Tasmanian forests and woodlands dominated by black gum or Brooker’s gum ((Eucalyptus ovata / E. brookeriana) is a threatened ecological community unique to Tasmania. Under threat from land clearing, invasive species, grazing pressure and poor land management practices, much of the landscape where this ecological community occurred has been cleared or modified for agriculture or forestry. Without direct action to protect remaining stands this important community may be lost entirely.
NRM South, working in collaboration with the Forest Practices Authority, DPIPWE and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, have developed a factsheet explaining importance of this community, how to identify it, and recommended steps to take if they have stands of this woodland on their property.
The development of this factsheet is part of a broader project under NRM South’s Threatened Plants project, funded through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. The ‘Protecting Black or Brookers Gum Forests and Woodlands’ project, which is being delivered in partnership with Tasmanian Land Conservancy and DPIPWE, is working on a number of key actions.
NRM South are working with delivery partners to improve the publicly available mapping of this community. Work is also being done to protect high conservation value remnants through a system of conservation covenants and supporting landholders to improve management of this community across southern Tasmania by providing resources such as this factsheet.
To download a copy of the factsheet, click here.
Image credit: Andy Townsend/TLC