ABSTRACT AND PRESENTATION

32 2009 Fenner Conference on the Environment

Monitoring for biodiversity: making the right connectionsProfessor Tony Norton1, Dr Karyl Michaels1, Dr Michael Lacey1, Grant Dickins2, Professor Jann Williams2

1University of Tasmania, C/- Private Bag 3523, Burnie TAS 73202RMIT University, GPO Box 252 Melbourne VIC 3001.

This paper reports an initiative to enhance the sustainable management of native vegetation in Tasmania. The focus is on the status (extent and condition) of native vegetation, and improving methods to systematically assess and monitor native vegetation at site to landscape scale to help prioritise management interventions. Spatial metrics based on Fragstats were used to examine the degree of fragmentation of native vegetation within and across different land uses at a catchment scale in Tasmania. We assessed in turn the extent, condition (using site-based floristic and structural data, disturbance models), biodiversity complement (using listed taxonomic data and measures of species richness) and conservation status of native vegetation. Patches of native vegetation that appear likely to play a significant role in maintaining ecosystem services (e.g. watershed protection, vegetation connectivity) and providing important habitat for a range of biota can be identified. This information can be used to support improved management of native vegetation, assist with the recovery and management of threatened and priority species, design new ground-based surveys of key patches and facilitate conservation and habitat restoration planning at a regional scale.

Relevant publicationsMichaels K, Lacey M and Norton T (2008). Vegetation Futures for Tasmania. Presentation to ESA

Conference, Sydney.Michaels K, Lacey M, Norton T and Williams J (2008). Vegetation Futures for Tasmania. Presentation

to the Veg Futures 08 Conference, Toowoomba, <www.greeningaustralia.org.au/resources/veg-futures-08/veg-futures-proceedings>.

Lefroy EC, Bailey K, Unwin G and Norton T (2008). Biodiversity: Integrating Conservation and Production: Case studies from Australian farms, forests and fisheries, CSIRO Publishing, Victoria.

Landscape Logic (2007). Futures for Native Vegetation Condition Research in Tasmania and Victoria, Landscape Logic Technical Report.

Prof Tony NortonTony.Norton@utas.edu.au

Tasmania Institute for Agricultural Research (TIAR), University of Tasmania

Day 2, 9.30am

Area of work: Native vegetation condition, assessment, monitoring and sustainable management.

Specialty: Environmental science, spatial information science, natural resource management.

Take-home messages:

Remnant patches of native 1. vegetation on private land are widely considered to provide important ecosystem services.Remotely assessing and 2. monitoring native vegetation can assist NGOs and government agencies in improving connectivity between areas of native vegetation and thereby extending and improving habitat and other ecosystem services.The combination of remote 3. sensing and ground-based surveys can quickly provide accurate information on the extent and condition of native vegetation.

Patch analysis of Tasmanian vegetation using a 50m separation rule (33,700

patches). Such spatial analysis is a useful aid to targeting interventions for improved

extent and condition

Mount R, Lacey M and Pedersen T (2007). Spatial (landscape ecology) metrics tool for assessing the biodiversity of agricultural land. Spatial Sciences Institute International Biennial Conference, May 14-18, 2007, Hobart, Australia.

Michaels KF (2006). TASVEG Vegetation Condition Assessment Manual. Biodiversity Conservation Branch, Department Primary Industries and Water, Hobart.

Making the right connections – providing the context for monitoring the status of native vegetation

Tony Norton, Karyl Michaels, Michael Lacey (UTAS) & Grant Dickins, Gang-Jun Liu (RMIT)

WHO? University of Tasmania, RMIT University & partners

Prof. Tony Norton, Prof. Simon Jones, Dr Gang-Jun Lui, Dr Liz Farmer, Dr Karyl Michaels, Dr Michael Lacey, Grant Dickins, James Shaddick, Kathryn Sheffield, Alexander Lechner, Naoko Miura, Karen Eyles, Greg Lee.

WHAT?

* spatial database development

* spatial analysis & modeling

* spatial science research – assessment & monitoring of vegetation and habitat using remote sensing and other spatial information technologies

* web-based, on-line mapping tools for use by catchment management partners.

Landscape Logic: Spatial Science and Analysis

Ikonos image for NW TasmaniaProviding the science to underpin the management of multiple-use landscapes

Ikonos image, July 2008

Landscape Logic themes

Have previous NRM investments improved resource condition?

How can future NRM investments be made

with confidence?

What are the key relationships between land management &

water quality?

What is the status of native vegetation?

Modelling Native Vegetation Status from Plot to Landscapeusing Advanced Spatial Science Tools & Field Survey

Database & Models of Vegetation Status

Rem

ote

Sens

ing

Dat

aset

s &

Tec

hniq

ues

Bio

phys

ical

Dat

aset

s &

Tec

hniq

ues

Search Tool for Database Management

Habitat Habitat

Providing the Contexts

Status of Native Vegetation

Tasmania supports 158 mapped vegetation communities

The native vegetation of the State’s 48 water catchments was

classified as:Intact = 7

Variegated = 24Fragmented = 17

Providing the ContextA Closer Examination of the Extent of Native

Vegetation across Catchments

Variegated

60-90% remaining NV

Fragmented

10-59% remaining NV

Intact Tasmanian catchments classified

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Gordon-FranklinGreat LakeKing-HentyNelson BayPiemanPort DaveyWanderer-Giblin

ArthurForth-WilmotGeorgeHuonOuseScamander-DouglasSwan-ApsleyUpper Derwent

Black-DetentionFurneauxLittle SwanportMusselroe-AnsonsProsserSouth EskTasman

ClydeDerwent Estuary-BrunyLower DerwentMacquarieMerseyMontaguNorth EskRingarooma

BlytheBoobyalla-TomahawkBrumbys-LakeLevenLittle ForesterPipersTamar Estuary

Great Forester-BridportJordanMeanderPittwater-CoalRubicon

DuckEmuInglisKing Island

Cam

Providing the Context Vegetation Status as a guide for Monitoring

No.

cat

chm

ents

INTACT LOW MEDIUM HIGHVARIEGATED

60-90% remaining NV

LOW MEDIUM HIGH VERY HIGHFRAGMENTED

10-60% remaining NV

Providing the Context Characterising and Mapping Native Vegetation Patches to guide Management & Monitoring

State-wideSmall patches = 31,010 (mainly freehold & grazing)Medium patches = 2,016Large patches = 734 (mainly crown land & conservation)

Buffer size

Total number of patches

Number of small patches

Number of medium patches

Number of large patches

0m 751 704 35 12 50m 459 381 62 16 100m 332 252 56 24

Patch Size Analysis for Tasmania

LEVEN Catchment

Re-connecting Landscapes Buffering Habitat of Priority Taxa

TASMANIA

Remnant Native Vegetation on Agricultural

Land

How to manage large and complex data sets?We have created a tool facilitating the Search and Analysis of Vegetation Data

across scales

Characteristics of individual vegetation patches can be accessed and evaluated using the search tool

Complex vegetation & landscape data can be summarised at multiple scales

Making the right connections

Characterising and mapping the status of native vegetation (type,extent, spatial configuration, condition) provides an important context formanagement and monitoring at a range of scales

Sophisticated tools and techniques are available to allow the collection,storage, retrieval, analysis and mapping of complex environmental datato support policy analysis and strategic management interventions

These foundation datasets & tools provide the basis to objectivelyaddress key issues such as the effectiveness of past managementinterventions, and the design and likely success of future interventions

Acknowledgements

We thank Cradle Coast NRM, NRM North, NRM South, Greening Australia, the Greater Rubicon Catchment Management Group, Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries and Water, NRM Insights,Tasmanian Department of Economic Development and Tourism, Australian Bureau of Statistics (Tasmania), Private Forests Tasmania, CSIRO, BOM and Australian Government for support and access to spatial data for our native vegetation research. The Cradle Coast campus of UTAS and TIAR hosted a national technical workshop on vegetation assessment, mapping and monitoring. We thank all partners& supporters of the CERF Landscape Logic National Research Hub.