336
M.J. Brown and J. Read
Most of the rainforest reserves in Tasmania probably are sufficiently
large to ensure that ecosystem processes and the species within them are
maintained, given current management and climates. However the disposition of the reserves in the landscape and the utility of current links
and corridors between reserves in the light of land use changes are poorly
studied and are subjects of current research . The need for balanced
management on and off reserves is recognized as a necessary condition
for the continued viability of the rainforests, but debate continues about
the optimum management strategies outside reserves, ranging from total
preservation to some selective utilization of high-value timbers from sites
that are sufficiently resilient to sustain some harvesting.
Conclusion
The rainforests of Tasmania (and those of New Zealand) offer a potential
set of "controls" for comparisons with those of the Americas . The components of global change (land use, climate, and atmospheric pollution)
are ubiquitous , but their relative intensities probably differ from place to
place. The commonalities of the forest ecosystems in the different places
(e.g., the abundance of lichens (pollution indicators), bryophytes, and
long-lived conifers (climate change indicators) and the susceptibility to
economic pressure) argue for their inclusion in a net of sites to monitor
global change. At the local level, Tasmanian cool temperate rainforests
are subject to the same human pressures for development and utilization
that occur in native vegetation elsewhere. However while they are relicts
of their former botanical diversity, that which remains is sufficiently
pristine and well buffered to ensure that with careful management and
monitoring, their multiplicity of values can be retained into the long term ,
provided that the effects of fire and climate change can be managed!
Acknowledgments. We thank Jean Jarman and Fred Duncan for use of
diagrams and their assistance.
References
Ashton, D.H . 1981a. Tall open forests. In R.H . Groves (ed.) , Australian Vegetation (pp.-121-151). Cambridge, England : Cambridge University Press.
Ashton, D.H. 1981b. Fire in tall open -forests (wet sclerophyll forests). In R.H.
Groves (ed.), Australian Vegetation (pp. 339-363). Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Barker, M.J. 1991. The Effect of Fire on West Coast Lowland Rainforest .
Tasmanian National Rainforest Conservation Program, Report No.7. Tasmania:
Forestry Commission.
Barker, P.C.J. 1992. Autecology of Phyllocladus and Anodopetalum in Tasmania.
Tasmanian National Rainforest Conservation Program, Report No. 10.
Tasmania: Forestry Commission.
M.J. Brown and J. Read
Most of the rainforest reserves in Tasmania probably are sufficiently
large to ensure that ecosystem processes and the species within them are
maintained, given current management and climates. However the disposition of the reserves in the landscape and the utility of current links
and corridors between reserves in the light of land use changes are poorly
studied and are subjects of current research . The need for balanced
management on and off reserves is recognized as a necessary condition
for the continued viability of the rainforests, but debate continues about
the optimum management strategies outside reserves, ranging from total
preservation to some selective utilization of high-value timbers from sites
that are sufficiently resilient to sustain some harvesting.
Conclusion
The rainforests of Tasmania (and those of New Zealand) offer a potential
set of "controls" for comparisons with those of the Americas . The components of global change (land use, climate, and atmospheric pollution)
are ubiquitous , but their relative intensities probably differ from place to
place. The commonalities of the forest ecosystems in the different places
(e.g., the abundance of lichens (pollution indicators), bryophytes, and
long-lived conifers (climate change indicators) and the susceptibility to
economic pressure) argue for their inclusion in a net of sites to monitor
global change. At the local level, Tasmanian cool temperate rainforests
are subject to the same human pressures for development and utilization
that occur in native vegetation elsewhere. However while they are relicts
of their former botanical diversity, that which remains is sufficiently
pristine and well buffered to ensure that with careful management and
monitoring, their multiplicity of values can be retained into the long term ,
provided that the effects of fire and climate change can be managed!
Acknowledgments. We thank Jean Jarman and Fred Duncan for use of
diagrams and their assistance.
References
Ashton, D.H . 1981a. Tall open forests. In R.H . Groves (ed.) , Australian Vegetation (pp.-121-151). Cambridge, England : Cambridge University Press.
Ashton, D.H. 1981b. Fire in tall open -forests (wet sclerophyll forests). In R.H.
Groves (ed.), Australian Vegetation (pp. 339-363). Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University Press.
Barker, M.J. 1991. The Effect of Fire on West Coast Lowland Rainforest .
Tasmanian National Rainforest Conservation Program, Report No.7. Tasmania:
Forestry Commission.
Barker, P.C.J. 1992. Autecology of Phyllocladus and Anodopetalum in Tasmania.
Tasmanian National Rainforest Conservation Program, Report No. 10.
Tasmania: Forestry Commission.