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Text SizeWhat is Biodiversity?
Internationally and nationally, the term biodiversity - or biological diversity - is used to describe the variety of all life forms. Biodiversity is considered at three levels: the different plants, animals and microorganisms (species diversity), the genes they contain (genetic diversity), and the ecosystems of which they form a part (ecosystem diversity).
Biodiversity is constantly changing; it is increased by genetic change and evolutionary processes and reduced by habitat degradation, population decline and extinction. It emphasises the interrelatedness of the biological world, and covers terrestrial, marine and other aquatic environments.
Our Mission
- maintain & improve ecological function of native vegetation communities.
- restore populations of threatened species to viable levels.
- increase the extent and quality of threatened vegetation communities to achieve a net gain.
These are the biodiversity outcomes sought in the Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS)
What we do
- Assist the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) with biodiversity related matters in its role and functions.
- Ensure achievement of RCS's biodiversity outcomes is integrated into the work of other North Central CMA teams and staff.
- Assist our partner agencies and the broader community to achieve our desired biodiversity outcomes.
- Manage the implementation of biodiversity related actions specified in the RCS.
- Lead the development of systems and procedures for monitoring change in the condition of biodiversity assets.
Why do we care?
Globally, human activities are breaking down our life-support services (known as ecosystem services) provided by natural ecosystems. Without these services, our civilizations will decline as they have done in the past when natural resources were over committed. This time though, the breakdown threatens global processes as well as smaller scale ones.
North Central Victoria is both a contributor to and a victim of this breakdown.
It is in our interest then to conserve native plants and animals of all sizes - down to the tiniest microorganism - in their habitats because this helps sustain ecosystem services. Our welfare can be enhanced via better stewardship of the environment.
North Central Victoria has an abundance of plant and animal species and habitats. There are around 2,000 native plant species, more than 400 native vertebrate animal species (mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and fish.) plus unknown thousands of invertebrate species found across more than a 100 native vegetation habitat types called Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs).
North Central Victoria's history of over commitment of natural resources for human use means many of these species and vegetation types are now threatened with extinction. Unless we take conservation action, regional extinctions are inevitable.
Both locally and globally, protecting, repairing and rebuilding native vegetation is the best known way to conserve most indigenous biodiversity and thereby ensure our own survival.
How is native vegetation faring in north central Victoria?
EVCs occur in characteristic patterns across the landscape. In Victoria, these patterns are mapped as Bioregions and are used to set priorities for biodiversity conservation planning based on the status (see below) of the species or EVC in that bioregion.
We have 8 bioregions mapped in north central Victoria.
 Murray Mallee |
 Wimmera |
 Victorian Volcanic Plain |
 Victorian Riverina |
 Murray Fans |
 Goldfields |
 Central Victorian Uplands |
 Northern Inland Slopes |
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| Bioregions of the North Central CMA region |
The status of native vegetation is assessed by understanding its extent and condition (composition, structure and function) and the threats it faces.
Status
As a result of the reduced extent, degraded condition and continuing threats, all but seven of the region's 174 bioregion EVC combinations are threatened with extinction to some degree.
Within the Goldfields and Riverina bioregions alone, over 200 native plant and animal species have been listed as having rare or higher conservation status. A total of almost 260 indigenous flora and fauna species found in the region have Victorian rare or threatened species status.
For more information see the Regional Vegetation Plan
Ecosystem services
The fundamental life-support services provided by natural ecosystems, without which human civilization would cease to thrive.
- OR -
The end products of nature that yield human wellbeing.
The ecosystem services that nature provides:
- boost productivity by maintaining the foundations of a healthy and sustainable environment - healthy soils, clean air, clean water
- ease potentially devastating and costly environmental problems, including salinity and erosion
- purify air and water
- lessen the effects of flood and drought
- detoxify waste and aid decomposition
- generate and renew soil and soil fertility
- pollinate crops and native vegetation
- help control agricultural pests
- disperse seeds and nutrients
- protect us from ultraviolet rays
- regulate climate
- moderate temperature extremes and the forces of wind and waves.
How much is left?
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| Big Hill - Bendigo |
Retained vegetation cover varies from less than 0.5% of its pre-European colonisation distribution for the Murray Mallee and Wimmera bioregions to 31% for the Central Victorian Uplands.
How much do we need?
Scientific research tells us that having less than 30% of native vegetation cover is a problem. Having less than this level means species and communities go extinct even faster. Researchers also tell us that some ecosystem services can't be maintained with less than 30% of native vegetation cover.
What CONDITION is it in?
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| Photo - Chris King |
What THREATS does it face?
Some of the continuing threats to biodiversity in our region include:
- 'Clearing' of native vegetation
- Invasive plants and animals
- Excessive grazing pressures
- Changed fire regimes
- Increased salinity
- Altered hydrology and water quality decline
- Intensifying land uses
- Inappropriate recreation practices
Our current projects
Biodiversity research and development
Natural ecosystems in lowland south eastern Australia are typically highly degraded and fragmented by past and ongoing land use. In addition, remnants of once widespread ecosystems are subject to rising regional groundwater, accelerated climate change and weed invasions.
Many millions of dollars of public money and countless hours of voluntary labour are spent towards vegetation management and revegetation in south eastern Australia in an attempt to redress biodiversity loss and improve catchment health, although little of this money goes towards innovation and development. Many thousands of hectares of revegetation are planned over the next decade.
As envisioned here, the process of restoration does not necessarily 'just happen' but requires 'intentional intervention' in ecosystem management. It is important that our management and revegetation efforts become more ecologically sophisticated as an adjunct to our rapidly evolving public policy.
There is little doubt that revegetation efforts are making a (albeit marginal) contribution to catchment health. However, it is not clear to what extent revegetation works benefit nature conservation.
Central concerns with current revegetation practices include:
- high costs and high rates of failure to establish vegetation
- efficiency in terms of the scale of the problem and in terms of the technology being used
- inappropriate landscape design - principally the shape, size degree of connectivity and orientation with respect to extant vegetation remnants
- insensitivity to natural ecosystem form and function.
Key components of this project in 2004-05 include:
- quality assurance in terms of project design, specification and evaluation
- peer review of the science underpinning the investigative effort
- knowledge transfer/communication between key stakeholders
- fostering/brokering of additional collaborations
- avoiding overlap/duplication with existing and intended projects
- investigation themes
Key partners in this project include:
- Mallee, North-East and Goulburn-Broken CMAs
- LaTrobe University
- Deakin University
- Arthur Rylah Institute
- PIRVIC
- CSIRO
- DSE
- Birchip Cropping Group.
Native Vegetation Management
Native Vegetation Management incorporates Statutory planning assessments involving native vegetation retention, Landmate Native Vegetation Crew and general advice and education on native vegetation issues.
Vegetation best management practice
Restoration of habitat through revegetation is a key implementation activity across most NRM projects including biodiversity, salinity and river health.
Revegetation aims to improve the viability of existing assets (e.g. threatened EVCs) by increasing extent and connectivity, and reducing groundwater recharge (thereby protecting vegetation lower in the landscape). These actions are of fundamental importance to the realisation of improved water quality, reduction of saline watertables and reduced salt loads in streams.
Implementing best management practice will ensure alignment of revegetation activities to optimise salinity and water quality outcomes. Strategic revegetation also provides habitat quality for a range of threatened species.
A number of other asset classes including dryland and irrigated farmland, waterways and wetlands benefit from strategic revegetation (e.g. shelterbelts, drought fodder reserves, waterway buffer strips etc). This project will coordinate and support the acceleration of large-scale revegetation establishment/enhancement effort in the region through the provision of seed, information, training and education.
The project will use a range of innovative and community focused mechanisms for accelerating the adoption of vegetation management and establishment techniques that will improve the condition of biodiversity, soil and water across the region.
It will support the bioregional and landscape scale approach to implementation of remnant vegetation management, conservation of threatened species and revegetation that will provide better natural resource management outcomes and contribute to the social and economic sustainability of rural communities.
Although retention of existing native vegetation is the most cost effective and highest priority action, many parts of our region have already lost much of its native vegetation cover and suffer as a result. These areas need to be revegetated.
Revegetation is also an important tool for the management of areas that still retain some native vegetation. The cumulative benefit for biodiversity, ecosystem processes and a sustainable landscape will only be maximised if revegetation is strategically planned and the targets set are achieved in a coordinated manner.
Newly planted vegetation provides a range of ecosystem goods and services including flora and fauna habitat, enhancement of farm production through shelterbelts and pest control, direct farm production, erosion control, reduction of soil acidification, waterlogging, salinisation and weed invasion.
The project will contribute to:
- reduction of mobilised salt, lower watertables and improved water quality - a reversal across the regional landscape of the long term decline in the quality and extent of native vegetation;
- ensuring that ecological processes are maintained and enhanced across the region
- ensuring the present diversity of species and ecological communities and their viability is maintained or improved across each bioregion;
- ensuring that there is no further preventable decline in the viability of rare or threatened species or ecological communities.
This project will support and underpin the implementation of bioregional plans for priority bioregions. Within these bioregions local landscape zones have been identified as foci for Biodiversity Action Planning and onground works.
The development and implementation of Biodiversity Action Plans has involved collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including NRE, Local Government, Trust for Nature, Landcare groups, Parks Victoria and Greening Australia. It ensures the development of an integrated response that leads to significant biodiversity outcomes. Substantial synergies with other program areas (e.g. Waterways, Dryland and Irrigation Salinity) are leading to multiple NRM outcomes.
A website has been created to help deliver improved standards of native vegetation management and revegetation. Go to the Victorian Best Practice Native Vegetation Management.
Working with local government
This project seeks to ensure coordination between the North Central Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS) and local government Municipal Strategic Statements (MSS) to support integrated natural resource management and land use planning.
It will support the development of capacity and knowledge in local government in relation to natural resource management . The project will build on the recommendations of a preliminary assessment of local government area planning scheme/MSS coherence with the RCS.
Key regional assets are at risk from threatening processes including elevated watertables, reduced water quality and habitat fragmentation. Local government plays a key role in ensuring ecologically sustainable development through the application of planning schemes.
This project will ensure the provision and integration of key natural resource management datasets and development of user-friendly conceptual models that contribute to planning decisons that optimise natural resource management outcomes in terms of improved water quality and salinity.
One key outcome for the 2004-05 project year is the development of a Land Management Guide with the Shires of Macedon Ranges, Hepburn and Mount Alexander and the City of Greater Bendigo. This document will act as a resource for rural landowners managing their land by helping to identify threatening processes and areas of regional significance as well as provide key regional natural resource management contacts for further information and support.
Biodiversity Enhancement in the Irrigation area
This project aims to achieve an increase in the area of healthy vegetation in key areas of the riverine and floodplain environments of the North Central region. Water quality and salinity outcomes will be generated by this project such as reduced pressure in high and saline watertables, a reduction in salinisation processes impacting upon valuable remnant habitat vegetation adjacent to creeks, waterways and floodplains, and improved ecosystem services.
Project activities in 2005/06 include:
- Strategic revegetation of public and private land;
- Fence and improve management of high-value remnant vegetation on private and public land;
- Implement threatened species recovery plans;
- Enlarge and link areas of high-value remnant vegetation;
- Encourage community involvement by facilitating education and awareness-raising activities and local area biodiversity planning;
- Protect and manage existing priority remnants;
- Monitor, evaluate and map on-ground activities on GIS layers and CAMS.
Goldfields biodiversity action plan
The action plan for the Goldfields Bioregion translates the Statewide Biodiversity Strategy to a regional scale.
This project underpins landscape-scale biodiversity actions that guide on-ground works by private landholders, community groups, corporations and all levels of government. The development and implementation of biodiversity action plans involves collaboration between a broad range of stakeholders and ensures the development of an integrated response that leads to significant biodiversity outcomes.
This project will take a bioregional and landscape scale approach to habitat and remnant vegetation management, conservation of threatened species and revegetation that will provide better natural resource management outcomes and contribute to the social and economic sustainability of rural communities.
This project will use a range of innovative and community focused mechanisms for accelerating the adoption of vegetation management and establishment techniques that will improve the condition of biodiversity, soil and water across the region. The project will also contribute to the prevention and stabilisation in salinity, affecting the sustainability of production systems and conservation of biological diversity.
The 2005/06 project will contribute to:
- A reversal across the regional landscape of the long-term decline in the quality and extent of native vegetation;
- Ensuring that ecological processes are maintained and enhanced across the region;
- Ensuring the present diversity of species and ecological communities and their viability is maintained or improved across the bioregion;
- Ensuring that there is no further preventable decline in the viability of rare or threatened species or ecological communities.
Riverina biodiversity action plan
The Biodiversity Action Plan for the Riverina Bioregion translates the statewide biodiversity strategy to the regional scale.
This Plan underpins landscape-scale biodiversity actions that direct onground works by private landholders, community groups, corporations and all levels of Governments.
The development and implementation of Biodiversity Action Plans involves collaboration amongst stakeholders including DSE/DPI, local government, Trust for Nature, Landcare groups, Parks Victoria and Greening Australia. It ensures an integrated response leading to significant biodiversity outcomes.
Within the North Central region, this part of the bioregion currently has only around 1% remaining native habitat. Of the 56 vegetation communities in this part of the Bioregion, 30 are endangered, 14 vulnerable and nine depleted.
Massive loss of habitat, inappropriate hydrological regimes, grazing by livestock and pests, weed invasion and introduced predators are key issues for the rare or threatened flora and fauna species recorded from the Riverina bioregion. These include Yarran Wattle, Dwarf Amaranth, Buloke Mistletoe, Downs Flat-sedge, Swamp Buttercup, Slender Darling Pea, Red Swainson-pea, Black Falcon, Bush Stonecurlew, Ground Cuckoo-shrike, Little Bittern, Painted Snipe and Plains Wanderer.
Biodiversity decline is interwoven with other resource management issues including salinity, soil health, water quality and pest plant and animal impacts.
The project will contribute to:
- A reversal across the regional landscape of the long term decline in the quality and extent of native vegetation
- Ensuring that ecological processes are maintained and enhanced across the region
- Ensuring the present diversity of species and ecological communities and their viability is maintained or improved across each bioregion
- Ensuring that there is no further preventable decline in the viability of rare or threatened species or ecological communities.
Murray Mallee/Wimmera biodiversity action plan
The Biodiversity Action Plan for the Murray Mallee and Wimmera Plains bioregions translate the statewide biodiversity strategy to the regional scale.
This Plan underpins landscape-scale biodiversity actions that direct onground works by private landholders, community groups, corporations and all levels of Governments.
The development and implementation of Biodiversity Action Plans involves collaboration amongst stakeholders including DSE/DPI, local government, Trust for Nature, Landcare groups, Parks Victoria and Greening Australia. It ensures an integrated response leading to significant biodiversity outcomes.
Within North Central Victoria, the Wimmera bioregion currently has only around 0.5% remaining native habitat. Of the 35 vegetation communities in this part of the bioregion, 26 are considered endangered, six vulnerable and three depleted.
The flora and fauna species rare or threatened at a regional, state or national level in the North Central part of the Wimmera Bioregion include Turnip Copperburr, Bow-lip Spider-orchid, Swamp Diuris, Australian Bustard, Barking Owl and Bush Stone-curlew.
Within the North Central region, the Murray Mallee bioregion currently has only around 0.7% remaining native habitat. Of the 19 vegetation communities in this part of the Bioregion, six are considered endangered, seven vulnerable and five depleted.
Passive loss of habitat, grazing by livestock and pests, weed invasion and introduced invasion, and introduced predators are key issues for the rare or threatened flora and fauna species. These include Weeping Myall, Plains Spurge, Winged New Holland Daisy, Narrow Duckweed and Bush-stone Curlew, Carpet Python and Barking Owl.
Biodiversity decline is interwoven with other resource management issues including salinity, soil health, water quality and pest plant and animal impacts. This project will use a range of innovative and community focused mechanisms for accelerating the adoption of vegetation management and establishment techniques that will improve the condition of biodiversity, soil and water across the region. It will take a bioregional and landscape scale approach to habitat and remnant vegetation management, conservation of threatened species and revegetation.
Birds as environmental indicators
Birds are often considered to be outstanding indicators of the health of the overall environment. Rather like the proverbial canary in the coalmine, they are readily affected by physical and chemical impacts on their ecosystems.
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Because many species of birds have become specialised to occupy certain niches and together they inhabit almost every conceivable habitat, they are responsive to a wide variety of environmental changes and can reflect diversity and trends in other animals and plants with which they coexist.
By looking after the birds of Australia we are also looking after the environment as a whole.
Unlike some other groups of animals that are also good environmental indicators, such as frogs, birds are usually relatively easy to observe and identify, and most are active during the day.
In short, birds tell us lots about changes to the environment, they are easy to see and there are plenty of people to go out looking for them.
To discover more information about our native birds, including their conservation needs, current research programs and how to participate in volunteer projects go to www.birdsaustralia.com.au