2018-08-07 P&E Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 3 - Noosa Biosphere Reserve 10 Year Periodic Review

                                                                 Noosa Biosphere Reserve - Periodic Review 2018




3.4   Recent/updated ecosystem service assessments

As mentioned in 3.1 there has been no comprehensive assessment to economically quantify the value
of each ecosystem type. However there has been an assessment of land and waterway health and
water quality objectives (as mentioned in 3.2) which identifies and maps specific ecosystem services
that our waterways provide. Measuring the health of our waterways is strong indicator of the health of
terrestrial ecosystems.

Noosa River’s most recent health assessment was an ‘A minus’ rating based on water quality condition
and the economic and social benefits of the waterway to the Noosa community. This rating is an
indicator of good water quality and it is the highest rating for SEQ rivers. The State environmental health
and water quality objectives for the Noosa River identify the Noosa River catchment as having a range
of environmental values including fishing, irrigation, farm supply, stock water, aquaculture, human
consumption, recreation, drinking water, industrial use and cultural and spiritual values.

4.    THE CONSERVATION FUNCTION

4.1   Significant changes in main habitat types, ecosystems, species or varieties of traditional
      or economic importance

The significant changes to habitat, ecosystems, species or varieties are summarized in Section 3.3
Table 10. Other changes to note:
•     Expansion of the protected area estate and bushland reserve network: 3 new National Parks
      (6,743 ha), 1 new Conservation Park (163 ha) and 1 new Nature Refuge (30 ha) - a total addition
      of 6,936 ha.
•     Memorandum of Understanding dated October 2017 between the Queensland Government, the
      NSC, and the NPA to buy out a State Forest timber harvest licence and to progressively transition
      approximately 2400 ha of State Forest to protected tenure by 2028.
•     Purchase of environmentally significant land on Cooloothin Creek (106 ha) and at Johns Landing
      (49 ha) and the dedication of Cooroibah Conservation Park. These land parcels are on the Noosa
      River and protect important riparian habitat and help maintain water quality, and
•     Expansion of the Bushland Reserve estate, now 178 reserves in total.

The main environmental impacts on the NBR over the past decade were:
•     A loss of approximately 122 ha of remnant vegetation cover due to urban development and
      agricultural clearing.
•     Continued erosion and sediment runoff into rivers and creeks, particularly Kin Kin Creek in the
      upper catchment of the Noosa River.
•     The expansion of transformer weeds such as Singapore Daisy [Sphagneticola trilobata] and
      Asparagus Fern [Asparagus sp.] which are impacting on natural ecosystems and habitat.
•     The changes in distribution and abundance of fauna species such as koalas - less common in
      coastal areas, potentially more common in rural areas and flying-foxes - more common in urban
      areas, and
•     Anecdotally, litter entering waterways appears to be increasing and there is concern that this will
      continue to impact on marine fauna such as turtles and birds.

Factors affecting changes to NBR ecosystems

Weeds and invasive species:

Local observations indicate that some ecosystems have been invaded by ‘transformer’ weeds.
Examples such as Cats Claw Creeper [Macfadyena unguis-cati] and Madeira Vine [Anredera cordifolia]
smother the canopy, killing tree species. Other weed species have a deleterious effect within the
understorey. It is unknown how significantly this has impacted on fauna species that utilise these
habitats; however it is likely biodiversity of species will be reduced by these weeds. These weeds can
dominate the native endemic species.




                                                                                                       Page 37