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Biodiversity and landscape conservation of the Nicholas Range

Explore the rich ecology, geology, and unique flora of the Nicholas Range and Sisters area. Learn about the threats and opportunities for nature conservation in this diverse landscape. Discover the diverse vegetation, biogeography, fire ecology, and threatened flora and fauna of the region.

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Biodiversity and landscape conservation of the Nicholas Range

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  1. Biodiversity and landscape conservation of the Nicholas Range Nick Fitzgerald & Todd DudleyApril 2008

  2. Introduction • environment of the Nicholas Range and Sisters • ecology and biodiversity of the area • look at current nature conservation • consider future threats and opportunities

  3. Landscape • Mount Nicholas and South Sister – over 800 m elevation (> 500 metres above St Marys) • North Sister – around 750 m • drainage northward into Scamander River, eastward (Yorkys Creek) into Hendersons Lagoon, south to Break O’Day River

  4. Geology and soils • Dolerite peaks • Sedimentary layers below • Limestone and karst • Clay soils and colluvium on dolerite • Mudstone soils on Mathinna sediments • Geoconservation values

  5. Climate • Rainfall in the 800-1000mm range • Average minimum in July ~3°C • Average maximum in January ~20°C

  6. Vegetation • Eucalypt forests predominate • Dry open forests of Ironbark (Eucalyptus sieberi) on dry sites on nutrient-poor soils • Black peppermint (E. amygdalina) or stringybark (E. obliqua) occur in sizable patches

  7. Vegetation • Wet stringybark forests on more sheltered sites such as gullies and south-facing slopes • At higher altitudes on the Nicholas Range the gum-topped stringybark (E. delegatensis) is dominant

  8. Biogeography • Eucalypt ‘cloud forest’ – similar vegetation communities on Maria Island, Bruny Island, Tasman Peninsula • Brookers gum (Eucalyptus brookeriana) – a rare forest type with an unusual distribution

  9. Fire ecology • Adaptations of eucalypts and other flora • Resprouting • Seed regeneration • Avoidance

  10. Resprouting Sagg (Lomandra longifolia) Sticky daisybush (Olearia viscosa) Native olive (Notelaea ligustrina) Blanket leaf (Bedfordia salicina) Cheeseberry (Cyathodes glauca)

  11. Other strategies L: thick bark and epicormic shoots of Eucalyptus sieberi M: ‘serotiny’ – hard seed cases of Hakea lissosperma R: avoidance – orchids can survive as underground tubers

  12. Flora of the Nicholas Range Kangaroo fern (Microsorum pustulatum) Guitar plant (Lomatia tinctoria) Bluebell (Wahlenbergia species)

  13. Orchids of the Nicholas Range L: summer greenhood (Pterostylis decurva) – North Sister R: hyacinth orchid (Dipodium roseum) – Dublin Town Rd

  14. Grasses of the Nicholas Range L: velvet tussock grass (Poa rodwayi) A: wallaby grass (Austrodanthonia sp.)

  15. Flora of rock outcrops • Left: yellow rock-orchid (Dockrillia striolata subsp. chrysantha) – Huntsmans Cap • dolerite spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes subsp. trichomanes) • blanket fern (Pleurosorus rutifolius) • Below: stonecrop (Crassula sp.)

  16. Threatened Flora

  17. Fauna habitat • Variety of habitats • Natural corridors • Diversity of forest ages and structure • Oldgrowth features including tree hollows • Rock outcrops, leaf litter, fallen logs, streams, seepage areas

  18. Lichens • 178 species of lichen recorded from South Sister (Kantvilas & Elix 2004) • “...a remarkable level of diversity” Gintaras Kantvilas, Tasmanian Herbarium • Includes several species not previously recorded from Tasmania, some of which appear to be very rare

  19. Fungi ??? Bracket fungus on Ironbark (E. sieberi) trunk

  20. Threatened Fauna

  21. Velvet worms • Blind velvet worm – one of the rarest invertebrates in Tasmania • Intriguing caseof parapatry • Landscape connectivity implications photos: www.qvmag.tas.gov.au

  22. Geoconservation values • Huntsmans Creek Waterfall • Upper Durham Creek Karst • St Marys Porphyrite • Catos Creek Dyke • Mount Nicholas Dolerite Residual peak • Mount Nicholas Dolerite periglacial system • and others

  23. Threats to nature conservation • Altered fire regimes • Land clearing • Pine plantations • Industrial forestry • Phytophthora root rot

  24. WildCountry principles • trophic relations at regional scales • migration, dispersal and other long distance movements • fire and other large-scale disturbances • climate variability in space and time, and human-forced climate change • hydroecological relations and flows • coastal zone fluxes of organisms and energy • evolutionary processes at all scales M. Soulé et al. (2004) The role of connectivity in Australian conservation. Pacific Conservation Biology.

  25. Nature conservation in the Nicholas Range region

  26. Nature conservation on private land in the St Marys region • Private Nature Reserves/Conservation Covenants = 10 properties = 347 ha • Land for Wildlife = 18 properties = 853 ha

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