User guide to the spreadsheet version of the Regional Ecosystem
Contents
1. 20ha L M ii20Xripaiani H VH 2 H M MM P0000000 ononon 000000000000 HEC EE EE i ETE EEEE E rr T 07 Mig000000000000000000000000000n 000000000000 EEEE oono oO s e EE gt 80 ri M MEUM vH D M eer M n PERPE ctl prac nd j SelectBN nd nd Riparian Fone absent ete nT ees rp er rae NENEGNE Co 5 MEE p eene 80 riparian veg nd i SelectBN nd i nd VCKEDEODODOODOOOCOCECCERSSEEICOREOOCOOOOCOGOCOCOCEGCHOCIERE ono Coo oe nn aanonoononoconoORECCOCECOECOoRODOROCOnone IIT 20 80 riparian veg p nd Select BN nd nd 1 205 riparian ved CECEDEECHOOCDEE CHEER NM Cc ccc c PE MEME eere z 195 riparian veg nd Select BN nd nd RR R R RRRRETEPEER Select size nd nd Selectclass nd nd Select BN nd nd Bacooocenoonconnnioncooonnooocenonneonnn o ECCCCCOCCGEREOOOEEEEIDHIGOCCOCEOECCGEDOOO CER ROCCCEKEECCCE OODECERYE HON SANS SoCC aneoonnancaocnnooncrraaooonnnna coo cO COCIDOOOCEEEGG COGO CE CGCIPOOB CO D GCCCCEEOCCCCEEH DOCERE Soon ooncrnconnmnenncocnnconcrrenoeoonn aoa ECECCGCEEEOCIEEET ROGO COCOS SCEFHODCCERE OCIO ORO GERE ssn aea eee Riparian Vegetation has ecosystem effects which extend beyond the immediate riparian zone making it an important factor in ecosystem function The REM defines the area of effect of Riparian Vegetation as the immediate catchment of the freshwater fe2. A i N A 0 Select hightest category A 1 HN A i A Solort hinhtoct v heck bioregion growth HR Species select None known Abrotanella scapigera funnel sr Acacia axillaris midlands went AIREM_status nd nd 0 Selectt REM status nd nd i0 Selectt Acacia derwentiana derwent 1 Acacia implexa hickory wattle Acacia longifolia subsp longifolia Acacia longifolia subsp soph Soeseceseosesocooeosscoseoseoscosesoscosoosesseososssossesososessesososssoseosoososseosooosossosseossosssse REM_status nd nd i 0 Select t H E E nnne nene nnne nn nere i Gnoriac calacti RFM ctatiic nd i nd iN Selerth Some species are important only in some of the bioregions in which they occur These are species which are not threatened or poorly reserved on a Statewide basis but may be poorly reserved in some bioregions Species in this category need to be checked against the report on Tasmanian plant reservation status of Lawrence et al 2008 to determine if the bioregion is one of concern Note Species Lookup and Species Status are provided for information only and do not affect returned classes of Level of Concern which must be entered by the user in the Species category column The full lookup data for Threatened and other significant species 1s contained in the worksheet BS Species LU Priority Species Hollo
3. 19 Lookup worksheet for Connectivity 1 A B Ci ln Bis ur L F G J K l L M N J c ion Drop list size PE Select distance Native veg Cleared land lt 50m also if 200ha 50 250m FALSE FALSE e i FALSE FALSE Lookup worksheet for Biodiversity Management Priority M r E 5 c eS eS a a ce rc SN NN O2 11 L6 _1_NO DATA TO BE ENTERED TO THIS WORKSHEET USE BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE amp LANDSCAPE_FUNCTION i i i B 20 5 Testing management scenarios amp REM specifications 5 1 Testing management scenarios In addition to returning management priorities for property zones based on their Level of Concern the REM workbook can also be used to test the impacts of changes in management on priorities Changes can be based on management actions that improve the overall condition of the natural resources or that reflect the decline that may occur if management intervention does not occur The main way in which management scenarios can be tested 1s through considering the impact of identified actions on landscape function The approach assumes that the sorts of management action usually seen as positive for resource condition are those that will affect landscape function An example where landscape function is both improved and declines through lack of intervention is shown below Elements of biological significance are less likely to
4. i E ya y QP f N SS CANNES Wes User guide to the spreadsheet version of the Regional Ecosystem Model for biodiversity in the Tasmanian Midlands version 1 0 R I Knight 2010 A report of the Caring for Our Country project Using landscape ecology to prioritise property management actions in Tasmania nd CARING FOR OUR COUNTRY Suggested citation Knight R I 2010 User guide to the spreadsheet version of the Regional Ecosystem Model for biodiversity in the Tasmanian midlands version 1 0 A report of the Caring for Our Country Project Using landscape ecology to prioritise property management actions in Tasmania Natural Resource Planning Hobart Tasmania Published by Natural Resource Planning Pty Ltd ACN 130 109 250 PO Box 4530 Bathurst Street Hobart TASMANIA 7000 Australia www naturalresourceplanning com au Natural Resource Planning Pty Ltd 2010 This work is protected under Australian copyright law The report may be freely circulated and reproduced without modification provided the authors are acknowledged Commercial use of the contents of this report and the intellectual property herein is defined in the contract between Natural Resource Planning and the Australian Government and may be granted by either party Natural Resource Planning is an ethically based company specialising in the science and practice of natural resource management NRP encourages
5. BE TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTIT Hollows Full Spp Full Spp LC 3 contains further detailed information Eucalypt structure LCP LU P 1 Not eucalypt forest Lo E be L REM_status L L REM stats L L 3 Not REM status M M 7 j forest regrowth o naaa am A T AA i daos Seimo ome W wu n lu BMEEBNEBEBED yJB JSDDO w X mnm mdi Ti Landscape Function Biodiversity Management Priority Landscape Fn Landscape Biodiv Biodiv LC I Fn LC P MP LC 1 MP LC P L L k L er SEE EE M L M L M M H H WW W WnWnWnWn n MREEMEEEEE UU IUUUUIET REM stats H H 2 Not old 5 Regrowth amp 4o oH r IM H HRHR O T T T T REM status nd nd dr AAe T EEREDEEE REED EEEEEEET T TTT REM status nd nd 10 RRRR Reeee tt e SS E EHE a i ta ee s ch i as ium eco ia ll CS ax Rl e c3 n i cca 8 re i gi 12 M M H H r
6. BEESESEEEEEEEEEEEEE LC LCP Naturaless LCA LCP EE TTT MEM absent T E Riparian zone Loo L 1 W s p BEEOM 9 MIDI 1 20 riparian H VH 2 HM a a lS GNU gt 80 riparian L M L i VH Ets ls eee i Selectclass ond nd nd 5 nd N A sSN A sN i Selectclass i nd nd nd nd sN A N A sN i Selectclass nd nd nd j nd N A N A ij Selectclass nd nd nd Select class nd i nd nd n H DUHTEEEHEEOEDHIOHEEEEEEECOLEDEEEEGUEEQEIS e nenneeenernnmenenmem ennemi emi enm en nie nnne enn en ni iin i a i D ni nn in i Select class nd nd elect B nd T Hrs e E RN ERI RR PN RR RE EREREIERER EE ERE DEED ooo ooo TIT e Q magl p PATERE Select class nd nd Select BN nd nd Lookup data for Biophysical Naturalness is contained in the worksheet LF Bionat lu The worksheet also contains some general descriptions of the characteristics of vegetation in the various classes Assessing Biophysical Naturalness on a qualitative basis 1s relatively subjective Users of this feature are encouraged to examine the supporting reports Strategy Review and REM Specifications for further information and to familiarise themselves with both the Biophysical Naturalness and other assessment methods A separate report providing details of
7. and 24 of its extent in the South East bioregion Three classes are used as inputs to the prioritisiation matrix for native vegetation The community is not threatened e Its extent class 1s 55 000ha and e Its reservation level the minimum of the Statewide and bioregional is 10 30 This combination of classes gives the community in this bioregion a Level of Concern ranking of Low for both Immediate and Potential as shown below from the lookup table BS NativeVeg_lu Far pae a E E E E E E MM a MD aa E v a cojesrseug cc ec pep D as a D D Mu p pu qu I C M I D La cu Conservation i status f level Extent LC I LC P 15 55kha M M r EL ELS n in n r Not threatened 30 60 5 5 15kha Not threatened 30 60 i 5 5 15kha MM d Not threatened 30 6096 15 55kha Not threatened i 30 6056 i 15 55kha i M M Not threatened 30 60 55kha Notthreatened 30 60 i 55ka Ek Not threatened gt 60 2kha Notthreatened gt 60 i lt 2kha M M Not threatened gt 60 2 5 5kha Notthreatened 26096 i 255kha M i M d Not threatened gt 60 5 5 15kha Not threatened i 6096 5 5 15kha i 1L Ls d Not threatened gt 60 15 55kha Notthreat
8. a site based quantiative survey method for Biophysical Naturalness is available on request The method uses a pro forma of data entry and has a separate spreadsheet with which to enter data and generate outputs Landscape Function Index The Landscape Function Index integrates Clearing Bias Connectivity Remnant Vegetation Riparian Vegetation and Biophysical Naturalness classes to produce Level of Concern for Landscape Function Landscape Function is generated through a three way matrix which integrates Clearing Bias a sub matrix that combines Connectivity Remnant Vegetation and Riparian Vegetation and Biophysical Naturalenss Data entered in the previous sections will return Landscape Function in two ways As the categories Low Medium High and Very High as Lookup data for Landscape Function is contained in the worksheet LF used throughout the REM and Lscp fn lu e With the three way matrix ranked on Level of Concern from 1 Highest to 64 Lowest The classes of Biological Significance and overall Biodiversity Management Priority for the zone are also shown on the right of the worksheet The ranked form of the Landscape Function Index is designed to provide an expanded scale to assist understanding of the impacts of the various input variables on the overall Index ipa eias REM working 2 xlsx Microsoft Excel cd Home Insert Page Layout Formulas Data Review View
9. and is expressed through a series of spatial data layers for use in a Geographic Information System The specifications for the REM are presented in a separate document TheREM specifications include information on spatial data coverage and details of the matrices used to determine Level of Concern The REM derives its list of Issues Assets and Asset Classes and the relationships between them from the projects Strategy Review The review provides a systematic classification of Natural Resource Management NRM Assets and Issues within the project region for use as input to the REM for practical elaboration in the User Tools component of the project and to form a reference list of Issues to be addressed in the demonstration Property Management Plans A separate report of the Review is available The material in this document assumes some familiarity with the project through the aforementioned two documents Use of the REM spreadsheet also requires a moderate degree of capability in the use of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets Available for download from www naturalresourceplanning com au Knight R I amp Cullen P J 2009 A review of strategies for planning and management of the natural resources of biodiversity freshwater land and soils in the Tasmanian midlands A report of the Caring for Our Country project Using landscape ecology to prioritise property management actions in Tasmania Natural Resource Planning Hoba
10. bam ERR Ruler 4 FormulaBar FE ERE 11 View Side by Side m I iE E EQ ey E V Gridlines v Headings ini dt toni Scroll H 2 Mormal Page Page Break Custom Full l s Zoom 100 Zoom to Mew Arrange Freeze i i MM Save Switch Macras Layout Preview Views Screen Message Bar Selection Window All Panes L Unhide 33 Reset Window Position Workspace Windows Workbook Views Show Hide Zoom Window Macros A B i P i Q __R 5 T U V Ww X Y i AA AB 1 i tntnusitim oni S E j Biophysical Naturalness Biological Significanee Index Biodiversity Management Priority ee cee eee Cece cece eee Property Zone ld Veg Riparian Biophysical Bionat Bionat Biol Sig LC 1 Biol Sig LC P Biodiv Priority Biodiv Priority comm LC P Naturaless LC l LC P LC I LC P TM p nck as ee ae 5 coss OO o A S S Home 2 FAG E 1 MH o E L L M L 6 ttc iI O _ E E Home 3 DVG VH C 2 dM N H H VH VH 7 c coco EEEEEEEEERIEEEEEEDEEC cr Home 4 DOB M 4 L j VH H H H H 8 este coo EEUU 9 o 5 electcomn nd SelectBN nd nd sSN A N A sSN A O 3SN A N A SN A N A N A 10 0 6 electcomm nd Select BN nd nd 9N A N A amp SN A N A N A N A N A N A 11 0 7 electcomn nd Selec
11. be overwritten Indicators of Level of Concern through the spreadsheet are returned by accessing lookup data These are shown using a consistent style throughout the spreadsheet e Bold Yellow indicates the integrated index value for the REM component each of the three worksheet addresses along with the rank order in the lookup table and e Light Blue indicates the Level of Concern for an indicator which is an input to an integrated indicator or is directly returned on the worksheet Each of these three main worksheets also shows data from the other main REM elements The Biodiversity Managment Priority worksheet provides an overall summary based on the input matrices for Biological Significance and Landscape Function The Landscape Function and Biological Significance worksheets allow inputs of the Issues they address while holding the other constant and showing overall Biodiversity Management Priority This feature 1s designed to allow the relative contribution of various Issues and integrated indices to be more easily understood The three raw worksheets for data entry and summaries are shown on the following page Further information on individual worksheets is presented in the following sections Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet A B C D E G H l J K 1 ONLY ENTER ANY PROPERTY DETAILS amp NOTES TO THIS WORKSHEET USE LANDSCAPE FUNCTION amp BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR MAIN DATA ENTRY s 2 e
12. change over the short term but may be important over the longer term Equally neglecting landscape function may lead to loss of biodiversity values even in the short term For example not addressing biophysical naturalness in areas of tree delcine may lead to loss of habitat for hollow dwelling species Testing management scenarios involves creating a two or more rows for a zone in which different values are entered to test the impacts of management The first row contains the existing data for the zone with any extra rows containing data that reflects the changes in management that are being considered The example below shows a set of management scenarios for a piece of bush with a High Level of Concern Immediate for its overall Landscape Function The current characteristics of the patch are shown in row 5 and can be summarised as follows 21 Clearing Bias of 30 70 This is unlikely to be altered by management actions on the property as the overall clearing bias for the land component would need to be changed through revegetation of measureable proportions of the entire land component extent Connectivity of 250 1 000m This has a High Level of Concern as the patch is relatively isolated from the nearest non remnant i e a patch gt 200ha Remnant patch size of 2 20ha This has a Very High Level of Concern as this is the patch size most likely to decline over the long term Riparian Vegetation of 1 20 This is a High Level of
13. eucalypt forests indic ator of PCIE aa TAEA EE ene asi X M mature tr ees Property Zone ld Vegetation Assessment Bioregion Native Native Species category 4 po community Veg LC Nee LC P c RR lud moms 5 ee iy E i The worksheet inherits the Property and Zone identifiers from the ds uc 7 EM C ee Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet and should not be Home 3 reentered here DVG SE L L 4 Otherpriority j species DOB SE M M i3 VWlnerable Rare All other data for entry to the worksheet is via drop down lists that have been pre populated with valid entries needed to make the REM return correct values When a vegetation community is selected from the drop down list the column Assessment community is automatically populated from a lookup table In the example above the community FAG Cleared agricultural land has no conservation status and its Assessment Community is a null value ZZZ Some vegetation communities are combined with others for assessment purposes This ensures consistency in terms of policy legislation or regulation and addresses communities which are not systematically or com
14. exponentially as the level in the hierarchy increases A prioritisation matrix for an Issue may be relatively simple but becomes conceptually more complex as Issues are combined to form Assets and the overall Biodiversity Asset Classes The REM specifications can be modified by altering the lookup matrices in the various worksheets Changes can be made in a number of ways Some examples are outlined below though users should consult the REM Strategy Review and REM specifications to ensure a thorough understanding of the basis for the current specifications and the ecological bases for any changes 23 increase in the ranked order that arises from the improvement in biophysical naturalness This reflects the way in which different components of the REM are weighted Level of Concern Potential is a measure of the importance of keeping the values which are extant in the landscape In this case the Clearing Bias Medium is the most significant factor with other remnants on land with higher levels of Clearing Bias generally more important for retention Example I Changes to a prioritisation matrix The example in the previous section used the vegetation community Eucalyptus amgydalina on dolerite in the South East bioregion which has the following characteristics The vegetation community is not threatened e Its bioregional extent 1s 84 677ha e Conservation reserves for the community are 31 6 of its Statewide extent 168 009ha
15. have been populated C7 Lower creek A B x D E F G H J K EM ONLY ENTER ANY PROPERTY DETAILS amp NOTES TO THIS WORKSHEET USE LANDSCAPE FUNCTION amp BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR MAIN DATA ENTRY mtn nn HM oc EE ELEC etc Ote nO A CES quss iei Biological significance EO C TN Combined DIOGIVETSICy Vangi EE aan ERN LL Native EE mem species _ Biological Significance AM M ULM ee ee Home i 2 Bottom paddock EEUU 22MM L T 1 1ll 1 01 l 2 a2 oe ew Renee Home 3 M M L L H H H H ee ee ee creer Home Bush block M M M M H H H H SCRI E aces ac IER E EORR SER RR SEIT RR ERR NEU RE EM cuc SESS Gaal c0 000000 RETI U0 00000000 ptt 000tt t0 M I DU UU AI cm ee een a TIT 4 H 5 i HN A N A N A N A Erm Er N A N A gian fe co e nt Doo 3 2 Biological Significance Index The Biological Significance worksheet generates the REM s Biological Native Vegetation Significance Significance Input based on input data on The figure below shows the Property and Zone ids and the drop down Vegetation community list for vegetation communities Bioregion Classes of threatened and other priority species A B M D t F G H 1 Native vegetation EMEN TEE ae Priority species Old growth forest and Threatened amp other 2 Le Structural characteristics of
16. r r N A N A N A N A N A N A N A N A HAIA sar A tars aA Ann 7A 3 3 Landscape Function Index The Landscape Function worksheet generates the REM s measures of Level of Concern for landscape ecological function based on input data on Clearing Bias the extent to which each land component has been cleared Connectivity the distances over which both native vegetation and cleared land are separated from native vegetation Remnant Vegetation the size of patches of native vegetation Riparian Vegetation the percentage of riparian zones under native vegetation and Biophysical Naturalness within site vegetation condition The worksheet inherits the Property and Zone identifiers from the Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet and should not be reentered here The worksheet also dispalys both the Biological Significance Index and Biodiversity Management Priority from other parts of the spreadsheet The worksheet also inherits the vegetation community for the zone from the Biological Significance worksheet which is used for the elements of Landscape Function which differ between cleared land and native vegetation All other data for entry to the worksheet is via drop down lists that have been pre populated with valid entries needed to make the REM return correct values 13 Clearing Bias Clearing bias addresses the disproportionate impact that preferential clearing of certain type
17. understanding uptake and use of its products Potential users should contact the company for further information CONTENTS i How to use this document HARRRARRRRRRRRRRERARRSRRERRRRRENRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRZERRERRRERRRSRRRRRRRRRRRRERRZERERRRRRRRRRRRRRERRERRRERREERRRRRRERRRERRRRRERRRRRESRRERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRZRRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRR HARRRRERRARERARRRRSRARERAREERRRRRERRARRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRORRRERERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRERRRRRRRERRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSERRRERRERRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRSRRERRRRRERRRRRREERRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRERRERRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRREERRRRRRERRRRRRRR HARRRARRRRRRRRRRERARSRRERRRRREERRRERRRRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRERRRERRRERRRRRRERREERRRRRERRRRERREERRRERRRRRREERRERRRERRRSRREERRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRESRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRREERRRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRZRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRR HARARARRRRRRRRRARRRERARRSRRRRRENRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRERR
18. Concern and indicates that the river section catchment in which the patch is located has relatively little riparian vegetation Note that the patch may not contain riparian vegetation but is influence by riparian vegetation or lack thereof in the vicinity Biophysical Naturalness of 2 This is a High Level of Concern indicating there are significant issues with the condition of this patch of vegetation The overall Level of Concern for Landscape Function is High and is ranked 24 on a scale of 1 64 1 is the highest Level of Concern The figure shows three scenarios of altered management fencing to improve condition above plus consolidation of nearby patches to create a larger patch and above two plus planting of a nearby riparian corridor Scenario testing for improving Landscape Function Note Clearing Bias is not shown as this 1s constant in all scenarios fe 20 80 riparian veg A B C G H l J K L M O P Q R S 1 EN DEM LL LLL o plo o LLL Ll l1 aU 2 Connectivity a is Riparian 7 Biophysical ae 3 Native vegetation Clearedland T 0p T Property Zone Id Veg Distance to non Distance to Conn Conn Veg patch Remnant Remnant Rip Veg Riparian Riparia Biophysical Bionat Bionat 4 comm remnant gt 200ha native veg LC I LCP size LG Lc P LC n LC P Naturaless LC I LC P E E TT xcu B Tum ets E pus ERE T co os Be uw VECES Bestar T NES o IXx were E F
19. ERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRERRRRREERRERRRRRRR 9 Native Vegetation Significance ees Ta nein on ee MN iil Bio Species Hollow Dwelling Species CC 0 ete TN ii Priority Species Full Priori Species Indo e I3 Biological Significance Index 00000007 ER Ei EMI Zeige emerson L1 Clearing Bias 14 Connectivity S i5 Remnant Veget 77 M URS INN C DOC nnn E D Biophssical Namaig 7777 MM NONE pre RE Uie mtt tim qnte tH RRRRRRRRERRERERZERZEGZSZZEGZHERERRERZERRRRRRRERZERRERRRRRRERZRRRRRRRRAERRERRRRRRRAERGRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRERRERRRRR RRRGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGERRRRRRRRRGAERRRRRRRRRRAERRERRRRRRRRAERRERRRRRRRAERRERRRERRRRRAERRERRRRRRRRAERRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRERRERRRRRRRAERRRRRERRRRRRERRERRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRERRRERRRERRERRRRRRRERRRRRRR REXREERERERRREERREREREEZERREERENGRERERERZRERERRERERRRRERRRERERRRRERRRERERRRRERRERERRERERRRRERRERERRERERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRERRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERERERERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRRERRERERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRRRRRRR RERREERZEERERZERZERZEZZEZZERZERARSRZGERZERZERRERRERRERZERZRRERRERRERZERZERRRRERRERRERRERRERRERRERRERZERZERRERRRRRERRERZERRRRERRRERERERRERGERREGRERRERRERRERRERRERRERRERRERRERRERRRRERRERRRZRRERRRRRRRERRERRRRRRGRRRERRERRRRRERRRRERRERRERRRRREGRRRRERRERRERRERRERRRRRERRERRERRRRRRRRRRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRRRRRRERRRERRRERRRRR 22 Scenario l Fence remnant MM T MI
20. LOP _ wed top SE i L L Species select REM status L j L EN 3 Loco c SE L L 1 Two or more listed spe Alecies select REM_status L j L 2 Endangered Critically i oo 01 3 Vulnerable Rare rc SE L L ecies select REM status j M M 1 EN TEE EE aos BI cies select Tp fem m The columns Species Lookup and Species Status are provided to help choose the appropriate Species Category Species Lookup contains a drop down list of all species of conservation significance considered in the REM Selecting a species in Species Lookup will return information on the species in Species Status as shown below G H Priority species Threatened amp other pun es M E T Y M 3 Vulnerable Rare 59 eee sncquecunubuensunsunsseunovussouapavessqus buss vasectnscunccunscccgqlliqussailSsRilsaulyinisGiGhssSeKiGaln Hr n Poss Other H H 2 Not ol Acacia stricta hop wattle ve i Native Species category Species lookup Species status Species Species Old growth CA Veg LCP l ie tee L 5 None Acacia axillaris midlands Vulnerable L L 3 Not E 5 None Accipiter cirrocephalus Other Priority L L 3 Not L 4 Other priority Zieria veronicea subsp Endangered M j M 1 Old gro i species iveronicea pink zieria forest Bas
21. MUK ony r voe RR ORE 77 ENIM 7977 EIC m rp reme a MM Te a TS Eg Cr on eens ETT T m RR RR RR RR MN ICT oe ee 24 Example 2 Changes to classes in an input a E 25 More complex changes s a eee REREEEEEEEZZEEEZEERRRRRRRRRERERARZEEZEZEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRERERERERREREREREEREEERERERERERRRRERRRREREREREREREREREEREEEEEERERERERERERERERRRERERERERERERERRERRERREREREREREREREEREEEEEERERERRRRRRRRERREREREREREREREREREEEEEEERERERRRRRRERRERRRERERREREREREREEEEEERERRERRRRRRRERRRRERERERERERREREREEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRERRREREREREREREREREREREEEEEEERERRRRRRRREREREREREREREREEREREREREREEREEEEEERERERRRRRRRREREREREREREREREREREREREEERERERRRRRRR REXREEREASERREERRRERERRRZRERRRERSNRERERERZERERRRRRERRRRRERRRRERRERERRRRERRERERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRERERRERERRRERERRERERRERERRERRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRERERERRERRRRERRRRERRERERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRERRRRRERERRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRERRRRRERRRRRR RERRERREREREEERERRREEEEERRREREEEERURSERRRRRRERRERRRRRERRRRRRERRERRERRERERRERRRRERRERRRRRRERRRRRRRERRRRRRRERRRRRRRERRERRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRERRRREERRERRRRRERERERRRRERERERERRRRRERRERRRERERERRRRERERERRRRRERERERRRRERERERERRRRERRERERRRRERERRRRRRERRRERRRRERRERERRRRERRERERRRRRERRERRRRRERRERRRERRERERRRRERRERERRRRERRERRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRERERRRRRRERERRRRRERERRRRRERERRERRERRERERRRERERERRRERERRRRRRR 5 Figure 3 Input worksheets and lookup tables in the REM spreadsheet How to use this document This document is one o
22. RERRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRRRREERRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRZERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRR HARRRRRRRRRRRRRARRRARRRARZSERRRRRERRAREERRRRRRSRRERRRRRRRRRZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRESRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRERRRRRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRSERRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRRZERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRERRRERRERRRRRREERRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR HRARRARRRRRRRRRARRRRERREERREREEERRRRRRRRRERRERRRERRRRRRRRREERRRERRRRRRRRRERRRERRRERRRERRERRERRRRRRSRREERRRRRRRRRRRREERRERRRERRRERRRRERRRERRRRRERRREERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRSRRRERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRREERRRRRRRRRRRREERRERRRRRRRRRERRERRERRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRR HARRRARRRRRRRRRARRRRERRERRRRRENRRRERRRRRRERRRERRRERRRRRRRRRERRRERRRERRRRRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRERREERRRERRRRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRREREERRRERRRERRRRRRRERRRRRERRRERRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRERRRRRRERRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRERRRRRRERRRRREERRERRREERRRRRERRERRREERRERRRRRRRRRERRRERRERRRRRREERRRRRERRRRRRZRRRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRERRRRRREERRRRRERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE RERRRERZSEZERZERZERZEZZRZERZRRHRERZERZERZEERERZERZERZERZERZRERRERRERRERZERRERERRERRERRERRERERRERRERRERGERRRRERRERRERRERRRRRRRRERRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRRRRERRRRERRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRRGRRRRERRERRERRERRERRRRRERRERRRRREGRRRRERRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRRRRRRERRERRERRERRERRRRR
23. T ete poorer i STR d um NN CS o TNE A NENEA ES E AERE RENET tn nar NOT SEENI 5 a el scii fpaian 0 1 01 RES Home Fence DAD 250 1 000m Nativeveg H H 220ha VH VH 1206 H VH 3 M i H Home Consolidate DAD 250 1 000m Nativeveg H i H i20200a H VH 1206 H VH 3 M H riparian RN M LIE 0 ll l l1 RUN Home Replant River DAD 250 1 000m Native veg H H 20 200ha H VH 20 80 M H 3 OM H riparian ee My ee ee 1 1 1 ANVNVVNVNMyUJWIg 0 5 jlect coma Select distance select TESTEN FALSE FALSE Select sie nd i nd Select nd nd Select BN nd nd Scenario 1 Fence remnant row 6 In this scenario fencing or some other change in management aimed at improving the biophysical naturalness within the vegetation patch 1s undertaken Under the scenario biophysical naturalness increases from 2 to 3 The action does not result in any change to the Level of Concern Immediate but there is a reduction in its ranked order that indicates an improvement in the resource condition Scenario 2 Scenario I plus consolidate nearby patch row 7 This scenario could arise by fencing an area that incorporates both the remnant being assessed and another nearby with natural regeneration or replanting occurring in the area in between The effect of this 22 change would be to increase the size of the total remnant to within the 20 200ha range The actio
24. ature In the case of rivers this is the catchment of the individual river section 1 e the area which drains exclusively into the river section The figure below show an example of Riparian Vegetation and its associated river section catchment In this example native vegetation occupies 1046 of the riparian zone so the river section catchment is treated as having 10 Riparian Vegetation 16 Native Vegetation qi Riparian Zone 1096 of Zone ze River Section Catchment get forestry aperatioas cvi Lookup data on Riparian Vegetation is contained in the worksheet LU RipVeg lu Biophysical Naturalness Biophysical Naturalness is an indicator of the ability of vegetation to maintain and sustain its natural biodiversity The concept is broadly consistent with vegetation condition but is distinguished in the REM by assessing only within site naturalness rather than including off site factors Biophysical Naturalness is measured in the REM on a scale of 1 most highly modified to 5 unmodified for native vegetation and O for cleared land Waterbodies and non vegetated areas e g rock and sand are excluded from the Biophysical Naturalness assessment BN 1 Biophysical Naturalness classes are entered tothe Landscape Function worksheet via a drop down list as shown below N O P bers leg mk fien EN 5 cn MEME M oce ca m em DESEE nigerun hiparion SSR Bonet ponet
25. ce Select dist 0 9 elect comm 10713149 NA SN A Select distance Select dist 0 10 elect comm Select distance iSelect dist Where the identity of a land component is known the individual component can be selected from the drop down list e g 164131A This will find the land component in the worksheet LF Clearingbias_lu find the measured percentage of its total extent that has been cleared and return the Level of Concern in the columns Cl Bias LC I and Cl Bias LC P Data can also be entered using generic categories of clearing bias in the top rows of the drop down list This would be used in instances where the identity of the land component is not known but a reasonable estimate can be made of the extent to which the type of land has been cleared Further information on land components is found in the worksheet LF Clearingbas_lu including their land system names component name potential land use hazards and clearing bias Note that the list of land components includes only those completed for the project Connectivity Connectivity is the degree to which patches of native vegetation are inter connected and of the permeability of the landscape to species movements Connectivity is measured in the REM in two ways For remnant vegetation patches 200ha the distance to the nearest non remnant patch is measured For cleared land the measure is the distance to the nearest patch of native vegetation Measuri
26. d L L 3 Not 1 Not eucalypt forest L i L L loo Jeefoeesi 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 Old growth i3 Pred mature some VH VH H H 2 Notold E E Wd growth O jo Select type M M a M E dame T TT ELIT nd nd Em Err 0 Select structure 1 Not eucalypt forest 2 Mature 3 Pred mature some regi 4 Pred regrowth some rr 5 Wiesen nd nd Err Err w A A A A A 4RARAA 6 E E E E M E E T E S n P ean nd j nd Err Err M 0 Select type Priority Species Full Priority Species Index The full priority species index integrates Threatened and Other Significant species with Hollow Dwelling species The index is generated as a lookup in the worksheet BS SppIndex LU and is returned in the columns Full Spp LC I and Full Spp LC P as shown above Biological Significance Index The full Biological Species Index for the Zone is generated through a matrix that integrates the Native Vegetation Index and the Priority Species Index The lookup matrix is contained in the worksheet BS BiolSig_LU and is returned in the columns Biol Sig LC I and Biol Sig LC P as shown below The value of the Biological Signifance Index
27. dices for groups of Issues for each Asset and for the Asset Class as a whole 3 A State of Knowledge database to generate property reports and to assist in strategic 1 e non property specific priority setting Activity 3 3 4 A set of User Tools to help prioritise management actions to address biodiversity land soils and freshwater ecosystems both for both specific properties and at broader scales Activity 3 4 5 Demonstration Property Management Plans addressing natural resource management issues for 8 properties 27 000ha in the project region Activity 4 2 These demonstrate the methods used and the application and implications of the consideration of landscape factors in the prioritisation of property management actions to deliver NRM objectives The management plans only address natural resource management Other aspects of property planning e g financial planning succession planning etc are beyond the scope of the project This document is a component of the fourth of these activities Activity 3 4 User Tools Bioregion or ecoregion an ecologically and geographically defined area Bioregions cover relatively large areas of land or water and contain characteristic geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species The biodiversity see below of the flora fauna and ecosystems that characterize a bioregion tend to be distinct from that of other bioregions Biodiversity the number a
28. e Landscape function Biological significance NNNM uu iCombined 1 eer 3 Native Vegetation Priority species Biological Significance EG 4 Property Zone d Notes CL CP G ICP OLA P Ic IC s Home 1 Enternotes SANJA SN A Em Em od Em io Em i Em oi Em N A N A N A 6 002 BN A BN A BN A N A BN A BN A N A amp N A L NA i HN A N A N A coe 1 ae Cox A B G D E F G H J ra a M N n 1 Mative lal i EE Peci D MEI d M TE UST aaah ie SAE cr ee i FAreatene amp tse Meese Heis fo footop siafis then seleri pate ies Holey dreing species Aaiitat 2 ether species E OOCOCOCOOODCOCOODOCOCODOOOOO i P CCODOOODCODOOOOCOOOOODEDOOOO ICODODOOOOGODODODOCOOOO PnnnunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnvhnnntnennnnatunnnnnaPrnennansonanenannnennenreern o LUL LLIOEOELLDEEEE E 00000000000000000000000000 eneeeeen nennen C XODCOODODORGOCODOOOOOODO EEPEEEEEET 3 i i i i i i ent sheer FricritrSpn LU contains Further detailed information Property Zone Id Fegetatic iAssessme Bioregicn Native i Native i Species category Species inok ip Species status Specie Specie OMe growth Buealept strocture LC I 4 NN O m i Weg LC Yeg LCS sLCA isLC P j Home 1 i See comm 222 Sekaan Err Eo
29. eesuscsveasvessenessssgapcvocovoccndanvocsecasucealpapecesvonsveesenecccssocdceodiaveducnsusasunasuscsbesduecpuoesuus uvesuvssuadsund ped suessusesuTbssonsocasusssuacsunessussueesussuoa sued sevasunssunasuvasvessuaee7eccveascosssceucdeuecsevcsvessosascoosueccsegisecssnasuaasenassesseeisunis Where the vegetation is cleared land the category Cleared land is selected in the Distance to non remnant gt 200ha column One of the distance classes in the drop down list is then selected in the column Distance to native veg Where the vegetation is native the category Native veg is selected in the column Distance to native veg The column Distance to non remnant 200ha is then populated in one of two ways e If the vegetation patch size is gt 200ha select the option 50m also if gt 200ha or e If lt 200ha select one of the four classes that reflects the distance to the nearest patch of native vegetation 200ha Lookup data on Connectivity is contained in the worksheet LF Connectivity lu Remnant Vegetation Remnant vegetation is defined as islands of native vegetation below a specified size that are surrounded by cleared land Remnant Vegetation is measured by determining the contiguous extent of each patch of native vegetation and stratifying these to identify remnants and non remnants Remnants in the REM are defined as patches of native vegetation lt 200ha with those over 200ha consid
30. ened gt 60 i 15 55kha 3 1L L lee d Not threatened gt 60 gt 55kha_ Notthreatened 6096 1 Threatened 1096 2kha 5 Threatened 109 2kha 5 VH MH Threatened 1096 2 5 5kha Threatened It might be decided that all vegetation communities with less than 3096 reservation at State or bioregional level have a residual reservation need A user might increase the Level of Concern Immediate to Medium to reflect the residual need but retain the Level of Concern Potential as Low to reflect that there are many options for addressing that need 24 A change to the cell in the prioritisation matrix of the lookup table will automatically be activated in all other parts of the workbook where the value is used In making changes such as these it is important to ensure that logical consistency in the resulting classification 1s maintained In this case all other combinations of non threatened vegetation with 10 30 reservation would need to be at least Medium as the example used is the largest of the extent classes hence all communities with lesser extent will be at least the same Level of Concern or higher Example 2 Change to classes in an input In some cases it may be desired to change the parameters of the REM to reflect a different opinion of where thresholds should be placed and to test the sensitivity to such thresholds All inputs to the REM can be
31. ered to have substantially reduced impacts from the factors which can lead to remnant degradation over time Level of Concern classes for Remnant Vegetation are returned by populating the column Veg patch size with the appropriate size range from the drop down list as shown below l l J L M N O P 3 7 Rem nant uL Riparian Veg Co SS M 1A i native Conn Conn Veg patch Remnant Remnant Rip Veg 6 Riparian Bipi B LCL LCP sie LCH LCP Let LCP T jm M L i Non native L L j Riparian zone L L a re EUM 3 JOm H L Non native L L Riparian zone L AC oe X DEM D wm L L gt 200ha L M i209 riparian H VH BENE L S D OQ veg H iH VH VH gt 80 riparian L M OE ee ee tance FALSE FALSE EE ipm nd nd Select class i nd io tance FALSE FAlSE nzna nd nd Selectclass 5 nd nd tance FALSE FALSE 220ha nd nd Select elass nd nd tance FALSE FALSE 2004 mA nd j nd Selectclass 3 nd i nd i tance FALSE FALSE nd nd Select class nd nd nM RI d eee acne muc MM CE NEM Lc ra eC nrc E en RE REPETIT CI ned Where the vegetation is not native e g cleared land water the Non native option is selected Lookup data on Remnant Vegetation is contained in the worksheet LF RemnantVeg lu Riparian Vegetation Riparian Vegetation is the vegetation that adjoins freshwater features e g rivers
32. errerniina RELTEETEEEERERETE ETT EITETTTI ERE ER HEECIIEEREERPAELETIER FREIER EVE REI REEEEAOTEIR E ETUR shee Select componen N A amp N A i Select distance select distance FALSE FALSE Select size nd i nd Select class j nd nd Select BN i nd i r Select distance select distance FALSE FALSE Selects ze nd i nd i Selectclass nd nd Select BN nd Sete component PENJA YEN Select distance Select distance FALSE FALSE Selectsize nd nd Selecclass nd nd Selec BN nd nd N A 7 SN A 7 hy NJA Qalar ramrnnanamnt H6 nh i ek A Qalar EE E Hictaned EAIGE EAICEiCalacr ud mn i md i Calar elser mdi ndi Geleer BM i na LC I LC P LI erre DNE n N A amp N A ap 8N A N A ap BLA FO ANIA 2a 5 Li pije TE im 11 n a 3 D a m a dt Ai ww 3 Main data entry and reporting worksheets 3 1 Biodiversity Management Priority The only data entered on the Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet are identifiers for the property zones and any notes to assist in interpretation The data to be entered is not constrained by pre defined classes though a the combination of Property and Zone Id should define a unique site or area A zone should be an area in which all its environmental characteristics are largely the same Notional averaging to conceptualise zones can be applied where variation is minimal though use separate zones if in doubt It is not necessary to map zones for the spreadsheet to wo
33. f preparation and tireless work on the GIS datasets that underpin the investigation and assessment of natural resource processes in the project region CARING FOR OUR COUNTRY 1 Introduction Natural Resource Planning NRP was funded under the Australian Government s Caring for Our Country Open Grants program for a project Using landscape ecology to prioritise property management actions in Tasmania The project included five main outputs 1 A Review of existing Commonwealth State and other policies strategies and plans that are relevant to ecologically responsible farm management in the project region the Northern Midlands and South East bioregions of Tasmania The Review provides a systematic classification of NRM Assets Classes Assets and Issues for the project region Its use is to enable farm management actions to be cross referenced with the range of relevant strategies in a structured way that also reflects current thinking on NRM science Figure 1 shows the Issues which the Strategy Review identified 2 A Regional Ecosystem Model REM for the Northern Midlands and South East bioregions that includes biodiversity land and soils and freshwater ecosystems The REM comprises a series of spatial layers that collate and organise the outputs from the Strategy Review Activity 3 2 The REM also assesses potential management priorities expressed as Level of Concern for individual Issues and as integrated in
34. f several stand alone products documents data products and tools produced by Natural Resource Planning s project Using landscape ecology to prioritise property management actions in Tasmania The project was funded under the Australian Government s Caring for Our Country Open Grants program The figure below shows the components of the project with the main outputs from the project highlighted in green Regional Spatial data Available Not available Management Property report planning standards Review information Remap where required Property specific mapping amp info Paddocks etc Issue Property matrix Landowner prioritised management actions This document a guide to the spreadsheet version of the Regional Ecosystem Model REM is designed to support application of the project s Regional Ecosystem Model as a stand alone application that can assist either property management or strategic planning It has two main uses 1 To provide an easy assessment of any or all of the components of the REM in a range of situations including where existing mapping is not available or is wrong 2 To allow scenarios to be tested to determine changes in priorities that result from changes in management particularly those elements that impact on landscape ecological function ii The REM is a heirarchically structured classification of the main factors affecting Biodiversity in the Tasmanian Midlands
35. gebeten Spenesfseteony REM status nd i nd Dd Select tyme id Splen structure nd z Select comm eee dd HANA BLA i G Secr Ages TET REM status nd j nd i SR D Select cemere P SMIA EOD C EDOOROCOCGOGODOCEORn OG CODOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0o OO OU FE ECECEEETEEROHETIECERS a aa enen 5 E i 777 E Yr HRA SRI a 5 i a F um REM status m Ed weeeeeee trtum B d m n metr de ne xe 5 4 metr e aie t m M MIA x r 4 ea ZZZ 3 MIA y Hh ie ees XCTI REM status nd nd b PE qoM Oe Selber rece y 3f MIA y Landscape Function index not shown in full Biodiversity Management Priority appears to right B5 C J Biodiversity management priorit BS Ww X A MEN C wmm F G rrr marn M N O P Ej Landscape function ET ne een MEE me DAR Pee PIN T e ue A E D ann oM Bias Connectivity i Remnant Veg Riparian Veg Condition Biological significance index Brodirve na Native learecd land ivege tation Property Zone ld G nd Component or de l LCP Distance to non Distance to LC FIER Veg pata ier ice Rip Veg r ice Booey wr ice Clearing Bias remnant native veg i size i i i j Maturaless gt 200ha COCOCOKO DOGOGODOOH Ua ECOCIEOUCOCE CGEOOOOGOCOODORODCEDOCOOnCGGOOOO HOO TODO ED UDOCOTED LOSERS OTE ODO COI G000C a ooeocaoedaneneneoeoonooo n EEEEPCDHOCEO iere mE C Doennonacno C pooenoanto I HOCODOODODOHOOOCERUOCOODOOEEECEGD C Donec boo W
36. in the Strategy Review are included in the REM See the REM specifications for details 3 Figure 2 Assets and Issues in the Biodiversity Asset Class Biological Significance Index Landscape Function Index Importance 1 Importance 1 Priority Species Significance Vegetation Conservation Status Importance 1 Importance 1 Threatened species Threatened communities Importance 1 Importance 1 Other priority species Relative reservation Importance 2 Importance 2 Hollow dwelling habitat Relative rarity Importance 2 Importance 3 Issues derived as a sub matrix for input to the full matrix for Landscape Function Importance is a guide to the weighting given to an Issue in the associated integration matrices 2 Key design and layout features 2 1 Spreadsheet contents The REM spreadsheet contains design and layout features designed to ensure consistency in its use and to return appropriate data matched to the input classes The spreadsheet contains a series of worksheets that reflect the structure of the REM as shown in Figure 3 below Data entry to the spreadsheet is contained within the three worksheets highlighted in bold These worksheets access data 1n the lookup tables and return the combined indicators incorporated in the REM All other worksheets contain lookup data needed to generate the indices used in the REM which are described in more detail in the specifications report The loo
37. is also returned as a rank in the columns LC I rank and LC P rank These are also generated from the lookup table which returns both the Low Very High categories and also the rank order of every combination of the Native Vegetation and Priority Species indices The ranked values are intended to provide finer differentation among the various combinations which make up the Biological Significance Index An example of the differentiation on rank can be seen in rows 7 and 8 below Both Zones return the same classes for Level of Concern but have different combinations of Native Vegetation and Priority Species indices Both Zones have a High value for the Priority Species Index The Zone in row 7 has a Low value on the Native Vegetation Index while row 8 has a Medium Value Both combinations are considered to be of High value on the Biological Significance Index but that with the Native Vegetation of lesser importance is ranked lower Note that the highest rank is and the lowest 16 In common with all three main worksheets the values of the Landscape Function Index and overall Biodiversity Management Priority for the Zone are also shown see columns W 2 J a TY REN N E unn maf elect vic jo ocana d ME i lt lt T V ROR CORA nmn
38. kup tables provide more detailed information on some of the indicators and also allow the REM matrices to be viewed and modified Figure3 Input worksheets and lookup tables in the REM spreadsheet Biodiversity Management Priority lookup Biological Significance Index Biological Significance lookup Species data lookup info table only Hollow Dwelling species lookup Threatened amp Other Native Vegetation Significant species lookup lookup Biodiversity Management Priority Landscape Function Index Landscape Function lookup Priority Species Native Vegetation Clearing Bias lookup Connectivity lookup Remnant Vegetation Riparian Vegetation Biophysical Index Index lookup lookup Naturalness lookup 2 2 Data entry and shared features Data entry to the spreadsheet is restricted to three of the worksheets e Biodiversity Management Priority e Biological Significance and e Landscape Function Data which can be entered to the spreadsheet is highlighted in mauve as indicated in the examples on the following page Data can be entered to these fields through the use of drop down lists incorporated in the design No data should be entered to any fields other than those highlighted in highlighted in mauve Entry of property and zone identifiers need only be undertaken once on the Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet This data is looked up automatically in all other worksheets and should not
39. l LCP size LC I LC P C 96 000m Netiveveg H EN A 1 20 DOT M o ripariar 000m Native veg H nd 1 20 ripariar cm VOB 000m Nativeveg H N A 1 20 Maon native Mel ripariar 5 50ha veg 000m Nativeveg H j HN A 20 80 ripariar j a EE istance Select distance ees Selectsize nd nd Select The current version of the workbook does not result in an automatic update to data that has been entered from the drop down list prior to being altered So this data will also need to be reentered Making comparisons between different formulations of the REM can be 25 facilitated by making a copy of the workbook and comparing results between the two More complex changes More complex changes to the REM can be made if desired Most of the shorter drop down lists in the workbook have been defined with extra cells which are currently not populated Hence extra classes can be added if desired However altering input classes will also require that the prioritisation matrix be modified to reflect the additional them and that any other matrices that use the result as an input reflect the updated range of options
40. made by use of drop down lists as this ensures only classes on which the model is built are used The lookup tables contain drop down lists stored in a standard colour coded format as shown below A 8 c D c NEN lt TEN NN 1 NO DATA TO BE ENTERED TO THIS CER E LANDSCAPE FUNCTION WORKSHEET 2 Property Zone Id Remnant veg class Remnant Remnant Drop list Look LC acus ier Rank LC I Rank LC P LC I M M T T Curent 220ha 0 VH Fence j 2Xha VH 20 200ha i H M d 20 200ha ue m Selectsize 1 ME nd _Selectsize nd nd 2200ha Selectsize nd Select size nd M PRETI e RN In this example it might be considered appropriate the change the threshold classes for remnant vegetation Remnants might be reclassified as 5 200ha with the threshold between smaller and larger remnants being set at 5Qha The change can be effected by typing in the update values in the drop down list cells on the lookup table The change in input classes for the variable will be automatically updated in the drop down list on the data entry worksheet Landscape Function in this case Conn Conn Veg patch Remnant Remnant Rip Ver to non Distance to gt 200ha native veg LC
41. n results in a drop in the Level of Concern Immediate from High to Medium and a further reduction in the rank order indicating an increase in the resource condition and also an improved landscape function Scenario 3 Scenario 2 plus increase riparian vegetation row 8 In this scenario riparian vegetation is established along a stream in the river section catchment in which the remnant occurs The effect of the change increases the percentage of the riparian zone which is under native vegetation from 1 20 to 20 80 The action results in no change to the Level of Concern Immediate but does have an associated further drop in the ranked level of concern This is consistent with a further improvement in the landscape function of both the patch zone and the contextual environment in which it occurs Level of Concern Potential The classes of Level of Concern Potential show no change from the current High value under any of the scenarios though there is an 5 2 Testing and modifying REM specifications The specifications used to develop the REM represent just one way of looking at the landscape ecology and biological significance of a region The matrices that are used in the REM comprise a large number of environmental variables each of which can result in a number of classes being assigned to the Issue for which they are an indicator As a result the potential number of combinations of classes which make up the REM increase
42. nd relative abundance of lifeforms the genes they contain and the ecosystems they form A Uuser Guide to a spreadsheet version of the biodiversity Asset Class of the REM is presented The Assets and Issues considered under the biodversity Asset Class are shown in Figure 2 which also illustrates the relationships and relative importance of each Issue within its relevant group The spreadsheet allows a user to produce outputs from the REM for a number of sites or areas and to test the impacts which changes in management may have on the relative priority for further management action A key concept in the REM that is reflected in the spreadsheet is that of Level of Concern It equates broadly with the idea of management priority in the narrow sense of NRM objectives However it recognises that actual property management priorities will vary with factors that are outside of the REM e g farm economics and also with the perspective from which management is being approached Level of Concern has been defined in two way to reflect these factors e Immediate an estimate of the relative priority for immediate management action to address current risk to the natural resource and e Potential an estimate of the relative priority to protect and manage the natural resource from risks which may arise in the future Section 2 describs the key design features of the spreadsheet This includes its conceptual structure and style and formatting charac
43. ng connectivity in cleared land provides an indicator of how easily species may move across cleared areas and can help identify areas where vegetation re establishment may be important Populating both the columns Distance to non remnant gt 200ha and Distance to native veg is needed for the REM to return correct values for connectivity Both columns contain the same drop down list as shown below 14 fe Cleared land G D E F rr eS A AARAA a co mpi OSSA A T E E E E E S retten X Veg Land Component or LOL Bias Cl Bias Distance to non Distance to native Conn Conn Clearing Bias LC LC P remnant gt 200ha veg LC LCP size ee a cocesscesecccsscsccssccsecsna FAG Nd 30 70 cleared M i L Cleared land 50 250m M i L Non nat 9 xcu fo EET micro ah C Mative veg CRDI REUNIONES o Cleared land TU c E CO DVG 264141F VH VH lt 50m aso if gt 200ha M Native veg L L i 200h a Ser oo E pum mco o ME e MUHENTE ees sct comm Select component N A N A Selectdistance Select di istance FALSE FALSE Select act comm Select component N A N A i Select distance Select distance FALSE FALSE Selects ict com Select component N A N A Selectdistance Select distance F ALSE FALSE ie Select s ct comm Select component Select distance Select distance FALSE FALSE Select s Sichsvacvoosovasuvssuedsuocsevapsessuscsudhispocv
44. onding ranks are shown in columns K N Columns E and F contain the looked up classes for Level of Concern looked up on the source worksheet for the Zone being looked at The second figure below shows the lookup worksheet for Bioidversity Concatenation strings values from the inherited data concatenated to Management Priority which 1s constructed in the same way There is form the combination of characteristics looked up on the worksheet no column of drop down values on this lookup worksheet as there are Lookup tables contain all combinations of data for the Issue along no drop down options available on the worksheet Biodiversity with their Level of Concern category and rank Managment Priority which it services Drop down lists lists of acceptable values for each characteristic that are entered on the relevant main worksheets In this example Level of Concern classes for both Landscape Function and Biological Significance are inherited from the two main worksheets columns C F Their classes are combined into concatenation strings The figure below shows a worked example of a lookup table in this columns K L The corresponding Biodiversity Management Priority case the Connectivity component of Landscape Function classes and ranks are lookup up in columns M Q and returned for the zone in columns G J Columns A and B are data on the property name and zone Id entered from the workshheet Biodiversity management priority
45. pletely mapped For example all Tasveg freshwater wetlands AHF AHL AHS ASF and AWU are treated as AWU Undifferentiated freshwater wetlands as the various wetland communities are not mapped comprehensively in which case AWU would disappear and AWU collectively is listed as a threatened vegetation community A similar drop down list for the column Bioregion will select one of the nine Tasmanian bioregions The combination of the Assessment Community and the Bioregion provide the basis for a lookup of the Level of Concern categories for native vegetation These lookup data are contained in the worksheet BS NativeVeg LU Priority Species Threatened and Other Significant Species Data on listed threatened species and other significant species requires a Species Category to be selected as shown in the drop down list below The first category in the list which applies to the species for the Zone being assessed is selected which will report the Level of Concern classes for species in the relevant category in the columns Species LC P and Species LC P 10 E F c a J K L O B Priority species ER Threatened amp other Use these fields to lookup status then value for per H Ho RRR i55 z species s Enc su m e ae ee Worksheet PrioritySpp_LU contains further detailed information E Bioregion Native Native Species category Species lookup Species status Species Species Ol Bee Ver
46. rk properly as it can be used to help delineate zones for management The Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet initially contains no data on its overall indicator or the Biological Significance Index and Landscape Function Index A summary of Biodiversity Managment Priority will appear in the worksheet as these other worksheets are populated with data The figures below show examples of the worksheet populated with property and zone information and then with the full Biodiversity Management Priority Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet intially populated with Property and Zone information A B C D E F G H l K P 1 ONLY ENTER ANY dissi DETAILS amp NOTES TO THIS WORKSHEET USE LANDSCAPE FUNCTION amp BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR MAIN DATA ENTRY En ec pe nM E Landscape function Biological significance MN Combined Biediv 3 Merck oe ee Aud Native Vegetation Priority species Biological Significance pe 4 Property i Zoneld Notes LCA LCP i LCA LCP LCA LCP LCI i LCP 5 16 NH 7 ee Se Toppaddock QLEN A 2 HN A Em i Er Em Em Em ij Em BN 6 E Homeg i C B otom pangons ee HN A N A N A N A N A SN A N A Ta EM 8 Home 4 Creek pletina BN A N A N A N A N A N A 8SN A BN A a peo BIS e deemed noe a oa t wu T eus T aa Poen in SERO Biodiversity Management Priority worksheet after Biological Significance and Landscape Function worksheets
47. rt Tasmania www naturalresourceplanning com au iii Acknowledgements The members of the project Steering Committee are thanked for their input to the development of the Regional Ecosystem Model their insightful perspectives on the complexities of natural resources science and management and reviews of draft reports from the project The Steering Committee comprised Dr Nan Bray Landowner and farmer former CSIRO Chief of Marine Science Dr Michael Brown Ecological consultant former Forestry Tasmania Head of Research Dr Steven Cork Director EcoInsights former CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems Principal Research Officer Nikki den Exter to August 2009 and Jarrah Vercoe NRM South Michael Foley Partnerships Manager Conservation Volunteers Australia Tasmania George Rance Director National Strategic Services former Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association CEO and Rae Young Landowner and farmer former DPIWE Botanist The project was conducted with funding from the Australian Government s Caring for Our Country Open Grants Program The authors and Natural Resource Planning gratefully acknowledge the support of the Program This 1s an important piece of work that was unlikely to be have been undertaken without financial assistance The author also extends thanks to other members of the project team Philip Cullen Janine Berechree and Craig Woodfield for background research input to various stages o
48. s of land in a region can have on biodiversity Clearing bias is calculated for each land component in each land system as the percentage of the component that has been cleared Clearing bias is entered in one of two ways through a drop down list in the column Land Component or Clearing Bias as shown below f Nd 3096 cleared D G 1 Lendmapefumtion e Ls 2 ime Bias Connectivity Nati ve Cleared lar 3 M c vegetation EU Er suc Property Zone ld Veg and Component or d Bias Cl Bias Distance to non Distance comm Clearing Bias ict P remnant native ve O J ADAM E T NN 200 nen Home 1 FAG nd 30 70 cleared M L i Clearedland 3m also if 2 i LEEECOROCOGEXOCECOHIORUE ER UGUHCOORUCIECHRCHEDOEOOCEGOCH COGN EX cco UG GECHEGEIGOCECBOECOHECBOLOGOEOGECECEDEOEDECECEOEEEOLEBOHEECELE rn bono con occa Sooo Occ HAO on COGO RCGOL EO CICERO HO GORUCO RERO T Home 2 FAG 1641314 M L Cleared land 250 1 00 6 FEE ROBO COOE SEE COCOREEE CSO ARLE Ao EE CACO OE CES E aa aa ER SE LCD aX ic nmeoonoqexrebonprendanoeneoenoeooonocberepg ene HERD OE reason EEH OC pnEDOGOHOHORCReR Home 3 DVG 2 50m also if 200h Native v Home 4 DOB t 250 1000m Native v 0 elect com SN A Select distance _ Select dist 0 6 elect com SN A Select distance Select dist 0 7 elect com n kemen EEE Select distance Select dist Md 00n cleared a AI ITOLA TT Ira LLTI T LT peere neenon esee EA 0 8 elect comn 1541314 SN A i Select distan
49. tBN nd nd N A a ANA 0 sSN A a ANIA N A SN A N A N A 12 o 3 electcomm ind Select BN nd dealt cent N A N A SN A N A SN A 13 0 9 electcomm nd SelectBN nd nd SN A N A SN A 1 NYA N A HN A N A amp N A 18 4 Using the lookup worksheets and data In addition to the three main worksheets described above the REM Columns C an D contain the vegetation type Cleared or Native and contains a number of worksheets which contain the lookup data for relevant distance classes that were entered on the worksheet Landscape each of the variables in the REM The worksheets have a consistent Function The values that were entered come from the drop down list style and can be accessed to help understand the way in which the REM defined in column H is constructed and the way in which its variables interact Column I contains the lookup data that corresponds to the entries in the Note No data should be inputted directly to the lookup worksheets All drop down list and are used through a cell formula to generate the data entry is through the Biodiversity Management Priority Biological concatenation string in column G Significance and Landscape Function worksheets Column J contains each possible combination of values that can be generated through the concatenation string The classes of Level of The contents of each lookup worksheet are colour coded as follows Concern and their corresp
50. teristics that are used throughout to assist the user in its application Section 3 describes the three main worksheets into which data can be entered There is one worksheet each for property information biological significance and landscape function Each worksheet however reports the Level of Concern for overall Biodiversity Management Priority as well as for Biological Significance and Landscape Function The approach is designed to allow the characteristics of one Asset Class to be altered while holding the other fixed thus allowing the impact of changes on both the Asset Class and overall Biodiversity Management Priority to be understood Section 4 summarises the extensive set of worksheets that contain the lookup data for each Issue Each of these worksheets also provides more detailed information on each Issue in the REM Understanding of the worksheets can be assisted by reference to the Strategy Review and REM Specifications documents Section 5 describes how the spreadsheet can be used to test changes in indicators of landscape ecological function that may arise through changes in management that address the biodiversity issues incorporated in the REM Use of the spreadsheet version of the REM requires a moderate level of capability in the use of Microsoft Excel Figure 1 Classification of NRM Asset Classes Assets and Issues from the Strategy Review E 9 mm Note Not all Issues identified
51. w Dwelling Species Determining the relative importance of native vegetation for hollow dwelling species uses a combination information about old growth forest and the age structure of eucalypt forests Drop down lists in the columns Old Growth and Eucalypt Structure provide the data entry options to generate Level of Concern in the columns Hollows LC I and Hollows LC P as shown in the table below Lookup data for hollow dwelling species in contained in the worksheet BS HollowSpp LU 2 Lawrence N Storey D amp Whinam J 2008 Reservation status of Tasmanian native higher plants February 2008 Biodiversity Conservation Branch Department of Primary Industies amp Water Hobart http www dpiw tas gov au inter nsf WebPages LJEM 7CW3RX open 11 K L M ee 0o o o amp A M Saunaunoeobausaceasousonneusespuosndvaueavoor lue for column H pum dwelling species habitat Eo Species Index M M M Saonouvosonnesnusonossenousooeooeoagoosssass tailed information nnn nnn gi TDI secies Species Old growth Eucalypt structure Hollows Hollows Full Spp Full Spp LC LC I LCP L iti ee ud P nm a DIDI L L 3 Not 1 Not eucalypt p L L L L n ee
52. wetlands and has ecological characteristics which are influenced by the freshwater environment Riparain zones have been found to have influences on biodiversity that extend beyond the immediate riparian area Riparian Vegetation is measured in the REM as the percentage of the riparian zone of rivers wetlands or waterbodies that is under native vegetation The extent of the riparian zone is defined from the Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystems Values project DPIW 2008 as within 50m of rivers and 100m of wetlands and waterbodies Pre defined classes of Riparian Vegetation are also derived from the CFEV project Data on Riparian Vegetation are entered to the Landscape Function worksheet via a drop down list on the column Rip Veg as shown below Department of Primary Industries amp Water 2008 Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystems Values CFEV project technical report CFEV program Department of Primary Industries amp Water Hobart Rm Veg patch Remnant Remnant Rip Veg 96 Riparian Riparian Biophysical Bionat Bionat size LCI LCP L amp I LCP Naturaless LC l LC P Non native L 2 L Riparian zone L 2 EC o NC Ao al absent m Non native L L Ripasianzonee L L 0 Bu IT absent m
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