Australian Alps: Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks (Second Edition)

Australian Alps is a fascinating guide to Kosciuszko, Alpine and Namadgi National Parks. It introduces the reader to some of Australia’s highest mountains, their climate, geology and soils, plants and animals and their human history. It traces the long-running conflicts between successive users of the mountains and explores the difficulties in managing the land for nature conservation. The book gives credit to little-known or understood stories of the people who have worked to establish better understanding of the Alps, especially their vital role as the major water catchments for south-eastern Australia. This new edition updates many themes, including the involvement of Aboriginal people in the region, catchment function and condition, pest plants and animals, fire and the issue of climate change. Written by a specialist with over 25 years’ experience in community education in and about the Australian Alps National Parks, this new edition features many excellent natural history and historical photographs. Ideal as support information for field trips, it will make a wonderful memento of an alpine visit. This book acts as a detailed companion to park interpretive material and to topic-specific field guides: it caters for readers who want a broad overview of areas of interest they will come across in a visit to the mountains.

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11 — L'aménagement concerté des Parcs Nationaux Alpins / Co-operative management of the Australian Alps National Parks (texte disponible en français et en anglais)

Revue de géographie alpine ◽

10.3406/rga.1992.3678 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 80 (2) ◽

pp. 335-357 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. B. Good

Keyword(s):

National Parks ◽

Operative Management ◽

Australian Alps

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Feral-horse impacts on corroboree frog habitat in the Australian Alps

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr18093 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 184 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

C. N. Foster ◽

B. C. Scheele

Keyword(s):

National Parks ◽

Breeding Habitat ◽

Feral Horses ◽

Substantial Impact ◽

Introduced Herbivores ◽

Litter Depth ◽

Feral Horse ◽

Australian Alps ◽

Large Populations ◽

Seasonally Flooded

Context Introduced herbivores can have a substantial impact on native plants and animals, particularly in ecosystems that do not share a recent evolutionary history with similar herbivore species. The feral horse, Equus caballus, has a widespread but patchy distribution in Australia, with large populations present in national parks in the Australian Alps. There are few peer-reviewed studies of the impacts of feral horses on ecosystems in this region. However, impacts could be substantial, particularly in wetland and riparian environments that are focal points for horse activity and sensitive to trampling and physical disturbance. Aims In the present study, we used replicated horse exclosures to investigate the effects of feral horses on breeding habitat of the critically endangered northern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi, in the Australian Alps. Methods Pseudophryne pengilleyi constructs nests and lays eggs in dense litter surrounding small, seasonally flooded wetland pools. In 2010, we sampled the litter depth adjacent to pools at eight long-term P. pengilleyi monitoring sites. In 2011, horse exclosures were established at each of the eight sites, such that less than half of the wetland area was inside the exclosure. In 2015, we measured litter depth surrounding pools inside and outside the exclosures, as well as at three additional sites where feral horses were absent. Key results We found that the pool-edge litter was 1.9 times deeper in areas without horses (inside horse-exclosure plots and horse-free sites) than in areas accessible to horses (unfenced areas in horse-occupied sites). Conclusions Our study has presented experimental evidence that horse grazing and trampling reduce breeding-habitat quality for P. pengilleyi, which could result in reduced reproduction success. Implications Ensuring the persistence of high-quality habitat is crucial for the conservation of P. pengilleyi, particularly given the severity of the decline of this species associated with chytrid fungus. Our results have provided direct evidence of a negative feral-horse impact on the habitat of a threatened animal species in the Australian Alps.

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