MT01 Protect Native Vegetation
Guidelines for Ecologically Sustainable Fire Management
The project aimed to develop a broad and comprehensive set of guidelines to support ecologically sustainable fire management. These predictive guidelines identify an appropriate range of fire intervals compatible with the conservation of vascular plants and threatened fauna within broad vegetation types found in NSW. The guidelines are presented in a form that is readily applied to landscape level fire management planning.
The Vegetation of Jerrys Plains Cemetery: A Survey for Weed Management Purposes
Jerrys Plains Cemetery was identified by Peak (2006), in a report on the natural vegetation of the region, as having high conservation significance die to the presence of threatened and significant plant species and vegetation communities, as well as a land use history that was unintentionally sympathetic towards the conservation of the site.
The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Auhtority funded this survey and the first stage of weed control on this site, in consultation with Singleton Council and the Jerrys Plains Cemetery Trust. Weed invasion and establishment has been indentified as a significant threat to the viability of native vegetation in the cemetery (Peake, 2006; Umwelt, 2006), hence this study was commissioned to precede and weed management actions to ensure that significant areas, plant species and plant populations within the cemetery are identified prior to weed management to minimise potential impacts.
Status of the Endangered Ecological Community, Hunter Valley Weeping Myall Woodland
Hunter Valley Weeping Myall Woodland (Weeping Myall Woodland) is an Endangered Ecological Community (EEC) listed on Schedule 1 of the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). The NSW Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) commissioned Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited (Umwelt) in March 2006 to collect information on the status of the community for use by the Hunter Valley Threatened Flora Team in the development of a recovery plan for the EEC.
The collation and audit of available information on Hunter Valley Weeping Myall Woodland and Weeping Myall population in the Hutner catchment was carried out through a desk-top review and targeted field survey.
The conservation value of paddock trees for birds in a variegated landscape in southern New South Wales. 1. Species composition
Abstract. The use of paddock trees by birds was assessed in a grazing landscape in southern New South
Wales, Australia. Seventy paddock tree sites were surveyed for 20 min each in the morning, and 36 sites
were surveyed again at midday in March 2000. During this time, the presence and abundance of birds was
recorded. Several site and landscape variables were measured at each site. These included tree species, a
tree size index, a measure of the crown cover density around the site, and proximity to the nearest
woodland patch. During formal surveys, 31 bird species, including several woodland species, were
observed using paddock trees. Data from bird surveys in woodland patches that were obtained in a
separate study in November 1999 were used to compare whether there was a relationship between the
abundance of a given bird species in woodland patches and paddock trees. Many birds commonly
detected in woodland patches were also common in paddock trees. However, some birds with special
habitat requirements were absent from paddock trees although they were common in woodland patches.
Site occupancy patterns were modelled for several guilds of birds using logistic regression. Foliageforaging
birds were more likely to occupy clumps of trees and sites with a high tree size index.
Nectarivores appeared to be more likely to be detected at sites more than 200 m from woodland, although
this result was marginally non-significant (P 5 0.08). The probability of detecting granivores was higher
at sites with a low tree size index. Open country species were most likely to occupy large trees and sites
that were located more than 200 m from the nearest woodland patch. The value of paddock trees may
have been underestimated in the past because a wide variety of bird species use paddock trees on a
regular basis. Ensuring the continued survival of paddock trees should be an important aspect of future
conservation and revegetation efforts.