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FIGURE 17: Restorative continuum (McDonald et al. 2016
managed cessation of degrading practices over less ecologically intact areas where damage is high or the biota no longer exists and the causes of degradation still need to be removed); (d) Size of area (i.e. larger and/or wider areas will generally be prioritised over smaller or narrower areas); and
(e) Ongoing (long-term) viability (e.g. areas with better security of tenure, degree of buffering against threats such as inappropriate fire frequency, hydrological change etc, would be ranked higher).
This structured ranking of areas will provide a relative priority value of each portion of the landscape, identify preliminary areas of focus, and help inform investment options. Once priority areas are identified, the required actions and interventions for land parcels and sites will be determined (e.g. fencing, weed and pest eradication, incentives for grazing reduction, ecological burning, considering aspects including their demonstrated chance of success, impact and effectiveness (backed by supporting scientific evidence), cost-benefit and value for money). Where required, further expert elicitation processes may be used to inform this.
Protecting or restoring on-farm/property-scale vegetation Based on experience of on-farm vegetation management and incorporating the works of Lindenmayer et al (Restoring Farm Woodlands for Wildlife), the following principles will be used to prioritise on-farm vegetation management projects: • Protection of remnant vegetation is preferred • If plantings are required: – Supplement existing stands of healthy remnant vegetation to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem function – Species mix and local provenance must be considered – Larger plantings are preferred to smaller, narrower plantings – Block plantings are preferred to strip plantings – Plantings in proximity to existing remnants or near other rehabilitated or new plantings is preferred to isolated patches of plantings – Plantings that create corridors or connections to remnant stands or rehabilitated or new plantings is preferred to isolated patches of plantings. Planting projects must consider site selection, preparation including weed management, timing of planting, and protection from browsing or other threats including fencing stock or plant cages/guards to address native and feral species damage. Adequate preplanning is required to ensure appropriate and adequate plant species, guards, and stakes are available through local nursery suppliers.
Standards for landscape restoration Where habitat restoration is determined as a priority within a landscape, the National Restoration Standards will be applied. The Standards offer a tool (five-levels or ‘stars’) for progressively assessing and ranking the degree of recovery over time, which are summarised in Table 11 and Figure 17.
