Download Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World

MAY 2012
Research and Monitoring in
the Tasmanian Wilderness
World Heritage Area
Covering 20% of Tasmania, the
Tasmanian Wilderness World
Heritage Area (TWWHA) is an area
of exceptional natural heritage value.
The Resource Management and
Conservation Division (RMC) of the
Department of Primary Industries, Parks,
Water and Environment (DPIPWE) is
responsible for an ongoing research and
monitoring program to identify values and
conservation requirements in the TWWHA.
This work provides the foundation for
managing the natural values of the area
and for informing the public about these
values.
Funding for this program is provided by
the Australian Government in collaboration
with the Tasmanian Government.
10670GD
Front cover: Mt Sprent automatic weather station. Photograph: Nick Fitgerald, Ghost moth illustration: Karen Richards
Inside cover: Buttongrass moorland below King William Range.
Opposite: Walled Mountain from the Labyrinth.
Back cover: Mount Anne area.
Printed on 100% recycled and FSC Recycled Certified paper.
Photograph: Nick Fitgerald
The Tasmanian Wilderness
World Heritage Area
A place of outstanding universal value forming part of the
natural and cultural heritage of the world community.
Inscribed on the World Heritage list
in 1982, the area was nominated
for its natural integrity and for the
range of natural values extending
from alpine to coastal ecosystems.
It is one of 936 world heritage
sites that have been listed in 153
countries.
The core area was inscribed on the
World Heritage List on the basis
of it meeting all four natural world
heritage criteria and three cultural
criteria. In doing so, it (along with
China’s Mt Taishan) met the most
criteria of any World Heritage
property.
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area covers
approximately 1.4 million hectares and represents about one
fifth of the area of the island state of Tasmania.
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Photograph: Michael Comfort
Photograph: Fred Bavendam
Photograph: Michael Comfort
The Tasmanian
Wilderness World
Heritage Area
(TWWHA)
Gondwana connections
During the Triassic period (251–197 million years ago) the
Gondwana supercontinent included what is now Antarctica,
South America, Africa, India, New Zealand, Madagascar
and Australia. There are many examples of geological and
biological links to Gondwana within the TWWHA.
Surveys of the TWWHA have shown it contains many
species providing living evidence of the previous existence of
Gondwana. For example the closest relatives of the recently
discovered Port Davey skate occur in South America and
New Zealand.
A land carved by glaciers
Glaciations affecting southern landmasses have come and
gone over at least the last two million years. These have
sculpted the dramatic mountain ranges in the highest parts
of the TWWHA and further influenced the evolution of
Tasmanian plants and animals, which are quite distinctly
different from the biota of the Australian mainland.
Caves and cave-related values
These were a cornerstone in the recognition of the area as a
World Heritage property. Spectacular caves and karst areas
have developed in the TWWHA over hundreds of thousands
of years. Some contain outstanding colonies of glow-worms.
Others are globally significant Aboriginal sites.
Powerful and rugged displays of nature
Photograph: Ian Houshold
The naturalness of the area is evident in its on-going
unaffected processes – witnessed in the high energy of
the Southern Ocean along the wild coastline and in the
significant ice action in the alpine areas during the colder
months.
Rivers, dark tannin-stained from the peaty soils in temperate
rainforests and the buttongrass plains, have some of the
highest discharges of any in the country despite having much
smaller catchment areas.
Lake Pedder earthworm
illustration: Craig Williams
Photograph: Michael Comfort
Left: Zooanthids in Bathurst Channel.
Folded Precambrian rock, near Frenchmans Cap.
Glow-worms Mystery Creek Cave.
Pandani detail.
Opposite: Rare plant monitoring Schooner Cove.
Research and
monitoring work
in the Tasmanian
Wilderness World
Heritage Area
The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service
(PWS) is the land manager of the Tasmanian
Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA)
with specialist and scientific advice and
support provided by the Resource
Management and Conservation (RMC)
Division of the Department of Primary
Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
(DPIPWE).
RMC administers a research and monitoring
program to identify values and conservation
requirements in the TWWHA. This work
provides the foundation for managing the
values of the area and for informing the public
of these values.
Funding is provided by the Australian
Government in collaboration with the
Tasmanian Government.
A number of major research and monitoring
programs have been undertaken in the
TWWHA since 1982. These include:
• Wildlife surveys and monitoring
• Vegetation mapping
• Inventories of natural values
• Coastal dune mapping
• River bank stability and erosion research
and monitoring
• Sheet erosion mapping and rehabilitation
in alpine areas.
Many of these programs are ongoing.
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Photograph: Tim Rudman
Research and
monitoring work
in the Tasmanian
Wilderness World
Heritage Area
Broad-toothed mouse illustration: Tom Mumbray
Climate change monitoring
Karst research
A monitoring program is in place to develop a better
understanding of the impacts of climate change on the natural
values of the TWWHA. This work is based on predictions
by Climate Futures for Tasmania for increases in temperature,
changes in precipitation patterns and reduced snowfall.
The range of the spectacular and scientifically important karst
landforms includes numerous caves (some of the longest
and deepest in Australia), as well as rugged karstic mountains,
islands, rivers and valleys.
A number of sites have been established in the TWWHA to
gather baseline data on flora and fauna to measure any changes
that may occur from climate changes or other factors such as fire
or the introduction of exotic species.
About 150 000 ha (12%) of the TWWHA is underlain by
potentially karstic rocks such as limestone and dolomite.
Some caves contain evidence of Aboriginal occupation and
are powerful symbols of an indigenous presence in the
landscape over thousands of years.
Weather stations have been established at some sites such as Mt
Sprent to assist with investigations into ecotone dynamics, with
stations installed below and above the current alpine zone.
The karst research program documents karst-related values,
assesses their condition, and develops recommendations on
the sustainable management of karst landforms and systems.
Another program is developing approaches to support regional
climate change adaptation methods and to set objectives for
biodiversity conservation in the area.
Karst areas and especially caves are environmentally sensitive
places, with limited or negligible capacity to recover from
impacts. The primary threat in the majority of cases arises
from people entering caves for recreation, science, tourism
or other purposes.
Other projects include ongoing monitoring of the alpine treeline,
conifer health and fjaeldmark extent and condition (areas of plant
growth restricted due to extremes of cold and exposure to wind).
An altitudinal transect has been established at Mt Weld-Warra to
record baseline biodiversity data against which future changes in
the altitudinal distribution of flora and fauna can be measured in
relation to climate change, succession due to fire or its absence,
and other chance events.
This is especially true in the more accessible karst areas
around the margins of the TWWHA, which include some of
the most frequently visited caves in Tasmania. A key focus of
the karst research program is mapping karst systems subject
to pressure from cave-based activities and assessing their
condition.
Global climate change represents the greatest long-term threat to
the marine ecosystem in Port Davey-Bathurst Harbour through
rising water temperature, changing seawater acidity and changes
to local rainfall patterns. Monitoring has already detected erosion
of estuarine landforms in response to rising sea level.
The marine ecosystem is being monitored for possible incursions
of exotic species and to better understand the impacts of climate
change.
Assessments of potential climate change impacts on geodiversity
in the TWWHA predict some degree of change to geological,
geomorphological and soil features and processes in the area.
Current work is targeted at documenting and sampling
geodiversity values that could be altered due to climate change
impacts. It is unlikely to be appropriate to attempt to prevent or
significantly mitigate these impacts because of the scale of the
processes, the likely expense of the “geo-engineering” that would
be required, and the probability that such interventions would
compromise other natural processes and values.
Photograph: Rolan Eberhard
Photograph: Michael Driessen
Photograph: Nick Fitzgerald
Examining the impacts of planned burns
Invasive species monitoring
PWS undertakes planned burns in large areas of buttongrass
moorland in the TWWHA, primarily to reduce the risk of
landscape scale fires that have in the past caused the loss of
fire sensitive vegetation and organosols.
Risks to TWWHA assets from introduced and invasive
species, both within and external to the TWWHA are
assessed by RMC.
Planned burns are also conducted to increase the diversity of
moorland ages based on the logical premise that a mosaic of
vegetation age is good for biodiversity.
Several integrated studies have been established to
investigate the effect of fire on plants, animals and soils in
buttongrass moorland. Results from these studies are used
to help develop prescriptions for planned burns.
Preliminary results from these studies are generally showing
that plants and animals recover quickly from fire but the
timing of recovery depends on the soil nutrient status.
Communities on low productivity soils take longer to
recover after fire than those on higher productivity soils thus different prescriptions are required for moorlands with
different soil productivity.
Fire research has changed our perceptions of the habitat
requirements and conservation status of the broad-toothed
mouse. Contrary to earlier, limited knowledge this species
may benefit from early post-fire conditions in some
buttongrass moorlands.
Some animal groups, such as soil mites, may take up to
30 years to return to pre-fire levels of abundance and
composition. Frequency of fire is a key issue with several
fires in quick succession having deleterious effects.
A long-term RMC project continues to examine the
impacts of planned burns on the fluvial geomorphology and
hydrology of buttongrass moorland streams.
The TWWHA is characterised by a low diversity and low
abundance of weeds, pests and diseases.
Most invasive species that are a serious threat to the integrity
of the TWWHA are currently restricted in extent, including
holly, blackberry, marram grass and sea spurge, the plant root
rot disease Phytophthora and animal diseases such as the
chytrid fungus, a cause of frog extinctions worldwide.
Plans and strategies identify management priorities and
present strategies for control.
RMC also undertakes monitoring of exotic species in the
TWWHA.
Major ongoing programs include:
• A review and risk assessment of introduced animals and
animal diseases;
• An overarching weed management strategy and a
Phytophthora management plan for the TWWHA;
• Monitoring of introduced marine pests in Port DaveyBathurst Harbour;
• Monitoring of the distribution of chytrid frog fungus and
control through education and provision of facilities; and
• Research to assess the impacts of commercial apiary sites,
trout and lyrebirds.
RMC is leading significant changes in exotic species
management by integrating existing and potential threat
management within a single biosecurity system governing
operational activities of the agency and guiding public
use of the TWWHA. This work is being undertaken in
collaboration with PWS and NRM South.
Bottom left: Cave scientists surveying for invertebrates in a karst cave.
Above: Experimental burn, McPartlans Pass.
Above far right: Monitoring the health of pencil pines.
Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
7
Case Studies
Photograph: Michael Comfort
Opposite: Surveying erosion on the Central Plateau.
Right: Monitoring climate change impact on beach vegetation, Cox Bight.
Cup Ringtail Damselfly in buttongrass.
Tasmanian tree frog.
Monitoring impact of honeybees on leatherwood.
Port Davey
Port Davey and associated Bathurst Harbour represents one of the
world’s most anomalous estuarine systems because of an unusual
combination of environmental factors. The dark, tannin-stained, low
nutrient waters of the estuary have given rise to a unique community
dominated by marine invertebrates. The fauna contains a relatively large
component of undescribed invertebrate species, including numerous
endemic species that have not been recorded elsewhere, and deep sea
species present at anomalously shallow depths. Although the estuary
has historically been protected by its isolation, it is potentially threatened
by boating, fishing, dive tourism, nutrient enrichment, introduced species,
onshore development and global climate change. Surveys have led
to the recognition of this internationally significant ecosystem – it was
not recognised at the time the TWWHA was listed in 1982. Baseline
monitoring of the marine invertebrate communities enables assessment
of potential impacts from tourism, development and global climate
change. Introduced marine pests such as New Zealand screw shells
are also monitored and, when appropriate, management actions are
implemented. A Port Davey Marine Reserve Visitors Guide and Map
has been produced to educate visitors about the reserve and to
provide advice on minimising their impacts.
Photograph: Tim Rudman
Photograph: Michael Driessen
Chytrid fungus
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease caused by the fungal pathogen
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Chytrid). The disease has been linked
with the decline and extinctions of frogs worldwide and was first
detected in Tasmania in 2004. Surveys have found that chytrid is largely
absent from the TWWHA (which is the stronghold for Tasmania’s three
endemic frog species) but occurs widely elsewhere in the state including
in the margins of the TWWHA. The main cause of chytrid spread is
thought to be in infected mud and water on machinery and people. A
Tasmanian Chytrid Management Plan has been developed, which seeks
to monitor frog populations and prevent the spread of the disease into
the TWWHA. Recent research has shown that the endemic Tasmanian
tree Frog is highly susceptible to the disease.
Commercial apiary sites
The TWWHA is an important source of nectar for Tasmania’s unique
leatherwood honey industry. Less than 10 per cent of the leatherwood
resource in the TWWHA is available to the industry owing to a
lack of road access to the majority of the area. In response to calls
from industry to increase access, a three-year research program was
undertaken into the impact of commercial hives on leatherwood forests
and their fauna. The study found that commercial hives increased
the number of honeybees using leatherwood (feral honeybees are
widespread in the TWWHA). Hive bees depressed the amount of
nectar sugar and pollen available in leatherwood flowers. Overall, hive
honeybees did not impact on the abundance of native insects or the
rate at which native insects visited leatherwood flowers. However, at
some sites where native insects were abundant and levels of nectar
sugar were low, hive bees might have reduced native insect numbers
visiting leatherwood flowers. Fruit set in leatherwood tended to be
higher near apiaries. Given that only limited impacts on leatherwood
forests were detected and that only a small percentage of the resource
was used by commercial apiarists, the industry was considered to have
an acceptable level of use of the TWWHA reserve system.
Photograph: Iain Stych
9
Photograph: Michael Driessen
Left: Gordon River.
Monitoring climate change impact on marsupial lawn, New Harbour.
Installing a weather station on Mt Sprent.
Eastern pygmy possum.
Photograph: Michael Comfort
Gordon River and vessel wake
Almost 30 years ago thousand year old Huon pines lining the banks
of the lower Gordon River began falling into the river at an alarming
rate. Vessel wake was identified as the cause, and speed and access
restrictions were imposed on vessels. Since then RMC has had
an extensive erosion monitoring program in place, has refined
geomorphological models of natural processes, and conducted a
comprehensive series of experiments to determine the geomorphic
effects of boat wave wake. This work has demonstrated that if licence
conditions imposed upon commercial vessels relating to wake wave
heights and periods are exceeded then erosion of the river banks
results. A request for access to reaches currently off limits to most
commercial activity prompted the PWS to sponsor a further series of
geomorphological experiments. RMC again undertook this research
work, which involved significant innovation in developing the scientific
methodology to test the response of sandy landforms to wave wake.
Conifers and climate change
Photograph: Tim Rudman
Photograph: Nick Fitzgerald
Many of the plants that contribute to the values of the TWWHA
are endemic to Tasmania and have evolved during cooler and wetter
periods. Monitoring the impacts of climate change on iconic endemic
conifers allows an insight into how these primitive communities are
coping as conditions change. The health of King Billy pine (Athrotaxis
selaginoides) and pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides) are scored and
documented. The health of two additional endemic shrubby conifers
– drooping pine (Pherosphaera hookeriana) and dwarf pine (Diselma
archeri) – are also being monitored. All these conifer species have
been showing symptoms of dieback, possibly associated with drought
stress. These plant species are monitored through the use of photopoints, aerial photography and permanent monitoring plots. Historic
photographs and data are also being used to provide an indication of
changes in the extent and condition of these conifers since the early
1900s. A partnership with ClimateWatch enables the public to provide
information on the health of king billy pines, pencil pines and fagus
(Nothofagus gunnii).
Photograph: Michael Driessen
Buttongrass illustration: Richard Hale
Cave bettle illustration: Karen Richards
Research and
Monitoring in the
Tasmanian Wilderness
World Heritage Area
A selection of recent TWWHA related scientific papers and
publications, representing a range of projects undertaken by RMC.
Balmer, J., Whinam, J., Kelman, J., Kirkpatrick, J.B. and Lazarus, E. (2004).
A review of the floristic values of the Tasmanian Wilderness World
Heritage Area. Department of Primary Industries Water and
Environment, Tasmania, Australia. Nature Conservation Report Series
2004/3.
Balmer, J. (ed) (2010), Proceedings of the 2007 buttongrass moorland
management workshop. Department of Primary Industries, Parks,
Water and Environment, Hobart, Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report
Series 2010/4.
Bradbury, J. (2005). Managing Lower Gordon River erosion –
geoconservation of landforms affected by tourism. Snapshot 14.3
in Worboys, G., Lockwood, M. and De Lacy, T. (eds.) Protected Area
Management: principles and practice, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press.
Mallick, S.A. and Driessen, M.M. (2005). An inventory of the
invertebrates of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Pacific
Conservation Biology 11(3): 198-211.
Mallick, S.A. and Driessen, M.M. (2009) Impacts of hive honeybees on
Tasmanian leatherwood Eucryphia lucida Labill. (Eucryphiaceae). Austral
Ecology 34: 185-195.
Mallick, S. A. and Driessen, M. M. (2009). Review, Risk Assessment and
Management of Introduced Animals in the Tasmanian Wilderness
World Heritage Area. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water
and Environment, Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report Series 10/01.
Pauza, M., Driessen, M.M. and Skerratt, L. (2010). Distribution and
risk factors for spread of amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area,
Australia. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 92: 193-199
Bradbury, J. (2005). Lower Gordon River turbidity monitoring, April 2003
– December 2004. Department of Primary Industries and Water, Hobart.
Philips, A. and Driessen, M. (2008) Strategy for managing wildlife
disease in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Department
of Primary Industries and Water.
Bradbury, J. (2011). Eroding landforms within the Port Davey ria
estuary complex: wave wake or sea level rise? Monitoring report for
the decade 2000 – 2010. Department of Primary Industries, Parks,
Water and Environment, Hobart.
Rudman, T. Balmer, J. and Storey, D (2005). The impact of Phytophthora
cinnamomi on plant species frequency in buttongrass moorland in
southwest Tasmania. Baseline establishment report. Nature Conservation
Report Series 05/2.
Bridle, K., Cullen, P. and Russell (2003). Peatland hydrology, fire
management and Holocene fire regimes in southwest Tasmanian
blanket bogs. Nature Conservation Report Series 03/7.
Rudman, T., Horton, B. M. and Balmer, J. (2008). Monitoring Dry Coastal
Vegetation in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Part 1:
Monitoring Priorities. Nature Conservation Report Series 08/1.
Driessen, M.M. and Mallick, S.A. (2003). The vertebrate fauna of the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Pacific Conservation Biology
9(3): 187-206.
Sharples, C. (2003). A review of the Geoconservation values of the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Nature Conservation
Report Series, 03/6.
Driessen, M. M. (2009). Baseline monitoring of the Tasmanian Glowworm and other cave fauna: Exit Cave and Mystery Creek Cave
– Tasmania. Department of Primary Industries and Water, Tasmania.
Nature Conservation Report Series 09/02.
Sharples, C. (2011). Potential climate change impacts on geodiversity
in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: A management
response position paper. Department of Primary Industries Parks
Water and Environment, Hobart, Nature Conservation Report Series
11/04.
Edgar, G.J., Last, P.R., Barrett, N.S., Gowlett-Holmes, K., Driessen, M.
and Mooney, P. (2009). Conservation of natural wilderness values in
the Port Davey marine and estuarine protected area, south-western
Tasmania. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20:
297–311.
Storey, K. and Betts, E. (2011). Fluvial Geomorphology and Hydrology
of Small Buttongrass Moorland Streams: the Gelignite Creek case
study. Department of Primary Industries Parks Water and Environment,
Hobart, Nature Conservation Report Series 11/05.
Fitzgerald, N. (2011). Establishment Report for Tasmanian Wilderness
World Heritage Area Climate Change Monitoring Program: Montane
Conifers. Department of Primary Industries Parks Water and
Environment, Hobart, Nature Conservation Report Series 11/06.
Storey, K. and Comfort, M. (2007). A progress report on the
development of rehabilitation priorities for broad scale erosion within
the World Heritage Area on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, 2005-06.
Nature Conservation Report Series 07/1.
Horton, B. M., Rudman, T., Balmer, J. and Houshold, I. (2008). Monitoring
Dry Coastal Vegetation in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage
Area Part 2: Appraisal of Method. Nature Conservation Report Series 08/4.
Styger, J. and Balmer, J. (2009). Alpine treeline ecotone monitoring
program within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment,
Hobart. Nature Conservation Report Series 09/4.
Jerie, K. (2005). Fluvial geomorphology of buttongrass moorland
landscapes of western Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report Series 05/6.
Locke, S. (2007). The Distribution and Abundance of Fallow Deer in the
Central Plateau Conservation Area and Adjacent Areas in Tasmania: A
Baseline Monitoring Program. Nature Conservation Report Series 07/02.
Styger, J., Brown, M.J. and Whinam, J. (2010). Monitoring for the effects
of climate change on the flora values of the Tasmanian Wilderness
World Heritage Area. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of
Tasmania. 144:21-25.
Links to these and additional TWWHA related publications can be
found at: www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/TWWHA_Research
Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
11
Photograph: Michael Comfort