Culturally Induced Rarity? The Past and Present Distributions of Leucochrysum albicans in Tasmania

Abstract

Herbarium records indicate that the endangered straw daisy, Leucochrysum albicans (syn. Helipterum albicans), is less widespread and rarer in Tasmania today than in the past. Currently it has a sparse distribution within a relatively wide ecological range, which spans most of the climatic variation in Tasmania, hut which does not include poorly drained or infertile soils. There is evidence of recent local extinctions and invasions. These and the nature of the local environments in which the species occurs indicate that the species requires freedom from competition for the maintenance of its populations. Cultural activities, such as heavy stock grazing or bulldozing, promote its establishment and survival, whereas the establishment of healthy improved pasture or the exclusion of grazing from native pasture tend to lead to its exclusion or demise. The future of the species may thus largely depend on cultural activities that are usually regarded as antipathetic to nature conservation.