Cultural Landscape Management - Australian Alps National Parks

• Investigate the relationship between indigenous vegetation and cultural landscape features, as a guide to managing vegetationimpact on particular components. For instance, what features are most important in shaping or defining the character of thelandscape? In pastoral landscapes, open fields may be important. Is natural regeneration occurring in these areas? Willthese features be degraded as a result of revegetation? This should be included in the section on 'Condition assessment' ofthe landscape and its components, in the conservation plan.• Management of indigenous vegetation must be consistent with the management objectives for the landscape, developed aspart of the conservation management plan (see section 5.1 on conservation policy and strategy).Assess condition of vegetation, in regard to health, vigour, ecological behaviour, etc. This includes an assessment of therate of recolonisation of cultural landscapes and landscape features eg open fields. This can be done through monitoringplant recruitment, for instance by undertaking seedling counts and mapping, monitoring the landscape over time usingfixed photopoints, or interpretation of aerial photographs.• Natural revegetation of cleared areas in cultural landscapes provides an important opportunity for interpretation,demonstrating the dynamic quality of landscape evolution.• Where culturally significant areas of open space are being actively recolonised by indigenous vegetation, significant orrepresentative areas may be selected for active management, leaving the balance to revegetate naturally. In this situation,the process should be interpreted.• Ongoing control of natural regeneration will require planning and budgeting for an annual vegetation managementprogramme.• Only locally indigenous species grown from local plant materials should be used in revegetation of cultural landscapes inAlps National Parks (except where exotic plant materials are required for maintaining cultural landscape values).6.2.5 Guidelines for the management of desirable indigenous vegetation• Natural revegetation processes should be allowed to proceed undisturbed, unless there are strong cultural landscapeconservation reasons for its control.• Provide interpretation of natural regeneration processes occurring in cultural landscapes.• Where desirable vegetation threatens significant features, it should be treated eg by pruning to minimise the risk of damage.• Normal vegetation management principles apply eg application of appropriate burning regimes, weed control, etc.55