g potential recharge, connectivity). This analysis could then be augmented by developing a rule-set based on existing information for the study area (e.g. Gibbons and Boak 2000) that identifies important habitat or vegetation within priority areas. A transparent rule-set, provided it can be supported with sound theory or empirical data, will be useful because it can be applied in the field by land managers wishing to assess a patch of vegetation and therefore is not constrained by the scale at which priority areas are mapped.

Recommended option

An assessment of the options for a bioregional assessment of the SWS against: (A) the objectives of bioregional assessments (as per NSW State Biodiversity Strategy 1999); and (B) the anticipated funding constraints for the next two years is presented in Table 29.

Table 29. An assessment of the range of options for a bioregional assessment of the SWS against: (A) the objectives of bioregional assessments (as per NSW State Biodiversity

Strategy 1999); and (B) funding constraints.

Objectives and Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 constraints Full assessment Assessment over Confine assessment Assessment over over entire Upper Slopes to strategic areas in entire bioregion bioregion Province based bioregion using existing data primarily on vegetation data Identify areas and Yes For one province For part of bioregion Yes features of high (sub-region) within only biodiversity bioregion only significance and advise on appropriate conservation measures

56 Objectives and Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4 constraints Full assessment Assessment over Confine assessment Assessment over over entire Upper Slopes to strategic areas in entire bioregion bioregion Province based bioregion using existing data primarily on vegetation data Present data in a Yes For one province For part of bioregion Yes bioregional context (sub-region) within only bioregion only Fill gaps in key Yes For one province For part of bioregion Partly – will collate bioregion-wide data (sub-region) within only existing data for layers bioregion only bioregion Assemble a Yes For one province For part of bioregion No – no original common set of (sub-region) within only data collection medium-scale bioregion only undertaken as part information layers of this strategy so for each bioregion key layer (e.g. vegetation) remain incomplete Make data available Yes For plans and Yes – but for Yes for use in the full strategies within one specific plans and range of ongoing province (sub- strategies only plans and strategies region) within bioregion only (NB. no RVMP or CMB boundaries are fully contained within this province) Enable the Yes For one province For part of bioregion Partly – however development of (sub-region) within only data layers will be priorities for CAR bioregion only inconsistent across reserve system in bioregions NSW Budget of $130,000 No Yes Yes Yes over two years

Option 1 (a detailed assessment across the entire bioregion) is not achievable.

Option 2 is feasible and partially meets each objective stated in the State Biodiversity

Strategy, but only for part of the bioregion. Thus, it would rely on a future program to continue gap-filling in the Lower Slopes Province. In terms of a key data layer (vegetation community mapping), this is proposed to be undertaken by DLWC over most of the Lower

Slopes Province by 2004 (except for a few 1:100,000 mapsheets). Other key layers are already available over most of the bioregion except for fauna data.

57 Option 3 is as for Option 2 except the boundaries will follow administrative rather than bioregional divisions of the landscape and therefore could be argued to be inconsistent with the spirit of bioregional planning. However, if sites are chosen to be representative of the bioregion as a whole, then the data could still be presented in a bioregional context. Gap- filling in the future could still progress along bioregional lines. This strategy will only be useful if the timing is consistent with plan preparation.

Option 4 potentially meets each criterion, except that regarding the development of a consistent set of data layers for each bioregion. This option does not involve primary data collection so does not contribute greatly to a longer-term approach towards comprehensive assessment of the bioregion. This approach should only be adopted if other bioregions are to be assessed using natural landscapes (see Ferrier et al. 1999) as the basis for assessment. It could also be argued that there is presently no institutional framework for dealing with an assessment across the entire SWS bioregion (e.g. unlike the Brigalow Belt South which is in the Western Regional Assessment). Existing plans and strategies within the SWS are operating within different boundaries.

Preferred option

The preferred option is a combination of Option 3 and Option 4. Option 3 will provide data that will benefit natural resource management within the SWS because it will feed into existing institutional frameworks. It will also generate data and information that will contribute to a comprehensive bioregional assessment for the entire SWS at some future time.

However, for the latter to occur it must be augmented by a longer-term strategy to incrementally improve the data-sets in the bioregion, particularly systematic fauna data and vegetation mapping. The assessment of vegetation data in the area(s) ultimately chosen (e.g. the Central Riverina) could be undertaken using irreplaceability as described by Eardley

58 (1999). A layer of threatening processes and ecosystem services as described previously would also have to be prepared across the study area boundary to assign priorities. The other part of Option 4, i.e. the development of a rule-set for important patches, should also be undertaken as part of this assessment as a way of bringing other criteria into the analysis (e.g. patch size, patch condition, connectivity), prioritising conservation priorites at the patch-scale and providing information that can be applied to achieve conservation outcomes more broadly across the bioregion.

59 7. References

Austin, M. F., Cawsey, E. M., Baker, B. L., Yialeloglou, M. M., Grice, D. J., & Briggs, S. V. 2000, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra.

Barson, M., Randall, L., & Bordas, V. 2000, Bureau of Rural Sciences, Kingston.

Bauer, J. J., Bryant, A., Goldney, D., Costello, D. A., & Schrader, N. undated, State Forests of NSW.

Channing, S. A. 2000, The value of linear bushland fragments as habitat for arboreal marsupials, nocturnal birds and microbats: a case study from the South West Slopes of New South Wales. B. Sc. (Hons) Thesis. The Australian National University.

Charlton, I. 1998. Status report: Vegetation mapping in the Central West Region. NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation.

Commonwealth of Australia 1997, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia.

Courtice, G. P. & Grigg, G. C. 1975. A taxonomic revision of the Litora aurea complex (Anura: Hylidae) in south-eastern Australia. Australian Zoology 18, 149-163.

Driscoll, D., Milkovits, G., & Freudenberger, D. 2000, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.

Dunn, M. 1999. Status report: Vegetation mapping in the Murrumbidgee Region. NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation.

Eardley, K. A. 1999, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Ferrier, S., Manion, G., Drielsma, M., & Smith, J. 2000, unpublished.

Freudenberger, D. 1999, CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, Canberra.

Gibbons, P. & Boak, M. 2000, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, Queanbeyan.

60 Goldney, D.1987. In The vertebrate fauna of the Central Western Region, Mitchell College of Advanced Education, Bathurst.

Herr, A. 1998, Aspects of the ecology of forest dwelling bats (Microchiroptera) in the western slopes of the Australian Alps. Charles Sturt University, Albury.

Lemckert, F. 1998. A survey for threatened herpetofauna of the south-west slopes of New South Wales. Australian Zoologist 30, 492-.

Littleboy, M., Piscopo, G., Beecham, R., Barnett, P., Newman, L., & Alwood, N., NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation.

Maguire, O., Thomas, V., & Hunter, S. 2000.

McNally, R., Parkinson, A., Horrocks, G., Conole, L., Young, M., Tzaros, C., Koehn, J., Lieschke, J., & Nicol, S. 2000, Report Number R7007, Murray Darling Basin Commission.

Morgan, G. & Terry, J. 1992. Natural regions of western New South Wales and their use for environmental management. Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia 16, 467-473.

Native Vegetation Advisory Council undated.

New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service 1999, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville.

Pressey, R. L., Hager, T. C., Ryan, K. M., Schwarz, J., Wall, S., Ferrier, S., & Creaser, P. M. 1999. Statewide bioregional project release data. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville.

Pressey, R. L., Hager, T. C., Ryan, K. M., Schwarz, J., Wall, S., Ferrier, S., & Creaser, P. M. 2000. Using abiotic data for conservation assessments over extensive regions: quantitative methods applied across New South Wales, Australia. Biological Conservation 96, 55-82.

Pressey, R. L., Humphries, C. J., Margules, C. R., Vane-Wright, R. I., & Williams, P. H. 1993. Beyond opportunism: key principles for systematic reserve selection. Trends in

61 Ecology and Evolution 8, 124-128.

Reid, J. W. 1999, CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, Canberra.

Ritman, K. T. 1995, NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation.

Siversten, D. & Metcalfe, L. 1995. Natural vegetation of the southern wheat-belt (Forbes and Cargelligo 1:250 000 map sheets). Cunninghamia 4, 103-128.

Siverston, D. 1993. Conservation of remnant vegetation in the box and ironbark lands of New South Wales. Victorian Naturalist 110, 24-29.

Thackway, R. & Cresswell, I. D. 1992, Environmental Resources Information Network, Canberra.

Thackway, R. & Cresswell, I. D. An interim biogeographic regionalisation for Australia. A framework for setting priorities in the national reserves system cooperative program. Version 4.0. 1995. Canberra, Australian Nature Conservation Agency.

62 Maps

63 Map 1

The study area

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s # disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e # map and any consequences of such acts or omissions WELLINGTON MUDGEE

CONDOBOLIN # PARKES #

WEST WYALONG #

YOUNG # BOOROWA #

NARRANDERA # # Towns sws lamb.shp GUNDAGAI Ibraswslamb.shp WAGGA WAGGA # # 0 3327053 6654106 Kilometers

PROJECTION : Lamberts N

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ALBURY #

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c:\phil g\scoping report\priority state forests.apr Map 2

Mean annual rainfall

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Ann_rainfall 360 - 460 461 - 561 562 - 662 663 - 762 763 - 863 864 - 964 965 - 1064 1065 - 1165 1166 - 1266 No Data

0 3327053 6654106 Kilometers

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65 Map 3

Mean annual temp

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Ann_temp 11 - 12 13 14 15 16 - 17

0 3327053 6654106 Kilometers

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66 Map 4

Geology

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Geology 2 3 4 5 9 10 11 15 17 20 26 27 28 30 31 No Data

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67 Map 5

Tenure

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Ibraswslamb.shp Tenure_sws Other crown Leasehold Freehold Reserves State Forests

0 3327053 6654106 Kilometers

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68 Map 6

IBRA NSW SW S boundary

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Ibraswslamb.shp

0 3327053 6654106 Kilometers

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69 Map 7

Upper and Lower Slopes Provinces

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Ibra sws 55.shp Upper slopes province.shp Ibraswslamb.shp

0 3330111 6660222 Kilometers

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70 Map 8

Landscapes

Copyright NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service July 2001 This map is not guaranteed to be free from error or omission Th e NS W N atio na l P ar ks an d W i l dl ife S e rvi c e a nd i ts em pl o yee s disc laim lia bility for a ny a ct do ne on th e in formatio n in th e map and any consequences of such acts or omissions

Lan ds cap es 431 724 786 795 796 799 801 808 819 822 823 825 828 829 830 831 837 865 876 879 883 885 887 889 890 892 894 895 896 897 898 901 906 921 932 934 940 943 951 952 953 956 960 983 985 101 4 102 3 102 5 109 3 109 6 112 8 113 1 113 9 114 2 120 7 120 8 127 8 130 4 140 2 No D ata

0 3541535 7083070 Kilometers

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71