Research and the collation of information presented in this report was undertaken with funding provided by the Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. The project was undertaken for the National Reserve System Program (Project N204). The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and does not reflect those of the Commonwealth Government, the Minister for the Environment, the Director of National Parks and Wildlife or the State of New South Wales. This report may be cited as: Eardley, K. A. (1999) - A Foundation for Conservation in the Riverina Bioregion. Unpublished Report, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Limited copies of this report are held by: Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia GPO Box 636 CANBERRA ACT 2601 AUSTRALIA and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service Land Assessment Unit PO Box 1967 HURSTVILLE NSW 2220 AUSTRALIA 1 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Major Contributors Lisa Metcalfe (NSW NPWS): Stage 2 Project Officer - Collection and input of data, review of vegetation status and developing vegetation retention targets, initial analysis of data. Sandra Whight (NSW NPWS): Stage 1 Project Officer - Data collection, literature review. Christopher J. Togher (NSW NPWS): Establishment of database. Steve Meredith (NSW NPWS): Liaison with Aboriginal Land Councils. Murray Robinson (NSW NPWS): Conversion of data from ERMS to Arcview, preparation of figures and editing. Julianne Smart (NSW NPWS): Editor. John Benson (Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney): Extension vegetation mapping. John Brickhill (NSW NPWS): Extension vegetation mapping. Additional Support I wish to acknowledge the assistance provided to this project by the following people: Liz Ashby Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Felicity Brandsema NSW NPWS Andrea Burns NSW NPWS, Griffith Tom Barrett NSW NPWS GIS Consultant, Armidale Peter Creaser NSW NPWS Rob Dick NSW NPWS Martin Driver Greening Australia Paul Flemons NSW NPWS Paul Foreman Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment Andrew Knight NSW NPWS Ross McDonnell NSW NPWS, Griffith Evelyn Maher NSW NPWS, Dubbo Steve Naven NSW NPWS Mike Nolan NSW NPWS Roger Oxley DLWC Rob Price Victorian Department Natural Resources and Environment Jo Priori formerly NSW NPWS Mark Rowe Western Riverina Vegetation Management Committee Murray Schofield formerly NSW NPWS Matthew Watts NSW NPWS, GIS Consultant, Armidale 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................................................2 2. ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................................6 3. GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................................................7 4. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................9 4.1 BACKGROUND TO THE RIVERINA PROJECT...........................................................................................9 4.2 EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL CONSERVATION PLANNING........................................................................9 4.3 THE APPLICATION OF DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS...........................................................................11 4.4 SUPPORT FOR SYSTEMATIC REGIONAL CONSERVATION PLANNING ....................................................12 4.5 THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIOREGIONALISATION ...................................................................................12 4.6 DEVELOPING A BIOREGIONAL PLANNING FOUNDATION FOR THE RIVERINA BIOREGION ...................13 4.7 AIM AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................14 4.8 REPORT COMPONENTS .......................................................................................................................14 4.9 TIME AND FUNDING ...........................................................................................................................15 4.10 MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE ...............................................................................................................15 5. BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF THE BIOREGION...............17 5.1 LOCATION ..........................................................................................................................................17 5.2 CLIMATE ............................................................................................................................................20 5.3 GEOMORPHOLOGY .............................................................................................................................20 5.4 SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE.............................................................................................................21 5.5 IMPACTS OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE ON THE BIOLOGY OF THE RIVERINA ...............23 5.5.1 Clearing and Grazing .........................................................................................................23 5.5.2 River Regulation .................................................................................................................24 5.5.3 Cropping .............................................................................................................................25 5.5.4 Salinity ................................................................................................................................25 5.6 CURRENT FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE RIVERINA ................................................................................25 6. A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO CONSERVATION PLANNING.......................................28 6.1 CONSERVATION GOAL........................................................................................................................28 6.2 SELECTION UNIT ................................................................................................................................29 6.3 ACHIEVING THE CONSERVATION GOAL - IRREPLACEABILITY ASSESSMENT.......................................29 6.4 ASSESSING THE DEGREE OF URGENCY - VULNERABILITY ..................................................................30 6.5 CONSERVATION PLANNING SOFTWARE - C-PLAN...............................................................................31 7. METHODS ......................................................................................................................................32 7.1 COMMUNITY AWARENESS..................................................................................................................32 7.1.1 Steering Committee.............................................................................................................32 7.1.2 Catchment Management Committees..................................................................................33 7.2 TECHNICAL COMPONENT ...................................................................................................................34 7.2.1 Database Development .......................................................................................................34 7.2.1.1 DATA AUDIT ...................................................................................................................34 7.2.1.2 COMPILATION OF PRIMARY DATA SETS ..........................................................................35 8. ANALYTICAL METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................................44 8.1 THE GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM .........................................................................................44 8.2 THE DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM............................................................................................45 8.3 IRREPLACEABILITY.............................................................................................................................45 3 8.3.1 C-Plan.................................................................................................................................45 8.3.2 Selection Unit......................................................................................................................45 8.3.3 Identifying the Conservation Goal and Targets..................................................................46 8.4 VULNERABILITY TO CLEARING...........................................................................................................47 8.4.1 Historic Clearing Patterns of Geomorphic Units ...............................................................48 8.4.2 Rural Land Capability ........................................................................................................50 8.4.3 Vulnerability - The Two Measures Combined.....................................................................50 9. ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS UNDERLYING THE ANALYSIS..............................51 10. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION......................................................................................................53 10.1 COMMUNITY AWARENESS..................................................................................................................53 10.2 DATA AUDIT AND COMPILATION........................................................................................................54 10.2.1 Outcomes ............................................................................................................................54