Date: Friday 18 March 2016 SYMPOSIUM BOOKLET
Location: A one‐day symposium on eucalypt diversity The Royal Society of and conservation: scientific insights into the Victoria, future of Australian forests, woodlands and 8 La Trobe Street biota. Melbourne, Victoria
Brought to you by: The Bjarne K Dahl Trust &
The Royal Society of Victoria
Welcome to the 2016 Conserving Eucalypts Symposium, brought to you by the Bjarne K Dahl Trust and the Royal Society of Victoria. We would like to thank the presenters for volunteering their time and wisdom to the day’s proceedings. Today’s symposium is part of National Eucalypt Day 2016 (#NED2016) celebrations promoted by the Bjarne K Dahl Trust. Further information can be found at dahltrust.org.au and at our respective Twitter sites @DahlTrust and @RoyalSocietyVic . Please write blog posts or Tweets about your symposium experience [respecting the rule of not using people’s names unless you have permission from them] and send a link to your post to @DahlTrust and @RoyalSocietyVic. Use #NED2016 as a tag to contribute to conversations around National Eucalypt Day 2016.
Table of Contents Information for Attendees ...... 3 Program ...... 4 Abstracts ...... 5 Elective Field Trip: Mt Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre ...... 14 Who we are ...... 15 Contact Us ...... 15
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Information for Attendees
Public Transport: A tram stop is located at the front entrance to 8 La Trobe Street on the corner of Exhibition Street, stop ID 18011, trams 11, 12, 30, 75, 86 and 109 pass through this stop. Parliament Station is a 5‐ 10 min walk along La Trobe Street and Spring Street. Car Parking is available along La Trobe Street and Exhibition Street. Limited spaces are available on site at the Royal Society of Victoria. Public car parking is also situated at the Melbourne Museum across the Exhibition Gardens. Food: All refreshments and lunch will be provided in the Burke and Wills room on the ground floor. No food or drink is to be taken into the Ellery Theatre. Toilets are located in the stairwell between the ground and first floors. Emergency evacuation: the emergency assembly point is located in the car park of the Royal Society of Victoria building. An air horn will sound in event of an emergency requiring evacuation. Event Moderator: Starts session, keeps questions on‐topic, ends session in a timely manner. Videographer: All presentations will be recorded for future use in media and conveying of key points made by each presenter. Mobile phones must be set on silent or turned off during the presentations.
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Program 1. 8:30am Registration 2. 9am Welcome, Dr Bill Birch AM, President of The Royal Society of Victoria 3. Session 1: Applying genetics for conservation planning First Session Moderator: Professor Pauline Ladiges AO FAA Key Note Speaker: Professor Mick McCarthy, Dr Laura Pollock ‐ Conserving eucalypt lineages and spatial prioritisation with reference to Victoria; Theme 1: Genomics and the phylogeny of the eucalypts Dr Michael Bayly, Co‐author Dr Josquin Tibbits, University of Melbourne ‐ Applying DNA technology; big picture evolutionary history and diversity of the eucalypt group 4. 10:30am Morning tea Theme 2: Applying genetics for spatial analysis and conservation of eucalypts Professor Brad Potts, University of Tasmania ‐ Managing our eucalypt gene pools: assessing the risk of exotic gene flow Dr Suzanne Prober, CSIRO ‐ Adaptation to climate in widespread eucalypts Associate Professor Peter Vesk, University of Melbourne ‐ Spatial analysis, eucalypt seed production and regeneration 5. 12:30pm Lunch 6. Session 2: Functional role and management of eucalypt forests and woodlands Second Session Moderator Professor Leon Bren Key Note Speaker: Professor David Lindenmayer, Australian National University ‐ Status of Australia’s old growth eucalypt forests Theme 3: Climate change influences on fire risk and management Associate Professor Kevin Tolhurst, University of Melbourne ‐ Eucalypt, fire and risk management informing policy 7. 2:30pm Afternoon tea Theme 4: Recommendations for conservation and silviculture management practices Professor Andrew Bennett, La Trobe University ‐ Eucalypts, wildlife and nature conservation: from individual trees to landscape patterns Associate Professor Patrick Baker, University of Melbourne – A forest science perspective on sustainable management and conservation 8. Sum up of Symposium messages 9. Holding Place for Dahl Trust award presentation 10. 4:30pm Closing acknowledgements 11. Light Refreshments #NED2016 @DahlTrust @RoyalSocietyVic Page 4 of 16
Abstracts
Professor Michael McCarthy
School of Biosciences The University of Melbourne Phone: +61 3 8344 6856 Email: [email protected]
Conserving eucalypt lineages and spatial prioritisation with reference to Victoria
Most of us will have a favourite eucalypt species, and we might like to see its conservation prioritized. However, with approximately half of the phylogenetic diversity of Victoria’s eucalypts under‐represented in the current reserve system, playing personal favourites might not be the best way to conserve this aspect of our cultural heritage. Where are the conservation priorities for eucalypts in Victoria?
We integrate phylogenetic diversity with spatial reserve prioritisation to evaluate how the existing reserve system in Victoria might be expanded to better capture the evolutionary lineages of eucalypts. A modest expansion in protected areas of 5 percent (< 1 percent of the state area) would increase protected phylogenetic diversity by 33 percent over current levels of protection.
Newly designated tourism development zones in national parks, which contain both protected and non‐protected areas, contain over half of the phylogenetic diversity found in national parks with some species and clades falling entirely within development zones within the national parks. This approach of using phylogenetic diversity in spatial prioritisation could be extended to any clade or area that has spatial and phylogenetic data. Our results demonstrate the relevance of phylogenetic diversity to regional conservation policy by highlighting that small but strategically‐located areas disproportionally impact the preservation of evolutionary lineages.
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Dr Michael Bayly
School of Biosciences The University of Melbourne Phone: +613 8344 5055 Email: [email protected]
Evolutionary history of eucalypts: overview and insights from DNA studies
The eucalypt group includes seven genera: Allosyncarpia, Stockwellia, Eucalyptopsis, Arillastrum, Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora. The first four are small rainforest genera, each with 1(‐2) species and variously restricted to northern Australia, New Guinea and New Caledonia. The last three genera are larger, comprising c. 900 species in total, and occurring primarily in Australia, but with some species in New Guinea, New Britain, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. This talk will give an overview of the evolutionary history of the eucalypt group, incorporating evidence from morphology and fossils, and emphasising insights gained through DNA studies. It will consider evolutionary patterns at a range of scales from the relationships of genera to those of closely related species in the forests of south‐eastern Australia.
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Professor Brad Potts
Biological Sciences The University of Tasmania Phone: +61 3 6226 2641 Email: [email protected]
Managing our eucalypt gene pools: assessing the risk of exotic gene flow Eucalypts are endemic to Australia and islands to its north. However, they have been translocated around the world since the 19th Century and are Australia’s major germplasm contribution to the world. There are now over 20 million hectares of eucalypt plantations globally. These plantations are grown mainly for pulpwood but there is expanding interest in their use as a renewable source of solid wood products and energy. In Australia, the eucalypt plantation estate is nearing 1 million ha. It is located mainly in temperate regions, and is dominated by Eucalyptus globulus and E. nitens (subgenus Symphyomyrtus), which are grown mainly outside their natural ranges. While eucalypt species from different major subgenera do not hybridise, hybrids within subgenera are often reported, including hybrids with plantation species. Concerns were raised in the late 1990s that pollen‐mediated gene flow from locally exotic plantation eucalypts may threaten the integrity of adjacent native eucalypt gene pools. As Australia is the centre‐of‐origin of most eucalypt species, exotic gene flow is one of the many issues that requires management for industry sustainability and certification purposes. We thus conducted research to underpin risk assessment and management strategies to minimise the offsite genetic impacts of plantations. Our initial focus was the island of Tasmania, where E. nitens was introduced in the late 1980s and by 2013 had expanded to 208,000 ha of plantations. We assessed barriers to hybridisation between E. nitens and all of the Tasmanian Symphyomyrtus species, and developed a risk assessment framework which is operational. We have expanded this research to E. globulus plantations on mainland Australia, assessing gene flow from both pollen and seed dispersal. Here we review this research. We also outline recent advances in our understanding of reproductive barriers in the genus, based on genome‐wide sequence‐tagged markers.
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Dr Suzanne Prober
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Western Australia Phone: +61 8 9333 6789 Email: [email protected]
Adaptation to climate in widespread eucalypts Eucalypts are the lynchpin of ecological restoration efforts across the highly‐ cleared agricultural landscapes of southern Australia. They are used to restore eroded, salinized or otherwise degraded landscapes, for carbon sequestration and for alternative farm‐based incomes, yet planting designs currently pay little attention to their capacity to persist in future climates. Widespread eucalypt species are able to grow under a range of climatic conditions, through inherent phenotypic plasticity, within‐population genetic variability, and adaptive specialisation to local environments. Advances in molecular techniques such as genome‐wide screening have opened up exciting opportunities to better understand these different components of adaptive capacity, which in turn can be applied to enhancing the climate‐resilience of eucalypt plantings and other ecological restoration investments as the climate aridifies across southern Australia. This talk presents an overview of emerging genomic and ecophysiological evidence for phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation to environmental variation in a range of widespread eucalypts, and its implications for climate‐resilient restoration.
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Associate Professor Peter Vesk
School of Biosciences The University of Melbourne, Phone: +61 3 8344 7480 Email: [email protected]
Eucalyptus microcarpa woodlands what do we know about their management? Eucalypt woodlands are threatened throughout the ‘wheat‐sheep belt’. Encouragingly, much effort is devoted to their recovery. Conserving and managing eucalypt woodlands requires understanding their dynamics. Developing models enables the prediction of outcomes under different scenarios. In this talk I will describe some progress towards understanding that can aid conservation management of eucalypts in woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus microcarpa and associated species. We built a model of eucalypt regeneration from the ecological literature, and used it to evaluate the outcomes of decisions aimed at fostering the recruitment of eucalypts. We found that natural regeneration could be a cost‐effective approach to restoring woodland eucalypt populations in the vicinity of sufficient seed and where productivity, and thus livestock stocking rates, were low. Starting from such models and through research and monitoring of sites within a landholder incentive scheme, Bush Returns run by the Goulburn‐Broken Catchment Management Authority, we have collected data on seed supply and predation and seedling survival and seedling prevalence across the landscape. In this talk I will present results on our woodland eucalypt surveys and experiments. I will also suggest how these may be used to inform management. This work has helped identify the locations where natural regeneration is more likely to occur, and how it may occur at varying rates. This enables managers to prioritize sites for conservation actions to increase woodland eucalypt populations.
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Professor David Lindenmayer AO FAA
The Fenner School of Environment and Society Australian National University Phone: +61 2 612 50654 Email: [email protected]
The unique challenges of conserving and managing large old trees Large old trees are among the largest and longest‐living organisms on earth. They occupy a revered position in the human psyche, appearing often in iconography, art, books, films and other cultural expressions. Large old trees also play key ecological and ecosystem roles, having major influences on hydrological regimes, nutrient cycles, disturbance regimes, and the distribution and abundance of populations of their own and other species. In this talk I argue that studies of such trees face significant definitional, ecological, and conservation challenges, many of which are still unresolved. This includes the wet forests of Victoria where large old trees are particularly poorly protected, with major implications for biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse.
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Associate Professor Kevin Tolhurst AM
Ecosystem and Forest Sciences University of Melbourne Creswick Campus Phone: +61 3 5321 4162 Email: [email protected]
Eucalypt, fire and risk management informing policy Australian eucalypts have generally evolved in a fire‐prone environment, and have many adaptations to surviving fire. At the individual organism level this usually means the presence of many buds which are stimulated into growth by fire, allowing the tree to quickly replace destroyed leaf tissue. In some species – notably mountain ash (E. regnans) the individual trees are killed but a new, dense forest regenerates from seed released. The paper gives an overview of such survival strategies, and examines how eucalypts might be best managed for long‐ term conservation in fire‐prone environments. In particular, the trade‐off between reduced fuel‐reduction burning and increased wild‐fire burning is critical to conservation. The examination of this considers the necessary management skills to walk the fine‐line of optimal fire management in conservation management, and the difficulties of implementing such strategies in a regulated and politically polemic fire environment.
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Associate Professor Patrick Baker
Ecosystem and Forest Sciences The University of Melbourne Phone: +61 3 90353116 Email: [email protected]
Climate‐proofing eucalypt forests in southeastern Australia: Challenges and opportunities for forest management South‐eastern Australia is expected to get warmer and drier in the 21st Century. Despite being generally well‐adapted to dry environmental conditions, many eucalypts will face novel combinations of ecological and physiological challenges in the coming decades due to the rapidity of contemporary climate change and the heavily fragmented landscapes in which they occur. Recent and ongoing studies of tree‐level responses to climate‐related disturbances in a range of eucalypt‐dominated forest ecosystems highlight some of the challenges that these forests and landscapes will confront. However, these studies also provide new insights into how forest management practices might be modified or adapted to make some eucalypt forests either more resistant, more resilient, or both, to anticipated future climate variability across the region.
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Professor Andrew Bennett
Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Phone: +61 3 9479 1267 Email: [email protected]
Eucalypts, wildlife and nature conservation: from individual trees to landscape patterns Eucalypts – gums, stringybarks, box, ironbarks and mallees – are key structural components of the habitats occupied by Australia’s distinctive and unique wildlife. From semi‐arid ‘mallee’ shrubland to tall wet forests, eucalypts are the foundation species that determine the physical structure of the vegetation that provides habitat for birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. Eucalypt trees provide an array of resources for individual animals: foliage, seeds, nectar and sap are used as food resources; while stems, bark, dead limbs and canopy foliage provide foraging substrates to obtain other food resources. Shelter, refuge and breeding sites for many species are associated with the physical structures of a tree (e.g. dense foliage, bark crevices, hollows and cavities) and with it its fallen limbs (logs) and foliage (leaf litter) on the ground. Stands of trees, of single species or multiple species, make up patches of habitat that support the home ranges of individual animals and sustain local populations of species. The size (area) and shape of a patch, the tree‐species composition and age‐structure, and the context of the patch in relation to the surrounding environment (isolation, topographic position) all influence the faunal species and community that occurs. At a landscape scale, the spatial pattern of eucalypt forests and woodlands is of great importance in determining the distribution and conservation status of the fauna. In modified agricultural environments, the overall extent of remaining woodlands and its location in relation to topographic and productivity gradients, strongly influences the capacity of species to persist. Likewise, in large extensive stands of native vegetation, spatial patterns associated with land use (e.g. logging) and disturbance (e.g. wildfire) can have a marked influence on the distribution of animal species. The value that Australians place on the protection, management and restoration of eucalypt ecosystems will determine the future of Australian wildlife in the coming century, and also have a profound influence in shaping Australian culture, identity and societal values.
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Elective Field Trip: Mt Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre
Complete your Symposium experience with a visit to the highly‐regarded Mt Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre near Little River, to the west of Melbourne on Saturday, 19th March.
This guided tour will depart from the Royal Society of Victoria at around 2.30pm (exact timing to be advised) and return at approximately 10.30pm.
This is an excellent opportunity to experience one of Victoria’s signature conservation projects in action, led by research staff at Mt Rothwell. Please join us to gain insight to the remarkable conservation and rewilding efforts underway, tour the remnant indigenous woodland eucalypt biota, enjoy a barbeque dinner and finish with a torch‐lit walk on dusk to catch some of the resurgent crepuscular and nocturnal animals in action.
Mt Rothwell is a privately owned 420ha property located in a remnant habitat located 45km west of the CBD. This predator‐free ecosystem is managed exclusively for the conservation of some of Australia’s most threatened faunal species, including the Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Red Bellied Pademelon and Eastern Quoll. The management efforts are characterised by the careful use of apex predators like dingoes and sentinel dogs to ward off feral mesopredators like foxes and cats.
Mt Rothwell is of great significance to the heritage of Victoria’s Indigenous peoples, with an archaeology site identified as a solar calendar system developed and utilised by the Wathaurong of the Kulin Nation.
The visit is suitable for all ages and children are warmly encouraged to join in with their families, bearing in mind the late night (anticipated return to RSV around 10.30pm). While the walks are graded as ‘easy‐medium,’ please note disability access is limited.
The cost of the trip includes the return bus ride from the RSV to the Centre, Centre entry, afternoon tea, dinner and drinks. Registrations are available from the Symposium Eventbrite page (http://ow.ly/TSweO) as a separate ticket item. Discounts apply to students and kids under 15 – please enquire at the Royal Society of Victoria on 9663 5259 if this applies to you.
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Who we are The Bjarne K Dahl Trust and the Royal Society of Victoria are science focused Not‐for‐Profit organisations based in Victoria. The Bjarne K Dahl Trust is a philanthropic body focused on eucalypts, an Australian icon and a significant aspect of Australia’s natural environment and biodiversity. We envisage a public inspired by and appreciative of eucalypts. The Royal Society of Victoria convenes Victoria’s science community. It is the State’s oldest learned society and a part of Australia’s intellectual life since 1854. Contact Us 8 La Trobe Street Melbourne, Vic 3000
The Royal Society of Victoria Phone: 03 9663 5259 Email: [email protected] Web: www.royalsocietyvictoria.org.au Twitter: @RoyalSocietyVic
The Bjarne K Dahl Trust Phone: 03 9005 7425 Email: [email protected] Web: www.dahltrust.org.au Twitter: @DahlTrust
Registrations: http://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/conserving‐eucalypts‐the‐why‐and‐the‐how‐ tickets‐18110964382
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