Library Open Repository
The desertification of a Bass Strait Island and a plan for its recovety: the case of East Kangaroo Island, Furneaux Group
Harris, S and Summers, S (2000) The desertification of a Bass Strait Island and a plan for its recovety: the case of East Kangaroo Island, Furneaux Group. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 134. pp. 83-90. ISSN 0080-4703
2000_Harris_The_Desertification_rst.pdf | Download (314kB)
Available under University of Tasmania Standard License.
East Kangaroo Island is a low, mostly calcarenite-covered granitic island in the Furneaux Group which was observed in 1828 to have been fertile and well-wooded by Allocasuarina verticillata. Over 160 years of grazing and a succession of drought years have contributed to the decline of the native vegetation in biomass, ground cover and native species diversity. In the summer of 1999/2000, bare ground comprised 80% of the island, and the sparse vegetation mostly consisted of heavily browsed exotic grasses and herbs. The meagre flora of 91 taxa comprises 45% introduced species. The increased exposure from lack of vegetative cover has assisted the salt-wind-tolerant Austrostipa stipoides to spread inland, particularly from the west coast. An evaluation of the biomass puts the island within the range of that recorded for semi-arid deserts. Stock were removed in early 2000, and methods to restore the vegetation are proposed.
|Keywords:||Royal Society of Tasmania, RST, Van Diemens Land, natural history, science, ecology, taxonomy, botany, zoology, geology, geography, papers & proceedings, Australia, UTAS Library|
|Journal or Publication Title:||Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania|
|Page Range:||pp. 83-90|
|Additional Information:||Copyright Royal Society of Tasmania|
|Date Deposited:||21 May 2012 04:36|
|Last Modified:||18 Nov 2014 04:33|
|Item Statistics:||View statistics for this item|
Repository Staff Only (login required)
|Item Control Page|