Conservation Management Zones of Australia
Brigalow Woodlands
Prepared by the Department of the Environment
Acknowledgements
This project and associated products are the result of a collaboration between the Biodiversity Conservation Division and the Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN). Invaluable input, advice and support were provided by staff and leading researchers from across the Department of the Environment (DotE), Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and the academic community. We would particularly like to thank staff within the Wildlife, Heritage and Marine Division, Parks Australia and the Environment Assessment and Compliance Division of DotE, Nyree Stenekes andRobert Kancans (ABARES), Sue McIntyre (CSIRO), Richard Hobbs (University of Western Australia), Michael Hutchinson (ANU); David Lindenmayer and Emma Burns (ANU); and Gilly Llewellyn, Martin Taylor andotherstaff from the World Wildlife Fund for their generosity and advice.
Special thanks to CSIRO staff Kristen Williams and Simon Ferrier whose modelling of biodiversity patterns enabled identification of the Conservation Management Zones of Australia.
© Commonwealth of Australia, 2015.
The Conservation Management Zones of Australia profile is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons By Attribution 3.0 Australia licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by thirdparties, and any images depicting people.
For licence conditions see here.
Contents
Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners and Country 4
Introduction 4
Zone at a glance 5
Population characteristics 10
Employment, volunteering and incomes 15
Agriculture, Natural Resource Management practices and sources of NRM advice 18
Land tenure, land use, Native Title and Local Government Areas 21
Zone vegetation characteristics 24
Nationally Important Wetlands 25
World and National Heritage 26
Major National Reserve System properties 26
EPBC Act (1999) threatenedecologicalcommunities 27
EPBC Act (1999) threatened species 28
EPBC Act (1999) migratory species 32
Threatened endemic species 33
Invasive species 35
Vegetation profiles and management recommendations 38
Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners and Country
The Australian Government acknowledges Australia’s Traditional Owners and pays respect to Elders past and present of our nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We honour the deep spiritual, cultural and customary connections of Traditional Owners to the Australian landscape, including Australia’s waterways, land and sea country.
Introduction
The 23 Conservation Management Zones of Australia are geographic areas, classified according to their ecological and threat characteristics. The zones are also aligned with the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia.
The Conservation Management Zones provide a way of understanding Australia’s natural environment that will assist in long-term conservation planning and help the Australian Government to better design, deliver and report on Natural Resource Management (NRM) investments, including ensuring alignment of national NRM priorities with local action.
The Conservation Management Zones also provide a filter through which to make national environmental and socio-economic data more accessible and comprehensible, and a framework for gathering on-ground knowledge and expertise about the environment. This will improve information flow to the Australian Government about regional NRM requirements, best practice management, emerging NRM issues and knowledge gaps.
The Conservation Management Zones do not represent any change to existing administrative boundaries or governance structures, but aim to support the NRM and wider community to cooperatively manage environmental assets across boundaries, where they share common threats, ecological characteristics and stakeholders.
Each Conservation Management Zone profile contains a standard suite of nationally available ecological and socio-economicinformation. We hope that this information will enable Australians of all ages and backgrounds to engage with, understand and appreciate Australian landscapes, and support all Australians to manage our natural resources more effectively.
The profile information provides an indicative, high-level stock-take of the environmental and socio-economic landscape and it is not intended to be comprehensive. It should also be noted that, at present, the profiles contain only limited information on aquatic ecosystems, coastal assets and Indigenous land management practices. In future, consultation and comprehensive literature reviews will enable us to provide more complete information.
Zone at a glance
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Major cities and towns / Population /Dalby / 10,861
Dubbo / 32,335
Emerald / 12,896
Tamworth / 36,160
Toowoomba / 96,221
Warwick / 13,371
Rural centres / Population /
Biloela / 5,809
Blackwater / 4,846
Calliope / 3,058
Chinchilla / 4,774
Coonabarabran / 2,566
Dysart / 3,010
Gracemere / 7,576
Gunnedah / 7,901
Highfields / 7,947
Moranbah / 8,624
Moree / 7,722
Mount Morgan / 2,557
Narrabri / 4,040
Oakey / 4,299
Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions /
Hunter Local Land Services / NSW
Central Tablelands Local Land Services / NSW
Central West Local Land Services / NSW
North West Local Land Services / NSW
Northern Tablelands Local Land Services / NSW
Queensland Murray Darling Basin Committee Inc / QLD
Burnett Mary Regional Group for NRM / QLD
Condamine Alliance / QLD
Fitzroy Basin Association Inc / QLD
NQ Dry Tropics Group Inc / QLD
Top five agricultural commodities / Value per annum /
Beef / $1,344m
Cereals for grain / $881m
Other broadacre crops / $623m
Poultry / $207m
Vegetables for consumption / $204m
Total value of agricultural commodities / $4,254m
Climate characteristics* /
Mean annual temperature / 19.6 Celsius
Mean Maximum of the Hottest Month / 32.7 Celsius
Mean Minimum of the Coldest Month / 4.6 Celsius
Mean Annual Rainfall / 634.9mm
Dominant rainfall season / Summer
* The figures are interpolated 75-year means (1921 to 1995) representingthe period prior to the onset of rapid climatic warming. Cited in: Williams KJ, Belbin L, Austin MP, Stein J, Ferrier S (2012) Whichenvironmental variables should I usein mybiodiversity model? International Journal of GeographicInformation Sciences 26(11), 2009–2047. (DataderivedfromAustralian Climate surfaces version 2.1 fortheANUCLIM-BIOCLIM package).
For future climate projections please refer to: http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/
Source: Based on data from the National Native Title Register; Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database (CAPAD); National Vegetation Information System (NVIS); Species’ Profile and Threats Database (SPRAT).
Population characteristics
Population
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Languages spoken at home /English / 91.43%
Other languages / 3.01%
Not stated / 5.47%
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Education
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Employment, volunteering and incomes
Employment
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Volunteering
Income
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Agriculture, Natural Resource Management practices and sources of NRM advice
Australian farmers manage over 60% of the Australian continent and shoulder much of the burden of responsibility for maintaining and protecting Australia’s natural resource wealth. The information contained in this profile aims to assist the wider community, non-governmental organisations and government agencies to support Australia’s key environmental custodians.
Agricultural commodity values
Source: Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Natural resource management practices and sources of NRM advice
* Data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2012 Land Management Practices Survey (LaMPS) 2012. LaMPS collected land practices informationfrom approximately 50,000 farm businesses across Australia. The data has been aligned to Conservation Management Zones from ABS Statistical Area 2 units and Australian Agricultural Environment units. The % figures presented here are indicative only. For more information on LaMPS please refer to: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4630.0
** The sample for the Drivers of Practice Change 2012 survey consisted of a random subsample of 1228 broadacre farm managers from the Australian Agricultural and Grazing Industries Survey (AAGIS) frame. The data has been aligned to Conservation Management Zones from ABS Statistical Area 2 units. Forthis reason, the figures presented here are indicative only.
^ This chart indicates the sources of advice utilised for native vegetation management from respondents who identified they sought advice.
For more information please refer to http://www.daff.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/forestry/domestic-forestry/prep-for-future/drivers-
Land tenure, land use, Native Title and Local Government Areas
Source: Land tenure data based on Environmental Resources Information Network (ERIN) categorisation of Public Sector Mapping Authority (PSMA) State Tenure 2012; Land use mapping based on Australian Collaborative Land Use and Management Program (ACLUMP) 2012. For more information on Australian land use and management information and classification please refer to: http://www.daff.gov.au/ABARES/aclump/
Traditional Owners / Registered Native Title Body Corporate / Hectares / % of zone /The Jangga People / Bulganunna Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC / 1,104,080 / 3.2
Local Government Areas /
Coonamble Shire Council / NSW
Dubbo City Council / NSW
Gilgandra Shire Council / NSW
Gunnedah Shire Council / NSW
Gwydir Shire Council / NSW
Inverell Shire Council / NSW
Liverpool Plains Shire Council / NSW
Mid-Western Regional Council / NSW
Moree Plains Shire Council / NSW
Muswellbrook Shire Council / NSW
Narrabri Shire Council / NSW
Narromine Shire Council / NSW
Singleton Shire Council / NSW
Tamworth Regional Council / NSW
Tenterfield Shire Council / NSW
Upper Hunter Shire Council / NSW
Walcha Council / NSW
Walgett Shire Council / NSW
Warrumbungle Shire Council / NSW
Wellington Council / NSW
Balonne Shire / QLD
Banana Shire / QLD
Barcaldine Regional / QLD
Blackall Tambo Regional / QLD
Central Highlands Regional / QLD
Charters Towers Regional / QLD
Gladstone Regional / QLD
Goondiwindi Regional / QLD
Isaac Regional / QLD
Livingstone Shire / QLD
Lockyer Valley Regional / QLD
Mackay Regional / QLD
Maranoa Regional / QLD
Murweh Shire / QLD
North Burnett Regional / QLD
Rockhampton Regional / QLD
South Burnett Regional / QLD
Southern Downs Regional / QLD
Toowoomba Regional / QLD
Western Downs Regional / QLD
Whitsunday Regional / QLD
Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire / QLD
Zone vegetation characteristics
Source: The National Vegetation Information System (NVIS). See overleaf for more information on this dataset.
The National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) framework is a nationally consistent vegetation classification system based on vegetation data collected by states and territories. It provides information on the extent and distribution of vegetation types across the Australian landscape.
Two products are used to provide the Zone Vegetation Characteristics graph. A modelled pre-European vegetation distribution (pre-1750), and extant (current extent) vegetation, which is based on contemporary vegetation mapping. The information presented here relates to Major Vegetation Subgroups (MVSs). There are 85 MVS types across Australia, describing the structure and floristic composition of dominant and secondary vegetation stratums (e.g.canopy and mid-storey species). Major Vegetation Subgroups only reflect the dominant vegetation type occurringin an area from a mix of vegetation types. Less-dominant vegetation groups which may also be present aretherefore not represented.
It is important to note that the vegetation information is indicative only, as state and territory mapping in Australia is of variable resolution and scale. However, this data is the best available nationally consistent information on vegetation, and the dataset continues to evolve and increase in accuracy.
Analysing this information at Conservation Management Zone, rather than national level provides greater discrimination for decision makers, as clearance levels of vegetation types are not uniform across Australia. Forexample, eucalypt woodlands with a tussock grass understory is a vegetation type found across Australia. IntheBrigalow Woodlands Conservation Management Zone, eucalypt open woodlands with a tussock grass understory originally covered approximately 36% of the zone, but today it only covers only 14.5 % of the zone (58.7%of this vegetation community has been cleared in the Brigalow). In the Northern Australia Tropical Savannah zone, thisvegetation type originally occupied 19.6% of the zone. Today, it occupies approximately 19.4% of the zone (only2.3% of this vegetation type has been cleared). It should be noted that this data only provides an indication ofchange in extent, and not vegetation condition.
For more information on the National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) please refer to: http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/science-and-research/databases-and-maps/national-vegetation-information-system
Nationally Important Wetlands
Nationally Important Wetlands / Jurisdiction / Hectares / Criteria /Bingeringo Aggregation / QLD / 2,336 / 1, 2, 3
Boggomoss Springs / QLD / 399 / 1, 3
Bowen River: Birralee – Pelican Creek / QLD / 156 / 1, 2, 3, 5
Broad Sound / QLD / 364 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Dalrymple and Blackfellow Creeks / QLD / 5 / 1, 3, 5
Fairbairn Dam / QLD / 15,406 / 1, 3
Fitzroy River Floodplain / QLD / 1 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Lake Broadwater / QLD / 215 / 1, 2, 3, 5
Lake Dalrymple / QLD / 27,341 / 1, 2, 3
Lake Elphinstone / QLD / 300 / 1, 2, 3
Lake Goran / NSW / 6,788 / 1, 3, 4
Lake Nuga Nuga / QLD / 2,070 / 1, 3
Palm Tree and Robinson Creeks / QLD / 50,223 / 1, 5
Rollston River and Molly Darling Creek Aggregation / QLD / 2,801 / 1, 2, 3, 5
Scartwater Aggregation / QLD / 332 / 1, 2, 3
The Gums Lagoon / QLD / 343 / 1, 3
Turkey Mound Spring
and Iron Pot Spring Aggregation / QLD / 20 / 1, 3
Why Not Aggregation / QLD / 3 / 1, 2
Nationally important wetlands are defined according to the following criteria:
1. It is a good example of a wetland type occurring within a biogeographic region in Australia.
2. It is a wetland which plays an important ecological or hydrological role in the natural functioning of amajor wetland system/complex.
3. It is a wetland which is important as the habitat for animal taxa at a vulnerable stage in their life cycles, or provides a refuge when adverse conditions such as drought prevail.
4. The wetland supports 1% or more of the national populations of any native plant or animal taxa.
5. The wetland supports native plant or animal taxa or communities which are considered endangered orvulnerable at the national level.
6. The wetland is of outstanding historical or cultural significance.
Please note, the above are a subset of all the Nationally Important Wetlands found within the Zone.
For more information on Nationally Important Wetlands please see:
http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/directory-important-wetlands-australia-third-edition
World and National Heritage
Heritage values / World or National Heritage / Heritage type / Jurisdiction / Hectares / % of zone /The Greater Blue Mountains Area / World and National Heritage / Natural / NSW / 113268.66 / 0.33
Gondwana Rainforests of Australia / World and National Heritage / Natural / NSW / 109.54 / 0.00
Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site / National Heritage / Indigenous / NSW / 23.17 / 0.07
Moree Baths and Swimming Pool / National Heritage / Indigenous / NSW / 1.01 / 0.00
Warrumbungle
National Park / National Heritage / Natural / NSW / 23611.98 / 0.33
Please refer to the Australian Heritage Database for detailed information on listing criteria for these heritage values:
http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/heritage/publications-and-resources/australian-heritage-database