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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 30(1)

The case for listing Mountain Ash forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria as a Threatened Ecological Community

David Lindenmayer https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-4088 A * , Chris Taylor A , Elle Bowd A and Kita Ashman B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B World Wide Fund for Nature, Level 9, 276 Flinders Street, Melbourne Vic., Australia.

* Correspondence to: david.lindenmayer@anu.edu.au

Handling Editor: Mike Calver

Pacific Conservation Biology 30, PC23010 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC23010
Submitted: 22 February 2023  Accepted: 4 August 2023  Published: 21 September 2023

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Thousands of species have been recognised as being at risk of extinction in formal listing processes such as those under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Less common is the recognition that some ecological communities are also at risk and for them to be formally listed. Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) in Australia ~100 communities have been recognised as threatened. This number is likely an underestimate as many ecological communities lack available robust long-term data to facilitate assessment.

Aims and methods

Using insights from a range of research studies and long-term monitoring in the Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria, we examine evidence for its listing as a Threatened Ecological Community.

Key results

The structure and composition of the Mountain Ash ecological community and the key ecological processes that underpin its integrity have been radically altered in the past century. The community is extensively degraded, heavily fragmented, and suffering substantial biodiversity loss. It should be listed as a Threatened Ecological Community under the EPBC Act.

Conclusions and implications

Insights from long-term ecological monitoring and other studies provide a strong case for listing the Mountain Ash forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria as a Threatened Ecological Community. The community meets four of the six criteria for listing as a threatened ecological community. Under those four criteria, the Mountain Ash forest community should be listed as either Endangered or Critically Endangered.

Keywords: biodiversity, clearcutting, ecological processes, EPBC Act, formal listing processes, Leadbeater’s Possum, logging, south-eastern Australia, tall wet forests, wildfire.

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