The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve: Final

1.3 STUDY AREA
1.3.1 Location of the reserve
JKCR is located approximately 15 kilometres
south east of Oberon, within the Oberon Local
Government Area. It is 3093 hectares in area
and is bounded to the north by Jenolan State
Forest (SF), to the south by Kanangra-Boyd
NP, to the east by Kanangra-Boyd NP and
private property, and to the west by private
pine forest plantations and private agricultural
land (Map 1). The reserve lies at the western
edge of the Greater Blue Mountains World
Heritage Area (GBMWHA), the southern twothirds
of the park being within the GBMWHA
and the northern third (a more recent addition)
outside it. The reserve is contiguous with a
vast largely-wild landscape along its eastern
and southern boundary.
The reserve comprises the upper headwaters
of the Jenolan River and its tributaries. It
incorporates an extensive limestone karst
system, areas of contiguous native vegetation,
small cleared areas and development and
infrastructure related to tourism and cave
management.
1.3.2 Bioregional and regional setting
Karst at Jenolan Caves. Photo © N. Williams
JKCR falls within the South Eastern Highlands
Bioregion (Thackway and Cresswell 1995),
which extends across the highlands of Victoria to the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. This is
useful in understanding broad patterns in biota within the state and national context. In a more local
context, the majority of the reserve falls within the Greater Southern Sydney Region where a
comprehensive review of the conservation status of terrestrial fauna and their habitats has been
completed (DECC 2007). The Greater Southern Sydney Region extends east from Jenolan across the
southern Blue Mountains to the coast between Bundeena and Lake Illawarra (Map 2). Unless
otherwise stated, the term ‘the region’ in this report refers to the Greater Southern Sydney Region.
1.3.3 Geomorphology, hydrology, soils and elevation
Geology
The geology of Jenolan Caves is of particular scientific interest and a detailed account can be found in
DEC (2006a). The reserve lies in the eastern section of the Lachlan Fold Belt. The geology consists of
a series of conformable Upper Silurian andestic to rhyolitic pyroclastics, cherts, shales and limestone
units. Selective dissolution of limestone by water has lead to the formation of an extensive karst
system. The karst continues to act as a conduit for water and the Jenolan River flows underground
through much of the limestone. The limestone is oriented north-south and is approximately 300 x 7000
metres in extent. The extent of cave development within such a narrow band of limestone is
remarkable and the estimated passage length is over 40 kilometres. Over 320 cave entrances have
been identified, and the majority of these are interconnected (DEC 2006a).
Soil
The soils of JKCR are predominantly shallow lithosols and yellow-brown earth, depending on the
parent geology (DEC 2006a). Typically these soils are highly erosive, leading to the accumulation of
soils in gullies and the formation of alluvial flats (DEC 2006a). The adjacent hill slopes are typically
steep sided and the erosion potential is high.
2
The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve