Managing, monitoring and promoting biodiversity

The KI NRM Board assists with the management, monitoring and promotion of biodiversity through:

Biodiversity monitoring
Fire management
Bush management advice

Biodiversity monitoring

The KI NRM Board funds the Island Refuge Biodiversity Monitoring Program which monitors the exceptional biodiversity on the Island to provide a scientific framework for NRM decisions and to assess the impacts of NRM

programs on biodiversity. This comprehensive program assesses, measures and monitors the condition of biodiversity assets and threats that degrade biodiversity values. The project focuses on natural biodiversity at a landscape scale, producing monitoring designs and protocols applicable to a range of NRM projects that need to assess natural resource condition. The results of the work provide knowledge about the status of biodiversity at regional, subregional (e.g. catchments) and finer scales such as the local or property level. The project has a strong scientific basis and provides information and frameworks for making decisions about how best to manage biodiversity on-ground and integrate this with primary production activities.

Above right: Tate's Grass Trees above Middle River. Image courtesy C.Wilson.

Contact
Phil Pisanu, Biodiversity Monitoring Officer, Department for Environment and Heritage, ph: (08) 8553 4406

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Fire management

Altered fire regimes, wildfires and suppression activities threaten biodiversity, primary production and built assets on Kangaroo Island. The Fahrenheit 451 program, funded through the KI NRM Board, is developing landscape-scale fire management plans to improve the management of fire for both biodiversity conservation and asset protection.

These fire management plans detail:

ecologically sustainable fire regimes for Kangaroo Island vegetation communities
fuel loads for areas of vegetation
biodiversity, primary production, industry and infrastructure assets
local fuel hazard and fuel accumulation rates for Kangaroo Island vegetation communities
age class distribution for Kangaroo Island vegetation communities
prescribed burning program.

Fahrenheit 451 also implements a monitoring program to assess the response of flora and fauna to fire. This is increasing our understanding of fire ecology on Kangaroo Island and enabling an adaptive management approach to fire management.

The community, land managers and stakeholders such as the Country Fire Service, KI Council and Department for Environment and Heritage are actively involved in the development and implementation of these fire management plans on Kangaroo Island.

Above right: Prescribed burn to regenerate biodiversity.

Contact

Dave Taylor, Threatened Species Officer, Department for Environment and Heritage, ph: (08) 8553 4428