- »TREAT Home
- »TREAT Projects
- »Global Restoration Network Report
Habitat Linkages in the Southern Atherton Tablelands
Summary of Stakeholder Involvement
Introduction
This project involves the re-establishment of three habitat linkages in a wet tropical environment using an ecological restoration approach. The restoration projects have been established in the Wet Tropics bioregion of far north Queensland, known for its very high levels of biodiversity and endemism, and the highly fragmented nature of its predominately rain forest vegetation. The habitat linkages - Lakes, Donaghy's and Peterson Creek - were conceived as a potential response to issues of land degradation, localised species extinctions and patch isolation (Bennett 1999, Tucker et al 2004). All three projects traverse the private lands (Map 1) which surround three rain forest reserves; Lake Eacham (466ha) and Lake Barrine (465ha), collectively forming the Crater Lakes National Park, and the Curtain Fig National Park (303ha). Each of these reserves is located between 1km and 10kms from Wooroonooran National Park, one of the largest blocks of intact forest within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA). By inter-connecting each reserve, and having linkage into Wooroonooran, ecological connectivity would be increased across this unit of the landscape.
The Lakes Habitat Linkage (Map 2) was completed by the North Johnstone and Lake Eacham Landcare Association with assistance from the Tablelands Regional Council, volunteers from the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers, and landholders. The Donaghy's (Map 3) and Peterson Creek (Map 4) Habitat Linkage projects are jointly undertaken by Trees for the Evelyn and Atherton Tablelands Inc (TREAT) and Qld Parks and Wildlife - Restoration Services (QPW). Because local restoration expertise and community and landholder support are sufficiently high, these projects have received on-going support from funding agencies. The Lakes and Donaghy's Habitat Linkages have been completed and the Peterson Creek project is 80% complete. The restored vegetation representing Donaghy's Habitat Linkage is now permanently protected through a Nature Refuge declaration with landholders whose properties comprise the linkage.
Monitoring is a difficult and resource demanding activity, but a feature of these projects has been the monitoring effort applied at the Donaghy's and Peterson Creek projects. The Donaghy's site in particular has been extensively studied, these studies being informed by extensive base-line sampling prior to restoration works, to provide rigorous data on re-colonisation by at least a subset of life forms. This data collection, and subsequent monitoring, was undertaken in a framework of adaptive management rather than hypothesis testing because the project is not able to be replicated in a form which controls landscape variability. No monitoring was undertaken within the Lakes Habitat Linkage, although similar rates of colonisation and movement should have occurred within this linkage.
Monitoring has demonstrated colonisation and movement by a range of life forms and species. Mammals, birds and plants were most extensively studied, prior to any commencement of works, and during and after works. Results show that a successional trajectory toward increasing species diversity and a self-sustaining community is generally in place at all sites.
Project Goals
These projects have three main aims, and a number of secondary aims;
- To re-establish a series of habitat linkages internally linking three WTWHA fragments (each of 300 - 500ha), and linking each to the adjacent Wooroonooran National Park (80,000ha), also part of the WTWHA (see Map 1);
- To re-establish the original pre-European rain forest vegetation type in each linkage's area, including 'Mabi Forest' a Commonwealth and State listed 'Endangered' vegetation community of which less than 2% remains, and endangered, vulnerable and rare plants that are known from all the vegetation communities within the area;
- To monitor the effectiveness of restored habitat linkages;
- To re-establish riparian vegetation for soil stability (requiring the exclusion of stock from waterways and installation of off-stream watering points), and
- To provide shade and wind breaks for stock.
Planning
Site Details
| Site Name | Tenures | Co-ordinates (central corridor location) | Start date |
| Lakes Habitat Linkage | Private Freehold | 17°16'04.00"S 145°38'25.33"E | 1997 |
| Donaghy's Habitat Linkage | Private Freehold | 17°15"22.94"S 145°39'07.99"E | 1995 |
| Peterson Creek Habitat Linkage | Private Freehold | 17°17'31.53"S 145°33'36.02"E | 1998 |
Regional Ecosystems on which the restoration is modelled
(reference sites for each exist in the local area)
| Lakes Habitat Linkage | 7.8.2 Complex notophyll to mesophyll vine forest of high rainfall, cloudy uplands on basalt |
| Donaghy's Habitat Linkage | 7.8.2 Complex notophyll to mesophyll vine forest of high rainfall, cloudy uplands on basalt |
| Peterson Creek Habitat Linkage | 7.3.2 Grasslands and sedgelands ± Melaleuca spp., of wetlands within volcanic craters, often on peat 7.3.19 Corymbia intermedia or C. tessellaris ± Eucalyptus tereticornis open forest (or vine forest with these species as emergents), on well drained alluvium 7.3.39 Eucalyptus tereticornis ± E. platyphylla ± Corymbia intermedia ± Lophostemon suaveolens open woodland to open forest, and associated sedgelands and grasslands, on broad drainage depressions of uplands 7.8.2 Complex notophyll to mesophyll vine forest of high rainfall, cloudy uplands on basalt 7.8.3 Complex semi-evergreen notophyll vine forest of uplands on basalt (Mabi Forest) 7.8.7 Eucalyptus tereticornis open forest, and associated grasslands, predominantly on basalt uplands 7.11.12 Simple notophyll vine forest of moist to very wet metamorphic uplands and highlands |
Plans and Goals
- Mabi Forest Recovery Plan: Mabi-forest.pdf
- Far North Queensland Natural Resource Management Plan (Sustaining the Wet Tropics) Volume4.pdf
Area Iconic Faunal and Floral Species
| Species | Status |
|---|---|
| Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) | Endangered |
| Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) | Endemic |
| Musky Rat Kangaroo (Hypsiprimnodon moschatus) | Endemic |
| Atherton Sauropus (Sauropus macranthus) | Vulnerable |
| Bull Kauri (Agathis microstachya) | Endemic |
| Lacewood (Firmiana papuana) | Rare |
Strategies for Restoration / Methodologies
- Repairing the Rainforest (Goosem and Tucker 1995)
- Design Guidelines D10 Natural Area Restoration Guideline FNQROC Development Manual_11_05.pdf
- Catchment Management Strategies
Summary of Stakeholder Involvement
| Stakeholder | Involvement |
|---|---|
| Trees for the Evelyn and Atherton Tablelands Inc. (TREAT) | Technical support, plant production, tree planting and monitoring assistance |
| Queensland Parks and Wildlife - Restoration Services | Technical support, project management, plant supply, site preparation, maintenance and site monitoring |
| Tablelands Community Revegetation Unit | Technical support, plant supply, site supervision and contract labour |
| North Johnstone and Lake Eacham Landcare Association | Site preparation, tree planting and maintenance |
| Department of Primary Industries and Forestry | Technical support and labour, plant supply |
| James Cook University UCLA Berkeley University of Qld Griffith University | Monitoring and technical support |
| Land holders (in excess of 25) | Provision of planting sites, assistance with planting and maintenance, covenant agreements |
Achievements
| Site Name | Area (ha) | Number of Seedlings Planted | Number of Species Planted | Budget (incl In-Kind) |
| Lakes Habitat Linkage | 16 | 37,000 | 45 | $415,000 |
| Donaghy's Habitat Linkage | 16 | 20,000 | 103 | $190,000 |
| Peterson Creek Habitat Linkage | 15 | 58,000 (as at 12/08) | 120 | $600,000 |
The plantings all established successfully and have reached a point of canopy closure, with structural development of most of the long-treated sites now equating with Phase V of a six-phase rainforest recovery typology developed by Hopkins et al. (adapted by Winter et al. 1991).
In addition to the achievements related to actual on-ground revegetation, research and monitoring showed a number of ecological outcomes that relate to the project's aim to reinstate connectivity. Some of these have been published within peer reviewed literature, other work appears within grey literature and other results remain unpublished. These results show colonisation by a range of life forms and species, and also showed how the composition of plant and animal communities changed over time within the developing linkages. A summary of peer reviewed material and grey literature is provided below:
- Tucker (2000) showed Donaghy's Habitat Linkage had been colonised by rain forest obligate small mammals including Bush Rat (Rattus fuscipes), Cape York Rat (R. leucopus), White-tailed Rat (Uromys caudimacultus) and Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) within three years of completing the linkage planting. These species replaced the grassland rodents which persisted whilst the restored areas still retained some grass/ broad leaf weed cover, disappearing once canopy cover excluded grasses and weeds. The trapping grid for the small mammal study included two sites adjacent to, but outside the planted linkage. No rain forest species were trapped in these grids during the three year study period.
- Grove and Tucker (2000) recorded 18 morphospecies of saproxylic beetles feeding on dead wood placed in the Donaghy's Habitat Linkage prior to planting. Dead wood was placed immediately prior to planting to provide habitat for vertebrates and invertebrates because this habitat feature takes many years to appear naturally. In addition to the beetle fauna recorded, samples contained invertebrates from a wide range of other orders.
- Tucker (2002) recorded colonisation by 119 plant species, (99 genera, 48 families) in 12 transects within Donaghy's Habitat Linkage, in three years. Of the 119 species recorded, 35 were not present within the intervening matrix vegetation and can be assumed to have been dispersed into the site from forests at either end of the linkage. Three of the 35 new plant species are large fruited (> 30mm dia) and are most likely to have been dispersed into the site by Spectacled Flying-foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus). The majority of plant colonisation occurred in the central portions of the linkage, and edges were generally dominated by early successional and/or exotic species.
- Simmons and Tucker (2002) showed the utility of genetic markers to demonstrate terrestrial faunal movement from one end of Donaghy's Habitat Linkage to the other. Genetic studies showed that 60 years of isolation was sufficient to show clear differentiation between isolated and intact populations of Rattus spp. at Lake Barrine and Wooroonooran respectively, suggesting a gene based approach may be appropriate to show movement and breeding. Mark recapture studies documented colonisation and some movement within the linkage area, and showed small mammals moving up to 250m through the restored vegetation. Genetic studies were more discriminating, showing that there were 14 long distance movements from one end to the opposite end. These animals were trapped at one end, and were assumed to have originated at that point. Data showed these animals had originated at the opposite end and had been trapped for the first time at their point of arrival.
- Jansen (2005) recorded 96 bird species in Donaghy's Habitat Linkage in three years, of which 31 were frugivores. Eight 'rain forest only' species were recorded, along with 29 'mainly rain forest' species, and there was a general trend towards increasing species richness over time. The high proportion of frugivores is indicative of the guild's diversity in the area, and reflects the dominance of fleshy-fruited species in the initial planting matrix.
- Freeman and Seabrook (2006) demonstrated the synergistic effect of restoration and natural regeneration in increasing rain forest cover along Peterson Creek. In the lower sections of Peterson Creek natural regeneration significantly increased cover as cessation of agriculture encouraged succession. In the upper sections of Peterson Creek, ecological restoration was responsible for a 56% increase in riparian vegetation cover.
- Grant (unpublished) recorded 103 seedling recruits from 22 native species, in four years at Peterson Creek. Using the same census techniques as those at Donaghy's Habitat Linkage, Grant's study showed the negative effect of increasing distance from a seed source. Distance is exacerbated by fewer small patches of regrowth and individual paddock trees that may function as 'stepping stones'. Small mammal surveys (unpubl data) also showed obligate rain forest species were slow to colonise restored areas. Intervening patches of grassland along streams and pastures are known to harbor generalist species which exclude closely related species occupying adjacent niches.
Social and Cultural Benefits
These projects have provided a range of other benefits. The community engagement process has resulted in the mobilisation of a significant volunteer effort. Volunteers are well supported by government agencies and research organisations. The links established between researchers and community has increased understanding of ecological connectivity, and in particular the role of private lands in increasing landscape permeability. The numbers of landholders engaged in the process has increased in line with progressive catchment rehabilitation. The input of key landholders is crucial to successful outcomes. This input varies across landholders but includes;
- provision of planting sites for restoration (the Byrnes and Donaghy families have provided significant lands for the Peterson Creek and Donaghy's Linkages respectively)
- showing leadership within the local farming community (actions by well respected landholders such as Byrnes and Donaghy are generally copied by others)
- assistance with on-ground works (landholders of one Lakes Linkage property have contributed over 13,000 hours of volunteer labour)
Community awareness of threatened species management has benefited from a target species approach, using local icons such as Cassowaries and Tree-kangaroos to encourage support for habitat plantings in linkage configurations. Moreover, there is now significant community awareness of the concept of threatened ecological communities, resulting from the listing of local Mabi Forest as a 'Critically Endangered' vegetation community by the Commonwealth government. This engagement has extended to local indigenous groups who are now involved in many facets of the restoration process.
| Site Name | Years | Funding (Cash) | Funding (In-Kind) | Volunteer Hours |
| Lakes Habitat Linkage | 1998 - 2008 | $55,000 | $360,000 | 14,000 |
| Donaghy's Habitat Linkage | 1995 - 1998 | $40,000 | $150,000 | 2,500 |
| Peterson Creek Habitat Linkage | 1998 - 2008 | $300,000 | $300,000 | 10,000 |
Lessons Learned
- Restored habitat linkages can facilitate the movement of obligate rain forest species within three years. Movement and colonisation is enhanced by the presence of individual trees and small patches of structurally complex vegetation, and hindered by intervening patches of grassland habitat, increasing distance from a seed source, and the organisms which disperse those seeds.
- At least three years of regular maintenance of plantings is required to achieve successful establishment. In riparian areas, floods and frost can seriously damage plantings and contingency for replacements must be considered. In drier areas, supplementary watering is essential during any extended dry period.
- Structural complexity of vegetation comes from planting a range of species / life forms and this makes restored areas more attractive to rainforest wildlife. Natural disturbance is an important tool in creating structural complexity and may be partially achieved by establishing up to 25% short-lived (< 20 years) pioneer species which are more likely to produce tree fall gaps through earlier mortality.
- Colonisation has been slowest at Peterson Creek which is the longest linkage and is surrounded by more intensive land use. The persistence of weedy habitats and the lack of structural diversity in newly restored areas are important issues where distance is a factor limiting the rate and nature of succession and recruitment. A hostile, or less permeable matrix, has a significant effect on rain forest rodent and non-avian vertebrate colonisation. These groups remain generally absent from increasingly mature vegetation. 'Stepping stones' may be essential to hasten movement.
- The placement of habitat furniture (logs, rock piles) prior to planting adds structural complexity and encourages more rapid and diverse faunal colonisation. These habitat features are no longer present in cleared agricultural landscapes but are essential for vertebrate and invertebrate species.
- Restoration plant stock must be woody, weed and pathogen free and hardened to site conditions. The practice of rain forest plant propagation and maintenance is well documented and the quality of plants has a major influence on plant survival and growth.
- Support from all stakeholders and the community is crucial to project success. Proponents must be prepared to commit to long term goals which can be evaluated, and work co-operatively to achieve goals which are realistic and based on a genuine appreciation of community input and aspiration.
- Monitoring a range of variables provides the best measures of success. Engaging researchers from various disciplines adds rigour and insight to projects where it is important to understand all the ecological factors influencing the outcome at a particular site. An absence of replication must suggest caution when interpreting results, but such adaptive management projects can offer increased understanding of applied ecological theory.
- Monitoring faunal movement and colonisation by genetic means can furnish more reliable data than that derived from field identification and mark recapture techniques. Where differentiation by anthropogenic isolation is demonstrable, such data is a powerful tool in demonstrating movement, colonisation and importantly, the acceptance of a dispersing individual into the recipient breeding population.
- Monitoring vegetation colonisation provides an insight into the types of seed dispersers that may visit a site and the subsequent rate and nature of plant colonisation and community succession. Monitoring vertebrate and invertebrate colonisation can demonstrate both movement and colonisation. Monitoring programs can be undertaken by community groups and/or professional biologists. Community groups should actively seek partnerships with research organisations and agencies.
- Long term protection by covenant is an appropriate way to secure linkage investments. The Donaghy's Habitat Linkage is protected by a Nature Refuge covenant and for NRM projects that represent significant community and financial investments, this form of protection is warranted. Such agreements may not be suitable for all restoration projects and other options should be explored.
Take home message
Land managers require a range of practical tools to assist with the myriad of problems associated with forest fragmentation. Restoring ecological connectivity through habitat linkages is one tool. Its utility is demonstrated at one location, although habitat development at the other two sites appears to be on a similar trajectory. Adaptive management projects such as these provide ideal opportunities for practitioners, researchers and managers to learn from the ecological response to restoration, and their replication will strengthen our conceptual understanding.
References
Bennett, A. F. (1999) Linkages in the Landscape: The role of corridors and connectivity in wildlife conservation. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge.
Freeman, A. N. D. and Seebrook, L. S. (2006) Increase in Riparian Vegetation along Peterson Creek, North Queensland 1938-2004. Ecological Management and Restoration 7:1 pp. 63-65
Grant, B. (2002) Vegetation recruitment in restoration plantings along the Peterson Creek Habitat Linkage. Unpublished report to QPWS Centre of Tropical Restoration, Lake Eacham
Grove, S.J and Tucker, N.I.J. (2000). The role of dead wood in forest restoration and management: What can insects tell us? Ecological Management and Restoration 1:1 pp. 63-65.
Goosem, S.P and Tucker, N.I.J. (1995) Repairing the Rainforest. Theory and Practice of Rainforest Re-establishment in North Queensland's Wet Tropics. Wet Tropics Management Authority. Cairns.
Jansen, A. (2005) Avian use of restoration plantings along a creek linking rainforest patches on the Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland. Restoration Ecology 13: 275-283
Simmons, T. M. and Tucker, N. I. J. (2002) The rat's tale - use of small mammals as bioindicators in a restored forest linkage in far north Queensland. In: Ecology 2002: Handbook of the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Ecological Society of Australia Inc., and the New Zealand Ecological Society Inc. (Ed J. Landsberg). pp.141 Cairns, Australia.
Tucker, N.I.J. (2000) Monitoring and evaluation at Donaghy's wildlife corridor: Measures used and questions asked. Ecological Management and Restoration 1:1 pp. 61-62.
Tucker, N.I.J. (2001) Wildlife colonization on restored tropical lands: What can it do, how can we hasten it and what can we expect? In: Forest Restoration for Wildlife Conservation (Eds S. Elliott, J. Kerby, D. Blakesley, K. Hardwicke, K. Woods and V. Anusarnsunthorn) International Tropical Timber Organisation and the Forest Restoration Research Unit. Chiang Mai University, Thailand, pp 279-294.
Tucker, N.I.J (2002) Vegetation recruitment in a restored habitat linkage in the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Qld. MSc Thesis. James Cook University, Cairns.
Tucker, N.I.J., Wardell-Johnson, G., Catterall, C.P and Kanowski, J. (2004) Agroforestry and biodiversity: Improving the outcomes for conservation in tropical north-eastern Australia. In: Tropical biodiversity and the role of agroforestry. (Eds G. Scroth, C. Gascon, I.M.N Izac, and C. Harvey) Island Press. Washington, D.C, pp 431-452
Winter, J.W., Atherton, R.G., Bell, F.C. and Pahl, L.I. (1991) Rainforest dynamics, disturbance and alienation in northern Queensland. In: The rainforest legacy: Australian National Rainforests Study, Volume 3 Rainforest History, Dynamics and Management. (Eds G. Werren and P. Kershaw) Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, pp 107-137.
Contact Information
The President
TREAT Inc.
PO Box 1119,
Atherton Queensland 4883