Scottsdale Reserve
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Scottsdale Reserve is a
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
on the
Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...
in south-central
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. It is south of
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, and north of
Bredbo Bredbo is a village on the Monaro plains of New South Wales, Australia. The village is on the Monaro Highway north of Cooma. The village is in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council and had a population of 352 at the . History Located at the jun ...
. It is owned and managed by
Bush Heritage Australia Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund. Its vision is: Healthy Country, Protected Forever. ...
(BHA), which purchased it in 2006.Smith, B., 2015. Ambitious project to save Australia’s biodiversity launches. The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/ambitious-project-to-save-australias-biodiversity-launches-20150407-1mg2c4.html The purchase was supportive of projects aiming to connect existing fragmented remnant habitat such a
K2C
(Kosciuszko to Coast). Since the 1870s up until 2006, the land was used for agriculture – primarily sheep grazing with some minor cropping. A significant component of the Reserve (around 25%) has been cleared of native vegetation (~300 Ha). The reserve is within lands historically attributed to the
Ngunawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyun ...
people. Aboriginal presence in the area was likely due to the availability of resources such as the
Bogong moth The bogong moth (''Agrotis infusa'') is a temperate species of Nocturnal, night-flying moth, notable for its biannual long-distance seasonal Lepidoptera migration, migrations towards and from the Australian Alps, similar to the diurnal monarch ...
(''Argotis infusa'') and the daisy yam (''Microseris lanceolata''). The Murrumbidgee River would have been a good source of fish including the
trout cod The trout cod (''Maccullochella macquariensis'') or bluenose cod, is a large predatory freshwater fish of the genus '' Maccullochella'' and the family Percichthyidae, closely related to the Murray cod. It was originally widespread in the sout ...
(''Maccullochhella macquariensis'')Frawley, J., Nichols, S., Goodall, H. and Baker, E. 2011. Upper Murrumbidgee: Talking fish‐ making connections with the rivers of the Murray‐Darling Basin, Murray‐Darling Basin Authority, Canberra – currently listed as endangered under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (
EPBC The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
) Act 1999. The river would have provided water for many species of terrestrial fauna the local Aboriginal people are known to have utilised for food including the
brushtail possum The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hyp ...
(''Trichosurus vulpecula''),
eastern grey kangaroo The eastern grey kangaroo (''Macropus giganteus'': gigantic large-foot; also great grey kangaroo or forester kangaroo) is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. Although a large ''M. giganteus ...
(''Macropus gigantus'') and the
swamp wallaby The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Qu ...
(''Wallabia bicolor'').


Biology and ecology

Scottsdale Reserve contains a diverse range of species including more than 217 plant species and 142 animal species including 113 bird species, primarily within two threatened communities: # Yellow box grassy woodlands (nationally critically endangered under the EPBC Act 1999); and # Natural temperate grassland (nationally critically endangered under the EPBC Act 1999). Other vegetation communities found on the reserve include: * Scribbly gum-black cypress pine forest; and * Tablelands frost hollow grassy woodlands.


Flora

An extensive
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
restoration program is underway at Scottsdale with a nursery on site propagating plants including grasses such as river tussock ('' Poa labillardierei''), shrubs such as the silver wattle (''
Acacia dealbata ''Acacia dealbata'', the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to southeastern Australia and widely introduced in other warm climates. Description It is a fast-growing ...
'') and trees including yellowbox (''
Eucalyptus melliodora ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part o ...
''). In addition to propagating the more common species expected to be present in the vegetation communities mentioned above, Scottsdale is host to the silver-leafed mountain gum ('' Eucalyptus pulverulenta''). Only ten natural populations of the silver-leafed mountain gum are thought to still exist in Australia and it has been listed as vulnerable to extinction.Scottsdale Reserve Bush Regeneration – Progress Report 2015/2016 – unknown author, available from Bush Heritage Australia The Scottsdale team have obtained licenses and intend to propagate this species while in the process of identifying suitable sites.


Natural temperate grassland

The southern tablelands of the ACT and NSW contained around 480,000 hectares of native grasslands prior to European settlement. There is less than 3% of that original area today unaffected by the changes settlers brought including land clearing, grazing and invasive plants.Butzer, K.W. and Helgren, D.M. 2005. Livestock, Land Cover, and Environmental History: The Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 1820–1920. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 95: 80–111 Other impacts that graziers have had on natural grasslands include changes to soil chemistry resulting from the use of fertilisers,
habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...
and changes in microbial processes. Natural temperate grassland is characterised by native
perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
tussock grasses such as kangaroo grass (''
Themeda triandra } ''Themeda triandra'' is a species of perennial tussock-forming grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass and in East Africa and South Africa it is known as red grass and ...
syn. T. australis''), snowgrass ('' Poa sieberiana'') and river tussock grass ('' Poa labillardierei''), together with speargrass species ('' Austrostipa sp.''), wallaby grasses ('' Austrodanthonia sp.'') and wild sorghum ('' Sorghum leiocladum''). Approximately 90 Hectares of Scottsdale Reserve originally contained natural temperate grassland. The original grassland was found beside the Gungoandra Creek along a chain of ponds and frost hollows. Managing the weeds prior to restoration is a challenge, with techniques including the application of herbicide, soil scraping and burning being utilised to reduce the
seedbank A seed bank (also seed banks, seeds bank or seed vault) stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, ...
prior to seeding. In April 2014, 11 different native grasses and 30 different wildflowers were direct seeded into isolated trial areas. After 7 months, surveys showed that desirable plants were germinating at an average of 80 plants per square metre and seed was spreading into adjoining areas of Scottsdale Reserve.


Yellow box grassy woodlands

In New South Wales, grassy box woodlands are characterised in the over-storey by distinct ''Eucalypt'' species that change with diminishing rainfall the further one travels from the coast.Prober, S.M., Thiele, K.R. and Higginson, E. 2001. The Grassy Box Woodlands Conservation Management Network: Picking up the pieces in fragmented woodlands. Ecological Management and Restoration 2: 179-188 In the tablelands where Scottsdale Reserve is situated, the dominant eucalypts in grassy box woodlands are yellow box (''
Eucalyptus melliodora ''Eucalyptus melliodora'', commonly known as yellow box, honey box or yellow ironbark, is a species of medium-sized to occasionally tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern, continental Australia. It has rough, flaky or fibrous bark on part o ...
'') and red gum (''
Eucalyptus blakelyi ''Eucalyptus blakelyi'', known as Blakely's red gum, is a tree endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth bark on its trunk and branches, dull bluish green, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of seven, white flowers and cup ...
''). The mid-storey consists of sparse shrubs from the ''
Grevillea ''Grevillea'' (), commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the ...
'', ''
Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'' and ''
Cassinia ''Cassinia'' is a genus of about fifty-two species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae that are native to Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Cassinia'' are shrubs, sometimes small trees with leaves arranged alternately, a ...
'' families while the ground layer consists of grasses and herbaceous plants. Prior to European arrival, millions of hectares in NSW was covered in grassy box woodlands, today less than 10% remains. The impacts of clearing for agriculture have resulted in fragmentation of the remnant vegetation, leading to efforts in conservation focussing on providing corridors linking these fragments. A large amount of cleared former yellow box grassy woodland is now covered in african lovegrass (''
Eragrostis curvula ''Eragrostis curvula'' is a species of grass known by the common name weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass. It is native to southern Africa. It is an introduced ...
'') throughout the Monaro. The team at Scottsdale and a host of volunteers have planted 20,000 tube-stock plants from the critically endangered vegetation community in a trial to shade out the lovegrass. The team are trialling different methods of restoration ecologyBush Heritage Australia, 2015. Saving our Species. Bush Heritage Australia Science and Research Plan 2015-2025. http://www.bushheritage.org.au/downloads/Reports/BHA-Science-Plan-2015.pdf in an attempt to understand methods that will best suit the Reserve. Natural tree regeneration in Australian agricultural landscapes of species such as ''Eucalyptus'' and ''Allocasuarina'' has historically been low. Higher historical levels of agricultural activity such as cultivation, grazing and degraded land being invaded by weeds tend to lead to less natural regeneration of eucalypt species and other desired vegetationWatson, J., Freudenberger, D. and Paull, D. 2001. An assessment of the focal-species approach for conserving birds in variegated landscapes in southeastern Australia. Conservation Biology 15: 1364–1373. from the threatened communities.McGinnes, H.M., Arthur, A.D., Davies, M. and McIntyre, S. 2013. Floodplain woodland structure and condition: the relative influence of flood history and surrounding irrigation land use intensity in contrasting regions of a dryland river. Ecohydrology 6: 201-213. Grazing intensity appears to be the primary determinant of ''Eucalyptus'' regenerative success as changes to the seedbed occur due to pasture grass introductions and seedlings are often browsed by either stockRobertson, A.I. and Rowling, R.W. 2000. Effects of livestock on riparian zone vegetation in an Australian dryland river. Regulated Rivers Research & Management 16: 527-541. or pests reducing their survival rate. In areas without stock access, the abundance of young eucalypt plants can be up to three orders of magnitude greater than sites where stock have regular access. In the 18 months up to April 2015, more than 4,000 yellow and white box eucalypt plantings at Scottsdale were experiencing survival rates of 96.5%. This level of success can be attributed to the absence of stock in paddocks where the plantings have been implemented and the use of sturdy tree guards to help reduce pest browsing by animals such as the swamp wallaby ('' Wallabia bicolor'') and rabbits.


Murrumbidgee riparian corridor

Scottsdale in conjunction with the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach have planted a 6km habitat corridor between
Bredbo Bredbo is a village on the Monaro plains of New South Wales, Australia. The village is on the Monaro Highway north of Cooma. The village is in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council and had a population of 352 at the . History Located at the jun ...
and the Colinton Gorge. This corridor will improve the habitat for the threatened murray cod, macquarie perch and trout cod. Trials of long-stem planting in the riparian verge of species such as ''
Eucalyptus viminalis ''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to c ...
'', in conjunction with 17,000 ''Poa labillardierei'' are underway. Areas along the riparian corridor that have been less intensively grazed host a greater abundance and variety of shrubs from the grassy box woodlands community. Increasing the abundance of shrubs is an important component of creating a more complex vegetation structure that will support a wider variety and abundance of bird species. Most of the riparian zone along the Murrumbidgee is privately owned land. Stock access to water along the Murrumbidgee has had a particularly severe impact on the vegetation and habitat through trampling, grazing and erosion. While fencing can be erected in an attempt to control stock access, native herbivores such as kangaroos and wallabies cause as much damage as stock and are relatively unaffected by fencing.


Fauna

Scottsdale Reserve is home to a number of different animals – some native and some exotic. Threatened species include rosenberg’s monitor (''
Varanus rosenbergi The Rosenberg's monitor (''Varanus rosenbergi'') is an Australian species of varanid reptile found in southern regions of the continent. They are large and fast predators with rugged bodies and long tails, having a combined length up to 1.5 metr ...
''), the speckled warbler ('' Pyrrholaemus sagittatus''), brown treecreeper ('' Climacteris picumnus''), macquarie perch (''
Macquaria australasica The Macquarie perch (''Macquaria australasica'') is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling river system. It is a member of the family Percichthyidae and is closely related to the golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua''). Th ...
'') and striped legless lizard ('' Delma impar''). The latter two species have specific conservation programs underway at Scottsdale.


Macquarie perch (''

Macquaria australasica The Macquarie perch (''Macquaria australasica'') is an Australian native freshwater fish of the Murray-Darling river system. It is a member of the family Percichthyidae and is closely related to the golden perch (''Macquaria ambigua''). Th ...
'')

The macquarie perch is one of three threatened fish species found in the Upper Murrumbidgee River alongside murray cod (''Maccullochella peelii'') and trout cod (''Maccullochella macquariensis''). This Australian native freshwater fish is endemic to the south eastern component of the Murray-Darling River System and prefers clear, flowing water. In the 1970s the species was observed to be declining in abundance with a contracting range and this eventually led to a listing of nationally endangered under the EPBC Act 1999. Today, physical barriers such as dams and the distance between small populations that are geographically dispersed increase the extinction threat. Researchers from the
University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...
are currently working to protect this species together with the team at Scottsdale through the identification of spawning areas (utilising underwater listening posts and acoustic tags) which can then be analysed to help understand factors affecting recruitment. Fishing is a factor often attributed to the decline in the macquarie perch fish stocks, however evidence suggests that environmental factors such as altered hydrological flows and predation by carpHaynes, G.D., Gilligan, D.M., Grewes, P., and Nicholas, F.W. 2009. Population genetics and management units of invasive common carp Cyprinus carpio in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Journal of Fish Biology 75:295-320 have a far greater influence.


Striped legless lizard ('' Delma impar'')

The striped legless lizard prefers undisturbed primary native grasslands with dense cover of tussock grasses such as kangaroo grass (''Themeda triandra''). Suburban development leading to habitat fragmentation and extensive agricultural impact on both native vegetation and soils have contributed to the decline of suitable habitat for ''Delma impar''. Only around 3% of undisturbed temperate grasslands (suitable habitat for ''Delma impar'') are estimated to remain in south eastern Australia. ''Delma impar'' seeks cover from tussock grasses to help maintain its body temperature and moisture requirements. Habitat selection is also driven by predator avoidance (such as raptors) and the abundance of invertebrate food sources. A key conservation challenge in managing populations of this threatened lizard has been maintaining genetic diversity, as the habitat is highly fragmented and populations are relatively small. One of the management actions at Scottsdale is supporting the relocation of a number of vulnerable striped legless lizards (''Delmar impar'') from development sites in Canberra. Trial areas were fenced prior to relocating the lizards whose original habitat prior to the advent of agriculture was natural treeless grasslands. Following human disturbance, the threatened lizard has a restricted range existing in fragmented secondary grasslands (where trees have been removed) in temperate areas of south eastern Australia.


Trout cod ('' Maccullochella macquariensis'')

Trout cod have been grown in a hatchery and introduced to the Murrumbidgee River near
Narrandera Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...
in an attempt to build stocks of this threatened fish.Ebner, B.C. and Thiem, J.D. 2009. Monitoring by telemetry reveals differences in movement and survival following hatchery or wild rearing of an endangered fish. Marine and Freshwater Research 60: 45-57 While this is a common approach to increasing the stock of threatened fish species, survival rates can often be low due to the fish displaying domesticated behavioural traits. Greater success was experienced with the translocation of wild trout cod where greater numbers of individuals were present (tracked using radio telemetry) after 12 months (more than 60% of the wild fish survived while less than 10% of the hatchery fish were present).


Environmental threats

Management actions at Scottsdale are directed at reducing environmental threats in order to help protect the threatened ecosystems and species mentioned above. Threats include: * Feral grazing and predation from pigs, deer, rabbits, cats, carp and foxes. Management actions include trapping and baiting. * Invasive weeds such as African lovegrass, serrated tussock, st johns wort and briar rose – management actions have historically utilised herbicide, although new methods are currently being trialled. * Erosion – management actions include the construction of leaky weirs, flumes and establishing vegetative ground cover.


European rabbits (''

Oryctolagus cuniculus The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and southwestern France. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Oryctolagus''. The European ra ...
'')

European rabbits were introduced to Australia in 1788 as part of the settlement associated with the
First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
and rapidly established themselves as a serious vertebrate pest.Eldridge, D.J. and Simpson, R. 2001. Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) impacts on vegetation and soils, and implications for management of wooded rangelands. Basic and Applied Ecology 3: 19-29 Rabbits create warrens, or a series of burrows in the soil that leads to extensive soil disturbance in the near vicinity. Weeds tend to flourish in the disturbed soils associated with warren diggings at the expense of native vegetation. Rabbits will graze extensively, removing native vegetation and degrading the landscape. They have a significant impact on shrub recruitment unless suitable guards are in place which can be an expensive means of protecting new growth. Scottsdale maintains an active program to help reduce the threat of rabbits. Since volunteers at Scottsdale have been inspecting and baiting warrens every 3 months, active rabbit sites have reduced from nearly 60% of 320 identified warrens to around 20%.


African lovegrass (''

Eragrostis curvula ''Eragrostis curvula'' is a species of grass known by the common name weeping lovegrass. Other common names include Boer lovegrass, curved lovegrass, Catalina lovegrass, and African lovegrass. It is native to southern Africa. It is an introduced ...
'')

The most serious environmental weed on the property is African lovegrass – which has invaded much of the previously cleared pasture land and forms monocultures in many similar locations in the Kosciuszko to Coast management areas in south eastern NSW. This weed is highly invasive, choking out native growth in degraded soils and changing the fire behaviour of an area potentially transforming the ecosystem. In addition, the subdivision of large rural lands into smaller properties that are often bought by people with little weed knowledge is exacerbating an already severe problem through their lack of effective action.


Carp (''

Cyprinus carpio The common carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), also known as European carp, Eurasian carp, or simply carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Ark ...
'')

The common carp (''Cyprinus carpio'') was introduced to Australia around 150 years ago and has since become the dominant fish in the Murray Darling Basin, forming up to 90% of the fish biomass. The carp is highly invasive, and is considered a pest in most Australian states due to a vast appetite for predation and its ability to recruit in hydrologically altered waterways where native fish often have a need for greater current variability. Bush Heritage Australia, together with the Upper Murrumbidgee Demonstration Reach is conducting research in an attempt to better deal with this pest. The research includes tracking the carp using acoustic telemetry and trapping – to remove the carp but also to help estimate population numbers and identify breeding and gathering locations.Bush Heritage Australia, 2014. Controlling carp on the ‘bidgee. http://www.bushheritage.org.au/news/headlines/headlines_2014/controlling-carp-on-the-bidgee.html


Management

BHA maintain 5 main management objectives for the ecosystems on Reserve: # Cleared box woodland areas – restored with yellow box and associated species by 2030; # Valley floor – increase native grassland by 20% by 2030, while protecting remnant vegetation; # Restore habitat in the Murrumbidgee riparian and in-stream zones by 2020; # Stabilise Gungoandra Creek and tributary gullies by 2030; and # Dry sclerophyll forest areas – will support priority species of flora and fauna by 2030. In order to deliver against these objectives, Scottsdale Reserve hosts a large number of volunteers who under-take activities such as large scale planting in the previously cleared valley, propagation in the in-house nursery and weed control in remnant vegetation.


References


External links


Bush Heritage Australia
{{BHA Reserves Bush Heritage Australia reserves Nature reserves in New South Wales 2006 establishments in Australia