Montane mire vegetation of the New England Tablelands Bioregion of Eastern Australia

Hunter, John T.; Hunter, Vanessa

doi:10.3897/vcs/2020/48765

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Initial inspection of NVIS Major Vegetation Groups and Subgroups as reported by Keith and Pellow (2015) suggests that there are corollaries with the mid-levels of the IVC, and it is possible that finer-scale mapping efforts at a regional level may crosswalk to alliances and possibly associations (e.g. Hunter and Lechner 2018;Addicott et al 2018a;Hunter 2020;Hunter and Hunter 2020). Accordingly, further quantitative data analysis is warranted to link the NVIS and other mapping units with IVC hierarchy to serve mapping purposes across jurisdictions, while helping to inform the IVC classification as a whole.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Australian vegetation classification and the International Vegetation Classification framework: an overview with case studies

et al. 2021

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Recent advances in conceptual frameworks in vegetation classifications, such as the EcoVeg approach that underpins the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) developed by NatureServe staff and colleagues, offer opportunities to enhance national classification initiatives. National level initiatives provide an important stepping-stone between international units and subnational units. Australia has a long history of developing various vegetation typologies at local to regional scales, but ecologists recognise the need for an Australia-wide, plot-based vegetation classification system that incorporates the principles of the EcoVeg approach, and thereby helps build an international classification system. Using two case studies, we provide a comparison of various structures and criteria for relevant Australian classifications in the context of the IVC, and exemplify how Australian classifications of forest, shrublands, grasslands, and deserts could potentially link into the IVC hierarchy to illustrate the capacity of the IVC to summarise the full range of Australian vegetation at a broad formation (biome) scale. We then discuss how the IVC might inform future work towards an Australian vegetation classification system and, vice versa, the implications of an Australian vegetation classification for IVC development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Now, in Australia, there is a developing interest among ecologists and practitioners in exploring the IVC as a framework for building a national classification that can meet a broad suite of management and research needs (e.g. Gellie et al 2018;Hunter and Lechner 2018;Hunter and Hunter 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian vegetation classification and the International Vegetation Classification framework: an overview with case studies

et al. 2021

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“…They receive water from relatively small catchments by a combination of hydrological processes: some mainly stream-fed, some spring-fed and some only by overland flow. The nomenclature used to describe these systems is diverse, but they are best described as semipermanent or ephemeral marshes (Bell et al 2008;Hunter and Hunter 2020; T. J. Hunter, unpubl.…”

Section: Case Study: Upland Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Without human modification, upland wetlands follow a natural cycle of drying and wetting phases (Fig. 2), each of which supports different plant community alliances (Hunter and Hunter 2020). Human modification (i.e.…”

Section: Case Study: Upland Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Saunders

Bower

Mika

et al. 2021

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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Environmental degradation is threatening biodiversity and ecosystem function globally. Mandating ecosystem-level protection in policy and legislative frameworks is essential to prevent biodiversity loss. Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the key legislative mechanism for supporting biodiversity at the national level, but has so far been ineffective at protecting habitat and ecological communities. Here we identify a major flaw in the current approach to listing threatened ecological communities (TECs): restrictive condition thresholds that threaten ecosystem function in dynamic ecosystems. Using two wetland TECs as a case study (Upland Wetlands and Coolibah-Black Box Woodlands), we argue that Australia’s environmental legislation should adopt a landscape-scale approach to TEC protection that acknowledges ecosystem function, accounts for different states in temporally dynamic systems, and sustains landscape connectivity of TEC distribution. We present a state-and-transition model for each TEC to show how human activities affect the reference-state continuum of wet and dry phases. We also show that the current listed condition thresholds do not acknowledge alternative ecosystem states and exclude areas that may be important for restoration and conservation of the TEC at the landscape-scale. Description of alternative and transitional states for dynamic systems, including how, when and why ecological communities shift between different states, should be formally integrated into the TEC listing process to protect Australia’s vulnerable ecosystems from further degradation and loss.

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Vegetation change in semi-permanent or ephemeral montane marshes (lagoons) of the New England Tablelands Bioregion

Hunter¹

2021

Aust. J. Bot.

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The vegetation communities within semi-permanent or ephemeral montane marshes colloquially known as lagoons are an under investigated wetland type of the New England Tablelands Bioregion (NETB) yet they are listed (Upland Wetlands) on both state and federal acts as endangered. Lack of survey and analysis of plot data has meant that the variation in vegetation due to zonation, seasonality and unpredictable wetting and drying cycles are poorly understood. Here, 317 full floristic 2 × 2-m plots were placed across 13 lagoons. The plot data were classified to allow description of native and novel vegetation types using the hierarchical EcoVeg schema. The updated classification includes one Division and Macrogroup with 15 Alliances and 47 Associations. Permanent 50-m transects with a 1 × 1-m plot at every 5m (10 per transect) were placed within lagoons. Five lagoons were resurveyed annually for 3years. Within transects, each plot was assigned an Association after each survey period. Approximately one third of transect plots changed in vegetation type each year, often at the Alliance level. Over the 3-year period the number of Associations reduced by ~30% across transects associated with increasing drought and drying out of the wetlands. Transitional environments with the greatest level of hydrological periodicity had the greatest variety of Associations recorded. Highly dynamic systems with increased temporal turnover are likely to require increased sampling effort both spatially and temporally than more stable vegetated systems. The constant changing nature of these communities poses significant issues for management and conservation planning, including benchmarking and offsetting, which may require novel solutions.

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Montane mire vegetation of the New England Tablelands Bioregion of Eastern Australia

Cited by 10 publications

References 21 publications

Australian vegetation classification and the International Vegetation Classification framework: an overview with case studies

Australian vegetation classification and the International Vegetation Classification framework: an overview with case studies

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

Vegetation change in semi-permanent or ephemeral montane marshes (lagoons) of the New England Tablelands Bioregion

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