Dynamics of a Tasmanian bolster heath string fen

Abstract

The string fen at Newdegate Pass, Mt. Field, Tasmania consists of dams composed of bolster heath and peat derived from bolster heath, and flark ponds with concave sides and usually rocky floors. The bolster heath has a smooth surface which consists of a complex mosaic dominated by Donatia novae-zelandiae, Carpha rodwayi and Dracophyllum minimum. The floors of the ponds usually support no macrophytes. The ponds situated on strong flow lines have shallower dams which are more often breached than those where flow is more diffuse. The ponds ultimately drain by tunnelling through the humified peat below the live roots of the bolster heath, and the exposed floors are colonized by bolster heath species. The underlying block stream has a topography partly independent from that of the string and flark features, which shift in both time and space.

Impact of trampling on natural ecosystems in the cradle mountain‐lake St Clair National Park

“…The eroded areas at high altitude are likely to continue eroding once walkers are removed unless active remedial action is taken. With maximum rates of peat formation of 2 cm per century recorded for the alpine climatic zone (Kirkpatrick and Gibson 1984) the resilience of this ecosystem is exceedingly low.…”

Pits, mounds, and vernal ponds in a Tasmanian subalpine grassland

“…While ponds in subalpine and alpine environments are common elsewhere in the world, few examples have been studied in Australia, where the alpine and subalpine regions cover less than one per cent of the total land surface (Costin et al ., ). In Australia, ponds formed in organic systems have been studied in Tasmania (Kirkpatrick & Gibson, ) and the Bogong High Plains in mainland Australia (Wahren et al ., ). Ponds situated in solifluction contour features have been recorded in the Kosciuszko region of mainland Australia, as have kettle ponds, but neither have been investigated in any detail (Costin et al ., ).…”

“…Wetlands in alpine and subalpine regions of Australia are considered to be nationally rare and to have high conservation significance because they provide habitat for species not found elsewhere (Wahren et al ., ). Australian high‐altitude wetlands are fragile and potentially negatively impacted by human activities such as trampling, burning, and the grazing of livestock (Clarke et al ., ; Kirkpatrick & Gibson, ; Wahren et al ., ).…”

Dynamics of a Tasmanian cushion heath community

“…5 ha in extent and comprises a mosaic of coniferous heath, cushion heath, lichen covered dolerite boulders and numerous pools in a wind exposed saddle above the climatic treeline (Kirkpatrick & Gibson 1984). These pools have been formed by interaction of topography and the vertical growth of the cushion species (Kirkpatrick & Gibson 1984).Ca. 10 % of the 300 pools at the study site have undergone partial or complete drainage.…”

“…Thus there is cushion heath characterized by low plant cover on thin soils, a closed cushion heath consisting largely of mixtures of four cushion taxa ( Fig. 1) with low cover of trailing shrubs, herbs, moss and lichens, and degenerating cushion heath on oxidizing peat soils (Kirkpatrick & Gibson 1984).…”