State of the Environment

2001

Biodiversity Theme Report

Australia State of the Environment Report 2001 (Theme Report)
Prepared by: Dr Jann Williams, RMIT University, Authors
Published by CSIRO on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2001
ISBN 0 643 06749 3

Biodiversity Status, Trends and Indicators (continued)

Indicators of biodiversity

Environmental indicators

This Report pioneers the use of environmental indicators on a continental scale. Environmental indicators are physical, chemical, biological or socioeconomic measures that are considered to best represent the key elements of a complex ecosystem or environmental issue. When fully developed they should help define the nature and size of environmental issues, set goals for their solution and track progress towards these goals (Heinemann et al. 1998). In order to track these changes, a monitoring program is essential where repeated sets of measurements are compared with a benchmark set or condition. For SoE reporting, these benchmarks must enable the effects of current programs and policies and of land/resource management activities to be assessed in relation to their biodiversity outcomes.

Table 4: Qualitative comparison of status and trends for biodiversity between SoE (1996) and the 2001 Report 
Eucalypt-dominated savanna woodlands and marine systems such as seagrasses were not addressed in the 1996 report.
Climate change is seen as a pervasive threat to both terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Key issue:
(ecosystem or taxa)		 Condition
1996		 Condition
2001		 Pressure
1996		 Pressure
2001		 Key response
1996		 Key response
2001		 Effectiveness of key response
Ecosystem diversity
Northern rainforests Highly fragmented many areas degraded No change to 1996 Habitat destruction Habitat destruction Listing as protected areas including World Heritage Register; improved land management   Limited; some unique areas not protected; clearing grazing fire management and weeds still problematic
Southern rainforests Highly fragmented No change to 1996 Habitat destruction Habitat destruction Listing in protected areas   Increase in reserve estate (NSW)
Tall open forests Extensive losses in area and altered species composition No change to 1996 Altered fire regimes, land clearance logging Altered fire regimes, land clearance logging Improved management reservation Fire management Reserve system expanded via RFA process; initial definition of Ecological Sustainable Forest Management (effectiveness not yet assessable)
Acacia forests, woodlands and shrublands Habitat loss and degradation; species diversity reduced Habitat loss and degradation; species diversity reduced Clearance, grazing Clearance, grazing, altered fire regimes. Land clearance is the single largest threat to biodiversity. The situation is deteriorating as threatening activities continue Improved land management Vegetation clearance controls Locally effective. Vegetation clearance not yet controlled
Eucalypt-dominated temperate woodlands Widespread habitat loss; fragmentation Widespread habitat loss; fragmentation Clearance, grazing, salinity Clearance, grazing, salinity   Vegetation clearance controls Vegetation, clearance not yet controlled
Savanna woodlands Habitat degradation and modification Habitat degradation and modification   Altered fire and grazing regimes, weeds, feral animals   Improved land management Locally effective
Eucalypt scrubs and shrublands Extreme fragmentation, possible inability to regenerate No change to 1996 Clearance, grazing Clearance, grazing, salinity. Land clearance is the single largest threat to biodiversity. The situation is deteriorating as threatening activities continue Reservation; restoration Vegetation clearance controls Very limited; reserves inadequate.Vegetation clearance not yet controlled
Heathlands Widespread habitat loss; fragmentation No change to 1996 Clearance, altered fire regimes, urbanisation, agriculture and sand mining Clearance, altered fire regimes, urbanisation, agriculture and sand mining Reserves Fire management Limited and only locally effective
Chenopod shrublands Widespread habitat degradation; many plant species endangered No change to 1996 Grazing Grazing, woody weeds Improved land management; reserves Weed control strategies Locally effective only. Very limited
Native grasslands Many areas highly degraded or altered by introduction of exotic species No change to 1996 Grazing Grazing, weeds, urban development. Altered fire regimes Improved land management and legislation; reservation   Locally effective; reserves inadequate. Inclusion in regional vegetation planning in some jurisdictions (effectiveness unclear)
Alpine and subalpine vegetation Some areas highly degraded No change to 1996 Grazing, tourism, climate change (predicted) Grazing, tourism, climate change (likely) Reservation; improved land management   Many areas now in national parks; others remain degraded and vulnerable
Salt marshes and mangroves Extensive loss near urban areas No change to 1996 Habitat destruction and degradation Habitat destruction and degradation, sediments and nutrients from land, climate change (sea level rise) Protected areas, development control, community awareness ICM pollution control. Greenhouse policy Unknown. Greenhouse policy not clear on biodiversity aspects
Species diversity
Microorganisms Unknown but population composition and size likely to be affected No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss Habitat modification and loss, unknown Little direct response   Not known. Insufficient research or policy development
Marine invertebrates Reduction in population size of exploited species Unknown Habitat modification and loss, harvesting; competition pests Habitat modification and loss, harvesting, competition pests, sediments/ pollution from land Management plans for exploited species; controls on illegal harvesting Pollution control; ballast water management Pressures are continuing; very few successes. Effect of pollution control unknown; ballast water strategies taking effect
Freshwater invertebrates Insufficient information to assess No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss Habitat modification and loss, salinity; climate change; pollution; water allocation ICM; waste-water treatment; restoration of wetlands; control of introduced pests Various policy responses. Research and monitoring Little known. Uncertain as yet. Increasing from low base
Land invertebrates Massive reduction in population size of effected species No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss Habitat modification and loss Little direct response; protected areas   Little known
Marine fish Many important species overexploited majority in good condition Some species overexploited; majority sustainably harvested; some status unclear Harvesting of edible species Harvesting of edible species, effect on non-target species Management plans for most major species Management plans in place for few stocks - few properly address ecological effects. Individual transferable quota systems Management plans required in most jurisdictions; bycatch planning commencing. Unclear
Freshwater fish Generally in poor condition, many species threatened Situation worsened? Habitat modification and loss; introduced species Habitat modification and loss, introduced species, salinity, pollution, sediments/nutrients from land, reduce/altered flows from storages and diversion ICM; wetland restoration; control of introduced pests Various policy responses. Provision of environmental flows ICM more widespread; NPI in place; control of exotics difficult. Efficacy of policies for protecting biodiversity unknown. Unclear; environmental flow provision beginning under COAG water reforms
Amphibians Several species have disappeared or are declining No change to 1996 Sustained habitat loss but often pressures not identified, pollution, sediments and nutrients, climate change Sustained habitat loss but often pressures not identified, pollution, sediments and nutrients, climate change Protected areas; community-initiated protection   Lack of knowledge of causes of declines prevents effective actions
Reptiles Massive reduction in numbers in urban and agricultural areas No change to 1996 Habitat loss Habitat loss Protection areas; protection of marine and freshwater turtles Bycatch policy Partially effective
Birds Some species disappearing; others threatened; a few increasing their range No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss, predation from feral animals Habitat modification and loss, predation from feral animals General protection; protected areas Threat abatement plans. Revegetation (limited direct response). Increase in protected areas in some jurisdictions Unclear as yet. Partially effective
Mammals Several species lost; others threatened; a few increasing their range No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss, competition with and predation by feral animals Habitat modification and loss, competition with and predation by feral animals, forest management; land clearance General protection; protected areas Threat abatement plans; species action plans. Protected areas Pressure from feral cats and foxes continues; unclear as yet. Partially effective
Marine plants Extensive loss of seagrasses; localised loss of mangroves No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss, pollution, natural events (floods cyclones) Habitat modification and loss, pollution, natural events (floods cyclones), nutrients/sediments from land, climate change (sea level rise) Protection for seagrasses and mangroves but destruction still allowed in some areas by permit ICM; pollution control; greenhouse policy; reservation Unclear as yet; reserves increased in some jurisdictions
Freshwater plants Species threatened No change to 1996 Habitat modification and loss Habitat modification and loss, weeds, water extraction Limitation on water licences; protected areas Wetland restoration; environmental flows; ICM; weed strategies Some localised advances - unclear as yet
Land plants Many species endangered or vulnerable No change to 1996 Clearance, habitat modification and loss Clearance, habitat modification and loss, environmental weeds altered fire regimes, grazing, harvesting Protected areas Weeds strategies; fire management; harvesting controls pastoral management strategies. Protected areas increased in some regions and jurisdictions Unclear. Effective in some areas
Genetic diversity
  Some species show reduced genetic diversity While the degree of genetic diversity is unclear, it is almost certainly declining Habitat fragmentation and loss Habitat fragmentation and loss, GMOs Protected areas; captive breeding; reintroduction; regulation of exploitation   Little known; research in progress

The 2001 State of the Environment Report

The national level biodiversity indicators that form the basis of the report were developed by Saunders et al. (1998). A total of 65 indicators were recommended (Table 5), 14 of which related to pressures on biodiversity, 17 to the condition of biodiversity and 34 to responses to the loss of or perceived threats to biodiversity. Throughout this Report the indicators will be referred to by the numbering system used in Table 5.

Table 5: Biodiversity indicators for national State of Environment reporting
Each Indicator is referred to in the Report according to its number.
No. Title
BD 1.1 Human population distribution and density
BD 1.2 Change in human population density
BD 2.1 | a | b | c | Extent and rate of clearing or major modification of natural vegetation or marine habitat
BD 2.2 | a | b | c | Location and configuration or fragmentation of remnant vegetation and marine habitat
BD 3.1 Rate of extension of exotic species into IBRA
BD 3.2 Pest numbers
BD 4.1 Distribution and abundance of GMOs
BD 5 Pollution
BD 6 Areal extent of altered fire regimes
BD 7 Human-induced climate change
BD 8.1 | a | b | Lists and numbers of organisms being trafficked and legally exported
BD 8.2 | a | b | Number of permits requested and issued for legal collecting or harvesting by venture
BD 8.3 Proportion of numbers collected over size of reproducing population
BD 8.4 Ratio of bycatch to target species
BD 9.1 Number of subspecific taxa
BD 9.2 Population size, numbers and physical isolation
BD 9.3 Environmental amplitude of populations
BD 9.4 Genetic diversity at marker loci
BD 10.1 Number of species
BD 10.2 Estimated number of species
BD 10.3 Number of species formally described
BD 10.4 Percentage of number of species described
BD 10.5 Number of subspecies as a percentage of species
BD 10.6 Number of endemic species
BD 10.7 | a | b | Conservation status of species
BD 10.8 Economic importance of species
BD 10.9 Percentage of species changing in distribution
BD 10.10 Number distribution and abundance of migratory species
BD 10.11 Demographic characteristics of target taxa
BD 11.1 Ecosystem diversity
BD 11.2 Number and extent of ecological communities of high conservation potential
BD 12 Integrated bioregional planning
BD 13.1 Extent of each vegetation type and marine habitat type in protected areas
BD 13.2 | a | b | Number of protected areas with management plans
BD 13.3 | a | b | c | d | Number of interest groups involved in protected area planning
BD 13.4 Resources committed to protected areas
BD 14 Proportion of bioregions covered by biological surveys
BD 15.1 Number of recovery plans
BD 15.2 Amount of funding for recovery plans
BD 16.1 Number of ex situ research programs
BD 16.2 Number of releases to the wild from ex situ breeding
BD 17.1 | a | b | c | Number of management plans for ecologically sustainable harvesting
BD 17.2 Effectiveness of bycatch controls
BD 18.1 Area of clearing officially permitted
BD 18.2 Area cleared to area revegetated
BD 18.3 Number of lending institutions considering biodiversity
BD 19.1 | a | b | Number of management plans for exotic/alien/GMOs
BD 19.2 Number of research programs for exotic/alien/GMOs
BD 19.3 Funding for research and control of exotic/alien/GMOs
BD 20 | a | b | c | Control over the impacts of pollution
BD 21 Reducing the impacts of altered fire regimes
BD 22 Minimising the potential impacts of human-induced climate change on biodiversity
BD 23.1 Number of local governments with management plans for biodiversity
BD 23.2 Number of companies with management plans for biodiversity
BD 24.1 Number of species described per reporting cycle
BD 24.2 Number of taxonomists involved per reporting cycle
BD 24.3 Amount of funding for taxonomy
BD 24.4 Number of research programs into surrogates
BD 24.5 Number of research programs into the role of biodiversity in ecological processes
BD 24.6 Number of long-term ecological monitoring sites
BD 24.7 | a | b | Percentage of budgets spent on conservation
BD 24.8 | a | b | Amount of Indigenous ethnobiological knowledge
BD 25.1 Local government management of biodiversity
BD 25.2 | a | b | c | d | Involvement of community groups in conservation
BD 26 Australia's international role in conservation

Source: Saunders et al. (1998).

When Saunders et al. (1998) were developing the national level indicators, each one was assessed to see if it would:

  1. serve as a robust indicator of environmental change
  2. reflect a fundamental or highly valued aspect of the environment
  3. be either national in scope or applicable to regional environmental issues of national significance
  4. provide an early warning of potential problems
  5. be capable of being monitored to provide statistically verifiable and reproducible data that show trends over time and preferably apply to a broad range of environmental regions
  6. be scientifically credible
  7. be easy to understand
  8. be monitored regularly with relative ease
  9. be cost-effective
  10. have relevance to policy and management needs
  11. contribute to monitoring of progress towards implementing commitments in nationally significant environmental policies
  12. where possible and appropriate facilitate community involvement
  13. contribute to the fulfilment of reporting obligations under international agreements
  14. where possible and appropriate use existing commercial and managerial indicators
  15. where possible and appropriate be consistent and comparable with other countries and state and territory indicators.
Reporting scale

The bioregional scale provides a national framework for the conservation and the protection of biodiversity and is used as the basis for reporting for many of the indicators developed by Saunders et al. (1998). The two major regionalisations used in Australia are the: IBRA (Thackway & Cresswell 1995) and IMCRA (IMCRA Technical Group 1998). In Australia, 85 IBRA and 60 IMCRA regions have been identified (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Australian terrestrial and marine regions derived from IBRA (version 5) and IMCRA, respectively.
These regionalisations are used as a framework for reporting on several of the biodiversity indicators used in this Report and are being increasingly used as the basis for biodiversity planning in Australia (see list of regions below).

Figure 4: Australian terrestrial and marine regions derived from IBRA (version 5) and IMCRA, respectively

Source: Environmental Information Resources Network

IBRA (version 5)
Name Region No.
Australian Alps 1
Arnhem Coast 2
Arnhem Plateau 3
Avon wheat belt 4
Brigalow Belt North 5
Brigalow Belt South 6
Ben Lomond 7
Broken Hill Complex 8
Burt Plain 9
Central Arnhem 10
Carnarvon 11
Channel Country 12
Central Kimberley 13
Central Mackay Coast 14
Coolgardie 15
Cobar Peneplain 16
Central Ranges 17
Cape York Peninsula 18
Daly Basin 19
Darwin Coastal 20
Desert Uplands 21
Dampierland 22
Davenport Murchison Ranges 23
Darling Riverine Plains 24
Einasleigh Uplands 25
Esperance Plains 26
Eyre Yorke Block 27
Finke 28
Flinders Lofty Block 29
Flinders 30
Gascoyne 31
Gawler 32
Gibson Desert 33
Gulf Fall and Uplands 34
Geraldton Sandplains 35
Great Sandy Desert 36
Gulf Coastal 37
Gulf Plains 38
Great Victoria Desert 39
Hampton 40
Jarrah Forest 41
Kanmantoo 42
King 43
Little Sandy Desert 44
MacDonnell Ranges 45
Mallee 46
Murray-Darling Depression 47
Mitchell Grass Downs 48
Mount Isa Inlier 49
Mulga Lands 50
Murchison 51
Nandewar 52
Naracoorte Coastal Plain 53
New England Tableland 54
Northern Kimberley 55
NSW North Coast 56
NSW South Western Slopes 57
Nullarbor 58
Ord Victoria Plain 59
Pine Creek 60
Pilbara 61
Riverina 62
Sydney Basin 63
South East Coastal Plain 64
South East Corner 65
South Eastern Highlands 66
South Eastern Queensland 67
Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields 68
Stony Plains 69
Sturt Plateau 70
Swan Coastal Plain 71
Tanami 72
Tasmanian Central Highlands 73
Tiwi Cobourg 74
Tasmanian Northern Midlands 75
Tasmanian Northern Slopes 76
Tasmanian South East 77
Tasmanian Southern Ranges 78
Tasmanian West 79
Victoria Bonaparte 80
Victorian Midlands 81
Victorian Volcanic Plain 82
Warren 83
Wet Tropics 84
Yalgoo 85
IMCRA 
(Shown in black in Figure 4.)
Name Region No.
Abrolhos Islands 1
Anson Beagle 2
Arafura 3
Arnhem Wessel 4
Batemans Shelf 5
Boags 6
Bonaparte Gulf 7
Bruny 8
Cambridge-Bonaparte 9
Canning 10
Carpentaria 11
Central Bass Strait 12
Central Reef 13
Central Victoria 14
Central West Coast 15
Cobourg 16
Coorong 17
Davey 18
Eyre 19
East Cape York 20
Eighty Mile Beach 21
Eucla 22
Flinders 23
Franklin 24
Freycinet 25
Groote 26
Hawkesbury Shelf 27
Karumba-Nassau 28
Kimberley 29
King Sound 30
Leeuwin-Naturaliste 31
Lucinda-Mackay Coast 32
Mackay-Capricorn 33
Manning Shelf 34
Murat 35
Ningaloo 36
North Spencer Gulf 37
North West Shelf 38
Oceanic Shoals 39
Otway 40
Pellew 41
Pilbara (nearshore) 42
Pilbara (offshore) 43
Pompey-Swains 44
Ribbons 45
Spencer Gulf 46
St Vincent Gulf 47
Shark Bay 48
Shoalwater Coast 49
Tiwi 50
Torres Strait 51
Tweed-Moreton 52
Twofold Shelf 53
Victorian Embayments 54
Van Diemens Gulf 55
WA South Coast 56
Wellesley 57
West Cape York 58
Wet Tropic Coast 59
Zuytdorp 60

The National Reserve System Program (NRSP) has funded additional studies for the refinement of IBRA regions and in October 2000 a set of revised boundaries was agreed by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments. As a result, IBRA version 5 is being developed and where indicated, is used in this Report.

Other national scale indicators

Two other sets of national scale indicators have or are being developed in Australia. First, ANZECC (2000a) has chosen 13 core biodiversity indicators on the basis that they can be used to report on the state of the environment across jurisdictions within Australia. Many of these indicators have strong links to those recommended by Saunders et al. (1998) as illustrated in Table 6.

The second set of national scale indicators is being developed by the ABS. These represent a small set of headline indicators based on the core objectives of the National Strategy for Ecological Sustainable Development. Six indicators have been identified under the heading in the ABS document Protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecological processes and life support systems. Those most directly relevant to biodiversity conservation focus on the extent and condition of representative ecosystems, the health of land and water systems and the number of extinct endangered and vulnerable species and ecological communities.

Table 6: The ANZECC core biodiversity indicators and their links to National State of Environment indicators
Issue ANZECC indicator Title Description Links to SoE biodiversity indicators
(see Table 5)
Threatening processes BD 1 Native vegetation clearing Rate of clearing in hectares per year of terrestrial native vegetation types by clearing activity BD 2.1
  BD 2 Aquatic habitat destruction Rate of destruction in hectares per year of freshwater and marine habitats by the types of disturbing activities BD 2.1
  BD 3 Fire regimes Area of vegetation burnt by frequency and intensity of burning and type of vegetation BD 6
  BD 4 Introduced species The distribution (and abundance) of non-Indigenous terrestrial, marine and freshwater species (plants, vertebrates, invertebrates and pathogens) identified as pests. This indicator also includes displaced or translocated native species. The identified species will vary with place and time BD 3.1, BD 3.2, BD 4.1
  BD 5 Species outbreaks The number (and identity) of native species outbreaks and the location and area affected BD 3.2
Loss of biodiversity BD 6 Extinct endangered and vulnerable species and ecological communities Number of species and ecological communities presumed extinct endangered or vulnerable. This indicator should be reported by major group together with the estimated number of endemic species per major group. Applies to animals and plants both terrestrial and aquatic BD 10.7, BD 11.2
  BD 7 Extent and condition of native vegetation The area and condition of native vegetation by type. In the absence of other measures, vegetation assemblages are used as surrogates for ecological communities and ecosystem diversity BD 11.1, BD 11.2
  BD 8 Extent and condition of aquatic habitats The area and condition of marine coastal estuarine and freshwater habitats by type. Marine and estuarine habitat types include algal beds, beaches and dunes, coral reefs, intertidal reefs, intertidal sand/mudflats, mangroves, saltmarshes, seagrass and seamounts. Freshwater habitats include riverine areas and wetlands BD 11.1, BD 11.2, BD 13.1
  BD 9 Populations of selected species Estimated populations of selected species including declining species are an important measure for assessing the conservation status of species. They are also potential surrogates for assessing changes in genetic diversity BD 10.9, BD 10.1, BD 10.7
Biodiversity, conservation and management BD 10 Terrestrial protected areas Area by vegetation type in protected area categories as defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in hectares as a percentage of the pre-1750 area by IBRA region BD 13.1
  BD 11 Marine and estuarine protected areas The number extent and classification of marine and estuarine protected areas (classification based on IUCN World Conservation Union criteria). Also area as a percentage of each IMCRA region) BD 13.1
  BD 12 Recovery plans Recovery plans for threatened species and ecological communities as required under legislation BD 15.1, BD 6, BD 9, BD 10
  BD 13 Area revegetated The area revegetated by species or genus. In hectares per year, disaggregated into areas revegetated using local vegetation or other vegetation and the purpose of the revegetation BD 18.2
Marine habitat and biological resources BD 3 Total seafood catch The total catch of fish (excluding aquaculture) disaggregated into: commercial fish catch (by species where possible), discarded catch, landed bycatch and estimated recreational and subsistence catch BD 8.3, BD 8.4

Source: after ANZECC (2000a).