Australian Vegetation 3

Front 1

Factors and processes that affect plant biodiversity

Back 1

Destruction of habitat
Fire
Weeds
Drought
Invasive species
Grazing
-Cattle
-Rabbits
Over harvesting
Fragmentation of land
-Pollination cannot occur because of distance

Front 2

Key Threatening Process

Back 2

a (native) species or ecological community to become eligible for inclusion in a threatened list (other than the conservation dependent category); or
•cause an already listed threatened species or threatened ecological community to become more endangered; or
•adversely affect two or more listed threatened species or threatened ecological communities

Front 3

What are key threatening processes on land and where can you find a listing of these?

Back 3

-Reduction of climatic habitat
-Certain specific pest species
-Competition and land degradation by rabbits
-Predation by exotic rats on offshore islands of less than 1000 km2 (100,000)
-Predation by feral cats
-Competition and land degradation by unmanaged goats
-Weed Species=Gamba Grass
-Humans houses on fertile lands

Front 4

Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)

Back 4

= Australian Government's principal environment legislation.

Front 5

What does the EPBC do?

Back 5

-protects Australia's native species & ecological communities by providing for:
•identificantion& listing of species & ecological communities as threatened
•development of conservation advice & recovery plans for listed species & ecological communities
•development of a register of critical habitat
•recognition of key threatening processes
•where appropriate, reducing the impacts of these processes through threat abatement plans

http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/

Front 6

How do we determine if a species is threatened?

Back 6

-Monitoring
-How common it is
-How its frequency is changing- population dynamics
-What is causing its change in numbers- potential threat
-Know its geographical range
-Ecological specialisation

Front 7

Rarity

Back 7

–significant in conservation biology;
•emotive;
•connotations provide focus for resources & setting priorities for funding.

Front 8

For some species, rarity is normal, so, what is the role and meaning of ‘rare’ in conservation biology?

Back 8

Rarity is a reflection of three spatial characteristics (or categories):
alpha rarity –abundance of a species within a community
beta rarity –a species distribution along a gradient of habitats or a species ecological specialisation
gamma rarity –a species geographic range

Front 9

So, how do we determine rarity?

Back 9

= 7 forms of rarity and 1 universally common category

There is a table to go by.

Front 10

Not all rare species are biologically equivalent.
So,Conservation assessment needs to determine what type of rarity a particular species exhibits.

Back 10

Considering distribution –5 patterns or states:
Aggregated:areas of localised high density, with the species absent over much of the greater range;
disjunct:either absent from parts of a wider range, or aggregated populations connected by areas of low population density;
Patchy: discrete occurrences of high density, for example in localised colonies;
Fragmented:species does not occur in places where it might be expected to live;
Dispersed:low density, but widespread.

Front 11

Consideration of numbers

Back 11

Incorporating consideration of numbers:
•Locally abundant, perhaps in isolated habitat patches or colonies over a wide range with intervening areas of low density or places from which it is absent;
•Low numbers but widespread over a large area;
•Patchy distribution with high numbers;
•Patchy distribution with low numbers;
•A single population with high numbers;
•A single population with low numbers.

Front 12

But rarity does not necessarily mean a species is threatened.

Back 12

3 groups of rare plants based on how they are threatened:
1.Species with several large populations but not at risk of extinction b/c they are not further threatened; such species may have undergone substantial habitat loss in the past. However, enough plants survive to allow natural population dynamics to persist as long as further habitat loss does not occur.
2.Narrow range endemics with small populations, which are prone to stochastic effects and extirpations.
3.Rare plants under direct or indirect threat from activities that affect their survival.

Front 13

A measure of the likelihood of extinction (vulnerability) is needed to better decide on which species to focus resources.

Back 13

IUCN conservation status categories
1.Extinct (EX)
2.Extinct in the wild (EW)
3.Critically endangered (CR)
4.Endangered (EN)threatened species
5.Vulnerable (VU)
6.Near Threatened (NT)
7.Least Concern (LC)
8.Data Deficient (DD)
9.Not Evaluated (NE)

Front 14

To evaluate threats for species:

Back 14

There is a table produced to evaluate by the IUCN

Front 15

Why list?

Back 15

-Increased legislative protection
-If it's listed, people will know about it...Awareness
-Prioritise
-Creation of management plans

Front 16

Why list? part 2

Back 16

-Provides summary of information to help publicise plight of endangered species
-provides a system facilitating comparison across taxa
-improves objectivity by providing clear guidance on evaluation of actors affecting the risk of extinction
-allows determination of need for new information of 'central use'

Front 17

Problems of listing?

Back 17

-Red tape= Such a long process, very time consuming.
-Dichotomy in conservation practice- those not listed receive less/no attention - run out of money
-Species with restricted distribution often 'favoured' without assessing completely.
-Listing makes the species rarity more obvious to collectors and scientists.

Front 18

Neglected groups of threatened plants:

Back 18

•Widely distributed species that are declining due to human activities and can be effectively managed through land use practices;
•declining species that are poorly reserved, even if widespread at present, and which may be at far greater risk than rarer species with securely reserved populations;
•Sparse species that may be more difficult to conserve, as they need reservation and/or management of large areas.

Front 19

Many Victorian native plants are under stress;

Back 19

1545 plant species = rare or threatened;
•The number of threatened species is increasing;• Climate change will increase this numberb/c warming will be faster than a species capacity for adaptation;• little information about many species & survey effort is declining;• legislation protecting native species is under resourced& needs updating to account for climate change.

Front 20

Victoria has at least:

Back 20

-3,140 native species of vascular plants
-49 extinct
-745 vulnerable or endangered
-804 rare
-228 poorly known,lichen and fungi
-33 groups are threatened
-77 are poorly known
-34 are rare.
-At least two are extinct
In one study found 37 spp new to Victoria!

Front 21

In studies in Victoria:

Back 21

sample of 200 threatened species & communities listed under the FFG Act 1988
•70–90 species affected.
•Climate change not formally listed but identified as threat for several especially vulnerable species & likely is for more species but needs to be better understood.

Front 22

FFG Act aims to protect species so that they can:

Back 22

-Survive
-Flourish
-Persist withouth management
-Retain potential for evolutionary development in the wild

Front 23

FFG aims to:

Back 23

-To conserve native flora and fauna in the wild
-To manage threatening processes
-To ensure that the use of flora and fauna by humans is sustainable
-To ensure the genetic diversity of Victoria's flora and fauna is maintained
-To encourage the conservation of flora and fauna through co-operative community programs.

Front 24

But...

Back 24

-number of threatened species is increasing and
-populations of some have continued to decline,
So objective is not being achieved.

Front 25

Legislation being reviewed.

Back 25

useful role for legislation:
-Help understand natural ecosystems &
-their vulnerabilities to climate change, &
-to maximise the adaptive capacity of speciese.g. by building vegetation and landscape connectivity.
-might be more beneficial than attempting to guarantee survival of all species.

Front 26

To protect species:

Back 26

To do this, Biological surveys are crucial but unfortunately we are conducting fewer surveys, not more.

Front 27

Battle of the bryophytes

Back 27

Recognition of existence
Understanding of importance
Survival

Front 28

What is a bryophyte?

Back 28

Mosses, liverworts, hornworts
A plant
Non vascular
No roots-Have rhyzoids

Front 29

Take in nutrients

Back 29

Dissolved in water can diffuse directly into their body, can take up moisture from the atmosphere.

Front 30

Why are they important?
Ecosystem services:

Back 30

-Good bio indicators
-Stabilise soil
-Release minerals from rocks
-Post fire colonizing
-Can absorb water from atmosphere, and when they get enough water, they can release it, so can help trees that they provide with water.

Front 31

Services:

Back 31

-Mitigation of temperature extremes
-Decomposition
-Role in hydrology
-Carbon sink
-Spiritual/aesthetics

Front 32

Bryophytes:

Back 32

Help to hold the soil together, when they're not there, the soil blows away, and desertification occurs.

Front 33

Bryophytes after fire:

Back 33

-Protect the soil after a fire
-Houses invertebrates for birds to come back to
-Releases nutrients back into the soil

Front 34

Maintenance of invertebrate diversity:

Back 34

-Habitat
-Food
-Housing
-eg Microcaddisfly - Scelotrichia willcairnsi
and Platyhypnidium muelleri

Front 35

Maintenance of invertebrate & bird diversity:

Back 35

Bryophyte diversity/biomass positively correlates
with invertebrate diversity
 Invasion of Campylopus introflexus
Decline in arthropods
 decline in Tawny Pipit (Anthus campestris)

Front 36

Sierra de las Minas, Guatemala - Upper montane cloud forest

Back 36

Cloud interception is important year round
 Especially in dry season
 Varies with elevation
More water was dropped by the bryophytes than was brought by rain

Front 37

Sphagnum

Back 37

Can take up to 25% of it's body weight in water, and then release it all at once.

Front 38

Remnant vegetation:

Back 38

Does not mean that it's in good health or good nick. Could have the understorey cleared out or grazed.

Front 39

Some management implications:

Back 39

Protection of older forests important to bryodiversity
Revegetation improves bryodiversity of highly disturbed habitats
Urban parks have more colonists
Large urban parks have bryophytes more characteristic of natural woodlands

Front 40

Some management implications:

Back 40

Streetscapes provide habitat for bryophytes but species are cosmopolitan
Reduction in pollution levels and more natural streetscapes should improve bryodiversity
Improved bryodiversity of urban areas may improve invertebrate and bird diversity