Conserving our Tuarts Since the mid 1990s, there has been a growing community concern about the noticeable decline in the health of tuart trees south of Mandurah. The State Government's Tuart Response Group seeks to establish a partnership with local communities to plan and manage the conservation and protection of tuart trees and ecosystems, and to investigate the causes of their decline. Tuart Trees grow along a 400-kilometre band from Jurien Bay, on the northern margin of the Swan Coastal Plain, to the Sabina River, just east of Busselton. They are generally confined to limy or limestone soils close to the coast. It is estimated that before Europeans arrived there were more than 111,600 hectares of tuart woodland. Most of these were subsequently cleared for agriculture and urban development and it is estimated that only 35% remains. Tuart Conservation Most tuart woodlands are now found at Ludlow, Yanchep and Yalgorup National Parks. Significant tuart woodlands are also conserved in Bold Park and Kings Park, in State forest at Myalup and McLarty, and in unallocated Crown land and Bush Forever sites at Yanchep, Woodman Point, Port Kennedy and the Harvey Estuary. Smaller remnants of tuart are scattered across its natural range from Jurien to south of Busselton. About half the existing tuarts are on freehold land. As a species, tuart is well represented in parks and reserves. However, its conservation adequacy is less clear for its six ecosystems, and for flora associated with tuart. Tuart Health In recent years, tuart woodlands between Mandurah and Preston Beach have suffered a severe decline, linked with heavy infestation by wood-boring insects. The underlying reasons are not yet clear but may include: - ongoing reductions in winter rainfall;
- hydrological and salinity factors near wetlands;
- soil and nutrient supply;
- altered fire regimes;
- competition with understorey species;
- changes in the ecological balance between insects and their predators;
- adjacent clearing, and;
- roadworks.
In the face of the decline in tuart health, a comprehensive conservation and protection strategy is needed. Tuart Atlas The production of the Tuart Atlas, an essential first stage in this ‘strategy' development, involved the digital capture of data on tuart occurrence, overstorey density and understorey condition, from high-resolution digital aerial colour photography. The mapping presented in the ‘atlas' represents the most up-to-date and accurate assessment of tuart woodlands over its natural range. It estimates the total area of tuart woodlands remaining to be 30,311 hectares. Earlier mapping of tuart's dominant structural ecosystems estimated the current extent of tuart to be 38,829 hectares. Both estimates of tuart extent are valid. The variation occurs due to differences in mapping purpose, the level of detail of vegetation mapping, and the interpretation of remnant vegetation. See Tuart Atlas Contents . Draft Tuart Conservation and Management Strategy The Draft Tuart Conservation and Management Strategy ( 5.1MB, pdf ) refects the public inputs received so far, and provides an initial framework for the future development of joint Government and community-based stewardship of tuart woodlands. It proposes the following outcomes: - enhanced conservation and management of remnant tuart trees and woodlands;
- research into tuart's biological value and tuart health;
- increased community awareness of the value and benefits of tuart and its ecosystems;
- effective tuart partnerships between community groups;
- land development that takes account of tuart conservation; and
- incentives for improved tuart management on private land.
This Draft Tuart Conservation and Management Strategy is now released for public discussion and review to ensure that what has been proposed is sound, practical and relevant to the conservation and management of the State's remaining tuart woodlands. A final ‘tuart strategy and action plan' will be released, following due and proper consideration of all community discussions and formal submissions. The associated report ' Tools for identifying indicative high conservation tuart woodlands ' ( 458kB, pdf ), is also available for reading. Consulting the Community
|
Tuarts 
Page Top