Assessing risks to ecosystems within biodiversity hotspots: A case study from southwestern Australia

Austral Ecology

Volumn 40, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 411-422

  English, Valerie ^a   Keith, David A ^b,c,d  

^a Crop Variety Testing Group   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES   (Australia)

^c OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE   (Australia)

^d AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Ecological scale; Ironstone shrublands; IUCN Red List of Ecosystems; Risk assessment; Swan Coastal Plain; Thematic scale

Indexed keywords

BIODIVERSITY; ENDEMISM; LOCAL PLANNING; PERSISTENCE; RED LIST; REGIONAL PLANNING; RISK ASSESSMENT; SCALE EFFECT; SHRUBLAND; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION;

AUSTRALIA; SWAN COASTAL PLAIN; WESTERN AUSTRALIA;

EID: 84929943824     PISSN: 14429985     EISSN: 14429993     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/aec.12177     Document Type: Article

References (59)

1. Abbott I. & Burrows N., eds (2003) Fire in Ecosystems of South-west Western Australia: Impacts and Management. Bachhuys Publishers, Leiden.
2. BOM (2014a) Climate statistics for Australian locations. Australian Government, Canberra. [Cited 23 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/
3. BOM (2014b) Climate change data. Bureau http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_033295.shtml of Meteorology, Canberra. [Cited 20 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/
4. Brown K. & Brooks K. (2002) Bushland Weeds. A practical guide to their management. With case studies from the Swan Coastal Plain and beyond. Environmental Weeds Action Network (Inc.). Perth, Western Australia.
5. Byrne M. (2007) Phylogeography provides an evolutionary context for the conservation of a diverse and ancient flora. Aust. J. Bot. 55, 316-325.
6. CALM (1990) Data on the Conservation of Vegetation Associations on the Swan Coastal Plain. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.
7. CALM (2005) Southern Swan Coastal Plain Ironstone (Busselton Area) (Busselton or Southern Ironstone Association). Interim recovery plan no 215: 2005-2010. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, Western Australia.
8. Cañadas E. M., Fenua G., Peñas J., Lorite J., Mattana E. & Bacchetta G. (2014) Hotspots within hotspots: Endemic plant richness, environmental drivers, and implications for conservation. Biol. Conserv. 170, 282-291.
9. DEC (2009) Phytophthora Disease Interpretation Report Busselton Ironstone TECs 2009. Forest Management Branch, Department of Environment and Conservation, Bunbury, Western Australia.
10. Department of the Environment (2014a) Australia's 15 National Biodiversity Hotspots. Australian Government, Canberra. [Cited 27 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/biodiversity/biodiversity-conservation/biodiversity-hotspots/national-biodiversity-hotspots
11. Department of the Environment (2014b) EPBC Act List of Threatened Ecological Communities. Australian Government, Canberra. [Cited 28 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publiclookupcommunities.pl
12. Department of the Environment (2014c) EPBC Act List of Threatened Flora. Australian Government, Canberra. [Cited 28 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl?wanted=flora
13. Department of the Environment (2014d) Shrublands on southern Swan Coastal Plain ironstones. Advice to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage from the Endangered Species Scientific Subcommittee (ESSS) on a proposal to add an ecological community to Schedule 2 of the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (ESP Act). Australian Government, Canberra. [Cited 27 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.environment.gov.au/node/14557
14. DoW (2008) Management triggers and responses for groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the South West groundwater areas. Department of Water Report no. 31 December 2008. Perth, Western Australia.
15. DoW (2010) Predicting the future demand for water resources in Western Australia. Department of Water, Perth, Western Australia. [Cited 20 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.water.wa.gov.au/PublicationStore/first/90953.pdf
16. DoW (2014) Water INformation (WIN) database - discrete sample data. [Cited 4 February 2014.] Available from URL: http://wir.water.wa.gov.au/SitePages/SiteExplorer.aspx
17. DPaW (2013a) List of threatened ecological communities in Western Australia endorsed by the Minister for the Environment. Department of Parks and Wildlife, Kensington, Western Australia. [Cited 27 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/tecs/Threatened_ecological_communities_endorsed_by_the_Minister_for_Environment_May2014.pdf
18. DPaW (2013b) Wildlife Conservation (Rare Flora) Notice 2013. Government Gazette 17 September 2013. Government of Western Australia. [Cited 27 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Sept_2013_Flora_Notice.pdf
19. DPaW (2014a) Threatened Ecological Community Geographic Information System Database. Department of Parks and Wildlife, Kensington, Western Australia.
20. DPaW (2014b). Florabase. Swan Weeds. Information on the Swan Region's major environmental weeds. The Swan Weeds Database. [Cited 2 June 2014.] Available from URL: http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/weeds/swanweeds/
21. English P., Lewis S., Bell J. etal. (2012) Waterlines. Water for Australia's arid zone - identifying and assessing palaeovalley groundwater resources: summary report. Waterlines Series No. 86. National Water Commission, Canberra.
22. Enright N., Keith D. A., Clarke M. & Miller B. P. (2012) Fire regimes in Australian sclerophyllous shrubby ecosystems: heathlands, heathy woodlands and mallee woodlands. In: Flammable Australia. Fire Regimes, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing World (eds R. A. Bradstock, A. M. Gill & R. J. Williams ) pp. 215-234. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
23. Environment Australia (2001) Threat Abatement Plan for Dieback Caused by the Root-rot Fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi. Commonwealth Government of Australia, Canberra. [Cited 20 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/phytophthora/
24. EPA (2006) EPA Bulletin 1245. Report and Recommendations of the EPA. South West Yarragadee Water Supply Development. Environmental Protection Authority, Perth, Western Australia.
25. Froend R. & Loomes R. (2006). Determination of Ecological Water Requirements for wetland and terrestrial vegetation - Southern Blackwood and eastern Scott Coastal Plain. Report to the Department of Water. CEM report no. 2005-07. Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia.
26. Froend R., Loomes R., Horwitz P., Bertuch M., Storey A. & Bamford M. (2004) Study of Ecological Water Requirements on the Gnangara and Jandakot Mounds under Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act. Task 2: Determination of Ecological Water Requirements. Prepared for: The Water and Rivers Commission. Centre for Ecosystem Management, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia.
27. Gibson N., Keighery B., Keighery G., Burbidge A. & Lyons M. (1994) A floristic survey of the Southern Swan Coastal Plain. Unpublished report for the Australian Heritage Commission prepared by the Department of Conservation and Land Management and the Conservation Council of Western Australia (Inc.). Perth, Western Australia.
28. Gibson N., Keighery G. & Keighery B. (2000) Threatened plant communities of Western Australia 1. The ironstone communities of the Swan and Scott Coastal Plains. J. R. Soc. WA 83, 1-11.
29. Government of Western Australia (2013) 2013 Statewide Vegetation Statistics incorporating the CAR Reserve Analysis (Full Report). Current as of June 2013. WA Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth. [Cited 20 January 2014.] Available from URL: https://www2.landgate.wa.gov.au/web/guest/downloader
30. Groom P. K., Froend R. H. & Mattiske E. M. (2008) Impact of groundwater abstraction on a Banksia woodland, Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia. Ecol. Manage. Restor. 1, 117-124.
31. Hopper S. D. (1979) Biogeographical aspects of speciation in the southwest Australian flora. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 10, 399-422.
32. Hopper S. D. & Gioia P. (2004) The Southwest Australian Floristic Region: evolution and conservation of a global hot spot of biodiversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 35, 623-650.
33. Jonas Z., Rouget M., Reyers B. etal. (2006) Vulnerability assessment of vegetation types. In: The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (eds L. Mucina & M. C. Rutherford ) Strelitzia 19, pp. 739-747. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
34. Keighery B. & Trudgen M. (1992) Remnant Vegetation on the Alluvial Soils of the Eastern Side of the Swan Coastal Plain. Unpublished report for Department of Conservation and Land Management, Australian Heritage Commission and Heritage Council of WA. Perth, Western Australia.
35. Keith D. A., Lindenmayer D. B., Lowe A. etal. (2014) Heathlands. In: Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction (eds D. Lindenmayer, E. Burns, N. Thurgate & A. Lowe ) pp. 215-285. CSIRO, Melbourne.
36. Keith D. A., Rodríguez J. P., Rodríguez-Clark K. M. etal. (2013) Scientific foundations for an IUCN red list of ecosystems. PLoS ONE 8, e62111. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0062111
37. Kraft N. J. B., Baldwin B. G. & Ackerly D. D. (2010) Range size, taxon age and hotspots of neoendemism in the California flora. Divers. Distrib. 16, 403-413.
38. Loomes R., Wilson J. & Froend R. (2008) Vegetation Monitoring Swan Coastal Plain (Bunbury, Busselton-Capel Groundwater Areas). A Report to the Department of Water. Centre for Ecosystem Management. Edith Cowan University, Joondalup. CEM report no. 2007-15. Joondalup, Western Australia.
39. Milberg P. & Lamont B. B. (1995) Fire enhances weed invasion of roadside vegetation in southwestern Australia. Biol. Conserv. 73, 45-49.
40. Mittermeier R. A., Robles Gil P., Hoffman M. etal. (2004) Hotspots Revisited: Earth's Biologically Richest and Most Threatened Terrestrial Ecoregions. Cemex Books on Nature, Mexico City.
41. Moore N., Barrett S., Shearer B. & Hardy G. (2007). The role of fire on Phytophthora dieback caused by the root pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Stirling Range National Park, Western Australia. Proceedings of the MEDECOS XI Conference. Perth, Western Australia.
42. Myers N., Mittermeier R. A., Mittermeier C. G., da Fonesca G. A. B. & Kent J. (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403, 853-858.
43. Paczkowska G. & Chapman A. R. (2000). The western Australian flora: a descriptive catalogue. Wildflower Society of Western Australia, Western Australian Herbarium and Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Perth.
44. Pate J. S. & Beard J. S. (1984) Kwongan, plant life of the sandplain: biology of a south-west Australian shrubland ecosystem. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands.
45. Pook M. J., Risbey J. S. & McIntosh P. C. (2012) The synoptic climatology of cool-season rainfall in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia. Mon. Weather Rev. 140, 28-43.
46. Rebelo A. G., Boucher C., Helme N., Mucina L. & Rutherford M. (2006) Ecosystem status and protection levels of vegetation types. In: The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (eds L. Mucina & M. C. Rutherford ) Strelitzia 19, pp. 53-219. South Africa National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
47. Setterfield S. A., Rossiter-Rachor N. A., Douglas M. M. etal. (2013) Adding fuel to the fire: the impacts of non-native grass invasions on fire management at a regional scale. PLoS ONE 14, 8. [Cited 25 January 2014.] Available from URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3653883/
48. Shearer B. L. & Dillon M. (1996) Impact and disease centre characteristics of Phytophthora cinnamomi infestations of Banksia Woodlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia. Aust. J. Bot. 44, 79-90.
49. Shearer B. L. & Tippett J. T. (1989) Jarrah Dieback: the dynamics and management of Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) Forest of Western Australia. Research Bulletin No. 3. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Como, Western Australia.
50. Shepherd D. P., Beeston G. R. & Hopkins A. J. M. (2002). Native vegetation in Western Australia extent, type and status. Department of Agriculture Resource Management Technical Report 249, Perth, Western Australia.
51. Short R. & McConnell C. (2001) Extent and Impact of Dryland Salinity in Western Australia. Western Australian Department of Agriculture and National Land and Water Resources Audit. Department of Agriculture, Perth.
52. Sommer B. & Froend R. (2011) Resilience of phreatophytic vegetation to groundwater drawdown: is recovery possible under a drying climate? Ecohydrology 4, 67-82.
53. Sullivan A. L., McCaw W. L., Miguel G. C., Matthews S. & Ellis S. (2012) Fuel, fire weather and fire behaviour in Australian ecosystems. In: Flammable Australia. Fire Regimes, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing World (eds R. A. Bradstock, A. M. Gill & R. J. Williams ) pp. 51-77. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
54. Tille P. J. & Lantzke N. C. (1990) Busselton Margaret River Augusta land capability study. Land Resource Series No. 5. Technical Report 109. Western Australian Department of Agriculture. Perth.
55. URS Australia Pty Ltd (2003) Establishment of interim ecological water requirements for the Blackwood groundwater area, WA - Stage 1. Volume 1 of 2. Prepared for Department of Environmental Protection and Waters and Rivers Commission. Perth, Western Australia.
56. Webb A. (2013). Preliminary Review of the SWCC funded FCT10b sampling project. An unpublished report by Department of Environment and Conservation for the South West Catchments Council, Bunbury, Western Australia.
57. Wills R. T. & Keighery G. J. (1994) Ecological impact of plant disease on plant communities. J. R. Soc. WA 77, 127-131.
58. Wilson J. & Froend R. (2010) Vegetation Monitoring Swan Coastal Plain (Bunbury, Busselton-Capel Groundwater Areas). A Report to Water Smart Australia and the Department of Water. CEM report no. 2010-9. Centre for Ecosystem Management. Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia.
59. Wösten J. H. M., Pachepsky Y. A. & Rawls W. J. (2001) Pedostransfer functions: bridging the gap between available basic soil data and missing soil hydraulic characteristics. J. Hydrol. 251, 123-150.