Covering 20% of Tasmania, the

Tasmanian Wilderness World

Heritage Area (TWWHA) is an area

of exceptional natural heritage value.

The Resource Management and Conservation Division (RMC) of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) is responsible for an ongoing research and monitoring program to identify values and conservation requirements in the TWWHA.

This work provides the foundation for managing the natural values of the area and for informing the public about these values.

Funding for this program is provided by the Australian Government in collaboration with the Tasmanian Government.

Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

MAY 201210670G

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Front cover: Mt Sprent automatic weather station. Photograph: Nick Fitgerald, Ghost moth illustration: Karen Richards

Inside cover: Buttongrass moorland below King William Range.Opposite: Walled Mountain from the Labyrinth. Back cover: Mount Anne area.

Printed on 100% recycled and FSC Recycled Certified paper.

Photograph: Nick Fitgerald

Inscribed on the World Heritage list in 1982, the area was nominated for its natural integrity and for the range of natural values extending from alpine to coastal ecosystems.

It is one of 936 world heritage sites that have been listed in 153 countries.

The core area was inscribed on the World Heritage List on the basis of it meeting all four natural world heritage criteria and three cultural criteria. In doing so, it (along with China’s Mt Taishan) met the most criteria of any World Heritage property.

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area covers approximately 1.4 million hectares and represents about one fifth of the area of the island state of Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage AreaA place of outstanding universal value forming part of the natural and cultural heritage of the world community.

3Photograph: Michael Comfort

Left: Zooanthids in Bathurst Channel.Folded Precambrian rock, near Frenchmans Cap.Glow-worms Mystery Creek Cave.Pandani detail.Opposite: Rare plant monitoring Schooner Cove.

The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA)

Gondwana connectionsDuring the Triassic period (251–197 million years ago) the Gondwana supercontinent included what is now Antarctica, South America, Africa, India, New Zealand, Madagascar and Australia. There are many examples of geological and biological links to Gondwana within the TWWHA.

Surveys of the TWWHA have shown it contains many species providing living evidence of the previous existence of Gondwana. For example the closest relatives of the recently discovered Port Davey skate occur in South America and New Zealand.

A land carved by glaciersGlaciations affecting southern landmasses have come and gone over at least the last two million years. These have sculpted the dramatic mountain ranges in the highest parts of the TWWHA and further influenced the evolution of Tasmanian plants and animals, which are quite distinctly different from the biota of the Australian mainland.

Caves and cave-related values These were a cornerstone in the recognition of the area as a World Heritage property. Spectacular caves and karst areas have developed in the TWWHA over hundreds of thousands of years. Some contain outstanding colonies of glow-worms. Others are globally significant Aboriginal sites.

Powerful and rugged displays of natureThe naturalness of the area is evident in its on-going unaffected processes – witnessed in the high energy of the Southern Ocean along the wild coastline and in the significant ice action in the alpine areas during the colder months.

Rivers, dark tannin-stained from the peaty soils in temperate rainforests and the buttongrass plains, have some of the highest discharges of any in the country despite having much smaller catchment areas.

Photograph: Fred Bavendam

Photograph: Michael Comfort

Photograph: Ian Houshold

Photograph: Michael Comfort

Lake Pedder earthworm illustration: Craig Williams

The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) is the land manager of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) with specialist and scientific advice and support provided by the Resource Management and Conservation (RMC) Division of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE).

RMC administers a research and monitoring program to identify values and conservation requirements in the TWWHA. This work provides the foundation for managing the values of the area and for informing the public of these values.

Funding is provided by the Australian Government in collaboration with the Tasmanian Government.

A number of major research and monitoring programs have been undertaken in the TWWHA since 1982. These include:

• Wildlife surveys and monitoring

• Vegetation mapping

• Inventories of natural values

• Coastal dune mapping

• River bank stability and erosion research and monitoring

• Sheet erosion mapping and rehabilitation in alpine areas.

Many of these programs are ongoing.

Research and monitoring work in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

5Photograph: Tim Rudman

Lake Pedder earthworm illustration: Craig Williams

Karst research The range of the spectacular and scientifically important karst landforms includes numerous caves (some of the longest and deepest in Australia), as well as rugged karstic mountains, islands, rivers and valleys.

About 150 000 ha (12%) of the TWWHA is underlain by potentially karstic rocks such as limestone and dolomite. Some caves contain evidence of Aboriginal occupation and are powerful symbols of an indigenous presence in the landscape over thousands of years.

The karst research program documents karst-related values, assesses their condition, and develops recommendations on the sustainable management of karst landforms and systems.

Karst areas and especially caves are environmentally sensitive places, with limited or negligible capacity to recover from impacts. The primary threat in the majority of cases arises from people entering caves for recreation, science, tourism or other purposes.

This is especially true in the more accessible karst areas around the margins of the TWWHA, which include some of the most frequently visited caves in Tasmania. A key focus of the karst research program is mapping karst systems subject to pressure from cave-based activities and assessing their condition.

Climate change monitoringA monitoring program is in place to develop a better understanding of the impacts of climate change on the natural values of the TWWHA. This work is based on predictions by Climate Futures for Tasmania for increases in temperature, changes in precipitation patterns and reduced snowfall.

A number of sites have been established in the TWWHA to gather baseline data on flora and fauna to measure any changes that may occur from climate changes or other factors such as fire or the introduction of exotic species.

Weather stations have been established at some sites such as Mt Sprent to assist with investigations into ecotone dynamics, with stations installed below and above the current alpine zone.

Another program is developing approaches to support regional climate change adaptation methods and to set objectives for biodiversity conservation in the area.

Other projects include ongoing monitoring of the alpine treeline, conifer health and fjaeldmark extent and condition (areas of plant growth restricted due to extremes of cold and exposure to wind). An altitudinal transect has been established at Mt Weld-Warra to record baseline biodiversity data against which future changes in the altitudinal distribution of flora and fauna can be measured in relation to climate change, succession due to fire or its absence, and other chance events.

Global climate change represents the greatest long-term threat to the marine ecosystem in Port Davey-Bathurst Harbour through rising water temperature, changing seawater acidity and changes to local rainfall patterns. Monitoring has already detected erosion of estuarine landforms in response to rising sea level.

The marine ecosystem is being monitored for possible incursions of exotic species and to better understand the impacts of climate change.

Assessments of potential climate change impacts on geodiversity in the TWWHA predict some degree of change to geological, geomorphological and soil features and processes in the area.

Current work is targeted at documenting and sampling geodiversity values that could be altered due to climate change impacts. It is unlikely to be appropriate to attempt to prevent or significantly mitigate these impacts because of the scale of the processes, the likely expense of the “geo-engineering” that would be required, and the probability that such interventions would compromise other natural processes and values.

Research and monitoring work in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Photograph: Rolan Eberhard

Broad-toothed mouse illustration: Tom Mumbray

Examining the impacts of planned burnsPWS undertakes planned burns in large areas of buttongrass moorland in the TWWHA, primarily to reduce the risk of landscape scale fires that have in the past caused the loss of fire sensitive vegetation and organosols.

Planned burns are also conducted to increase the diversity of moorland ages based on the logical premise that a mosaic of vegetation age is good for biodiversity.

Several integrated studies have been established to investigate the effect of fire on plants, animals and soils in buttongrass moorland. Results from these studies are used to help develop prescriptions for planned burns.

Preliminary results from these studies are generally showing that plants and animals recover quickly from fire but the timing of recovery depends on the soil nutrient status. Communities on low productivity soils take longer to recover after fire than those on higher productivity soils - thus different prescriptions are required for moorlands with different soil productivity.

Fire research has changed our perceptions of the habitat requirements and conservation status of the broad-toothed mouse. Contrary to earlier, limited knowledge this species may benefit from early post-fire conditions in some buttongrass moorlands.

Some animal groups, such as soil mites, may take up to 30 years to return to pre-fire levels of abundance and composition. Frequency of fire is a key issue with several fires in quick succession having deleterious effects.

A long-term RMC project continues to examine the impacts of planned burns on the fluvial geomorphology and hydrology of buttongrass moorland streams.

Invasive species monitoringRisks to TWWHA assets from introduced and invasive species, both within and external to the TWWHA are assessed by RMC.

The TWWHA is characterised by a low diversity and low abundance of weeds, pests and diseases.

Most invasive species that are a serious threat to the integrity of the TWWHA are currently restricted in extent, including holly, blackberry, marram grass and sea spurge, the plant root rot disease Phytophthora and animal diseases such as the chytrid fungus, a cause of frog extinctions worldwide.

Plans and strategies identify management priorities and present strategies for control.

RMC also undertakes monitoring of exotic species in the TWWHA.

Major ongoing programs include:

• A review and risk assessment of introduced animals and animal diseases;

• An overarching weed management strategy and a Phytophthora management plan for the TWWHA;

• Monitoring of introduced marine pests in Port Davey-Bathurst Harbour;

• Monitoring of the distribution of chytrid frog fungus and control through education and provision of facilities; and

• Research to assess the impacts of commercial apiary sites, trout and lyrebirds.

RMC is leading significant changes in exotic species management by integrating existing and potential threat management within a single biosecurity system governing operational activities of the agency and guiding public use of the TWWHA. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with PWS and NRM South.

7Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Bottom left: Cave scientists surveying for invertebrates in a karst cave. Above: Experimental burn, McPartlans Pass. Above far right: Monitoring the health of pencil pines.

Photograph: Michael Driessen Photograph: Nick Fitzgerald

Case Studies

Photograph: Michael Comfort

Port DaveyPort Davey and associated Bathurst Harbour represents one of the world’s most anomalous estuarine systems because of an unusual combination of environmental factors. The dark, tannin-stained, low nutrient waters of the estuary have given rise to a unique community dominated by marine invertebrates. The fauna contains a relatively large component of undescribed invertebrate species, including numerous endemic species that have not been recorded elsewhere, and deep sea species present at anomalously shallow depths. Although the estuary has historically been protected by its isolation, it is potentially threatened by boating, fishing, dive tourism, nutrient enrichment, introduced species, onshore development and global climate change. Surveys have led to the recognition of this internationally significant ecosystem – it was not recognised at the time the TWWHA was listed in 1982. Baseline monitoring of the marine invertebrate communities enables assessment of potential impacts from tourism, development and global climate change. Introduced marine pests such as New Zealand screw shells are also monitored and, when appropriate, management actions are implemented. A Port Davey Marine Reserve Visitors Guide and Map has been produced to educate visitors about the reserve and to provide advice on minimising their impacts.

Chytrid fungusChytridiomycosis is an infectious disease caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Chytrid). The disease has been linked with the decline and extinctions of frogs worldwide and was first detected in Tasmania in 2004. Surveys have found that chytrid is largely absent from the TWWHA (which is the stronghold for Tasmania’s three endemic frog species) but occurs widely elsewhere in the state including in the margins of the TWWHA. The main cause of chytrid spread is thought to be in infected mud and water on machinery and people. A Tasmanian Chytrid Management Plan has been developed, which seeks to monitor frog populations and prevent the spread of the disease into the TWWHA. Recent research has shown that the endemic Tasmanian tree Frog is highly susceptible to the disease.

Commercial apiary sitesThe TWWHA is an important source of nectar for Tasmania’s unique leatherwood honey industry. Less than 10 per cent of the leatherwood resource in the TWWHA is available to the industry owing to a lack of road access to the majority of the area. In response to calls from industry to increase access, a three-year research program was undertaken into the impact of commercial hives on leatherwood forests and their fauna. The study found that commercial hives increased the number of honeybees using leatherwood (feral honeybees are widespread in the TWWHA). Hive bees depressed the amount of nectar sugar and pollen available in leatherwood flowers. Overall, hive honeybees did not impact on the abundance of native insects or the rate at which native insects visited leatherwood flowers. However, at some sites where native insects were abundant and levels of nectar sugar were low, hive bees might have reduced native insect numbers visiting leatherwood flowers. Fruit set in leatherwood tended to be higher near apiaries. Given that only limited impacts on leatherwood forests were detected and that only a small percentage of the resource was used by commercial apiarists, the industry was considered to have an acceptable level of use of the TWWHA reserve system. 9

Opposite: Surveying erosion on the Central Plateau. Right: Monitoring climate change impact on beach vegetation, Cox Bight. Cup Ringtail Damselfly in buttongrass.Tasmanian tree frog.Monitoring impact of honeybees on leatherwood.

Photograph: Tim Rudman

Photograph: Michael Driessen

Photograph: Iain Stych

Photograph: Michael Driessen

Gordon River and vessel wakeAlmost 30 years ago thousand year old Huon pines lining the banks of the lower Gordon River began falling into the river at an alarming rate. Vessel wake was identified as the cause, and speed and access restrictions were imposed on vessels. Since then RMC has had an extensive erosion monitoring program in place, has refined geomorphological models of natural processes, and conducted a comprehensive series of experiments to determine the geomorphic effects of boat wave wake. This work has demonstrated that if licence conditions imposed upon commercial vessels relating to wake wave heights and periods are exceeded then erosion of the river banks results. A request for access to reaches currently off limits to most commercial activity prompted the PWS to sponsor a further series of geomorphological experiments. RMC again undertook this research work, which involved significant innovation in developing the scientific methodology to test the response of sandy landforms to wave wake.

Conifers and climate changeMany of the plants that contribute to the values of the TWWHA are endemic to Tasmania and have evolved during cooler and wetter periods. Monitoring the impacts of climate change on iconic endemic conifers allows an insight into how these primitive communities are coping as conditions change. The health of King Billy pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides) and pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides) are scored and documented. The health of two additional endemic shrubby conifers – drooping pine (Pherosphaera hookeriana) and dwarf pine (Diselma archeri) – are also being monitored. All these conifer species have been showing symptoms of dieback, possibly associated with drought stress. These plant species are monitored through the use of photo-points, aerial photography and permanent monitoring plots. Historic photographs and data are also being used to provide an indication of changes in the extent and condition of these conifers since the early 1900s. A partnership with ClimateWatch enables the public to provide information on the health of king billy pines, pencil pines and fagus (Nothofagus gunnii).

Left: Gordon River.Monitoring climate change impact on marsupial lawn, New Harbour.Installing a weather station on Mt Sprent. Eastern pygmy possum.

Photograph: Nick Fitzgerald

Photograph: Michael Driessen

Buttongrass illustration: Richard Hale

Photograph: Tim Rudman

Photograph: Michael Comfort

A selection of recent TWWHA related scientific papers and publications, representing a range of projects undertaken by RMC.

Balmer, J., Whinam, J., Kelman, J., Kirkpatrick, J.B. and Lazarus, E. (2004). A review of the floristic values of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Department of Primary Industries Water and Environment, Tasmania, Australia. Nature Conservation Report Series 2004/3.

Balmer, J. (ed) (2010), Proceedings of the 2007 buttongrass moorland management workshop. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart, Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report Series 2010/4.

Bradbury, J. (2005). Managing Lower Gordon River erosion – geoconservation of landforms affected by tourism. Snapshot 14.3 in Worboys, G., Lockwood, M. and De Lacy, T. (eds.) Protected Area Management: principles and practice, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press.

Bradbury, J. (2005). Lower Gordon River turbidity monitoring, April 2003 – December 2004. Department of Primary Industries and Water, Hobart.

Bradbury, J. (2011). Eroding landforms within the Port Davey ria estuary complex: wave wake or sea level rise? Monitoring report for the decade 2000 – 2010. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart.

Bridle, K., Cullen, P. and Russell (2003). Peatland hydrology, fire management and Holocene fire regimes in southwest Tasmanian blanket bogs. Nature Conservation Report Series 03/7.

Driessen, M.M. and Mallick, S.A. (2003). The vertebrate fauna of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Pacific Conservation Biology 9(3): 187-206.

Driessen, M. M. (2009). Baseline monitoring of the Tasmanian Glow-worm and other cave fauna: Exit Cave and Mystery Creek Cave – Tasmania. Department of Primary Industries and Water, Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report Series 09/02.

Edgar, G.J., Last, P.R., Barrett, N.S., Gowlett-Holmes, K., Driessen, M. and Mooney, P. (2009). Conservation of natural wilderness values in the Port Davey marine and estuarine protected area, south-western Tasmania. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20: 297–311.

Fitzgerald, N. (2011). Establishment Report for Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Climate Change Monitoring Program: Montane Conifers. Department of Primary Industries Parks Water and Environment, Hobart, Nature Conservation Report Series 11/06.

Horton, B. M., Rudman, T., Balmer, J. and Houshold, I. (2008). Monitoring Dry Coastal Vegetation in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Part 2: Appraisal of Method. Nature Conservation Report Series 08/4.

Jerie, K. (2005). Fluvial geomorphology of buttongrass moorland landscapes of western Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report Series 05/6.

Locke, S. (2007). The Distribution and Abundance of Fallow Deer in the Central Plateau Conservation Area and Adjacent Areas in Tasmania: A Baseline Monitoring Program. Nature Conservation Report Series 07/02.

Mallick, S.A. and Driessen, M.M. (2005). An inventory of the invertebrates of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Pacific Conservation Biology 11(3): 198-211.

Mallick, S.A. and Driessen, M.M. (2009) Impacts of hive honeybees on Tasmanian leatherwood Eucryphia lucida Labill. (Eucryphiaceae). Austral Ecology 34: 185-195.

Mallick, S. A. and Driessen, M. M. (2009). Review, Risk Assessment and Management of Introduced Animals in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmania. Nature Conservation Report Series 10/01.

Pauza, M., Driessen, M.M. and Skerratt, L. (2010). Distribution and risk factors for spread of amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 92: 193-199

Philips, A. and Driessen, M. (2008) Strategy for managing wildlife disease in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Department of Primary Industries and Water.

Rudman, T. Balmer, J. and Storey, D (2005). The impact of Phytophthora cinnamomi on plant species frequency in buttongrass moorland in southwest Tasmania. Baseline establishment report. Nature Conservation Report Series 05/2.

Rudman, T., Horton, B. M. and Balmer, J. (2008). Monitoring Dry Coastal Vegetation in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Part 1: Monitoring Priorities. Nature Conservation Report Series 08/1.

Sharples, C. (2003). A review of the Geoconservation values of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Nature Conservation Report Series, 03/6.

Sharples, C. (2011). Potential climate change impacts on geodiversity in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area: A management response position paper. Department of Primary Industries Parks Water and Environment, Hobart, Nature Conservation Report Series 11/04.

Storey, K. and Betts, E. (2011). Fluvial Geomorphology and Hydrology of Small Buttongrass Moorland Streams: the Gelignite Creek case study. Department of Primary Industries Parks Water and Environment, Hobart, Nature Conservation Report Series 11/05.

Storey, K. and Comfort, M. (2007). A progress report on the development of rehabilitation priorities for broad scale erosion within the World Heritage Area on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, 2005-06. Nature Conservation Report Series 07/1.

Styger, J. and Balmer, J. (2009). Alpine treeline ecotone monitoring program within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart. Nature Conservation Report Series 09/4.

Styger, J., Brown, M.J. and Whinam, J. (2010). Monitoring for the effects of climate change on the flora values of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 144:21-25.

Links to these and additional TWWHA related publications can be found at: www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au/TWWHA_Research

Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

11Research and Monitoring in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Cave bettle illustration: Karen Richards

Photograph: Michael Comfort