Vegetation change over twenty years at Bathurst Harbour, Tasmania

Abstract

A study of floristic change in buttongrass moorlands over a 20-year period in a perhumid oligotrophic environment is presented. We first demonstrate that our study site at Bathurst Harbour in south-western Tasmania is typical and representative of such environments and then discuss the impacts of fire and Phytophthora cinnamomi on vegetation at the local scale. The results have implications for interpretation and management of disturbance in the landscape and highlight the need for longer-term studies to complement place-for-time substitutions.