Kangaroo Island Long Term Ecological Research Site
Site description
Site information
Climate and rainfall information
Forest types
Site goals/objectives
History
Spatial data set
Broad research areas
Facilities
Research and data management
Contact details
Site description
The Kangaroo Island LTER site has been established to facilitate the understanding of ecological processes in a unique environment in the Australian context. Kangaroo Island has had a long period of isolation (10,000 years - most recent) and the association between Aborigines and fire has not existed on the Island for more than 4,000 years. Kangaroo Island has also avoided some of the major environmental pests of the Australian mainland (eg. the Island has no rabbits or foxes) and has not suffered vegetation clearance to the same extent. The LTER programs are envisaged to foster multi-disciplinary research within a long-term framework. The site contains a mixture of conservation reserves, private reserves and traditional farming, with a variety of management prescriptions and practices.
Estimated Timespan for Research on Site:
Indefinite.
Site information
Location:
Most of Kangaroo Island lies between 35.00 and 35.30 S and 136.30 and 148.00 E, with the Althorpe Islands at 35.38 S, 136.86 E and The Pages at 35.77 S. 138.29 E.
Area:
- Kangaroo Island>440,000 ha, including off-shore islands such as Busby Islet, Beatrice Islets, Casuarina Islets (The Brothers), and associated reefs, etc.
- Althorpe Islands 213 ha
- The Pages 6884 ha (only 20 ha being land).
Elevation:
Only 16 per cent of Kangaroo Island is above 200 m, the highest point being 320 m.
Climate and rainfall information
Average Rainfall:
Average rainfall ranges from more than 900 mm on the highest parts of Kangaroo Island (Gumridge and Allandale) to less than 500 mm on the low-lying lands between Redbanks and North Cape on north-east Kangaroo Island.
- Wettest Quarter: Jul-Sep
- Driest Quarter: Jan-Mar
Average Minimum Temperature:
- Parndana – ~9.5°C
- Cape Willoughby – ~12.6°C
Average Maximum Temperature:
- Parndana – ~19.1°C
- Cape Willoughby – ~17.9°C
Principal Forest Types (NFI Forest Types)
- Eucalypt Woodland
- Eucalypt Mallee Forest and Woodland
- Heathland
Principal biome (main communities):
A number of different woodland communities occur on the Island, including those dominated by Eucalyptus baxteri, E. camaldulensis, E. cladocalyx, E. fasciculosa, E. leucoxylon, E. obliqua and E. odorata, as well as communities dominated by Allocasuarina verticillata. The extensive mallee communities of the Island comprise some 8 eucalypt species, including the Island endemic E. cneorifolia. There are also coastal heaths, and samphire swamps with Melaleuca fringes.
Site goals/objectives
- To understand fundamental ecological processes in key communities on Kangaroo Island
- To assess and monitor biodiversity and ecological processes, with a view to enhancing knowledge, and informing management decisions.
- To determine the long term effects of different fire regimes on natural diversity and ecological processes and thus assess their sustainability.
- To determine the long term effects of land clearance on dryland salinity and the subsequent impact of revegetation programs
- Where necessary, to develop adaptive management regimes to restore ecological processes
- To provide an integrated multidisciplinary focus which complements research programs elsewhere in South Australia.
- To provide a co-ordinated database of past, present and future research on Kangaroo Island.
- To link South Australian research with national and international programs having a long term ecological focus.
History of the Site
Kangaroo Island has a long history of research going back to observations made by early French and English explorers in 1802 and 1803. The LTER site includes Flinders Chase National Park, Althorpe Islands Conservation Park, Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park, Nepean Bay Conservation Park, and The Pages Conservation Park as well as various conservation areas and Wilderness Protection Areas on the Island (e.g. Kelly Hill Conservation Park, and Cape Torrens, Western River, Ravine de Casoars and Cape Bougeur Wilderness Protected Areas). There has been a history of data collection and research for more than 100 years, with, for example, vegetation maps dating back to the 1930s, and a series of research programs on charismatic Australian fauna (Echidna, Tammar Wallaby, Cape Barren Goose, Koala, New Zealand Fur Seal, Australian Sea Lions, Glossy Black Cockatoo, woodland birds, tree condition, pollination) and flora (eg. Drooping Sheoak)
Spatial data sets
It is intended that GIS layers will be collected at various scales:
- Forest type maps (vegetation structure) derived from aerial photography
- Geology
- Vegetation fire history
- Modelled climate surfaces
- Satellite images
- Environmental stratifications
- Non-Spatial Data Sets
Hydrology and climate:
There are established automatic weather stations at Cape Borda, Cape Willoughby, as well a station at Kingscote Airport.
Established weirs on Cygnet River, Timber Creek and Rocky River.
Biodiversity:
Species lists (and locations) are or have been established for vascular plants, vertebrate fauna and some invertebrate groups.
A system of baseline long-term vegetation and invertebrate monitoring plots is to be established.
Since 1994 the Environment Protection Authority has been conducting a comprehensive survey of river and stream health across South Australia as part of the Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS). This has involved some 78 sites on Kangaroo Island being assessed on a seasonal basis.
Broad research areas
- Fire ecology and management
- Habitat fragmentation
- Biodiversity
- Dryland salinisation and hydrology
- Habitat rehabilitation and restoration
- Population monitoring (eg. birds, seals, echidnas)
- Threatened species management (eg, Sooty Dunnart, Glossy Black-cockatoos, 15 species of nationally threatened plant)
- Impact of weeds (eg. Bridal Creeper)
- Impact of tourism
- Threatening processes research (Phytophthora, Koala browse impacts, cats)
- Understanding soil-landscape systems with implications for land management
- Geology and geomorphology
- Palaeontological studies
- Water resources assessment
- Surveys of riparian areas and wetlands
- Bush management
Facilities
Access to site:
Much of the LTER is readily accessible by vehicle and/or foot. The SA Department for Environment and Heritage manages all of the designated conservation areas such as Flinders Chase National Park, The Althorpes, The Pages and Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park as well as the various conservation areas and Wilderness Protection Areas on the Island (eg. Kelly Hill Conservation Park, Ravine de Casoars and Cape Bougeur Wilderness Protected Areas). Permits to undertake research in these must be obtained. The Native Vegetation Act also protects roadsides. The remainder of the Island is largely under private ownership and permission must be sought from land-holders.
Onsite facilities:
Kangaroo Island has excellent tourist facilities. There is a range of accommodation facilities on Kangaroo Island, including hotels/motels, bed and breakfasts, and caravanning and camping. Contact SA Tourism for details. As well, there are shelter, toilet and barbecue facilities at various points around the Island. Flinders Chase and Seal Bay Visitor Centres offer important tourism advice. There are no facilities on either the Althorpes or The Pages.
Laboratory facilities:
Flinders-Baudin Research Stationat Flinders Chase NP, operated by the University of Adelaide, as some laboratory facilities. By arrangement, limited facilities may be available in Adelaide, but please contact the appropriate participant organization well in advance.
Research and data management
Overall responsibility for management of the National Parks, Conservation Parks, and WPAs resides with the Dept. for Environment and Heritage.
The Kangaroo Island LTER is managed by a co-operative which includes:
- Department for Environment and Heritage
- Science and Conservation directorate
- Regional Conservation directorate
- Plant Biodiversity Centre - The University of Adelaide
- Flinders-Baudin Research Centre - South Australian Museum
- The Royal Society of South Australia Inc.
- South Australian Research and Development Corporation
- Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation
- Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Board
Data are managed and curated by individual research agencies, with data sets on vegetation and biodiversity, climate, soil, water and geology, being held by several State Government agencies, including Dept. for Environment and Heritage and Dept. of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. It is intended to make data available via the web site.
Contact details
Dr John Jennings
The University of Adelaide
Waite Campus, Glen Osmond, SA 5064
Phone: +61 8 8303 7277
Fax: +61 8 8303 7109
E-mail: john.jennings@adelaide.edu.au