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

8 GUIDING PRINCIPLESFORTHE MANAGEMENT OF NATURALAREASThemanagementof naturalareas shouldbe guided byaclearsetofmanagementprinciples. Theprimaryprinciple isthe biodiversity benefitsof protecting and enhancing existingremnant vegetationfar outweigh those of ‘compensatory’ plantinginclearedareas(AABR2005).It isimportant to bemindful thatclearingandplantingin existing naturalareas canirreversiblydamage the integrity ofnatural areasandundermine their naturalrecovery potential. Inan effort tominimise this threat, it isproposed the IllawarraCouncilsadoptthe ‘3RPrinciples’ as definedbyAABR (2005)in 23.Table 23: The 3RPrinciplesRetainfirst.Regenerate second.Replant last.Conserving existingnaturalareas is the first priority.Effortsshould bedirectedto protecting these areasfromthreatening processessuchasweeds,grazing, stormwater, mowingetc.Where bushlandis degraded by threats suchasweedinvasion,grazing, orother disturbances,regenerationis the primary goal.This involvesmitigatingthreatssuchasweedinvasion to encouragenaturalregeneration.Planting shouldonlybe considered after asite’snatural abilitytoregeneratehas beenassessedasverypoor.Acommonbarrier tothis approach is thetime constraints associatedwithgrant funding andbudgetcycles.Grant funding is oftenan annual program,where insufficient time is allowed to monitornatural recruitment. Where possible, longer contracts shouldbenegotiated sorecruitmentcanbemonitoredand aplantingscheduledevelopedaccordingly,if needed.Other guidingprinciples fornaturalareamanagementare:• Threatening processessuch as erosion,stormwater, and weedinvasion shouldbe controlledprior to revegetationworkwhere possible.• Plantings inor nearbushlandshould ensure that no plant pathogensor weedpropagules areintroducedviapottingmedia, on boots,gloves, tools,materials,equipment,vehicles etc.• Mulchshouldonlybe usedif it can beguaranteed weedfree.• Speciesselection shouldaim to replicatespeciesdiversity and structural complexityof priororiginal vegetationtype.Speciesselectionshouldaimto include species fromallstrataof thecommunity.• Plantings innatural areasshouldbe recorded, including amap, date, species planted, numberofplantsofeachspeciesplanted, provenanceof eachspecies,and source nursery.8.1 PROVENANCEProvenance is a termthatreferstothe location from where plantseedhas beencollected.Collectingfrom ‘local’ provenance hasbeen the dominantapproachinrecent yearsdueto the theory that localspeciesexhibit provenancevariation inmorphologicalandphysiological features,andare better able tocopewiththe localconditions. ‘Local’ hasoftenbeeninterpretedas from the target site,or as close aspossible.However, dueto the manyvariouspollination strategiesof different plant species, distance isthoughtto beapoor indicatorof adaptive variation(Florabank 17/8/09).Collectingfrom the closestpossible sitemay result in seed being collectedfrom small, inbredpopulationswhichmay have negativeconsequences for the receivingvegetation (Florabank17/8/09).ILLAWARRA BIODIVERSITYSTRATEGYVol.2Background document 33