Regional ecosystems are defined as vegetation communities in a
bioregion that are consistently associated with a particular
combination of geology, landform and soil. Each regional ecosystem
is given a three part code - this framework is based on: Bioregion,
Land zone, Vegetation.
Accurate regional ecosystem maps are a particularly important
tool given their statutory authority - they are the foundations of
the Vegetation Management Act (VMA) 1999 and are based on
an assessment of the pre-clearing and remnant extent of a regional
ecosystem. Vegetation management is administered by the Queensland
Department of Natural Resources and Water. A high level of
confidence in the mapping benefits a wide range of users, from
industry, landholders, community groups and government.
In consultation with Queensland's Environmental Protection
Agency/Herbarium, remapping of the Townsville Coastal Plains and
the Bogie River Hills was identified as a regional priority.
Prioritisation is based upon the following:
- provinces located close to the coast are more densely
populated. Potential for land use change is higher compared with
inland areas, and consequently the need for accurate maps is at a
premium;
- the current regional ecosystem mapping is known to be
inaccurate due to misinterpretation of land zone information,
and/or newly available information.
The project aims to undertake field and desktop assessments
of regional ecosystem maps and produce two maps for the
Dry Tropics region:
- Townsville Coastal Plains Biogeographic sub-region at 1:100,000
scale
- Bogie River Hills Biogeographic sub-region at 1:100,000
scale
Regional ecosystem mapping is an essential part of baseline
information for biodiversity management decisions. Biodiversity
status of regional ecosystems is defined by the
Environmental Protection Agency and is based on an assessment of
the condition of remnant vegetation in addition to the pre-clearing
and remnant extent of a regional ecosystem. The current
biodiversity status is given on the Regional
Ecosystem Description Database.
These maps are used to prioritise areas to retain connectivity
and functionality at landscape and regional scales with strategic
wildlife corridors and communicate the areas of value to land
managers. However, it is also well recognised that
non-remnant (regrowth) vegetation often has significant
biodiverisity value too.
