Biodiversity Assessment - Kanmantoo
Kanmantoo
Introduction
An undulating to low, hilly upland with steep marginal ranges and a lateritized surface becoming increasingly dissected northwards. The vegetation is predominantly eucalypt open forests and woodlands and mixed heaths on mottled-yellow and ironstone gravelly duplex soils in the wetter areas, and mallee or Allocasuarina verticillata (drooping sheoak) woodlands on shallow, rocky soils in drier areas. Extensively cleared for agriculture.
Summary of overall condition and trend
The overall condition of the bioregion is fair and the trend declining, though recovery will require significant management intervention. The bioregion has been extensively cleared for agriculture and much of the remaining native vegetation is confined to small, isolated remnants. As much of this clearance is relatively recent (largely post-World War II on Kangaroo Island) associated biodiversity decline is probably still occurring.
Most wetlands and riparian systems have been severely degraded by clearance, grazing and trampling by domestic stock, pesticides and fertilisers in agricultural run off, and increasing salinity. Dieback associated with the root rot fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi has also had a significant impact on native vegetation and appears to be more widespread than originally thought.
Feral animals, particularly foxes, cats and rabbits on the mainland, and small populations of feral deer, feral goats, feral pigs and introduced koalas on Kangaroo Island pose a major threat to native species through predation, competition for resources and habitat degradation. Weed invasions are also a major environmental problem, with Myrsiphyllum asparagoides (bridal creeper), Ehrharta calycina (perennial veldt grass), Rubus spp. (blackberry) and Phalaris aquatica (phalaris) being particularly prevalent. Dryland salinity is a major concern in the bioregion as it causes dieback in native vegetation and pasture, and leads to increasingly saline wetlands.
The bioregion comprises two subregions (Kangaroo Island - KAN1 and Fleurieu - KAN2). The former is continental landscape stress class 4 and the latter 2 as assessed by the Landscape Health report (1 is most stressed, 6 is least stressed).
Summary of Conservation Priorities
Priorities for biodiversity conservation are to arrest the general decline in native vegetation condition, feral animal and weed control, wetland rehabilitation and protection, phytophthora control and dryland salinity management.
Natural values
The Kanmantoo bioregion has the highest level of endemism of any of the South Australian bioregions. There are at least 57 plant taxa, three bird taxa, two mammal taxa and two ecosystems endemic to the bioregion. These include Leionema equestre (Kangaroo Island phebalium), Olearia microdisca (small-flowered daisy-bush), Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus (Glossy Black-Cockatoo) and Sminthopsis aitkeni (Kangaroo Island Dunnart), all of which are nationally threatened, and two Eucalyptus cneorifolia (Kangaroo Island narrowleaf mallee) ecosystems.
The Kangaroo Island subregion is of particular significance as a refuge for native fauna as it is free of foxes and rabbits. The western end of the island has retained much of its native vegetation, now conserved within National Parks and Wildlife SA reserves, and provides extensive habitat in good condition. Flinders Chase National Park also contains the best examples of pristine river systems and plateau swamps in the State.
Click here to link to a table of natural values within each subregion
Wetlands
The Kanmantoo bioregion contains 16 nationally important wetlands. Six of these are coastal wetland systems and include eight wetland types - marine waters, seagrass meadows, shingle and sandy beaches, estuarine waters, intertidal mud and sand flats, intertidal marshes, saline lagoons, and freshwater lagoons and marshes in the coastal zone. Of these Grassdale Lagoons contains the most pristine lagoons on Kangaroo Island and they are an excellent example of their type.
The other ten are inland wetlands and include a further eight wetland types - permanent rivers, riverine floodplains, seasonal freshwater lakes, permanent saline/brackish lakes, permanent freshwater swamps, freshwater shrub swamps, shrub and open bog peatlands, and freshwater springs. These include the Flinders Chase River Systems, which contains the only undisturbed river catchments in SA, and Lanacoona Road Swamps. The latter includes the only remaining large area of Sphagnum moss in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. The overall condition of these wetlands is fair and the general trend is declining. The main threatening processes are rising salinity related to vegetation clearance in catchments, degradation of shoreline and associated vegetation by domestic stock, chemical residue in agricultural run off, and weed invasion.
A further 18 wetlands have been assessed as being of subregional significance, the majority (15) of which are in the Kangaroo Island subregion. The condition, trend and threatening processes are consistent with those cited above.
Nationally important wetlands
Map: IBRA map showing DIWA locations, towns, subregions, major roads and reserves and most common threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of Australia's Important Wetlands (Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia): their type, condition, trend and threatening processes within each subregion.
Regionally important wetlands
Click here to link to a table of provisional identification of wetlands of regional significance: their type and special values within each subregion. The reliability of the overall subregional assessment is indicated.
Click here to link to a table of provisional identification of wetlands of regional significance: their condition, trend and threatening processes within each subregion.
Riparian Zones
Numerous rivers rise in the Mount Lofty Ranges section of this bioregion and drain east to the River Murray or south to Lake Alexandrina and Encounter Bay. These include the Marne, Bremer, Angas, Finniss, Hindmarsh and Inman Rivers. On Kangaroo Island the Cygnet, Eleanor, Harriett, Stun'sail Boom, South West, Rocky, Breakneck and Middle Rivers all drain the main lateritic plateau. Most of these are in degraded or fair condition and declining, though Rocky and Breakneck Rivers are near pristine due to their undisturbed and reserved catchments. The riparian zones of the other rivers have been degraded by land clearance, reduced water flows associated with unregulated water storage in domestic dams, agricultural run off, weed invasion and grazing by stock.
Map: Riparian threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of riparian zones: their average condition, trend and threatening processes for each subregion. The reliability of this overall assessment is indicated.
Ecosystems at risk
Fourteen ecosystems have been assessed as being threatened at State level within the bioregion. These cover the following wider range of community types:- eucalyptus forests, eucalyptus woodlands, sheoak woodland, banksia woodland, mallee, swamp heaths, sedgeland, tussock grassland and an aquatic herbland. Seven are rated endangered and seven vulnerable. All are declining with main threats being increased fragmentation, lack of recruitment, invasion of exotics, seedling suppression and dieback related to high mistletoe content, lerps and/or Mundulla Yellows. Road maintenance activities are a specific threat to the E. cneorifolia ecosystems on Kangaroo Island as many of the best remaining examples of these exist on roadsides.
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of threatening processes for ecosystems.
Click here to link to a table of provisional list of threatened ecosystems in Australia: their broad vegetation type (National Vegetation Information System - Major Vegetation Subgroup), recommended status, current legislative protection as a threatened ecosystem, trend and bioregional distribution. These ecosystems are arranged in the bioregion of their principal occurrence. The reliability of the recommended status is indicated.
Click here to link to a table of provisional list of threatened ecosystems in each subregion: their threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of provisional list of threatened ecosystems in each subregion: their recommended recovery actions
Species at risk
Trend and condition information is unavailable for most of these species. With recovery actions in place overall numbers of Glossy Black-Cockatoos are slowly increasing, making it one of the few species to be improving in condition.
The main threats to the plant group are weed invasion, roadworks (as many are now primarily restricted to roadside vegetation), grazing, salinity, spray drift from agricultural land, altered fire regimes and, particularly the orchids, removal by collectors. The birds and mammals share similar threats such as predation by foxes (mainland only) and cats, altered fire regimes affecting habitat structure, reduced habitat and, as many are reduced to small localised populations, they are at risk to local extinction from catastrophes such as bushfire or disease. The main threat to reptiles is degradation of the already restricted habitat.
There is a total of 112 threatened species in the Kanmantoo bioregion.
| Taxa | Commonwealth listing | State/Territory listing | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endangered | Vulnerable | Endangered | Vulnerable | Total | |
| Plants | 12 | 21 | 12 | 34 | 79 |
| Birds | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mammals | 3 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 27 |
| Reptiles | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Amphibians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 18 | 28 | 12 | 54 | 112 |
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of threatening processes for species.
Click here to link to a table of species at risk in each subregion: their status, trend and subregional distribution. The reliability of the assessment of trend is indicated and whether recovery plans have been prepared.
Click here to link to a table of species at risk in each subregion: their threatening processes.
Click here to link to a table of species at risk in each subregion: their status recommended recovery actions.
Eucalypts and Acacias
The Kangaroo Island and Fleurieu subregions each contain one endemic eucalypt. Eucalyptus remota (Kangaroo island mallee ash) occurs extensively across the western half of the island. It is excellently conserved in Flinders Chase National Park and is in good condition. Eucalyptus paludicola (Mount Compass swamp gum) is rated as vulnerable in SA and known from only about 25 populations mostly in a restricted area of the Fleurieu subregion. As its common name suggests it is associated with low, seasonally swampy areas. As such the drainage of Fleurieu swamps constitutes a major threat.
Neither of these subregions contains endemic acacias, nor have they been identified as being particularly diverse for these genera.
Birds
Although nearly three-quarters cleared, this bioregion encompassing Kangaroo Island and the adjacent areas of Fleurieu Peninsula still contains a distinctive and diverse avifauna. Several taxa have differentiated sufficiently on Kangaroo Island to be considered separate subspecies. While most remain relatively secure in the conservation reserves on the island, including the limited range island subspecies of Western Whipbird, the local subspecies of Glossy Black-Cockatoo remains endangered. On the Fleurieu Peninsula, the local subspecies of Spotted Quail-thrush and Southern Emu-wren are Critically Endangered, the quail-thrush not having been seen since the first Atlas period, while the Chestnut-rumped Heathwren is Endangered. All three taxa may once have occurred further north in the Flinders and Lofty Blocks. If so, they appear to have retreated in response to pressures of land use. There is a substantial load of introduced species, particularly native species that were introduced with the best intentions to Kangaroo Island. Some guilds have been reported less frequently, particularly ground-feeding insectivores, which is consistent with other south-eastern bioregions.
Status: Distinctive mallee and temperate woodland avifauna, mostly surviving in large remnants; high introduced species load.
Rare and threatened: On Kangaroo Island: Glossy Black-Cockatoo and Western Whipbird in casuarina woodland and mallee respectively; on Fleurieu Peninsula: Southern Emu-wren in southern heath and swamps, Spotted Quail-thrush possibly still in temperate woodland and Chestnut-rumped Heathwren also in southern heath.
Increasers: Spotted Turtle-Dove, Common Blackbird, Common Starling.
Indicators: Banded Lapwing, Glossy Black-Cockatoo, Brown Treecreeper, Southern Emu-wren, Purple-gaped Honeyeater, Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Scarlet Robin, Crested Shrike-tit, Restless Flycatcher, Diamond Firetail .
Trend: Decline in reporting rate of ground-feeding insectivores.
Scenario: Continued decline in woodland and heathland birds, particularly on mainland.
Actions: Restore, expand and connect woodland fragments, concentrating on areas where declining woodland species persist. Maintain a range of fire ages within large areas of native vegetation. See also Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 Coordinated Conservation Plan: Mt Lofty Ranges.
Click hereto download a summary report including the physical characteristics of the bioregion, a species list, and summary statistics [Excel file]. The file may open on your screen. To save it to your system 'Save as' under the File menu.
Mammals
Number of species and status
There are 38 mammal species within this bioregion. (The maximum number of species recorded in a bioregion is 86 and the minimum is 25).
Click here to link to a table of number of species in each status class for this bioregion.
Click here to link to a list of mammal species and their status for this bioregion.
Critical weight range
The critical weight range (35 - 5500 g) of mammals is the size range of Australian mammals that have been most affected by environmental changes following European settlement. In this bioregion, the proportion of mammal fauna within the critical weight range is .553. (The maximum proportion of fauna within the critical weight range recorded in a bioregion is 0.632 and the minimum is 0.222).
Faunal Attrition Index
Faunal attrition is a measure of contraction or loss of species richness with a region. A high index value means many species have declined or are extinct in the bioregion. The index can be used to compare the status of mammal fauna to regional attributes such as changes since European settlement and average annual rainfall. The Faunal Attrition Index for mammals in this bioregion is .53. (The maximum faunal attrition index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.66 and the minimum is 0).
Click here to link to a table of Faunal Attrition Index for groups of mammals shows the contributions of each group to overall patterns of faunal decline.
Faunal Contraction Index
A range contraction index is a measure of the extent to which the range inhabited by a particular species has contracted. A high index value means that many of the species comprising the region's original mammal fauna have contracted from a high proportion of the regions they originally occurred in. The faunal contraction index for the mammal fauna in this bioregion is .38. (The maximum faunal contraction index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.51 and the minimum is 0.07).
Faunal Endemism Index
Endemic species are those restricted to certain regions. Regions containing endemic species are considered to have high biodiversity conservation values because opportunities to conserve those species do not exist elsewhere. A high index value means that the species comprising the original mammal fauna typically occurred in few bioregions. The faunal endemism index value for the mammal fauna in this bioregion is .62. (The maximum faunal endemism index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.79 and the minimum is 0.52).
New Endemism Index
Extant (still surviving) species that have undergone major range contractions can be considered 'new endemics'. Bioregions that contain new endemic species are often important refugia for threatened species. The new endemism index for the mammal fauna in this bioregion is .7. (The maximum new endemism index value recorded in a bioregion is 0.93 and the minimum is 0.5).
Table: Translocated Species
There is no data available for this table within the bioregion.
Exotic Mammals
The number of introduced exotic mammal species that occur within this bioregion is 9. (The maximum number of introduced exotic mammal species in a bioregion is 16 and the minimum is 5).
Click here to link to a list of introduced exotic mammal species for this bioregion.
Extinct mammal species
The number of extinct mammal species that previously occurred within this bioregion is 12. (The maximum number of extinct mammal species in a bioregion is 29 and the minimum is 0).
Table: Extinct Species
There is no data available for this table within the bioregion.
Management responses
Reserve consolidation
There are several major reserves within the bioregion:
- Flinders Chase National Park and Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area. These combined reserves protect a large wilderness area featuring mallee communities on the coastal sands and lateritic plateau, eucalyptus woodlands on flats and in river valleys, pristine river systems and plateau swamps.
- Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area is another large wilderness area with an extensive area of coastal mallee and a large wetland.
- Kelly Hill Conservation Park and Cape Bouguer Wilderness Protection Area is a consolidated area of coastal mallee that includes an extensive limestone cave system and a significant coastal lagoon.
- Seal Bay Conservation Park protects one of the few breeding sites for Neophoca cinerea (Australian Sea-lion) in SA and provides tourists the opportunity to view these animals in their natural habitat.
- Deep Creek Conservation Park conserves the largest remaining block of native vegetation on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is an important refuge for several species of conservation significance.
The major reservation priorities for the bioregion are Eucalyptus cneorifolia ecosystems and the nationally threatened plants of the Amberley Environmental Association on Kangaroo Island, and the freshwater swamps, eucalyptus forest and Lomandra effusa (scented mat rush) tussock grassland ecosystems of the Fleurieu subregion. With only 2.1% of its area in NPWSA reserves the Fleurieu is the priority subregion for reserve consolidation.
Inclusion of these priorities in future reserves is constrained principally by the highly fragmented nature of remnant vegetation in the bioregion. Most remaining blocks of native vegetation exist as small isolated remnants.
Click here to link to a table of comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness (CAR) of the National Reserve System in terms of ecosystems and area sampled and a ranking of reserve management. The bioregional priority for consolidating the National Reserve System is based on this CAR analysis and threat.
Click here to link to a table of bioregional and subregional priorities and ecosystem priorities to consolidate the National Reserve System and associated ecosystem constraints.
Off-park conservation for species and ecosystem recovery
The priority species group identified for recovery is the nationally threatened plants of the Amberley Environment Association in association with Eucalyptus cneorifolia mallee ecosystems. They occur on sandy loams on plains and hills with laterite capping toward the eastern end of Kangaroo Island.
The major recovery actions identified include the identification of key sites, proactive targeting of Heritage Agreements on private land, the retention of regrowth and viable populations on roadsides, revegetation of corridors between ecosystem remnants, research on the biology of the threatened species and ecosystems, and the raising of community awareness of the significance of the group. The main constraints to this are the level of habitat loss, road maintenance activities, and loss of primary production associated with setting aside private land for conservation.
Integrated NRM
Key issues for integrated natural resource management in the Kanmantoo bioregion are:-
- declining health of remnant native vegetation;
- dryland salinity;
- pest plant control; and
- declining wetland condition.
Current NRM initiatives include:-
- NHT-funded Bushcare Grants for on-ground biodiversity conservation works;
- Heritage Agreements and the Native Vegetation Council Grant Scheme that assists landholders to protect and manage remnant native vegetation;
- bridal creeper control conducted by the Kangaroo island Bridal Creeper Control Committee; and
- several major planning mechanisms - Kangaroo Island and Southern Hills Soil Conservation District Plans, Kangaroo Island Biodiversity Plan and the nomination of part of the island as a Biosphere Reserve.
The priorities for NRM across the bioregion are:-
- proactive targeting of Heritage Agreements to protect priority threatened ecosystems;
- ensure ongoing funding for on-ground biodiversity conservation works;
- whole of catchment response to dryland salinity management;
- coordinated weed control;
- develop codes of practice for deer farming, forestry, beekeeping and marron farming industries; and
- increased resourcing to adequately manage existing reserves.
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of recovery actions (species).
Map: IBRA map showing frequency of recovery actions (ecosystems).
Map: IBRA map showing existing projects part of NRM.
Click here to link to a table of contribution of integrated Natural Resource Management to the protection of biodiversity in each subregion: existing measures and effectiveness.
Click here to link to a table of contribution of integrated Natural Resource Management to the protection of biodiversity in each subregion: feasible opportunities and comments.
Further Information & Gaps
Data gaps and research priorities
- Detailed information on the ecological requirements, threats, trend and condition of many of the threatened species, particularly the plants.
- Detailed information on riparian zone condition, trend and threatening processes.
- Further wetland inventory is required.
References
Environment Australia 2000. Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) and the Development of Version 5.1. - Summary Report. Department of Environment and Heritage, Canberra.
A complete list of references is available by clicking here.
Further information
View the Landscape Health in Australia report.
View the Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002 report.
Download the Terrestrial Biodiversity Assessment 2002 Database - Biodiversity Audit Data Entry System (BADES), and specifications
Click here to link to a table of some major data gaps in each subregion in terms of protecting biodiversity.
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