ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY Vol. 2 - Wollongong City ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

IntroductionofalienspeciesDiseasesAlterationto thenaturalflow regimesof riversand *streams and their floodplains and wetlands.Bushrock removal. *Dumpinggardenrefuse,andrubbish.Ecologicalconsequencesofhighfrequency fires. *Human-caused climate change. * * *Instreamstructures andother mechanisms thatalter*naturalflow.Removalof deadwood anddeadtrees. *The removaloflarge woody debris from NSW rivers and *streams.Useof insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers.Waterquality degradationarisingfrom increasedurbanization.Competitionfrom feralhoneybees. *Impactsassociated withferal animals: rabbit, bees,deer,pigs, goats, exoticfish, cat, redfox, andplagueminnow*(Listed separatelyasKTPs).Introductionofnon-indigenous fishandmarinevegetationto thecoastal watersof NSW.Invasionofexotic gardenplants, exotic grasses,vine andscramblers; invasionof Lantana, andBitouBush.( Listed separatelyas KTPs)Disease/ soilpathogens Eg. Phytopthora spp.Infectionof frogs by amphibianchytridcausing thedisease chytridiomycosis.InfectionbyPsittacine circoviral(beakandfeather)disease affectingendangeredPsittacine species andpopulations.* *** ** **DECC(2007a:Appendix A)providesfurther guidanceon whichthreatenedfaunain the GreaterSouthern Sydney Regionare at risk from these threats.5.2 THREAT ABATEMENT PLANSThreat abatement plansare preparedunder the TSC Act and EPBC Actto researchandproposemanagementactions to addressKTPs.Many of therecommendedactionsare not sitespecific; howeversome plans list prioritysites, suchas forBitouBush control. Threat abatement plansrelevant to theIllawarraarelistedin Table 9.Table 9: Threatabatementplans prepared under the TSC Act and the EPBC ActThreatAbatementPlan TSC Act EPBCAct#ofsitespecificactionslisted for theIllawarraCompetitionand land degradationby rabbits. * NilPredationby the Europeanredfox. * * 1prioritysitetargetingLong-nosedPotaroo atBarrenGrounds NatureInfectionof amphibians withchytrid fungus* Nilresulting inchytridiomycosis.Competition and land degradation by unmanaged * NilILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITYSTRATEGYVol.2Background document 17
goats.Predationby feralcats. * NilBitou bush andboneseed. * 3prioritysites: Bass Point,Killaleaand SevenMileBeachPredationby the plagueminnow (Gambusia * Nilholbrookii).Planto protect environmental assetsfrom Lantana(Draft).* No specific sitesidentified.Anumberof actionsapplygenerally.Giventhe lack of spatialinformationavailable on the locationof specific threats,aspatialanalysisofthreatswas not undertaken.It is for this reasonavalues basedapproachhasbeen takenfor prioritisingworksandpriority actionsin the strategy. That is, works to reduce theimpactofthreatsshouldbeundertakenin areasof highest known biodiversity value.5.3 CLIMATE CHANGEClimate change is themostpervasive,least understoodandleast predictableof all the threateningprocesses (AuldandKeith2009). Evidencesuggests changes in the Earth’s physical environmentconsistentwithglobal warming arealready occurring. It isvery likely(>90% certain) that greenhousegas increases causedmostof the warmingalready seenin themid twentiethcentury (DECC2007b).Increases ingreenhouse gases areprimarily due tofossilfuelcombustion,agriculture andlandusechange (DECC 2007b).Onaper capitabasis, Australiansare responsibleforreleasinggreatervolumesofgreenhouse gases thananyothercountry(DECC2007b).There stillremainsome unknownsoverthetiming and extentof projectedchangesinclimate thiscentury due to uncertainties aboutthe amountof greenhouse gases that willbe released intotheatmospherelater this century, compoundedby uncertainties aboutthe climate system itself (DEFRA2007).For biodiversity, there is expectedto be arange ofdirect and indirect impactsofachanging climate.DECC(2008a) havesummarisedpredictedclimaticchangesby 2050 for the Illawarra to be:• Hotter daysoverallseasons(1.5-3°C increase).• Substantial increases in summer rainfallandaslight tomoderate increase inspring/autumnrain.• Increasedevaporation leading to slightly drierconditions in winterand spring.• Increasedsealevelrise -upfrom 1990 levels by 40cm by2050, and90cm by 2100.• Increasedstorminess,intensity andfrequency ofstorms.For biodiversity, the mainthreat fromclimatechange is whether species andcommunities canadapt tosurvive themagnitudeandrateof change.Individual species havetwo possible survivalmechanisms –adaptationor migration (DECC 2007b).Adaptive evolutionis considered unlikely due to thepredictedrapidrateof change whichis 10-60 timesfaster thanhas occurredin the past(DECC 2007b), thereforemigrationandbehaviouralchange ismore likely to bethemajorsurvivalmechanism.Generalexpectedchangesto biodiversity include (DECC 2007b):• Speciesrangeshiftsto cooler latitudes (south)or higher elevations;• Changes toflowering andfruiting times;• Vegetation thickeningin eucalyptwoodlands from carbon dioxide enrichment;ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITYSTRATEGYVol.2Background document 18
Page 2: IllawarraBiodiversityStrategy2011Aj
Page 7 and 8: 3.2 FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND POLICYA
Page 10 and 11: developerseekingapproval toclearveg
Page 12 and 13: 3.3.11 NSW WetlandsManagement Polic
Page 14 and 15: 3.4.4 IllawarraNRMPlan2010The Illaw
Page 16 and 17: 4.2 DATA GAPSThe dataaudithighlight
Page 20 and 21: • Behavioural changesinfauna popu
Page 22 and 23: There are anumberofother pestanimal
Page 24 and 25: 6.3 THREATENED SPECIESThreatenedspe
Page 26 and 27: Extantvegetationfiguresin Table15 a
Page 28 and 29: • To minimise the impactofdevelop
Page 30 and 31: The CrookedRiverand Seven Mile Beac
Page 32 and 33: Estuaries inthe Illawarra are manag
Page 34 and 35: 8 GUIDING PRINCIPLESFORTHE MANAGEME
Page 36 and 37: 9.3 INDUSTRYAND INVESTMENT NSW-FISH
Page 38 and 39: DECC(2008b) Threatenedspecies prior
Page 40: NSW ScientificCommittee (2005) Fina

ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY Vol. 2 - Wollongong City ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?