Academic literature on the topic 'Jenolan'

Within the Australian macropod genus Petrogale (rock wallabies) nine chromosomally distinct species occur along the Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia (Sharman et al. 1990; Eldridge et al. 1991a; Eldridge and Close 1992). However, Close et al. (1988) found Petrogale from the Grampians, Victoria and from Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, to be remarkably similar despite their 800 km separation (Fig. 1). Standard and C-banded karyotypes of both populations were typical of Petrogale penicillata and were identical except that one Grampians animal was heterozygous for absence of a C-band on chromosome 2. Apart from their smaller physical size, the only difference was that the Grampians animals were homozygous for a unique Pgm allele.

Two rock-wallabies were captured in the Victoria Range of the Grampians, the first specimens obtained from Victoria for scientific study. Their chromosomes identified them as Petrogale penicillata and, although the animals appeared to be smaller than their nearest studied conspecifics from Jenolan Caves, N.S.W., 800 km to the north-east, analysis of blood proteins, red blood cell epitopes and parasites indicated little genetic divergence. This lack of differentiation is unusual in a genus in which, further north along the Great Dividing Range, nine chromosomally distinct forms occur within 1500 km. One animal was heterozygous for presence and absence of a major C-band on the second largest chromosome; chromosomes without this band have not been found in other mainland P. penicillata. No electrophoretic variation was detected at 23 genetic loci, even though one allele was unique among P. penicillata so far studied. Although only one extant colony was found, other disused sites were located 30 km further north. Despite the apparent low numbers of animals, there is some evidence that additional colonies may be found.

As part of a breeding program a small group of Brush-tailed Rock-wallabies, Petrogale penicillata, was captured within the Jenolan Caves reserve and transferred to a nearby enclosure. This study examined the social behaviour and habitat utilisation of these captive rock-wallabies. The subjects were observed in slightly over half (52.2%) of the area available within the enclosure. Sightings were concentrated around a small cliff line. Frequency of sightings within grid cells was significantly correlated with scat density but unrelated to a measure of visibility suggesting the rock-wallabies exhibit strong preference for certain habitats. A Poisson analysis indicated that preferred habitat was characterised as having a northerly aspect, high levels of rock coverage and high shrub density. There was only a small amount of this habitat type within the enclosure which may account for the high levels of aggression which we observed (23.9% of all social behaviour). Aggression was particularly prevalent between adult females (64.8% of all aggressive interactions). The subordinate female was the only animal observed to use resting sites to the south of the cliff line. We suggest that aggression from the dominant female forced the subordinate female to use these less preferred areas.

Abstract Aragonite is a minor secondary mineral in many limestone caves throughout the world. It has been claimed that it is the second-most common cave mineral after calcite (Hill & Forti 1997). Aragonite occurs as a secondary mineral in the vadose zone of some caves in New South Wales. Aragonite is unstable in fresh water and usually reverts to calcite, but it is actively depositing in some NSW caves. A review of current literature on the cave aragonite problem showed that chemical inhibitors to calcite deposition assist in the precipitation of calcium carbonate as aragonite instead of calcite. Chemical inhibitors work by physically blocking the positions on the calcite crystal lattice which would have otherwise allowed calcite to develop into a larger crystal. Often an inhibitor for calcite has no effect on the aragonite crystal lattice, thus aragonite may deposit where calcite deposition is inhibited. Another association with aragonite in some NSW caves appears to be high evaporation rates allowing calcite, aragonite and vaterite to deposit. Vaterite is another unstable polymorph of calcium carbonate, which reverts to aragonite and calcite over time. Vaterite, aragonite and calcite were found together in cave sediments in areas with low humidity in Wollondilly Cave, Wombeyan. Several factors were found to be associated with the deposition of aragonite instead of calcite speleothems in NSW caves. They included the presence of ferroan dolomite, calcite-inhibitors (in particular ions of magnesium, manganese, phosphate, sulfate and heavy metals), and both air movement and humidity. Aragonite deposits in several NSW caves were examined to determine whether the material is or is not aragonite. Substrates to the aragonite were examined, as was the nature of the bedrock. The work concentrated on Contact Cave and Wiburds Lake Cave at Jenolan, Sigma Cave, Wollondilly Cave and Cow Pit at Wombeyan and Piano Cave and Deep Hole (Cave) at Walli. Comparisons are made with other caves. The study sites are all located in Palaeozoic rocks within the Lachlan Fold Belt tectonic region. Two of the sites, Jenolan and Wombeyan, are close to the western edge of the Sydney Basin. The third site, Walli, is close to a warm spring. The physical, climatic, chemical and mineralogical influences on calcium carbonate deposition in the caves were investigated. Where cave maps were unavailable, they were prepared on site as part of the study. %At Jenolan Caves, Contact Cave and Wiburds Lake Cave were examined in detail, %and other sites were compared with these. Contact Cave is located near the eastern boundary of the Late Silurian Jenolan Caves Limestone, in an area of steeply bedded and partially dolomitised limestone very close to its eastern boundary with the Jenolan volcanics. Aragonite in Contact Cave is precipitated on the ceiling as anthodites, helictites and coatings. The substrate for the aragonite is porous, altered, dolomitised limestone which is wedged apart by aragonite crystals. Aragonite deposition in Contact Cave is associated with a concentration of calcite-inhibiting ions, mainly minerals containing ions of magnesium, manganese and to a lesser extent, phosphates. Aragonite, dolomite and rhodochrosite are being actively deposited where these minerals are present. Calcite is being deposited where minerals containing magnesium ions are not present. The inhibitors appear to be mobilised by fresh water entering the cave as seepage along the steep bedding and jointing. During winter, cold dry air pooling in the lower part of the cave may concentrate minerals by evaporation and is most likely associated with the ``popcorn line'' seen in the cave. Wiburds Lake Cave is located near the western boundary of the Jenolan Caves Limestone, very close to its faulted western boundary with Ordovician cherts. Aragonite at Wiburds Lake Cave is associated with weathered pyritic dolomitised limestone, an altered, dolomitised mafic dyke in a fault shear zone, and also with bat guano minerals. Aragonite speleothems include a spathite, cavity fills, vughs, surface coatings and anthodites. Calcite occurs in small quantities at the aragonite sites. Calcite-inhibitors associated with aragonite include ions of magnesium, manganese and sulfate. Phosphate is significant in some areas. Low humidity is significant in two areas. Other sites briefly examined at Jenolan include Glass Cave, Mammoth Cave, Spider Cave and the show caves. Aragonite in Glass Cave may be associated with both weathering of dolomitised limestone (resulting in anthodites) and with bat guano (resulting in small cryptic forms). Aragonite in the show caves, and possibly in Mammoth and Spider Cave is associated with weathering of pyritic dolomitised limestone. Wombeyan Caves are developed in saccharoidal marble, metamorphosed Silurian Wombeyan Caves Limestone. Three sites were examined in detail at Wombeyan Caves: Sigma Cave, Wollondilly Cave and Cow Pit (a steep sided doline with a dark zone). Sigma Cave is close to the south east boundary of the Wombeyan marble, close to its unconformable boundary with effusive hypersthene porphyry and intrusive gabbro, and contains some unmarmorised limestone. Aragonite occurs mainly in a canyon at the southern extremity of the cave and in some other sites. In Sigma Cave, aragonite deposition is mainly associated with minerals containing calcite-inhibitors, as well as some air movement in the cave. Calcite-inhibitors at Sigma Cave include ions of magnesium, manganese, sulfate and phosphate (possibly bat origin), partly from bedrock veins and partly from breakdown of minerals in sediments sourced from mafic igneous rocks. Substrates to aragonite speleothems include corroded speleothem, bedrock, ochres, mud and clastics. There is air movement at times in the canyon, it has higher levels of CO2 than other parts of the cave and humidity is high. Air movement may assist in the rapid exchange of CO2 at speleothem surfaces. Wollondilly Cave is located in the eastern part of the Wombeyan marble. At Wollondilly Cave, anthodites and helictites were seen in an inaccessible area of the cave. Paramorphs of calcite after aragonite were found at Jacobs Ladder and the Pantheon. Aragonite at Star Chamber is associated with huntite and hydromagnesite. In The Loft, speleothem corrosion is characteristic of bat guano deposits. Aragonite, vaterite and calcite were detected in surface coatings in this area. Air movement between the two entrances of this cave has a drying effect which may serve to concentrate minerals by evaporation in some parts of the cave. The presence of vaterite and aragonite in fluffy coatings infers that vaterite may be inverting to aragonite. Calcite-inhibitors in the sediments include ions of phosphate, sulphate, magnesium and manganese. Cave sediment includes material sourced from detrital mafic rocks. Cow Pit is located near Wollondilly Cave, and cave W43 is located near the northern boundary of the Wombeyan marble. At Cow Pit, paramorphs of calcite after aragonite occur in the walls as spheroids with minor huntite. Aragonite is a minor mineral in white wall coatings and red phosphatic sediments with minor hydromagnesite and huntite. At cave W43, aragonite was detected in the base of a coralloid speleothem. Paramorphs of calcite after aragonite were observed in the same speleothem. Dolomite in the bedrock may be a source of magnesium-rich minerals at cave W43. Walli Caves are developed in the massive Belubula Limestone of the Ordovician Cliefden Caves Limestone Subgroup (Barrajin Group). At the caves, the limestone is steeply bedded and contains chert nodules with dolomite inclusions. Gypsum and barite occur in veins in the limestone. At Walli Caves, Piano Cave and Deep Hole (Deep Cave) were examined for aragonite. Gypsum occurs both as a surface coating and as fine selenite needles on chert nodules in areas with low humidity in the caves. Aragonite at Walli caves was associated with vein minerals and coatings containing calcite-inhibitors and, in some areas, low humidity. Calcite-inhibitors include sulfate (mostly as gypsum), magnesium, manganese and barium. Other caves which contain aragonite are mentioned. Although these were not major study sites, sufficient information is available on them to make a preliminary assessment as to why they may contain aragonite. These other caves include Flying Fortress Cave and the B4-5 Extension at Bungonia near Goulburn, and Wyanbene Cave south of Braidwood. Aragonite deposition at Bungonia has some similarities with that at Jenolan in that dolomitisation of the bedrock has occurred, and the bedding or jointing is steep allowing seepage of water into the cave, with possible oxidation of pyrite. Aragonite is also associated with a mafic dyke. Wyanbene cave features some bedrock dolomitisation, and also features low grade ore bodies which include several known calcite-inhibitors. Aragonite appears to be associated with both features. Finally, brief notes are made of aragonite-like speleothems at Colong Caves (between Jenolan and Wombeyan), a cave at Jaunter (west of Jenolan) and Wellington (240\,km NW of Sydney).

Many of the places that people value are the places they wish to visit and experience for themselves. However, each person that visits one of these places can cause impacts that reduce its value. A fimdamental aim of visitor management therefore is to ensure that each visitor's experience is a high quality one, and is sustainable. Various models have been designed to assist with this aim by linking visitor management planning, monitoring and decision making. However, there is a lack of published examples of how visitor management models have been implemented, what results they have yielded, and how well they have performed. There is also a lack of evidence of widespread application of such models. Without information and insight, there is only a theoretical case to argue for the greater use of visitor management models. The aim of this study was therefore to describe, analyse and explain the formulation and implementation of the most widely published visitor management models, with reference to case studies of Jenolan Caves (New South Wales) and Kangaroo Island (South Australia). The study involved: a literature review; personal observations by the author; in-depth interviews with those involved in developing and implementing the two case studies; and an objective analysis using a Goals Achievement Matrix. The thesis critically examined seven visitor management models with respect to their: evolution and definition; dimensions and planning and development approaches; documented applications in Australia and overseas; and limitations. This would appear to be the first time that these models have been critically examined in this way so that comparisons can be easily made between them. This would also appear to be the most comprehensive identification of examples of implemented visitor management models in Australia. The study identified five critical issues relating to development and implementation of visitor management models: 1. Poor planning hmeworks and poorly defined organisational culture, particularly in visitor and tourism management. 2. Lack of, or inconsistent human and financial resources. 3. Resistance to involving stakeholders in fimdamental decision-making. 4. Difficulty in choosing the right model for the situation. 5. Lack of strategic emphasis and technical ability. The study suggested that more effort needed to be made in the pre-development and implementation phases. Critical to such efforts is the development of an implementation plan, written as part of the development process. The implementation plan requires an individual(s) to take on a strategic coordination role that addresses marketing, staff development, budgeting, evaluation and areas for improvement. The study suggested that the conventional emphasis on technical expertise needs to be re-balanced with political skills to lobby for and protect the human and financial resources needed to implement a model long enough for it to prove its value. In the event where resourcing is too limited to fully operationalise an entire model at once, it was recommended to conservatively develop a portion of the chosen model all the way to the stage in which it delivers results that can be marketed to stakeholders. Finally, the study proposed a tool to assist visitor managers to clarify their need for a model, as well as their capability to develop and implement one. In the absence of sufficient information about the implementation of models, the tool empowers managers to consider the - merits of using a visitor management model further, and to select a model that best meets their needs.

This thesis explores the relationships and resultant meanings that people have for the place of Jenolan Caves, the most visited cave tourist site in Australia. The aim of the research project was to: further our understanding of the social dimensions of caves tourism in order to comment on issues and practices related to sustainability. The question was approached from a constructionist perspective, which assumes that the world of human perception is not real in an absolute sense but is made up and shaped by cultural and linguistic constructs; it is a constructing of knowledge about reality not constructing reality itself. The findings are based on interviews with staff, visitors and other people who regularly associate with the place of Jenolan Caves. The highlight, and perhaps the most exciting finding, was the rich depth of meaning that Jenolan is given by a broad range of people. Staff and visitors articulated a sense of passion, care and physical engagement. The obvious emotion of place reflects the embodied nature of place experience, other facets of which include the active and sensual ways we interact, and make sense of places we visit. Although sight dominates the experience the sound, touch and smell in a cave are also essential ingredients of the experience. It was clear that emotion is a response we have to place; emotion is also central in the construction of Jenolan as a tourism place. In particular passion and enthusiasm oscillates between visitors and staff, creating a connection between the two and becoming a central facet of Jenolan. Emotions relating to place are also negative and there was a clear tension for many people in close association with Jenolan between protecting place and selling or using place. Two dominant discourses that people draw on to make sense of Jenolan are stewardship and commodification, these are ways of making sense of Jenolan that have different primary goals but in practice are woven together. The tension exists as a very real, expressed frustration, disillusionment, and at times anger for those that work at Jenolan. It is time this tension is acknowledged, if for no other reason than it will inevitably have an impact on the interdependent relationships that exist between staff, visitors and others. That is, a satisfactory visitor experience is vulnerable to negative changes in staff relationship to place. Within the managing organisation, and across a portion of the relevant disciplines, the embodied nature of place experience and interdependence between peoples and place is not fully recognised. It is not fully articulated within the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust, and in likelihood is not articulated in other protected area agencies. The implications of these findings for the ongoing sustainability of protected area tourist sites, such as Jenolan Caves, is that discourses and approaches are required that open the management system to the sensual, emotional, and interdependent nature of place. A systematic monitoring approach of Visitor Impact Management has been adopted by Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust. On reflection the aim of such an approach is to enable the organisation to identify when strategies need to be altered, that is to learn. The findings indicate that much about the visitor experience is emotional and relates to discourses or ways of seeing that aren’t fully articulated in the organisation. The findings also indicate strong links between place interpretations of visitors, staff, the organisation and others. It is possible that frameworks such as Visitor Impact Management, which examine a component of place meaning in a systematic way, will facilitate solutions to many visitor related issues, but when the issues relate to tacit processes in the organisation or arise from unfamiliar discourses will not be recognised and/or dealt with. Visitor Impact Management located in the broader context of organisational learning may provide a process that opens the organisation to the full depth of place meaning, and provide tools for engaging with a broader variety of meaning-making discourses. Qualitative methodology was adopted to answer these explorative questions. Specifically ethnographic methods of data collection were used: interviews, observations, and document analysis. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 79 staff and locals, and 140 visitors. These were recorded through note taking, returned to respondents for inspection (not to visitors), and then coded for items that provided insight into the relationship and meaning that Jenolan had inspired.

This thesis explores the relationships and resultant meanings that people have for the place of Jenolan Caves, the most visited cave tourist site in Australia. The aim of the research project was to: further our understanding of the social dimensions of caves tourism in order to comment on issues and practices related to sustainability. The question was approached from a constructionist perspective, which assumes that the world of human perception is not real in an absolute sense but is made up and shaped by cultural and linguistic constructs; it is a constructing of knowledge about reality not constructing reality itself. The findings are based on interviews with staff, visitors and other people who regularly associate with the place of Jenolan Caves. The highlight, and perhaps the most exciting finding, was the rich depth of meaning that Jenolan is given by a broad range of people. Staff and visitors articulated a sense of passion, care and physical engagement. The obvious emotion of place reflects the embodied nature of place experience, other facets of which include the active and sensual ways we interact, and make sense of places we visit. Although sight dominates the experience the sound, touch and smell in a cave are also essential ingredients of the experience. It was clear that emotion is a response we have to place; emotion is also central in the construction of Jenolan as a tourism place. In particular passion and enthusiasm oscillates between visitors and staff, creating a connection between the two and becoming a central facet of Jenolan. Emotions relating to place are also negative and there was a clear tension for many people in close association with Jenolan between protecting place and selling or using place. Two dominant discourses that people draw on to make sense of Jenolan are stewardship and commodification, these are ways of making sense of Jenolan that have different primary goals but in practice are woven together. The tension exists as a very real, expressed frustration, disillusionment, and at times anger for those that work at Jenolan. It is time this tension is acknowledged, if for no other reason than it will inevitably have an impact on the interdependent relationships that exist between staff, visitors and others. That is, a satisfactory visitor experience is vulnerable to negative changes in staff relationship to place. Within the managing organisation, and across a portion of the relevant disciplines, the embodied nature of place experience and interdependence between peoples and place is not fully recognised. It is not fully articulated within the Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust, and in likelihood is not articulated in other protected area agencies. The implications of these findings for the ongoing sustainability of protected area tourist sites, such as Jenolan Caves, is that discourses and approaches are required that open the management system to the sensual, emotional, and interdependent nature of place. A systematic monitoring approach of Visitor Impact Management has been adopted by Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust. On reflection the aim of such an approach is to enable the organisation to identify when strategies need to be altered, that is to learn. The findings indicate that much about the visitor experience is emotional and relates to discourses or ways of seeing that aren’t fully articulated in the organisation. The findings also indicate strong links between place interpretations of visitors, staff, the organisation and others. It is possible that frameworks such as Visitor Impact Management, which examine a component of place meaning in a systematic way, will facilitate solutions to many visitor related issues, but when the issues relate to tacit processes in the organisation or arise from unfamiliar discourses will not be recognised and/or dealt with. Visitor Impact Management located in the broader context of organisational learning may provide a process that opens the organisation to the full depth of place meaning, and provide tools for engaging with a broader variety of meaning-making discourses. Qualitative methodology was adopted to answer these explorative questions. Specifically ethnographic methods of data collection were used: interviews, observations, and document analysis. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 79 staff and locals, and 140 visitors. These were recorded through note taking, returned to respondents for inspection (not to visitors), and then coded for items that provided insight into the relationship and meaning that Jenolan had inspired.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Science.
Biological invasions pose one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity and frequently result in the widespread loss of flora and fauna. Biological invasions have become a major focus of ecology in recent decades, and in particular, the invasive species radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) is of considerable concern. Radiata pine has a very limited distribution in the northern hemisphere in its natural range. Its utility in the timber and manufacturing industries, however, has lead to widespread planting, especially in the southern hemisphere, where over 4 million hectares of plantations have been established. In fact, radiata pine is now the most commonly cultivated conifer in the world. A growing body of evidence from studies in the southern hemisphere has shown that pines are spreading invasively beyond the confines of plantations, displacing native species and becoming the dominant species in a number of vegetation types. The negative ecological impacts associated with pine plantations now extend well beyond plantation boundaries. While a number of studies have examined the invasion of individual pines (wildings) from plantations into surrounding vegetation, very few studies have considered the impacts of pine plantations and pine litter on surrounding native plant communities. Pine litter is defined here as structures shed from pines; primarily needles and pollen cones, but also seeds and twigs. In New South Wales (Australia), pine plantations are frequently bordered by native vegetation, providing ideal conditions for pine-litter intrusion to occur. Nevertheless, rates of pine-litter intrusion have never been quantified. Furthermore, the responses of an ecosystem to an influx of pine litter are largely unknown. The aims of this thesis are first to quantify the intrusion of pine litter into native vegetation adjacent to pine plantations and second to determine the impacts of pine litter intrusion on the structure and function of native woodland communities. Fieldwork was conducted at two geographically disparate locations in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales (Australia): Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve and Gurnang State Forest. At both sites, pine plantations and native woodland are separated by a narrow fire trail that is only a few metres wide. A comparative framework is used, whereby sites in eucalypt woodland that were adjacent to pine plantations (adjacent sites) were compared with sites in eucalypt woodland that were not adjacent to plantations but rather adjacent to eucalypt woodland (reference sites). As the effect of plantations is expected to decrease with increasing distance into native vegetation, sampling plots located at distances of 0, 5, 15, 25 and 50 m from the edge of the native vegetation were established at reference and adjacent sites. This enabled testing of both the impact of plantations on native vegetation, and also the spatial extent of this impact on native vegetation. The first and crucial step in examining the intrusive effects of pine plantations was to quantify the amount of native and exotic litterfall at reference and adjacent sites. At each sampling plot, I measured the amount of native and exotic litterfall (i.e. pine litter intrusion) every 4 weeks for 1 year at Gurnang State Forest and for 2 years at Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve. Pine needles and pollen cones were found to be a significant component of litterfall in woodlands adjacent to pine plantations. Exotic and native litterfall varied both seasonally and annually. Interestingly, peak needlefall from pines occurred in autumn and winter, which coincided with the minimum native leaffall. Conversely, pine needlefall was at a minimum during summer, during which native leaffall was high. The comparison of two separate woodlands adjacent to plantations revealed similar patterns of pine-litter intrusion although the absolute quantity of pine-litter intrusion was greater at Jenolan compared to Gurnang. Comparison of the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content of litterfall revealed subtle yet significant differences between pine and native litterfall. Pine litter generally had a lower N content than native leaffall at Jenolan, but a higher N content than native litter at Gurnang. At both locations, the pine litterfall is additional to native litterfall and as such, pine-litter intrusion is adding additional resources to woodlands adjacent to the plantation. Having determined the rates of pine-litter intrusion, the next step was to determine the fate of pine litter once it had intruded into woodland vegetation. In the absence of fire, plant litter is ultimately broken down through the decomposition process. A three-by-three experimental design was employed, where 3 litter types (pine, native and a 50:50 mix of pine and native litter) were placed under 3 different conditions (‘reference sites’, ‘adjacent sites’, and sites within pine plantations). Litterbags were constructed and filled with a known mass of litter before being placed in the field. Every 8 weeks, for 18 months, litterbags were collected and destructively sampled. Decomposition was measured as a function of weight loss through time, while the corresponding nitrogen and carbon contents were determined. While decomposition was quite slow overall, rates of decomposition were generally faster for native litter than for pine litter. Throughout the experiment, the N concentration of litter increased in all litter types although it was higher in native litter than in pine litter. An important consequence of the slower rate of decomposition of pine litter is likely to be the accumulation of pine litter in woodlands adjacent to plantations. This may have severe implications for the structure and composition of plant communities adjacent to plantations. To test this, I examined the seasonal and spatial patterns of plant community structure of eucalypt woodlands surrounding pine plantations at Jenolan and Gurnang. Eucalypt woodland at Gurnang showed only a minor change in the structure and composition of understorey vegetation at sites nearest the plantation. In contrast, eucalypt woodland at Jenolan showed a much stronger response to plantations, with significantly lower total species richness at adjacent sites compared with reference sites. This resulted in a pronounced ‘edge effect’ up to 15 m into eucalypt woodland adjacent to pine plantations. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to examine the relationship between environmental variables and plant community structure. Pine litterfall explained a significant portion of the variation in plant community structure at reference and adjacent sites at Jenolan, where large quantities of pine litter intrude into native vegetation. At Gurnang, where smaller quantities of pine litter intrude into eucalypt woodland, pine litter intrusion explained a lower portion of the variance between reference and adjacent sites. The plantation at Jenolan consists of large, mature pines that have formed a dense closed canopy, while at Gurnang, the plantation has been established more recently and the pines are not as large, and have not formed a closed canopy. The plantations at Jenolan are therefore a greater source of litter and are also likely to have more pronounced influence on the microclimate compared with the plantations at Gurnang. Lower diversity of flora at Gurnang also may limit the ability to detect differences in plant communities between reference and adjacent sites. Finally, I investigated the impact of pine litter on plant community structure by testing the hypothesis that pine litter facilitates the germination and growth of radiata pine seeds. Using a manipulative glasshouse experiment, radiata pine seeds were sown in pots and exposed to varying quantities of different litter treatments (pine litter, native litter and a 50-50 mix of pine and native litter). The germination and subsequent growth and survival of pines were measured over a period of 2 months. Litter depth but not litter type was found to be an important determinant of pine seedling establishment. With the exception of treatments that were covered by a small layer of litter (i.e. 1 cm) increases in litter depth resulted in delayed and lower rates of seedling emergence. Although pine and native leaves are different shapes (i.e. needle vs. broadleaf) and form very differently structured litter layers (dense mat vs. loosely structured), both litters appear to cause similar physical resistance to seedling establishment. These results indicate that litter accumulation resulting from pine intrusion can alter the establishment of pine seedlings. Given the invasive nature of radiata pine, it is highly likely that increased litter depth resulting from pine-litter intrusion will influence the establishment of many native species. In summary, significant quantities of pine litter were found to intrude into native woodland adjacent to pine plantations, which in turn, appears to be responsible for observed shifts in ecosystem structure and function. This is of particular concern in instances where pine plantations are situated adjacent to native vegetation that has been set aside specifically for conservation purposes. I therefore suggest the provision of a buffer zone around plantations in order to minimise intrusive impacts of plantations on native biodiversity. Whilst this can be achieved using a number of techniques, careful consideration of the structure of native vegetation is needed when selecting the appropriate technique. Having an inappropriate buffer may have an undesirable influence on native vegetation.