Condition thresholds in Australia’s threatened ecological community listings hinder conservation of dynamic ecosystems

Saunders, Manu E.; Bower, Deborah S.; Mika, Sarah; Hunter, John T.

doi:10.1071/pc20040

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…1, 6; Table 1). To prevent further biodiversity loss, we require knowledge of how, when and why these shifts occur within this ecological community (Saunders et al 2020). Therefore, strengthening the current and future reserve systems to protect the full complement of BWs biodiversity and their key sustaining processes is critical.…”

Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These threats, and the persistent risks described in the listing advice make this a critical time to evaluate our understanding of the structure, composition and functioning of the BWs ecological community. Ecological communities comprise multiple ecological processes and species interactions; however, mechanisms of ecological functioning are rarely reported in detail within TEC listings (Saunders et al 2020). Lack of information on ecological processes and species interactions can prevent effective conservation and recovery efforts for TECs (Saunders et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecological communities comprise multiple ecological processes and species interactions; however, mechanisms of ecological functioning are rarely reported in detail within TEC listings (Saunders et al 2020). Lack of information on ecological processes and species interactions can prevent effective conservation and recovery efforts for TECs (Saunders et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Corrigendum to: A threatened ecological community: research advances and priorities for Banksia woodlands

Ritchie¹,

Svejcar²,

Ayre³

et al. 2021

Aust. J. Bot.

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The rapid expansion of urban areas worldwide is leading to native habitat loss and ecosystem fragmentation and degradation. Although the study of urbanisation's impact on biodiversity is gaining increasing interest globally, there is still a disconnect between research recommendations and urbanisation strategies. Expansion of the Perth metropolitan area on the Swan Coastal Plain in south-western Australia, one of the world's thirty-six biodiversity hotspots, continues to affect the Banksia Woodlands (BWs) ecosystem, a federally listed Threatened Ecological Community (TEC). Here, we utilise the framework of a 1989 review of the state of knowledge of BWs ecology and conservation to examine scientific advances made in understanding the composition, processes and functions of BWs and BWs' species over the last 30 years. We highlight key advances in our understanding of the ecological function and role of mechanisms in BWs that are critical to the management of this ecosystem. The most encouraging change since 1989 is the integration of research between historically disparate ecological disciplines. We outline remaining ecological knowledge gaps and identify key research priorities to improve conservation efforts for this TEC. We promote a holistic consideration of BWs with our review providing a comprehensive document that researchers, planners and managers may reference. To effectively conserve ecosystems threatened by urban expansion, a range of stakeholders must be involved in the development and implementation of best practices to conserve and maintain both biodiversity and human wellbeing.

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Section: Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Corrigendum to: A threatened ecological community: research advances and priorities for Banksia woodlands

Ritchie¹,

Svejcar²,

Ayre³

et al. 2021

Aust. J. Bot.

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“…Spatial variation arises because species are distributed individualistically along environmental gradients (Austin, 1985) and their occurrence and abundance is further influenced by stochastic events (Levin, 1976), past biogeographic processes (Cracraft, 1994), human land use (Allan et al, 2015) and invasion by exotic plant and animal species (Vilà et al, 2011). Furthermore, although the restoration of disturbed and invaded habitats can contribute to the conservation of ecological communities (Clewell & Aronson, 2006;Etter, Andrade, Nelson, Cortés, & Saavedra, 2020;Saunders, Bower, Mika, & Hunter, 2021), opinions may differ about when a collapse threshold has been crossed beyond which recovery is no longer feasible (Suding & Hobbs, 2009). In the absence of criteria to BOX 1 Threatened Ecological Communities in NSW, Australia Ecological communities can be listed under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (the Act) and are described in a Final Determination that is prepared by a statutory Threatened Species Scientific Committee.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying uncertainty in the identification of endangered ecological communities

Dorrough

Tozer

Armstrong³

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Ecological community and ecosystem "red lists" have been developed in several jurisdictions to improve ecosystem-level biodiversity protection. However, a challenge for the conservation and management of listed ecosystems is consistent identification in the field or from plot records. Ecosystem descriptions must have enough detail for positive identification but be broad enough that most instances are included. In many jurisdictions, descriptions are not supported by dichotomous keys or thresholds of ecosystem collapse and identification relies on the interpretation of trained individuals, with potential for opposing opinions. Using a structured process, we assessed the ability of experts to identify a critically endangered ecological community from vegetation plot samples. We compared the allocations made by experts with a numeric classification that underpinned the legal definition of the community. Overall, experts correctly identified the presence or absence of the community in 81% of samples although individual classification rates ranged from 63% to 94%. False positive rates varied among experts (7-50%) and experienced botanists did not necessarily perform better. Disturbance increased uncertainty and experts differed in their opinion about when the community had collapsed and was no longer recoverable. Inconsistent interpretation, in the absence of diagnostic keys and consensus models of collapse, will have implications for recovery and conservation of listed communities and ecosystems, and could impact the effectiveness of laws and policies designed to protect them.

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“…However, this necessarily requires that such communities are defined and are identifiable. Without clear definitions of inclusion or exclusion we risk conservation priorities being misdirected (Hunter 2021a;Saunders et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poplar box woodlands of Eastern Australia: an assessment of a threatened ecological community within the IVC framework

Hunter¹,

Addicott²

2021

VCS

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Aims: Ecosystems nationally at risk in Australia are listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act (EPBC Act), and many cross State jurisdictional boundaries. The determination of these ecosystems across the State boundaries are based on expert knowledge. The International Vegetation Classification has the potential to be useful as a cross-jurisdictional hierarchy which also gives global perspective to ecosystems. Study Area: All bioregions that include Eucalyptus populnea as a dominant or major component of woodlands across the species known distribution. Methods: We use plot-based data (455 plots) from two states (Queensland and New South Wales) in eastern Australia and quantitative classification methods to assess the definition and description for the Poplar Box Woodland ecosystem type (hereafter “ecological community” or “community”) that is listed as endangered under the EPBC Act. Analyses were conducted using kR-CLUSTER methods to generate alliances. Within these alliances, analyses were undertaken to define associations using agglomerative hierarchical clustering and similarity profile testing (SIMPROF). We then explore how assigning this community into the IVC hierarchy may provide a mechanism for linking Australian communities, defined at the association and alliance levels, to international communities at risk. Results: We define three alliances and 23 associations based on the results of floristic analysis. Using the standard rule-set of the IVC system, we found that the IVC hierarchy was a useful instrument in correlating ecological communities across jurisdictional boundaries where different classification systems are used. It is potentially important in giving a broader understanding of communities that may be at risk continentally and globally. Conclusions: We conclude that the IVC hierarchy can incorporate Australian communities at the association level into useful units at higher levels, and provides a useful classification tool for Australian ecosystems. Taxonomic reference: PlantNET (http://plantnet/10rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/) [accessed June 2019]. Abbreviations: EPBC Act = Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act; IVC = International Vegetation Classification; NMDS = non-metric multidimensional scaling; NSW = New South Wales; PCT = Plant Community Type; QLD = Queensland; RE = Regional Vegetation Community; SIMPER = similarity percentage analysis; SIMPROF = Similarity profile analysis.

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Condition thresholds in Australia’s threatened ecological community listings hinder conservation of dynamic ecosystems

Cited by 10 publications

References 74 publications

Corrigendum to: A threatened ecological community: research advances and priorities for Banksia woodlands

Corrigendum to: A threatened ecological community: research advances and priorities for Banksia woodlands

Quantifying uncertainty in the identification of endangered ecological communities

Poplar box woodlands of Eastern Australia: an assessment of a threatened ecological community within the IVC framework

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