Native Vegetation Recovery

A key plank in Arkaba Conservancy's strategy to restore native vegetation communities is the removal of feral herbivores - this has focussed on sheep, goats and rabbits - and the management of kangaroo populations at a sustainable level.  The control of goats has allowed Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies to recolonise areas of the conservancy.  The removal of most sheep from the landscape saw a boom in macropods, in particular Red Kangaroos which are now seen in numbers across the country.  Larger macropod numbers have increased to such an extent that they threaten native vegetation communities and, in the absence of a native predator, steps need to be taken to control their impact on the landscape.  One step is to better understand their impact on vegetation in the Flinders Ranges so that their presence can be managed to the benefit of the broader landscape and other species. 

 

Key elements:

1)  Herbivore Exclosures

Establish three herbivore exclusion zones to help us better understand and monitor the impact of native (especially kangaroos) and feral (especially rabbits) herbivores on native grass communities.

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2) Herbivore Monitoring

Monitoring  vegetation recovery within the exclosures and, more importantly, outside the exclosures is key  to understanding balance that needs to be managed between herbivore populations and vegetation recovery.  A regular monitoring regime will provide data on vegetation species recovery and 

inform herbivore management decisions.​

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Arkaba Environmental Projects has an objective to raise funds to establish three herbivore exclusion zones (to exclude kangaroos, goats and stray sheep) on the conservancy to allow researchers to identify native flora and fauna that are impacted.