Academic literature on the topic 'Kosciuszko'

AbstractLate Pleistocene glaciation of the Australian mainland was restricted to a small area of the southeastern highlands. Geomorphic mapping of the area and exposure dating using thein situproduced cosmogenic isotope10Be provides evidence for at least two distinct glaciations. The Early Kosciuszko glaciation consisted of a single glacier advance before 59,300 ± 5400 years ago (Snowy River Advance). The Late Kosciuszko glaciation comprised three glacier advances 32,000 ± 2500 (Headley Tarn Advance), 19,100 ± 1600 (Blue Lake Advance), and 16,800 ± 1400 years ago (Mt. Twynam Advance). The Early Kosciuszko glaciation was the most extensive and the Late Kosciuszko advances were progressively less extensive. These periods of glaciation in the highlands correspond to episodes of periglacial activity and peaks in lake levels and river discharge at lower elevations in southeastern Australia. Glacier advances on the Kosciuszko Massif correlate with advances in Tasmania, South America, and New Zealand and are broadly representative of hemispheric climate changes during the last glacial cycle.

Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) is a major tourist attraction for Australians, featuring the highest mountain on the Australian mainland (Mount Kosciuszko) and including popular ski resorts and wilderness. The region adjoining KNP includes townships with a total population of some 25,000 people, whose economic welfare is increasingly affected by tourism to KNP. This paper reports research that surveyed expenditure by visitors to KNP, which injects new activity into the adjoining regional economy. The paper uses the first round of an input–output process to model the impacts of such expenditure on the region, and also develops a spreadsheet model for allocating visitor expenditure between businesses within the park and businesses within the adjoining regional economy.

Rytidosperma vickeryae, a new species of danthonioid grass, is described, and detailed information on the morphology, anatomy, cytology and embryology of the species is provided. The phylogenetic relationships among the Australasian species of Rytidosperma s.s. are analysed, by parsimony-based methods. The new species is shown to be the sister species of R. thomsonii from New Zealand. The phytogeographical implications of this are analysed, by area-optimisation methods as well as methods which search for area relationships. This suggests that the Australasian species of Rytidosperma radiated from an ancestral area in Tasmania, followed by dispersal to New Zealand, and repeated dispersal northwards to Kosciuszko and New Guinea. R. vickeryae appears to have originated as the result of a dispersal event from New Zealand to Kosciuszko.

The colonial artist Eugene von Guérard travelled extensively throughout south-eastern Australia sketching thousands of views during his three-decade-long sojourn in Australia. His field drawings are renowned for their fidelity to nature and observational accuracy, but the validity of the latter claim depends on comparing drawings with the view at the sites where he sketched. The location of the view in some artworks, such as Mount Kosciusko, seen from the Victorian Border, has eluded art historians and aficionados who have ventured into the field. This article discusses the collation of clues from historical narratives, maps and surveying techniques to limit the search area for the vantage point where he sketched the view on which he based his painting of the Kosciuszko massif. Novel use of spatial technology utilising satellite imagery, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data, particularly digital elevation models, to locate the actual site is explored, and the topographical accuracy of his sketches evaluated when compared with photographs taken from close to the site. Finally, the potential value of using spatial technology in art history field work is discussed.

Author found and gave to print unknown letters of Vilnius philosopher and scholar, Wincenty Lutosławski to Stefan Mierzwa, executive director of the Kosciuszko Foundation – the source kept in the Archives of the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City. The letters reveal unknown facts from the life of Vilnius philosopher. Lutosławski appears to be a great admirer of Juliusz Osterwa and his The Reduta (Redoubt) Theatre, as well as a good advocate of his students. In the same time despite of being in late 60. Lutosławski had great plans and ambitions to arrive to the U.S. under auspices of the KF. What is more, the correspondence shows that Lutosławski, focused on promoting his own person and achievements, was not far of underestimating the authority even those scholars, who like Roman Dyboski, were generally favorable to him. The correspondence confirms therefore not the best opinion enjoyed by Polish philosopher in the world of science.

This thesis examined vegetation change over the last 43 years in Australia's largest contiguous alpine area, the Kosciuszko alpine zone in south-eastern Australia. Using historical and current data about the state of the most common vegetation community, tall alpine herbfield, this thesis addressed the questions: (1) what were the patterns of change at the species/genera and life form levels during this time period; (2) what were the patterns of recovery, if recovery occurred, from anthropogenic disturbances such as livestock grazing or trampling by tourists; (3) what impacts did natural disturbances such as drought have on the vegetation and how does it compare to anthropogenic disturbances; and (4) What are the benefits, limitations and management considerations when using long-term data for assessing vegetation changes at the species/genera, life form and community levels? The Kosciuszko alpine zone has important economic, cultural and ecological values. It is of great scientific and biological importance, maintaining an assemblage of vegetation communities found nowhere else in the world. It is one of the few alpine regions in the world with deep loamy soils, and contains endemic flora and fauna and some of the few periglacial and glacial features in Australia. The area also forms the core of the Australian mainland's most important water catchment and is a popular tourist destination, offering a range of recreational opportunities. The vegetation of the Kosciuszko alpine zone is recovering from impacts of livestock grazing and is increasingly exposed to pressures from tourism and anthropogenic climate change. At the same time, natural disturbances such as drought and fire can influence the distribution, composition and diversity of plants. Thus, there is a need for detailed environmental data on this area in order to: (1) better understand ecological relationships; (2) understand existing and potential effects of recreational and management pressures on the region; (3) provide data against which future changes can be assessed; and (4) provide better information on many features of this area, including vegetation, for interpretation, education and management. The research in this thesis utilised three types of ecological information: (1) scientific long-term datasets; (2) photographic records; and (3) a comparison of disturbed and undisturbed vegetation. This research analysed data from one of the longest ongoing monitoring programs in the Australian Alps established by Alec Costin and Dane Wimbush in 1959. Permanent plots (6 transects and 30 photoquadrats) were established at two locations that differed in the time since grazing and have been repeatedly surveyed. Plots near Mt Kosciuszko had not been grazed for 15 years and had nearly complete vegetation cover in 1959, while plots near Mt Gungartan showed extensive impacts of grazing and associated activities which only ceased in 1958. Some transect data from 1959 to 1978 have been analysed by the original researchers. The research presented in this thesis extends this monitoring program with data from additional surveys in 1990, 1999 and 2002 and applies current methods of statistical evaluation, such as ordination techniques, to the whole data set for the first time. Results indicated that the recovery from livestock grazing and the effects of drought have been the main factors affecting vegetation. Recovery from livestock grazing at the three transects at Gungartan was slow and involved: (1) increasing genera diversity; (2) increasing vegetation cover; (3) decreasing amounts of bare ground; and (4) a directional change over time in species composition. Patterns of colonisation and species succession were also documented. In 2002, 44 years after the cessation of grazing, transects near Mt Gungartan had similar vegetation cover and genera diversity to the transects near Mt Kosciuszko, but cover by exposed rock remained higher. A drought in the 1960s resulted in a temporary increase of litter and a shift in the proportional cover of life forms, as grasses died and herb cover increased at both locations. Proportions of cover for life forms reverted to pre-drought levels within a few years. The results also highlighted the spatial variability of tall alpine herbfield. The photoquadrats were surveyed in the years 1959, 1964, 1968, 1978 and 2001 and are analysed for the first time in this thesis. After comparing a range of methods, visual assessment using a 130 point grid was found to be the most suitable technique to measure vegetation cover and genera diversity. At the 18 quadrats near Mt Gungartan, there was a pattern of increasing vegetation cover as bare areas were colonised by native cudweeds and the naturalized herb Acetosella vulgaris. Revegetation from within bare areas largely occurred by herb species, while graminoids and shrub species predominately colonised bare ground by lateral expansion from the edges, eventually replacing the colonising herbs. At the 12 quadrats near Mt Kosciuszko, vegetation cover was almost complete in all years surveyed except 1968, which was at the end of a six year drought. Similar to the results from the transect study, the drought caused an increase in litter at both locations as graminoid cover declined. Initially herb cover increased, potentially as a result of decreased competition from the graminoids and a nutrient spike from decaying litter, but as the drought became more severe, herb cover also declined. Graminoid cover rapidly recovered after the drought, reaching pre-drought levels by 1978, and was at similar levels in 2001. Herb cover continued to decline after peaking in 1964. The photoquadrat study also documented the longevity and growth rates of several species indicating that many taxa may persist for several decades. It further provided insights into replacement patterns amongst life forms. In addition to assessing vegetation change following livestock grazing and drought at the long-term plots, recovery from tourism impacts was examined by comparing vegetation and soils on a closed walking track, with that of adjacent undisturbed tall alpine herbfield at a series of 22 paired quadrats. Fifteen years after the track was closed there was limited success in restoration. Over a quarter of the closed track was still bare ground with non-native species the dominant vegetation. Plant species composition differed and vegetation height, soil nutrients and soil moisture were lower on the track which had a higher compaction level than adjacent natural vegetation. The results presented in this thesis highlight that tall alpine herbfield is characterised by nearly entire vegetation cover which is dominated by graminoids, followed by herbs and shrubs in the absence of disturbance by livestock grazing, trampling or drought. The studies also showed that under quot;average" conditions, the relative cover of herbs and graminoids remained fairly stable even though there can be considerable cycling between them. Spatial variability in terms of taxa composition was high. The only common introduced species in unrehabilitated sites was Acetosella vulgaris, which was effective at colonising bare ground but was eventually replaced by other native species. However, in areas actively rehabilitated, such as on the closed track, non-native species introduced during revegetation efforts still persist with high cover 15 years after their introduction. Monitoring of vegetation change is also important at the landscape scale. This thesis provides a review of the potential use, the limitations and the benefits of aerial photography to examine vegetation change in the Kosciuszko alpine zone. Numerous aerial photography runs have been flown over the area since the 1930s for government agencies, industry and the military. Some of these records have been used to map vegetation communities and eroding areas at a point in time. Other studies compared different types and scales of photographs, highlighting in particular the benefits and potential of large scale colour aerial photography to map alpine vegetation. However, despite their potential to assess vegetation change over time, a temporal comparison of vegetation in the Kosciuszko alpine zone from aerial photographs has not been completed to this date. Historical photographs may not be easy to locate or access and difficulties with vegetation classification may restrict the practicality of using historical aerial photographs to assess vegetation change. Despite these issues, aerial photography may provide a very useful and efficient tool to assess changes over time when applied appropriately, even in alpine environments. The development of digital classification techniques, the application of statistical measures of error to both methodology and data, and the application of geographic information systems are likely to further improve the practicality of historical aerial photographs for the detection of vegetation change and assist in overcoming some of the limitations. The results presented in this thesis highlight the need for limiting disturbance, for ongoing rehabilitation of disturbed areas and for long-term monitoring in the Kosciuszko alpine zone. The results contribute to our understanding of how vegetation may change in the future and may be affected by new land use activities and climate change. This type of information, which otherwise would require the establishment of long-term studies and years of monitoring, can assist land managers of this and other important protected areas. The study highlights how the use and expansion of already existing datasets to gather ecological information can save considerable money and time, providing valuable data for current and emerging issues.

This thesis examined vegetation change over the last 43 years in Australia's largest contiguous alpine area, the Kosciuszko alpine zone in south-eastern Australia. Using historical and current data about the state of the most common vegetation community, tall alpine herbfield, this thesis addressed the questions: (1) what were the patterns of change at the species/genera and life form levels during this time period; (2) what were the patterns of recovery, if recovery occurred, from anthropogenic disturbances such as livestock grazing or trampling by tourists; (3) what impacts did natural disturbances such as drought have on the vegetation and how does it compare to anthropogenic disturbances; and (4) What are the benefits, limitations and management considerations when using long-term data for assessing vegetation changes at the species/genera, life form and community levels? The Kosciuszko alpine zone has important economic, cultural and ecological values. It is of great scientific and biological importance, maintaining an assemblage of vegetation communities found nowhere else in the world. It is one of the few alpine regions in the world with deep loamy soils, and contains endemic flora and fauna and some of the few periglacial and glacial features in Australia. The area also forms the core of the Australian mainland's most important water catchment and is a popular tourist destination, offering a range of recreational opportunities. The vegetation of the Kosciuszko alpine zone is recovering from impacts of livestock grazing and is increasingly exposed to pressures from tourism and anthropogenic climate change. At the same time, natural disturbances such as drought and fire can influence the distribution, composition and diversity of plants. Thus, there is a need for detailed environmental data on this area in order to: (1) better understand ecological relationships; (2) understand existing and potential effects of recreational and management pressures on the region; (3) provide data against which future changes can be assessed; and (4) provide better information on many features of this area, including vegetation, for interpretation, education and management. The research in this thesis utilised three types of ecological information: (1) scientific long-term datasets; (2) photographic records; and (3) a comparison of disturbed and undisturbed vegetation. This research analysed data from one of the longest ongoing monitoring programs in the Australian Alps established by Alec Costin and Dane Wimbush in 1959. Permanent plots (6 transects and 30 photoquadrats) were established at two locations that differed in the time since grazing and have been repeatedly surveyed. Plots near Mt Kosciuszko had not been grazed for 15 years and had nearly complete vegetation cover in 1959, while plots near Mt Gungartan showed extensive impacts of grazing and associated activities which only ceased in 1958. Some transect data from 1959 to 1978 have been analysed by the original researchers. The research presented in this thesis extends this monitoring program with data from additional surveys in 1990, 1999 and 2002 and applies current methods of statistical evaluation, such as ordination techniques, to the whole data set for the first time. Results indicated that the recovery from livestock grazing and the effects of drought have been the main factors affecting vegetation. Recovery from livestock grazing at the three transects at Gungartan was slow and involved: (1) increasing genera diversity; (2) increasing vegetation cover; (3) decreasing amounts of bare ground; and (4) a directional change over time in species composition. Patterns of colonisation and species succession were also documented. In 2002, 44 years after the cessation of grazing, transects near Mt Gungartan had similar vegetation cover and genera diversity to the transects near Mt Kosciuszko, but cover by exposed rock remained higher. A drought in the 1960s resulted in a temporary increase of litter and a shift in the proportional cover of life forms, as grasses died and herb cover increased at both locations. Proportions of cover for life forms reverted to pre-drought levels within a few years. The results also highlighted the spatial variability of tall alpine herbfield. The photoquadrats were surveyed in the years 1959, 1964, 1968, 1978 and 2001 and are analysed for the first time in this thesis. After comparing a range of methods, visual assessment using a 130 point grid was found to be the most suitable technique to measure vegetation cover and genera diversity. At the 18 quadrats near Mt Gungartan, there was a pattern of increasing vegetation cover as bare areas were colonised by native cudweeds and the naturalized herb Acetosella vulgaris. Revegetation from within bare areas largely occurred by herb species, while graminoids and shrub species predominately colonised bare ground by lateral expansion from the edges, eventually replacing the colonising herbs. At the 12 quadrats near Mt Kosciuszko, vegetation cover was almost complete in all years surveyed except 1968, which was at the end of a six year drought. Similar to the results from the transect study, the drought caused an increase in litter at both locations as graminoid cover declined. Initially herb cover increased, potentially as a result of decreased competition from the graminoids and a nutrient spike from decaying litter, but as the drought became more severe, herb cover also declined. Graminoid cover rapidly recovered after the drought, reaching pre-drought levels by 1978, and was at similar levels in 2001. Herb cover continued to decline after peaking in 1964. The photoquadrat study also documented the longevity and growth rates of several species indicating that many taxa may persist for several decades. It further provided insights into replacement patterns amongst life forms. In addition to assessing vegetation change following livestock grazing and drought at the long-term plots, recovery from tourism impacts was examined by comparing vegetation and soils on a closed walking track, with that of adjacent undisturbed tall alpine herbfield at a series of 22 paired quadrats. Fifteen years after the track was closed there was limited success in restoration. Over a quarter of the closed track was still bare ground with non-native species the dominant vegetation. Plant species composition differed and vegetation height, soil nutrients and soil moisture were lower on the track which had a higher compaction level than adjacent natural vegetation. The results presented in this thesis highlight that tall alpine herbfield is characterised by nearly entire vegetation cover which is dominated by graminoids, followed by herbs and shrubs in the absence of disturbance by livestock grazing, trampling or drought. The studies also showed that under quot;average" conditions, the relative cover of herbs and graminoids remained fairly stable even though there can be considerable cycling between them. Spatial variability in terms of taxa composition was high. The only common introduced species in unrehabilitated sites was Acetosella vulgaris, which was effective at colonising bare ground but was eventually replaced by other native species. However, in areas actively rehabilitated, such as on the closed track, non-native species introduced during revegetation efforts still persist with high cover 15 years after their introduction. Monitoring of vegetation change is also important at the landscape scale. This thesis provides a review of the potential use, the limitations and the benefits of aerial photography to examine vegetation change in the Kosciuszko alpine zone. Numerous aerial photography runs have been flown over the area since the 1930s for government agencies, industry and the military. Some of these records have been used to map vegetation communities and eroding areas at a point in time. Other studies compared different types and scales of photographs, highlighting in particular the benefits and potential of large scale colour aerial photography to map alpine vegetation. However, despite their potential to assess vegetation change over time, a temporal comparison of vegetation in the Kosciuszko alpine zone from aerial photographs has not been completed to this date. Historical photographs may not be easy to locate or access and difficulties with vegetation classification may restrict the practicality of using historical aerial photographs to assess vegetation change. Despite these issues, aerial photography may provide a very useful and efficient tool to assess changes over time when applied appropriately, even in alpine environments. The development of digital classification techniques, the application of statistical measures of error to both methodology and data, and the application of geographic information systems are likely to further improve the practicality of historical aerial photographs for the detection of vegetation change and assist in overcoming some of the limitations. The results presented in this thesis highlight the need for limiting disturbance, for ongoing rehabilitation of disturbed areas and for long-term monitoring in the Kosciuszko alpine zone. The results contribute to our understanding of how vegetation may change in the future and may be affected by new land use activities and climate change. This type of information, which otherwise would require the establishment of long-term studies and years of monitoring, can assist land managers of this and other important protected areas. The study highlights how the use and expansion of already existing datasets to gather ecological information can save considerable money and time, providing valuable data for current and emerging issues.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Australian School of Environmental Studies
Full Text

A population of spotted-tailed quolls Dasyurus maculatus was studied for three years (2002-2004) in the lower catchment of the Jacobs River, in the Byadbo Wilderness Area of southern Kosciuszko National Park, south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Survey and monitoring of quoll latrine sites and prey populations, dietary analysis and live-trapping was carried out for one year before and two years after the widespread wildfires of January 2003, which had a very high impact on the study area. Survey for spotted-tailed quoll latrine sites was successful in locating a total of 90 latrine sites in the Jacobs River study area over the three years of the study. These were found throughout all parts of the topography among large, complex granite outcrops and along rocky sections of riparian habitat. After the fire in 2003, lower numbers of latrines were in use than observed pre-fire, and there was a lower level of usage (number of scats) of individual latrines. Continued monitoring in 2004 revealed that many latrines that had become inactive in 2003 following the fire were re-activated in the second breeding season following fire. 1466 spotted-tailed quoll scats were collected from latrines and live-trapped quolls over the three years of the study. Hair analysis from scats identified twenty-two different species of mammal in the diet of the spotted-tailed quoll from the Jacobs River study area, representing the majority of all prey identified (98.5% occurrence) and contributing almost all of the biomass consumed (99.6%). Medium-sized mammals were the most important prey category, followed by small mammals, large mammals (most likely taken as carrion) and non-mammalian prey (birds, reptiles, insects and plants). Brushtail possums were the most important single prey item by both frequency of occurrence and percentage biomass in all years, followed by lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), Rattus spp., and swamp wallabies. There was a significant difference in the composition of the diet by major prey category across the years of the study as a result of the fire, indicated by a shift in utilisation of food resources by quolls in response to significant changes in prey availability. Monitoring of prey populations revealed that brushtail possums, lagomorphs and bandicoots were all significantly less abundant in the study area in the winter directly following the fire, followed by a significant increase in abundance of lagomorphs, but not of possums, in the second winter after the fire. Quolls adapted well to this altered prey availability. While there was a significant decrease in occurrence of brushtail possum in scats after the fire, significantly more scats contained hair of lagomorphs, to the point where almost equal proportions of lagomorphs and possum hair occurred in scats by the winter of 2004. Other fire-induced changes to the diet were evident, such as a significant drop in the occurrence of small mammals in scats for both winters after the fire, and a peak in occurrence of large mammals in the winter directly following the fire that strongly suggests there was a short-term increase in the availability of carrion. A large, high-density population of spotted-tailed quolls was live-trapped and marked during the winter breeding season of 2002. Twenty-two quolls (13 male and 9 female) were present in the study area in 2002, and subsequent trapping over the 2003 and 2004 winter breeding seasons following the fire revealed that the high-intensity wildfire did not result in the extinction of the local population. There was evidence of a small, short-term decline in the number of quolls present in the study area in the 2003 breeding season, with 16 individual quolls captured. Males were outnumbered two-to-one by females, due either to mortality or emigration. Trapping in 2004 showed a recovery of the population to numbers exceeding that observed prior to the fire, with 26 individuals captured (16 male, 10 female), most likely as a result of immigration. There was some evidence that recruitment of young from the post-fire breeding season in 2003 was reduced because of the fire. This study took advantage of an unplanned wildfire event to monitor the response of a population of spotted-tailed quolls and their prey. In this regard it was fortuitous since it has been recognised that the use of replicates and controls in the study of the impacts of wildfire on such species is likely to be logistically impossible. Consequently, the effects of fire on forest and woodland fauna such as the spotted-tailed quoll are poorly understood, with many authors expressing concern that, potentially, wildfires are likely to be highly detrimental to resident quoll populations. The results of this study, however, concur with the few other studies in which forest mammal populations have been monitored before and after wildfire in suggesting that wildfires may not be as destructive to fauna as that imagined. The results of this work will provide information to assist in the preparation of management strategies for the species, such as recovery plans, as well as information for land managers preparing management plans, including fire management plans, for habitats in which spotted-tailed quolls are found throughout their range.

Exotic plants are a threat to natural areas world wide including the Australian Alps, one of the largest relatively undisturbed natural areas remaining in Australia. This thesis examines the diversity, abundance and distribution of exotic plants in the Australian Alps, including Kosciuszko National Park and then focuses on Achillea millefolium (L.) (Asteraceae) as a case study of the biology and ecology of an important environmental weed. To determine the diversity and abundance of exotics in the Australian Alps published records of exotic species were reviewed. A total of 175 exotic taxa were recorded in the alpine and subalpine areas representing 41 families and 122 genera. The distribution of exotics was associated with human activities with 80% of exotic taxa found along roads and tracks and nearly 60% around ski resorts. Just over 20% of exotic species were naturalised with some species presenting an environmental threat to the region. To examine the relationship between human disturbance and exotics, vegetation was surveyed and soil analysed on road verges, in runoff areas and in adjacent vegetation along a gravel road in the subalpine zone of Kosciuszko National Park. The road verge was dominated by exotics, the area 10 m from the road verge was dominated by natives and the road drainage areas were dominated by the exotic, A. millefolium. There were also clear differences in the soils, with coarse nutrient poor soils on the road verge, highly organic fine soils in the areas 10 m from the road, and soils with high nutrients and water content in the road drainage areas. The potential for exotics to colonise areas adjacent to roads after disturbance was examined in an experiment conducted along a subalpine road. The composition of plants colonising small gaps created in the existing vegetation (50 cm x 100 cm) was dependant on the distance from the road. In general, gaps one metre from the road verge were recolonised by exotic species while gaps five or ten metres from the road verge were predominantly recolonised by native early succession species. However the exotics A. millefolium and Acetosella vulgaris were present in many sites prior to disturbance, and were the major exotics to recolonise gaps five and ten metres from the road. Therefore disturbance of natural areas where there are exotic propagules present may not necessarily result in a native climax community, but in a community with an even higher cover of exotics than prior to disturbance. These initial studies highlighted the importance of A. millefolium as an environmental weed in the Australian Alps. Therefore further research was carried out on this species. A review of literature highlighted the capacity of this species to colonise and invade both disturbed and natural habitats. Based on current weed risk assessment methodologies this species presents a serious threat to both agricultural and natural environments in Australia. Data on the distribution of A. millefolium was used to develop a CLIMEX® model of its distribution worldwide and in Australia under current and changing climatic conditions. The models indicate that cool, temperate and Mediterranean climates are suitable for this species, while deserts and tropics are unsuitable. Under climate warming scenarios, there would be an overall reduction in the area suitable for A. millefolium, including within Australia, but an increase in suitable sites at higher altitudes. Field and glasshouse experiments were conducted examining the distribution, phenology, resource allocation, seed ecology and competitive abilities of A. millefolium, including any variation in these characteristics associated with increasing altitude. Field surveys and published records of A. millefolium indicate that A. millefolium populations are primarily associated with disturbance, with some limited spread into native vegetation. It occurs along more than 100 km of walking tracks, roads and trails within the Park. Achillea millefolium populations were observed growing between 800 m and 2100 m a.s.l., with the majority of populations occurring in areas above 1200 m a.s.l. The vegetative and flowering phenology studies of A. millefolium confirm that it is able to grow and flower from the tableland to high subalpine with flowering commencing earlier and lasting longer at lower altitude sites. However, even at sites 1760 m altitude, flowering occurred for approximately 80 days with large numbers of inflorescences (19 per m2) at the peak of flowering in early March. The effect of altitude on the allocation of biomass in A. millefolium between above ground, below ground and reproductive structures indicates that with increasing altitude there was a decrease in the relative and absolute allocation of biomass to reproductive structures (average 2.7 kg/m2), although the total number of flower heads was not affected (average 129 flowering heads/inflorescence). There was no effect of altitude on the absolute allocation to below ground (average 3.1 kg/m2) and above ground vegetative structures (average 0.7 kg/m2). The seed ecology of A. millefolium was examined including estimating the potential maximum seed production (51400 seeds/m2), seed rain, and seed viability. There was 60% viability of seed remaining after three years dry storage and 16% viability of seed remaining after three years of burial in the field. All these seed characteristics were highly variable among sites, with either no, or limited effect of increasing altitude. In a glasshouse competition experiment between A. millefolium and the dominant native snowgrass Poa fawcettiae, the weed produced four times as much biomass as the native grass at the end of the 12 week experiment. As a result, when grown together, A. millefolium significantly decreased the root and shoot biomass of P. fawcettiae while P. fawcettiae had no effect on the biomass of A. millefolium. Root interaction from the weed on the grass appeared to be the primary source of competition. Population dynamics modelling using data from this research and from the literature indicated that without human induced control this species has the potential to continue to spread from current populations in subalpine and alpine areas. Therefore a strategy to effectively control this species must include the removal of flowers to decrease the input of seed into the seed bank, limiting the establishment of seedlings and removal of the underground rhizome system. This study has shown that the high altitude areas of the Australian Alps are susceptible to exotic plant invasions. The results also highlight the importance of human induced disturbance in the introduction and distribution of exotics, including the case study species A. millefolium. Increasing severity of conditions with increasing altitude does not appear to be limiting the establishment, growth and reproduction of A. millefolium, even though altitude did affect some components of the ecology of this species in Kosciuszko National Park.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Environmental and Applied Science
Full Text

Wild dogs in Australia comprise both purebred dingoes and dingo/domestic dog hybrids. Wil d dogs are widespread across mainland Australia including the south eastern region and still maintain the role of top order predator and trophic regulator. Although they are protected in many National Parks as native species and important ecosystem regulators they are also considered to be pests in rural areas where they spread di sease and prey on small cattle and sheep. This dichotomy of perspectives can make management of the species difficult, however, with more knowledge of the behaviour and habitat requirements of the dingo perhaps more effective management strategies can be developed. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the hypothesis that selected landscapelevel variables play a significant role in determining the core and home ranges of wild dogs. The steps in researching this hypothesis are two-fold, (1) to estimate the home ranges and core areas of the wild dogs in the case s tudy, and (2) examine the l andscape features of the home ranges and core areas of movement to determine whether or not certain features in the landscape may effect or shape home ranges. The wild dog data were drawn from three previous studies to give a total of eighteen wild dogs. All of these wild dogs were located in either the Bago or Maragle State Forests near Tumbarumba, NSW or in the adjoining northwest comer of Kosciuszko National Park. The study found the wild dogs ' home ranges, usmg 100 % minimum convex polygons, to be significantly larger than expected compared with the findings of a number of previous studies of wild dog home ranges in a variety of locations around Australia. Kernel estimators, which were used to calculate the core movement areas were found to produce better estimates than minimum convex polygo ns, but were sensitive to small clusters of data points that could heavily influence both the size and location of core areas. This was highli ghted by th e compariso n between two data sets (AR 181 and DJ 220) of the one wild dog that produced very different results for what appeared to be essentially the same home range and core areas. The landscape features of vegetation, topography and water surfaces were also studied within the home ranges and core areas of each of the wild dogs and it was found that they tended to be in areas made up predominantly of Montane Tableland Forests and although, in general, terrain tended to be rugged with large relief, territory within the core areas were mainly flat or undulating plateaus. No s imple linear correlation was found between wild dog sites and Gross Primary Productivity. Similarly, no link was found with water surfaces and home and core ranges.

Until recently, most of the available research on the biology of introduced plant species, their interactions with neighbouring species and their responses to a range of environmental conditions has been carried out in an agricultural context. However, the study of introduced plants in natural areas has received increasing attention in the last decade, including the initiation in mid-1982 of a wide-ranging SCOPE programme (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, a subsidiary body of the International Council of Scientific Unions) on the Ecology of Biological Invasions. The research associated with the SCOPE programme has now been published as a series of regional and global reviews (Groves & Burdon, 1986; Kornberg & Williamson, 1986; Macdonald et al., 1986; Mooney & Drake, 1986: Joenje et al., 1987; Usher et al., 1988; Drake et al., 1989). Particular emphasis in these and other studies has been given to factors contributing to the successful establishment of introduced species, and the susceptibility of different communities and ecosystems to introduced species invasions. Natural and semi-natural areas (those areas which are relatively undisturbed by human activities) in most countries are becoming fewer and smaller, and those that remain are subject to increasing visitor use and exploitation. The current concern about the effects of introduced species in natural areas is related to the growing scientific and public awareness of the value of natural areas and their component species. An introduced species is defined in a natural area context as any species which is not native to the region being studied. There are few ecosystems in the world which have not been affected by introduced plant invasions (Usher, 1988; Heywood, 1989). Most of these invasions can be linked either directly or indirectly with human activities, with invasion of undisturbed ecosystems being extremely uncommon (Johnson, 1982; Fox, 1988). Introduced species invading both natural and modified ecosystems vary greatly in their ability to colonise and persist at a site, in their rates of spread and in their effects on the existing plant communities and ecosystem processes (Forcella, 1985; Christensen & Burrows, 1986; Heywood, 1989). Even among the most successful invaders, such as Chrysanthemoides monilifera in coastal areas of southeastern Australia (Weiss & Noble, 1984a & b); Acacia saligna, A. cyclops and A. longifolia in the fynbos biome of southern Africa (Macdonald & Jarman, 1984; Macdonald et al., 1989) and Hypericum perforatum in temperate grassland and woodland communities (Groves, 1989); there appear to be few attributes common to all species which can be used to accurately predict the invasion potential of individual species (Healy, 1969, 1973; Crawley, 1986, 1989; Newsome & Noble, 1986; Williamson & Brown, 1986; Esler, 1988; Noble, 1989).