Drivers of Land Use Change project Driver Research Phase Background Report No. 1 Land use impacts on native biodiversity Department of Sustainability and Environment Department of Sustainability and Environment Department of Primary Industries Department of Primary Industries Authors Jenny Wilson, John Ford, and Tamara Lavis For more information about this publication contact Dr Jenny Wilson Biodiversity Planner Department of Sustainability and Environment 35 Sydney Road PO Box 124 Benalla 3672 Phone (03) 5761 1577 Email: [email protected] Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank regional agency staff and organisations for their assistance in the development of this report. Earlier drafts of this manuscript were greatly improved by a number of people, including: Kate Bell, Bill Hill, Barry Oswald, Stuart Warner, Philip Newton, Kim Lowe, Anna Ridley, Tim Clune, and Andrew Straker. The Drivers of Land Use Change (DLUC) project is funded under the Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (a joint initiative of the Department of Primary Industries and the Department of Sustainability and Environment). © The State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment, September 2004 This publication is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical or graphic) without the prior written permission of the State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment. All requests and enquiries should be directed to the Nominated Officer, Copyright, PO Box 500, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002. ISBN 1 74152 100 9 Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. www.dse.vic.gov.au ESAI project 05116 Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Drivers of land use change Driver Research Phase Background Report 1 Land use impacts on native biodiversity Jenny Wilson1, John Ford2, and Tamara Lavis2 1 Department of Sustainability and Environment 2 Department of Primary Industries September 2004 i DRIVERS OF LAND USE CHANGE Driver Research Phase Background Report 1: Land use impacts on native biodiversity CONTENTS Summary ................................................................................................................ iv 1. Introduction........................................................................................................ 1 2. Background to the report ................................................................................... 2 2.1 Objectives ...................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Method .......................................................................................................... 2 2.3 Biodiversity defined ......................................................................................... 3 2.4 The study area................................................................................................ 4 3. Native biodiversity in the study area.................................................................. 5 3.1 Remnant vegetation ........................................................................................ 5 3.2 Fauna species ................................................................................................. 7 3.3 Waterways and Wetlands................................................................................. 8 3.4 Summary........................................................................................................ 8 4. Land uses in the study area .............................................................................. 10 4.1 Land uses......................................................................................................10 4.2 Enterprises ....................................................................................................11 4.3 Farming practices...........................................................................................13 5. Discussion ......................................................................................................... 16 5.1 The effects of land use practices on native biodiversity......................................16 5.2 The effects of land use practices on remnant vegetation....................................17 5.3 The effects of land use practices on fauna........................................................20 5.4 The effects of land practices on waterway and wetlands....................................20 5.5 Affecting change in native biodiversity outcomes by altering current practices .....21 5.6 The effects of plantations on native biodiversity................................................26 5.7 Minor land use changes to affect large native biodiversity gains .........................26 6. Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 28 7. References ........................................................................................................ 29 ii DRIVERS OF LAND USE CHANGE Driver Research Phase Background Report 1: Land use impacts on native biodiversity Appendices Appendix 1. People contacted and provided information for this report.............................36 Appendix 2. Flora list (including conservation status) of the Honeysuckle Creek Study Area.37 Appendix 3. Fauna list (including conservation status) of the Honeysuckle Creek Study Area................................................................................................43 Appendix 4. List of threatened fauna species within the Honeysuckle Creek Study Area, their status, critical habitat requirements and major threatening process. ..............48 Appendix 5: Farming practices associated with broadacre cropping ..................................51 Appendix 6: Farming practices associated with grazing ...................................................55 Appendix 7: Farming practices associated with intensive cropping/horticulture .................59 Appendix 8: Farming practices associated with hardwood and softwood plantations ..........61 Appendix 9: Farming practices associated with native biodiversity....................................62 Figures Figure 1. The Honeysuckle Creek study area............................................................... 4 Figure 2. The extent of each Ecological Vegetation Class and status, and the location of wetlands within the Honeysuckle Creek area................................................. 9 Figure 3. The percentage of land in private ownership and public land types for the Honeysuckle Creek study area. ...................................................................10 Figure 4. The relative hectares of the dominant agricultural enterprises in the study area. ................................................................................................................11 Figure 5. Matrix showing relative native biodiversity effects (on-site and off-site) of changes in grazing practices.......................................................................22 Figure 6. Matrix showing relative native biodiversity effects (on-site and off-site) of changes in cropping practices. ....................................................................23 Figure 7. Matrix showing relative biodiversity effects of changes in fertiliser and biocide use. ..............................................................................................26 Tables Table 1. A comparison between the current extent and pre-European extent of the Ecological Vegetation Classes identified within the Honeysuckle Creek case study area. ......................................................................................... 6 Table 2. Number of remnants (classified by size) or Ecological Vegetation Classes in the Honeysuckle Creek study area................................................................ 7 Table 3. A summary of native biodiversity assets identified in the Honeysuckle Creek Study Area................................................................................................. 9 Table 4. The number of establishments engaged in each grazing enterprise in the Honeysuckle Creek Study Area....................................................................12 Table 5. Crop type by area and production level for the Shire of Strathbogie for 2001..12 Table 6. Comparison between fenced, ‘intact’ remnants and grazed remnants for several environmental effects. ...............................................................................19 Table 7. Eight key opportunities identified in this report that will enhance native biodiversity through minor alterations to farming practices in the Honeysuckle Creek study area. ......................................................................................27 iii DRIVERS OF LAND USE CHANGE Driver Research Phase Background Report 1: Land use impacts on native biodiversity Summary Agricultural land uses, and the management practices associated with them, have had major effects on the richness, diversity and long-term