Abstract
Grassland ecosystems across the globe have been extensively modified and degraded by agriculture and urban development, leaving conservation managers with a complex set of interacting legacies and opportunities to contend with. We advocate the use of state-and-transition models to assist conservation managers to deal with this complexity. Using a major development and compensation project as a case study (The Melbourne Strategic Assessment under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999), we discuss the uses and limitations of state-and-transition models for conservation management. We define a state-and-transition model for an endangered Australian temperate grassland. Soil and vegetation data are used to evaluate the model and confirm that the assigned states relate to observable agro-ecological patterns. We then discuss the use of this model for several different interacting purposes: as a tool for the simple communication of complex ecological processes; as a tool for landscape stratification to aid the spatial application of management and experimentation; as a framework to set and define conservation objectives; and as an aide for adaptive management.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 437-453 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Australian Journal of Botany |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- adaptive management
- management objectives
- natural temperate grassland
- prairie
- Themeda triandra
Cite this
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A state-and-transition model to guide grassland management. / Sinclair, Steve J.; Zamin, Tara; Gibson-Roy, Paul; Dorrough, Joshua; Wong, Nathan; Craigie, Vanessa; Garrard, Georgia E.; Moore, Joslin L.
In: Australian Journal of Botany, Vol. 67, No. 5, 01.01.2019, p. 437-453.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - A state-and-transition model to guide grassland management
AU - Sinclair, Steve J.
AU - Zamin, Tara
AU - Gibson-Roy, Paul
AU - Dorrough, Joshua
AU - Wong, Nathan
AU - Craigie, Vanessa
AU - Garrard, Georgia E.
AU - Moore, Joslin L.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Grassland ecosystems across the globe have been extensively modified and degraded by agriculture and urban development, leaving conservation managers with a complex set of interacting legacies and opportunities to contend with. We advocate the use of state-and-transition models to assist conservation managers to deal with this complexity. Using a major development and compensation project as a case study (The Melbourne Strategic Assessment under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999), we discuss the uses and limitations of state-and-transition models for conservation management. We define a state-and-transition model for an endangered Australian temperate grassland. Soil and vegetation data are used to evaluate the model and confirm that the assigned states relate to observable agro-ecological patterns. We then discuss the use of this model for several different interacting purposes: as a tool for the simple communication of complex ecological processes; as a tool for landscape stratification to aid the spatial application of management and experimentation; as a framework to set and define conservation objectives; and as an aide for adaptive management.
AB - Grassland ecosystems across the globe have been extensively modified and degraded by agriculture and urban development, leaving conservation managers with a complex set of interacting legacies and opportunities to contend with. We advocate the use of state-and-transition models to assist conservation managers to deal with this complexity. Using a major development and compensation project as a case study (The Melbourne Strategic Assessment under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999), we discuss the uses and limitations of state-and-transition models for conservation management. We define a state-and-transition model for an endangered Australian temperate grassland. Soil and vegetation data are used to evaluate the model and confirm that the assigned states relate to observable agro-ecological patterns. We then discuss the use of this model for several different interacting purposes: as a tool for the simple communication of complex ecological processes; as a tool for landscape stratification to aid the spatial application of management and experimentation; as a framework to set and define conservation objectives; and as an aide for adaptive management.
KW - adaptive management
KW - management objectives
KW - natural temperate grassland
KW - prairie
KW - Themeda triandra
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072694709&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1071/BT18167
DO - 10.1071/BT18167
M3 - Article
VL - 67
SP - 437
EP - 453
JO - Australian Journal of Botany
JF - Australian Journal of Botany
SN - 0067-1924
IS - 5
ER -