© North Central Catchment Management Authority 2005 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the North Central Catchment Management Authority. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to Community Engagement, North Central Catchment Management Authority, PO Box 18, Huntly Vic 3551. Telephone: 03 5448 7124 ISBN 0 9578204 0 2 Front cover images: David Kleinert, North Central Catchment Management Authority Back cover images: Adrian Martins, Paul Haw, David Kleinert All other images: North Central Catchment Management Authority North Central Catchment Management Authority PO Box 18 Huntly Vic 3551 Telephone: 03 5448 7124 Facsimile: 03 5448 7148 www.nccma.vic.gov.au Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and its employees do not guarantee that the information contained in this publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes. The North Central Catchment Management Authority therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on the contents of this publication. The North Central CMA Native Vegetation Plan is Ministerially endorsed. The plan outlines the framework for native vegetation management in the North Central region, describes the strategic direction for native vegetation and includes the regional approach to Net Gain. ii Acknowledgements The completion of the North Central Native Vegetation Plan has been assisted by funding from the Catchment and Water Division of DSE (formerly NRE) and Environment Australia through the Natural Heritage Trust (Bushcare). The North Central Native Vegetation Plan is a revision and development of the North Central Regional Vegetation Conservation Strategy prepared by Elvyne Hogan in September 1997. The following people have made a major contribution to the preparation of the plan. North Central CMA: Geoff Park (Plan Coordinator), Drew English, Terry Simpson, John Brooke, Ian Higgins, Chris Weston, Aaron Gay, Nathan Day, Maria Gerolemou. DPI/DSE: Rob Price, Karen Barton, Caroline Douglass, David Parkes, Lyndall Rowley, Kim Lowe, Peter Morison, Jennifer Alexander, Shirley Diez, Colin Smith, Craig Feuerherdt (PIRVic), Andrea Keleher, Ben Boxshall, Mark Johnson, Bernie Young. Trust for Nature: Elvyne Hogan Project Steering Committee: Geoff Park (North Central CMA), Chris Weston (North Central CMA), Elvyne Hogan (Trust for Nature), David Millsom (Greening Australia), Peter Russell (Avon-Richardson IC), John Van Braam (Greening Australia), Greg Turner (DPI/DSE), Shirley Diez (DPI/DSE), Norm Stimson (DPI/DSE), Jenny Shield (Spring Gully Reservoir & District Environment Group Inc), David Clark (Lexton Landcare Group), Colleen Condliffe (Victorian Farmers Federation), Rex McKenzie (Campaspe IC), Anthony Sheean (City of Greater Bendigo), Lindsay Ezard (DPI/DSE), Mark Johnson (DPI/DSE), Andrea Keleher (DPI/DSE), Ben Boxshall (DPI/DSE). The support and assistance of the Victorian Bushcare network has been instrumental in critically evaluating much of the content of this plan. iii Foreword The North Central Native Vegetation Plan represents a key development in the sustainable use of natural resources in the region. It recognises the vital contribution that native vegetation plays in maintaining the health of our catchments. Only 19 per cent of the region’s original native vegetation cover remains, and the loss of native vegetation cover and quality is associated with many of the problems facing the region today including: · Biodiversity decline · Pest plant and animal proliferation · Salinity · Soil decline · Waterway health and water quality decline While the impact of past practices cannot be reversed, the community has recognised the need for a new approach to managing native vegetation and biodiversity. The plan outlines a clear and challenging vision. We need to protect and enhance the quality of our remnant vegetation, and we also need a major effort over the next 20 years to revegetate significant areas of the catchment. This effort will result in major landscape change and provide a sound base for building sustainable rural and regional communities. Many of the natural resource management issues in the region have resulted from the decline in native vegetation and the loss of biodiversity. The challenge is to capitalise on these natural assets as the basis for widespread landscape restoration and the foundation for productive and sustainable land use. The plan recognises that significant native vegetation assets are found across the region. They range from the moist forests of the uplands through the box-ironbark ecosystem to the grassy woodlands and grasslands of the northern plains. These ecosystems contain many important natural values including a diversity of vegetation communities, flora and fauna – many of which are rare or threatened. Retention, protection, management and establishment of native vegetation across the region will deliver substantial long term benefits for biodiversity, soil health and water quality to future generations. Successful native vegetation management is fundamental to sustainable use of natural resources. The North Central region plays a key role in the prosperity of the state, and dryland and irrigated agricultural industries are major contributors to the economic wellbeing of rural and urban communities. The plan recognises the need to balance economic, social and environmental imperatives to achieve sustainability. This document provides the direction and key actions for native vegetation management in the region over the next three years. Putting the plan into practice will depend on the continuation of a strong partnership between government and the community. The region has a unique history of broad-based community involvement in natural resource management. While the North Central Catchment Management Authority has been responsible for producing this plan, we have done so in partnership with the stakeholders interested in these issues. The North Central Native Vegetation Plan represents a major contribution to advancing this partnership approach and belongs to the entire North Central Region. I urge you to give this plan your full consideration, support and encouragement. Ian MacBean Chair North Central Catchment Management Authority iv Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Aim 1 1.2 Background - History of Development of the Plan 1 1.3 What the Plan Does 2 1.4 Vision 3 1.5 Overview of the Region 3 2. What are our Native Vegetation Assets? 7 2.1 Remnant Native Vegetation Communities 7 2.2 Scattered Trees 13 2.3 Large Old Trees 14 2.4 Native Anthropogenic Vegetation Associations 15 2.5 Why are These Remnant Vegetation Assets Important? 17 3. Threats to Native Vegetation 19 3.1 Further Clearing for Agriculture, Urban or Other Use 20 3.2 Global Warming/Rapid Climate Change 20 3.3 Further Weed Invasion 20 3.4 Grazing 21 3.5 Salinity 21 3.6 Soil Disturbance 23 3.7 Habitat Fragmentation and Isolation 23 3.8 Alterations to Natural Fire Regimes 23 3.9 Altered Hydrology 23 3.10 Other Invasive Exotic Species 24 3.11 Harvesting Practices 24 3.12 Off-Site Effects of Nearby Land Uses 24 4. Bioregions and their Vegetation Communities 27 4.1 Central Victorian Uplands Bioregion 27 4.2 Goldfields Bioregion 31 v 4.3 Murray Fans Bioregion 35 4.4 Murray Mallee Bioregion 38 4.5 Northern Inland Slopes Bioregion 41 4.6 Victorian Riverina Bioregion 45 4.7 Victorian Volcanic Plain Bioregion 48 4.8 Wimmera Bioregion 51 5. What can we do? 54 5.1 Vegetation Management Activity Options 54 5.2 Public Authority Management Agreements 55 5.3 Assumptions 60 5.4 Knowledge Gaps 63 5.5 Adaptive Management Approach 63 6. What We Plan to Do 64 6.1 The Victorian Approach to Native Vegetation Management 64 6.2 The North Central Regional Policy & Strategic Planning Context 67 6.3 The North Central Approach to Native Vegetation Management 69 6.4 Local Action Plans 81 6.5 Roles of Key Agencies and Groups 83 6.6 Cost Sharing Principles for Plan Implementation 87 7. Targets for Native Vegetation in North Central Victoria 89 7.1 Matters for Targets 89 7.2 Target Setting Process 90 8. Priority Vegetation Communities 100 8.1 Grasslands 101 8.2 Woodlands of the Plains 106 8.3 Riparian/Riverine Vegetation 112 8.4 Wetlands 118 9. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting 124 10. Bibliography 125 11. Abbreviations 131 vi 12. Glossary of terms 132 13. Appendices 132 Appendix 1 Condition of the North Central Catchment Management Authority Area 132 Appendix 2 Provisional Assessment of the Conservation Status of Ecological Vegetation Classes 137 Appendix 3 Conservation Status Categories for Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) At Bioregional Level 138 Appendix 4 Calculating the Conservation Significance of Native Vegetation 139 Appendix 5 Bioregional Analysis of EVCs in North Central Victoria 140 Appendix 6 Landscape approach based on the proportion of native vegetation remaining 142 Appendix 7 Rare and Threatened Flora Species for the North Central CMA Region 143 Appendix 8 Threatened Fauna Species Recorded for the North Central CMA Region 148 Appendix 9 Comparison of Vegetation Classification Systems 151 Appendix 10 Policy, Legislation and Strategy Framework 152 Appendix 11 National Framework for Natural Resource Management 156 Appendix 12 Native Vegetation Retention (NVR) &