BioTools

BioTools: Biodiversity management and condition assessment: a toolkit for Queensland’s tropical rangelands

This project is hosted by the Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM in cross-regional collaboration with the Northern Gulf RMG, Southern Gulf Catchments, Far North Queensland and Desert Channels NRM boards, to meet universal regional targets for NRM plans concerning the assessment and improvement of biodiversity condition.

Maintaining and improving biodiversity condition, and developing techniques to assess biodiversity condition, are key priorities in all the NRM plans and investment strategies in each of the collaborating NRM board regions. This project will develop a consistent approach to biodiversity managing and monitoring for the NRM boards in Queensland’s tropical savannas

Specifically, the project aims to:

1. Review existing biodiversity management and condition assessment methods (e.g. Habitat Hectares), and complement a developing Habitat Condition toolkit being developed for south-eastern Queensland by the EPA.

2. Undertake a series of integrated biodiversity condition case studies in northern Queensland’s tropical savanna rangelands. Activities will concentrate on dominant regional ecosystems in the extensive rangelands of the Einasleigh Uplands, Desert Uplands, Northern Brigalow Belt and North-west Highland and Gulf Plains bioregions in Queensland. The first three bioregions have recently been identified as “biodiversity hotspots” due to their significant environmental values and the threats posed to these values. Integration of pure biodiversity management case studies will ensure more accurate assessment of the triple bottom line outcomes.

3. Develop and test a biodiversity management and condition assessment toolkit that can be utilised alone or as part of other natural resource management training and extension (e.g. Grazing Land Management) in collaborating NRM regions. A fundamental aim of this project is the integration with existing land management assessment projects that consider some elements of land condition (ground cover, hydrological pattern, grazing strategies, fire regime, woody vegetation), as a surrogate for biodiversity condition, but do not explicitly examine the relationship between these factors and biodiversity condition.

4. Develop customised training modules on biodiversity management, monitoring and condition assessment in north Queensland’s tropical savanna rangelands. Present biodiversity toolkit training and information packages to NRM boards and pastoral (traditional owners, graziers), indigenous and other community natural resource managers, and conduct training workshops and seminars so that stakeholders will understand how to manage land for biodiversity and become self-sufficient in assessing biodiversity condition.

5. Disseminate knowledge on biodiversity management, monitoring and condition assessment through web-based and hard copy media, through the central hub of the NRM boards and participating service delivery agents (CSIRO, Tropical Savannas CRC). Existing and developing websites will be utilised (Tropical Savanna CRC “Bioshop”, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, NRM boards, catchment and landcare groups).

Project update:

Existing biodiversity management, monitoring condition assessment methods have been reviewed.

Case studies to intensively sample field sites and the biodiversity condition protocols completed to date:

• Brooklyn Station (Northern Gulf).
• Glen Innes and Lampton Meadows (Desert Channels, Burdekin Dry Tropics).
• Stirling Downs (Desert Channels).
• Woura Park/Timaru/Kalleroo/Penrice (Desert Channels).
• Huonfels Station (Northern Gulf).
• Monkira Station (Desert Channels).

Technical Advisory Panel convened

Developed case study protocols (testimonial and management orientated) and methods for testing condition (hierarchy of rapid metrics, benchmark sites, detailed floristic assessments, and reviewed case studies

Workshops

BarBurrum Cross Cultural workshop (Healing the Land) coordinated by the Mitchell Rivers Catchments Group (11th-12th April, 2006, Petford Outstation). CSIRO participated and presented a seminar on Biodiversity Monitoring, and set up four monitoring demonstration sites, which was reported in the local press.

Mitchell River Catchment Group/Australian Wildlife Conservancy field-day, examining the management and monitoring of biodiversity (e.g. fire plans, wildlife survey, erosion and weed control and monitoring, vegetation mapping, threatened species monitoring) at Brooklyn Station (20th November 2006). CSIRO presented a seminar on Biodiversity Monitoring and participated in the entire field day to answer questions.

Biodiversity seminars delivered

CSIRO co-presented a seminar at the November 2005 Ecological Society of Australia conference that introduced the NHT2 Biotools project. Teresa Eyre, Alex Kutt, Annie Kelly, Melanie Venz, Daniel Ferguson (2005) Evaluation of BioCondition, a Vegetation Assessment Tool for Biodiversity – Does a Simple Metric Reflect Species Diversity?. Ecological Society of Australia.

During the CSIRO/AWC Earthwatch Expedition to Brooklyn (case study survey listed above) 4 seminars were presented on:

· biodiversity management and monitoring wildlife survey in general,

· fire monitoring,

· Northern Bettong,

· AWC finch program

Key References

BioCondition: a terrestrial vegetation condition assessment tool for biodiversity in Queensland: field assessment manual: Version 1.5 (1,864 KB)

Biodiversity assessment and mapping methodology (535 KB)

Methodology for the establishment and survey of reference sites for BioCondition: version 1.4 (781 KB)

Biodiversity Condition Bibliography

The June 2006 special issue of Ecological Management and Restoration

David Parkes, , Graeme Newell and and David Cheal. Assessing the quality of native vegetation: The 'habitat hectares' approach Ecological Management & Restoration, Volume 4, Issue s1

Fisher A & Kutt A (2006). Biodiversity and land condition in tropical savanna rangelands: summary research report (pdf - 602KB) . Tropical Savannas CRC, Darwin. This summary report is accompanied by a more detailed technical report:

Fisher A & Kutt A (2007). Biodiversity and land condition in tropical savanna rangelands: technical report (pdf - 4827KB) . Tropical Savannas CRC, Darwin.

Ward, D. P. and Kutt, A. S. (in prep). Exploratory analysis of relationships between fauna and flora richness and abundance, climate and remotely sensed ground cover time series: two case studies for rangelands in north-central Queensland.