Threatened Species Day is held in Australia today, September 7, every year. It commemorates the death of the last Tasmanian tiger at Hobart Zoo in 1936. Pressure from habitat degradation and destruction, invasive species, pollution and disease has caused extinction of over 100 species in Australia over the last 200 years. Today, more than 850 plants and animals in New South Wales are threatened with extinction.
Threatened species are protected by State and Commonwealth laws. Here in the New England we have unique ecological communities which support threatened species. It’s important that we appreciate these communities and learn more about them so that we can manage them to conserve their values.
An ecological community is a group of species that occur together in a particular area. Many ecological communities in the New England are endangered, including New England Pepper-mint grassy woodlands, Ribbon Gum grassy woodlands, and Box-Gum Woodlands. Small remnants of these woodlands can be found on roadsides, in travelling stock routes or reserves.
Healthy woodlands provide habitat for many common and threatened animals. Hollows in mature trees are essential for nesting of native birds, like the brown treecreeper, and small mammals such as squirrel gliders. The endangered bush stone curlew needs lots of fallen timber on the ground and leaf litter. A high canopy and grassy understorey offer cover for foraging animals. If you’re lucky you might spot the endangered regent honeyeater searching for nectar. To preserve this biodiversity, these communities need to be protected from threatening processes.
Most threats to woodlands are from human activity – clearing and degradation for development. Native plants can be damaged from grazing and trampling by domestic and feral animals. Weeds, too much or too little fire, feral animals, soil disturbance and nutrient enrichment through application of fertilisers are major threats to grassy woodlands. Woodlands are also prone to dieback, a stress-related death of trees. Hotter and drier climatic conditions as a result of global warming are likely to directly affect the flora and fauna of box gum grassy woodlands by altering fire regimes and changing distribution of weeds and pests. These threats cause the decline of diversity of native species, creating opportunity for exotic weeds and pest animals to outcompete native flora and fauna.
It’s not all doom and gloom though – threatened woodlands can recover. Woodland sites need to be protected from future clearing and disturbance by fencing, and managing stock to reduce grazing pressure. Revegetation and natural regeneration can increase their size. Weed and pest control reduces competition and predation of native species. Managing fire maintains diverse native ground cover. Connection between woodland remnants is also important, and maintaining wildlife corridors will provide important stepping stones for plant-to-plant pollen transfer and seed dispersal by animals.
You can help protect these valuable communities by getting active in your local community. Over the next six months there are regular bush regeneration days and community plantings scheduled. HiCUB and the Armidale Tree Group will be celebrating our woodlands from Saturday, September 24 to Sunday, October 2, during “Woodlands Week”. The week is full of opportunities to get out and enjoy the woodlands from Guyra to Walcha. Join in on wildflower walks, spotlighting, bush regeneration, nest box construction and much more.
Go to the website, www.hicub.org.au or call Southern New England Landcare on 6772 9123 for more information on how you can be involved in protecting our threatened ecological communities. Find out more about Threatened Species Day at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspecies.
Story: Ellen Nyberg
