Natural Resource Inventory: Milperra Wetland - Case Study Example

Running head: Natural resource inventory- Milperra Wetland Environmental Management of land Name Course Tutor Date Contents 1.Introduction 4 2.Description of the site (maps + locations) 7 3.Milperra Bushland NRI Goals and Objectives 11 a)NRI Goals 11 b)NRI objectives 11 4.Transport 12 5.Topography 13 6.Water Quality 13 Major Watershed 15 7.Vegetation and Site Diversity 15 8.Habitat Diversity 16 9.Habitat Diversity 17 10.Physical and chemical properties of soil 19 a)Parent Material 19 b)Soil texture 19 11.Poor Water quality 20 12.Land planning laws for local government 24 13.Community concerns 25 The planning proposal targeted to convert the Private Recreational Zone to an open recreation, and Rural zone to a Private Recreation, while considerably reducing the open Space to just a mere 20metre wide strip running along the Georges River Corridor. Majority residents of Milpera residents’ overwhelmingly look at this as negatively impacting on the quality of life and make demands on the Council to put aside this rezoning application 25 14.Heritage issues including vegetation, indigenous issues 26 Bibliography 27 Figure 1: Map of Milperra region- 1 8 Figure 2: Map of Milperra region- 2 9 Figure 3: Residential house in Milperra 10 Figure 4: A section of Milperra Road 12 Figure 5: Milperra Bridge 12 Figure 6: Extensive surface undergrowth vegetation 15 Figure 7: Some of the site indigenous remnant trees in the background 17 Figure 8: A section of the Riverlands Golf Club 19 Figure 9: A section of the existing ponds within the golf course 22 Natural resource Inventory (NRI) 1. Introduction The purpose of this report is to provide the Natural resources Inventory (NRI) for the Milperra Bushland. This is an index established to offer guidance in the proper utilization and conservation of the natural resources and watershed resources. It also provides an index of the open space and natural, ecological and aesthetic areas within the town, thereby providing a baseline for the purpose of choosing the right program for conservation, development and better utilization of a region. Land use patterns generally give story of environmental evolution and human activity, and future settlement pattern are of great interest to many. Changes in land use affect the distribution of homes, vegetation and workplace, and subsequently interfere with the biogenic and on road emissions. Policy makers, developers, planners and environmentalists and other professionals wish to model the changes, in order to ensure enough provision of both private and public services and amenities such as schools, roads, water and sewerage systems along with the policies that affect demand thus helping in mitigating the negative impacts to the environment such pollution and congestion. In the past Bankstown City Council has considered a proposal of setting up of about 1100 homes to be constructed on an 81 hectare site as a gated community on an area that is predisposed to flooding (The Bushland bulletin, 2012). In realising the need to accommodate 22,000 new settlements by the year 2031, the Bankstown Council had positively pointed out areas for the targeted residential expansion in the Residential development Study, a scheme that was partly funded by Department of planning and Infrastructure. In the study unveiled in the year 2009, the council does not directly point Riverlands golf Course, but rather making it part of the central priority area. This has been translated as a deliberate partial omission owing to the environmental significance of the golf course an open space and in rural classifications (The Bushland bulletin, 2012). It is hard to comprehend how the rapidly the change of land use occurs. It is however evident that the change occurs in form of a single small, though significant event at a time and the full impact of the change may not be evident over a period of years. By the time, these impacts are fully conspicuous, it is often too late for a lot to done to change them. Before the change and parcelization, there are a number of effective mitigation measures available for the community to consider. Depending on the prevailing situation, it may be prudent to adopt local zoning and planning aimed at guiding development in a desired patterns. According to (The Bushland bulletin, 2012), in 2004 the council established the Bushland Plan of Management, aimed at coming up with policies geared towards conserving the existing bush land as well as vegetating the already cleared area especially towards the Airport reserve park. In the year 2009, the City Council introduced a row of bollards along the Henry Lawson Drive to safeguard the wetland as well as the new plantings bordered to the wetland. There is proposal going round regarding the impending rezoning of the Riverlands Golf course and the adjoining areas at Milperra. According to the Bankstown Bushland Society- who is strong opponents of the program, Riverlands Golf course and the surrounding areas are critical components of Georges River open space corridor. According to the society, this is a region high in natural values. The society also states that the golf course plays host to over 1,200 indigenous trees and a region high in natural values. The society also states that the golf course plays host to over1, 200 indigenous trees and associated wetlands, endangered river- flat forests, Cumberland Plain Woodland and associated wildlife. A spectrum of regionally as well as locally uncommon native flora and fauna species are available in the site. It is due to this uniqueness that natural significance of the golf course makes it an inappropriate place for carrying out intensive urban development. The golf course and the nearby wetland possesses a number of ecological attributes, which include a succession of habitants from the Holocene estuarine swamp forest, to Pleistocene coastal river- flat forest and wetland. There is also the woodland on Tertiary sandy loam and residue forest cover on the Wianamatta shale rise. There is no better scenario of this transition that exists in the Bankstown! According to Gibson & Miller for BBS, and Clements & Associates for BCC, there are over 250 native plant species. The immediate river in the Milperra Wetland (Milperra Bushland along the Henry Lawson drive and Milperra), Georges river, is already pressurized by the effects of urbanization as a result loss of diversity, natural habitat and increased pollution of the waterway. The open space corridor along the river was aimed to mitigate against such pressures, in addition to offering the city residents with a clean healthy environment for recreational opportunities. This clearly shows that the zoning of the golf course and the neighbouring areas is a reversal of this noble and sound environmental policy. 2. Description of the site (maps + locations) Milperra Wetlands is located at the corner of Milperra road and Henry Lawson drive. The wetland is one of the few remaining wetlands in Bankstown Metropolitan. Milperra Wetlands falls under the Bankstown City Council jurisdiction. Among the notable facilities within Milperra wetland include Ashford reserve, Bankstown Golf Club, Newland Reserve, Riverlands Golf Course and Section of the Bunning Bankstown airport. Located in the Bankstown Council, Milpera Wetland lies on the Eastern shores of Georges River. The wetland is served by Lawson drive and the South Western Motorway (toll road), on the western and Southern boundaries. The northern region borders Milpera road with the Airport in the vicinity. This provides the community with a gateway access to all the areas of the Sydney metropolitan. Figure 1: Map of Milperra region- 1 Figure 2: Map of Milperra region- 2 Milperra area has approximately population of 3,844 people (2011 Usual residents) 546Hectares (5 Km2), with population density of 7.04persons per hectare (Community profile, 2012). Milperra wetland falls in the Bankstown City region, which is bound by Liverpool road, Roberts |road, juno parade Canterbury Road, Salt Pan peak and Georges river. Milperra area features a mixture of commercial, residential and industrial area. There are small retail strips all over suburban including the Ashford Village on the corner of Ashford Avenue and Bullecourt, Milperra shopping village on Bullecourt Avenue. Figure 3: Residential house in Milperra 3. Milperra Bushland NRI Goals and Objectives a) NRI Goals The Natural Resource Inventory for this region should cover the entire area under study and provide data to the stakeholders in their efforts of address conclusively: The manner in which planning and zoning decisions need to be nurtured and developed based on clear comprehension and consideration of the location and the significance of natural resources; and, How conservation efforts are implemented to aim the most critical resources for conservation efforts b) NRI objectives The generated NRI will gather all the available pertinent data to offer a comprehensive overview of the natural resources in Milperra Bushland. The generated information will be adopted in the identification of the high priority areas for conservation and be established for the zoning regulations. The NRI will also offer maps of natural resources in Milperra Bushland based on the available data The results of the NRI will offer the necessary framework, including photos, maps, required by the Milperra Bushland Council. 4. Transport There are a number of major roads in Milperra area. Milperra road is one of the main roads which connect to Newbridge road and Moorebank. This road also connects the western side of the Milperra Bridge, across the George’s river. Other important roads include Henry Lawson drive and M5 south western motorway which adjacent to southern border. Figure 4: A section of Milperra Road Figure 5: Milperra Bridge Milperra wetland is fortunate to within its boundaries a number of natural vegetation ecosystems such as Bankstown Golf Club, Riverlands Golf Course and Newland Reserve. The main water body around Milpera wetland if Georges river. Formerly called Tucoerah River, the river travels approximately 60 miles in the north, then eastern direction and finally drains at Botany bay, close to the Tasman sea. 5. Topography Pointing out the physical features and the general composition a natural landscape is a vital beginning point in the context of evaluating the specific natural resource suites. Generally topography offers the basic conditions for comprehending the manner in which landscape evolves into area valuable for certain particular natural functions such as hydrology, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, wildlife habitat, and tourism. Topography is also a key factor in the assessment of suitability for resource conservation and development. The topography of Milpera wetland is generally flat though in some areas it is sloping gentry towards Georges River. The average altitude is about 138m above sea level. ( Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012) 6. Water Quality Water Resources including both ground waters and underground water resources are among the community’s most valuable assets. Most of domestic water sources whether -private or public- in Milpera Wetland depend on the subsurface and surface aquifers or in the bedrock. Surface water in the wetland for instance Georges River provide an excellent site for recreational purposes such as ace fishing. , and are key components in the value of scenic resources. Major Watershed A watershed refers to a land mass where virtually all the water that is on, under or over it drains into a particular river, Lake or other water body. Ideally, a watershed behaves like a funnel, gathering all the water within the surrounding drainage area and channelling it to a common water body. The main watershed in the Milpera area is Georges River which performs other functions such as preservation of biodiversity, acting as a natural habitat and prevention of pollution. Along the river, there is an open space corridor which is intended at mitigating the undue pressures as a result of urbanization and environment threat. Figure 6: Extensive surface undergrowth vegetation 7. Vegetation and Site Diversity Milpera Wetland plays home to over 1,200 indigenous trees, with more within the golf course. There remnants of the original pre settlement forest have a special inherent, historic and ecological values. It is evident that any change in land use will most likely lead to the cutting down of the trees to pave way for development. (The Bushland bulletin, 2012) 8. Habitat Diversity Some of these trees are well over 100 years old, leading to the formation of hollow pockets that acts as nesting for birds and other native birds. To create space for infilling in the suburbs, the site indigenous remnant trees including those with hollow pits have been routinely removed, with some of this species facing local extinction. Only in Riverlands Golf Course does the chance of protecting and preserving a significant section of these trees. Therefore its critical to note that any proposed land use must be made with the interest of preserving the Riverlands remnant forest at heart. Figure 7: Some of the site indigenous remnant trees in the background 9. Habitat Diversity As said earlier, the Riverlands Golf Club and the adjacent alluvial floodplain of Georges River contains a range of ecologically significant and endangered habitats, include wetland itself, estuarine swamp, open forest, river flat forest at Wianamatta shale, most of which have been termed at threatened habitats and of biodiversity significance by the Endangered ecological communities. The most diverse assemblage of the endangered native tree species occur within the existing golf course itself, lining along the various fairways. This diversity at the canopy extent goes beyond other biodiversity areas within Bankstown Council. There are no fewer than ten canopy eucalypts indigenous to the golf course site. This include Red mahogany, Forest red Gum, White String bark, Scribbly Gum, Thin- leaved String bark, and Grey Box. The native vegetation on the upper alluvial terrace along the New Bridge Road is unique on the site. It is remnant woodland on tertiary sandy loam, which is one of the rarest vegetation types within Bankstown. Parts of the golf course also includes a range of native ground surface cover vegetation species. This includes swathes of native grassland ((Microlaen stipoides),and patches of ephemeral wetland (Juncus continuus), which is a clear indication of the potential for natural regeneration of the green parts of the golf course. Figure 8: A section of the Riverlands Golf Club The diversity of remnant canopy species, together with the abundance of the hollow pockets frequented by birds and other small animals, demonstrates that the golf course and the Milpera wetland in general is a region of high regional and local diversity. 10. Physical and chemical properties of soil a) Parent Material Majority of soils within Milperra wetland were formed by alluvium or glaciofluval deposits of unstratified homogenous mixture with varying levels of silt clay and boulders. The wetland also contains dense organic deposits especially in the shallow waters. This is due to successive plants degeneration leading to the formation muck deposits. b) Soil texture Most of the soils in the Milperra wetland are fine sandy or sandy loam texture. There are also traces of silt loam soils especially around the banks of George’s River. 11. Poor Water quality The golf course and river- flat wetlands provide a crucial function to mitigate against the effects of flooding. Any land use proposal that will lead to the conversion of the golf course to a hard surface would equally alter permanently the existing, majorly natural drainage system, leading to higher speed surface run off and higher stream turbidity, with the transfer soluble nutrients, pollutants and toxins into adjacent wetlands and finally, the river. This will indirectly put more pressure on the ecological viability of George’s river and its surviving natural wetland systems. This is counter to Councils long standing policies of environmental protection and enhancement of the adjacent river. The catchment of Milperra creek drains majority of the Milperra Basin which includes the shale rises adjacent to the Bankstown airport boundaries. The alluvial floodplain overflows the creek and the river. Therefore any development activity causing extensive infilling of the low lying alluvial floodplain will definitely alter the existing drainage patterns of the wetland and compromise their longer term viability. The water levels of the existing pond as with other wetlands, vacillate, depending on the intensities of past rainfall events. In the current scenario, runoff water enters the pond from the northern and sections of the western corner of the golf course, which is substantially free of the pollutants and toxins which is known to be present in built up areas. The habitat opportunities within the pond, just like in any other water body is associated with water volume, quality and varying water levels with the pond structure, and hence the need to ensure minimal pollution. Within the river, certain native plant species including the ephemeral Fimbristylis velata and Pseudoraphis paradoxa, are apparent in this pond only at certain water levels. Increased and more regular storrmwater runoff, with increased nutrient content, will often inevitably alter the existing function of the pond, with possible adverse effects on habitat values. Increased entry of the polluted stormwater into the estuarine swamp coming from any built up ares will no doubt have an adverse side effects. Figure 9: A section of the existing ponds within the golf course The entire Milperra wetland subject site, includes the lower flood plain, beside with the bordering upper alluvial terrace together with the existing golf course, is an integrated landscape with most of its natural drainage system largely intact. Unless supported by other benefits, the best purpose of this floodplain is the same work for which nature purposed it to do: to absorb and retain the stormwater and floodwater overflow and gradually discharge it into the river through a set of wetlands, swamps and channels. Modifications of the existing topography such as landfilling will no doubt compromise the general effectiveness of the drainage system, intensify downstream impacts and further damage the wetlands. 12. Land planning laws for local government Milperra falls just like other natural ecosystems within the NSW state of Australia are governed by a number of legislations. This includes The native vegetation Act 2003 This is basically the key legislation that controls the management of the native vegetation especially the threated species within the Riverlands Golf Course. Such vegetation includes the understorey plants, tree species, and ground cover vegetation occurring in the wetland. The laws however protect the vegetation that existed before the European settlement. Therefore any change in land use within Milperra wetland shall first require the existing vegetation to rightfully categorize as either protected growth, unprotected growth or remnant growth. The Wetlands Policy of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, 1992 This act came into force in NSW Government in 1992. It seeks to attain an integrated, ecologically responsible and balance use of States natural wetlands estuaries. The objectives of this policy are to: Conserve wetlands, through the promotional of their ecological cultural, social and economic values Manage wetlands through an ecologically sustainable manner and through a defined framework of integrated management of water catchment areas Raise community and stakeholders awareness of the types, benefits and values of wetlands and much more The law therefore governs Milperra wetland and therefore any action of altering the existing land use should make sure that the activities comply with tis specific act. The NSW Wetland Management Policy 1996 The aim of this legislation is to halt and where necessary, reverse the destruction of wetland vegetation, decrease in water quality and general wetland productivity, natural flood mitigation and loss of biodiversity. Among the policies adopted by the Act is the land use and management practices which seeks to maintain and rehabilitate wetland processes and habitats. The policy also requires that new developments of the wetland to offer a suitable water distribution to and from the wetland ecosystem. Other laws which have equal significance in such a project include, the water management act 2000, The NSW Wetland Management Policy 1996, Bushland in Urban Areas policy etc. 13. Community concerns The planning proposal targeted to convert the Private Recreational Zone to an open recreation, and Rural zone to a Private Recreation, while considerably reducing the open Space to just a mere 20metre wide strip running along the Georges River Corridor. Majority residents of Milpera residents’ overwhelmingly look at this as negatively impacting on the quality of life and make demands on the Council to put aside this rezoning application 14. Heritage issues including vegetation, indigenous issues Australian productive private forests and wetlands are at a risk, under the threat of being converted to housing developments, malls, and private green space. Officials and conservationists in general are asking what needs to be done in order to conserve some of these natural resources treasures such as local forest- based economies. Within the NSW state of Australia, the forestland parcel size is gradually decreasing and studies have shown that the average forest land has been parcelized for other uses of the land more than 50 per cent more than any other ecosystem. Bibliography Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2012, June 31). Retrieved march 17, 2014 Community profile. (2012). Retrieved March 17, 2014, from http://profile.id.com.au/bankstown/about/?WebID=190 The Bushland bulletin. (2012). Retrieved march 16, 2014, from http://www.bankstownbushlandsociety.org/Newsletters/no58bulletin.pdf Read More