The Brigalow Belt extends from central coastal Queensland to south of Dubbo in central western New South Wales. The Brigalow Belt is one of the largest of our national biodiversity hotspots with 182 threatened regional ecosystems (ANRA Biodiversity Assessment). Therefore, the challenge of knowing where to invest in what actions is central to the long-term conservation and restoration of the region’s ecosystems and their dependent fauna populations.
The Brigalow Belt is named after the brigalow tree (Acacia harpophylla), which once dominated the more fertile soils of the region. Agricultural development has resulted in brigalow-dominated ecosystems becoming among the most heavily cleared and fragmented in Australia, with < 10% of their original extent remaining, often as linear remnants along fencelines and roadsides in a matrix of cropping and improved pastures. Much of our research has concentrated in these brigalow-dominated ecosystems.
Brigalow remnant vegetation is now protected in Queensland and New South Wales and listed as nationally threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, this alone is unlikely to ensure the long-term viability of native bird, reptile and mammal populations, many of which are in serious decline.
Nevertheless, brigalow landscapes have one potentially important advantage: retention of naturally regenerating or regrowth vegetation that occurs in formerly cleared areas could prove a low-cost and highly efficient way to restore habitat. Although regrowth is not protected (although a temporary moratorium has been introduced in Queensland), landholders are increasingly interested in its potential to contribute to farm income through: a) its value as a carbon sink, and b) the delivery of ecological services for which stewardship payments are made.
