LANDSCAPE STUDY OF FERNY GROVE

LUKE BRINSMEAD - 06297498DLB330 PEOPLE & ENVIRONMENT

JAN30/04/08

5,353

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CONTENTSINTRODUCTION 3

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY 3 GEOLOGICAL HISTORY 4 FLORA 5 ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HISTORY 6 EUROPEAN PATTERNS OF SETTLEMENT 7

METHODOLOGY THEORY OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 8 PATCH-CORRIDOR-MATRIX MODEL 8

METHODS LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE 9 LANDSCAPE NETWORKS 9 LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS 10 LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS 10

RESULTS FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE 10 FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE NETWORKS 12 FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS 14 FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS 16 AND THE MATRIX IS... 16

DISCUSSION 16

CONCLUSION 17

REFERENCES 17

APPENDICES 18

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INTRODUCTION

The aim of this report is to map patches and corridors to show these units in a more graphically understandable form and to use the principles of landscape ecology with this mapping to be potentially used in a landscape site assessment before any designing takes place. This landscape study predominately provides an analysis of the patch/corridor/matrix concept for the Ferny Grove area. It documents the holistic history of the area including geological, aboriginal and european. The methodology introduces the reader to the landscape ecology theory and patch/corridor/matrix concept and how the criteria from these are used in this report, it can be used as a guide when reading through the results and discussion. Landscape structure, network, dynamics and transformations are used as the frame work in the methods. The results give findings of information about each of the different types of patches and corridors (networks) as well as the landscape’s dynamics (flows etc.) and transformations. The discussion component has evaluations/reflections relating to the methods, methodology and results followed up by the conclusion which summarizes the whole report and provides suggestions for future improvement.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY

Since volcanic eruptions more than 400 million years ago the Ferny Grove landscape has since had folding, uplifting, erosion, deposition, vegetation, human habitation, bush fires, vegetation clearing, geological extraction, cropping, urbanization and some revegetation. Most of the landscape structure one can see in present times has been the result of human habitation since the late nineteenth century and particularly since the middle of the twentieth century following the industrial revolution. It is important to learn the complete history of a landscape to enable a better understanding of the landscape patches/corridor/matrix model.

GEOLOGICAL HISTORY

VOLCANIC400 million years ago the study area was a marine environment incorporating a number of volcanic islands extruding basaltic larva, somewhat like Hawaii. Within 50 million years the volcanic activity had decreased and marine shales were being deposited in areas of deep marine water. Some submarine volcanic activity occurred and following led to more marine sediments being deposited by submarine landslides. These landslides probably originated from the continental slope to the east or west of the study area.

FOLDING AND UPLIFT300 million years ago sedimentation ceased and there was a period of no deposition. Preceding that rocks were metamorphosed, folded and uplifted. The study area became a shallow marine environment, similar to a continental shelf, and sands, silt, mud and limestone were deposited. Some terrestrial volcanoes also formed and formed while andesite lava and ash was extruded over small areas. A period of folding or buckling of the sediments began 260 million years ago, this was accompanied by the emplacement of a number of igneous rock bodies. These molten masses of rock from beneath the crust intruded the sediments over the forthcoming 40 million years. The remnants of these of these intrusions are now exposed at the surface at various.

DEPOSITION AND EROSION205 million years ago volcanic activity and ash was falling on a sporadically vegetated surface with a few localized lakes, this ash was then metamorphosed and makes up the constituents of Porphyry (Brisbane Tuff rock.) During the preceding 10 million years there was an episode of folding and faulting which stopped deposition in the Ipswich basin and formed two new basins including the Moreton Basin. In the last 5 million years the major geological process has been erosion, this includes erosion by waterways, rainwater runoff, wind, waves and tidal movements. In the last 2 million years there have been a number of changes in sea level due to changes in the earth’s climate and crustal movements resulting in the complex deposition of alluvium. Some of the alluvium deposits are still increasing and the current deposition of alluvium, as well as erosion, are the only geological process occurring at the present time.

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FORERUNNERS OF THE RIVERSRivers and creeks were connected by the Brisbane Strait. Large sheets of river deposited quartz sandstone were deposited over the lower areas of the land surface, this covered the exposed rocks which had formed in earlier times. River deposition continued for 43 million years. It started with the rivers as high energy waterways depositing gravels and course sands, over that period of time the environment developed into a low energy flow which resulted in the formation of swamps, estuaries and lakes with muds, silts, shale and some coal. Over a period of time these sediments were lithified to form rocks and were only gently folded when the region was uplifted 150 million years ago. There were no further deposition of sediments in the study area for another 85 million years, during that period the region was subjected to erosion.

SOILSThe soil type with the study area is classified as gravelly red and yellow loamy top soils over clay. Most of the soils within the study area are moderately fertile red and yellow earth derived from erosion of the rocks of the D’Aguilar Block. Silts and muds define the waterway boundaries within the study area and are generally more fertile due to their higher organic content.

FLORA

DRY SCLEROPHYLL FORESTMuch of the study area is composed of dry sclerophyll forest, however many thousands of years ago the area comprised of mostly rainforest species of plants, as the climate was dried these rainforest species were slowly replaced by the Eucalyptus genus. At present time the dominant genus of plants which make up the canopy layer is Eucalyptus. Predominantly within this genus are the species E. creba, E. drepanophylla, E. intermedia, E. maculata, E. Tereticornis and E. umbra. The upper shrub layer is mostly comprised of thick leafed medium to large shrubs which include Acacia maidenii, A. melanoxylon, A. leiocalyx, A. fimbriata, A. penninervis, Jacksonia scorparia and Trochcarpa laurina. The lower shrub layer is mostly consists of small thick leafed shrubs which include Lomatia silaifolia, Breynia oblongifolia, Zieria smitii, Acrotriche aggregata, Hovea acutifolia, Leucopogon juniperinus, Pultenaea villosa and Psychotria spp. The ground cover layer is mostly made up of tough ferns, herbs, vines and grasses which include Imperata cylindrica var. major, Themeda australia, Oplismenus spp., Ottochoa spp., Aphanopetalum resinosum, Clematis glycinoides, Eustrephus latifolius and Hardenbergia violacea.

WET SCLEROPHYLL FORESTDuring the dying of the climate some rainforest species of plants adapted to become more resilient to the drying conditions. These plants are found in the small amount of wet sclerophyll forest is located around south and east facing slopes and on the edges of waterways which have moister more fertile soils. The canopy layer is again mostly made up of species with the Eucalyptus genus, they include E. grandis, E. acmenoides, E. microcorys, E. propinqua and E. saligna. The upper shrub layer is mostly comprised of Backhousia myrtifolia, Cryptocarya glaucescens, Euroschinus falcata, Mallotus philippensis, Polyscias elegans and Synoum glandulosum. Ferns, small shrubs and herbaceous plants make the ground cover layer which mostly include species Adiantum spp., Doodia spp., Pteridium esculentum and Culcita dubia.

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ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HISTORY

Indigenous people living within the study area were distinguished from other clans in surrounding areas by their unique language, turrbal and were part of the Undambi tribe.

HOUSINGCamps were usually built in open areas to view incoming people to the camp for an early warning system. They constructed small huts that were quick and easy to construct and destruct, as Aboriginal clans are always on the move. These huts were constructed of three sticks to form the main triangular frame, covering this frame and the ground was paperbark from the Melaleuca genus to provide shelter, they stood up to 1.8 metres in height and 1.4 metres in diametre. A fire was used at the entrance of the hut to help warm the hut, to be used for cooking, to provide light and to deter dangerous wildlife. Many tools and equipment were hung up outside the huts except for hunting weapons.

HUNTING AND GATHERINGFish were caught by using nets and poisoning of the water by the use of leaves from the Tanggul plant, tortoises were mostly caught by hand. Spearing was common to kill kangaroos, wallabies and other large mammals, hunting was more predominant near waterbodies. Nocturnal animals were killed while sleeping during the daytime with either boomerangs or waddies, birds were killed with boomerangs thrown into flocks. Wood grubs were collected by using a hooked or thorny stick. Many roots, nuts and fruits were collected, some had to be processed to removed the poison from the seed or fruit. Some honey was found in native bee hives, however this food was quite rare and was eaten as a delicacy. Most of the food was eaten, leaving little to waste and only gathering enough for two meals and no more. There are no set meal times, food was eaten when people were hungry or when coincided with a unexpected kill or collection. Tools and weapons included spears, boomerangs, waddies, shields, yam-sticks, axes, knives, containers, dillies and canoes.

RELICSMany of the relics have not been able to be located due to the clearing of sites by early farmers, however some still due exist today. The closest bora ring site to the study area is located at Keppera, this ring is approximately 22 metres in diametre. A bora ring ferny groveare circles of foot-hardened earth surrounded by raised embankments. They were generally constructed in pairs (although some sites have three), with a bigger circle about 22 metres in diameter and a smaller one of about 14 metres. The rings are joined by a sacred walkway. The rings were used in ceremonies of the transformation of childhood into manhood and the learnings of song, stories, dance and other traditions.

CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMSThe best known of the aboriginal ceremonies is the corroboree or song and dance. The corroboree might tell a story or communicate something important to the tribe. It was common for groups to learn each others corroboree and in turn pass it onto other groups they meet. In this way one particular corroboree might travel over great distances. When a corroboree was to take place, particularly at a large gathering attended by many different groups, fires would set and those attending would wear paint, feathers, headbands and armbands. The women would sit in a group and beat out the timing of the song and dance while a pair of men would tap to the beat using boomerangs, corroborees usually go for about two hours.

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EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT AND LAND USE

It was in 1865 when John Delaney Bergin became the first person in the Ferny Grove area (known as Ferny Flats at the time) to purchase large portions of land in the district. He owned the land on which the Ferny Grove State School now occupies. Ferny Grove was settled by 1875, crops such as grapes, oranges and vegetables were grown and dairying flourished for early settlers of the 1870's. Among these settlers were the Stokes, Pickerings, Marshalls and McGinns. R. McGinn donated Land on the present Upper Kedron hall site for the original provisional primary school which opened in 1875. An area near the yet to be built railway station (constructed c 1918) was used as a resting place where teamsters would rest and change their horses which dragged loads of timber from the Upper Kedron area.

In 1900 a new industry began with the building of Tile Works by Mr R. Shannon, this was to be bought out 28 years later by Wunderlich Ltd. The excavation of clay for the tiles was done manually for many years and provided employment for many locals. In 1940 the primary school was shifted to its present site being approximately 1,500 m from the railway station. Before the Second World War, Ferny Grove was mainly known for its pleasant picnic grounds along the banks of Kedron Brook and large areas of forest and fern filled valleys, one of which gives the suburb its name. Prior to large-scale residential development, Ferny Grove was primarily industrial, containing a large clay pit and tile factory operating south of the railway station. When this factory ceased operation in the 1960s, Ferny Grove was redeveloped for housing.

After the war, while the area was still largely residentially undeveloped, the Brisbane City Council operated a nightsoil sanitation depot beside Cedar Creek. The depot closed in the late 1960s as more of Brisbane was laid with sewerage infrastructure and the need for nightsoil treatment ended. After lying vacant for some years, the depot was leased by the Council to the Brisbane Tramway Museum Society, and is now the home of the Brisbane Tramway Museum. The City Council continued to use the area south of the former nightsoil depot as a large refuse tip until the late 1980s. Ironically, the ferny grove from which the suburb took its name is no longer there, the grove was buried under a large hill upon which the City Council now operates a waste transfer station and sports playing fields.

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METHODOLOGY

THEORY OF LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY

This landscape study report is based off the land mosaic concept by R. Forman 2, a similar concept has been used by ecologists for some time and has been used more recently in landscape architecture and urban planing. The key components of the theory of landscape ecology include the study of landscape patches, corridors and matrices. The connection of patches and corridors within a landscape greatly effects the biodiversity and ecological value of an area, different qualities of a patch or corridor such as its size, shape, edge type, connectivity with other patches or corridors and its internal composition can be used to assess its affect on species habitation and movement.

PATCH/CORRIDOR/MATRIX MODEL

PATCHESDifferent patch types can be characterized by their size, shape, boundary type, connectivity with other patches or corridors and their internal composition, this criteria can also be used in identifying the patch’s effect on biodiversity within the landscape. They can be sized in the form of a vegetation patch from a single small bush in a barren position to a large isolated patch of uncleared forest. Their shape can be irregular, asymmetrical (human formed) or have various lobe lengths (dendritic.) The edges can be smooth, straight or convoluted (lobed.) Their edges can be abrupt (usually caused by humans) or have a slow transition with the landscape outside the patch. Connectivity with other patches or corridors can be measured in various ways, from having various parallel alignment with nearby patches or corridors to having smaller patches nearby to aid species movement. The internal components are usually dissimilar to the patch’s external and many patches usually contain patches within patches.

CORRIDORSLike patches corridors can be of various lengths, widths and therefore shapes, have smooth (human formed) or convoluted edges, comprise of abrupt or slow transition edges, incorporate low or high connectivity with the surrounding landscape and can be be sometimes composed of corridors within corridors, for example waterbodies with two riparian corridors either side which forms the conduit of the main corridor. However, the most obvious distinguishing features of corridors are their narrowness and connectivity with patches, this narrowness allows for species to move through the landscape to travel from one patch to another. Like patches, these attributes can be used to assess a corridor’s effect on species movement and therefore biodiversity within a landscape area.

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METHODS

LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE

For the rough draft a sheet of OHT film was used to trace the boundaries of patches and corridors, however since this method did not deem to be as neat as expected the use of Photoshop Elements was used in place of hand drawing for the final copy. Different layers were placed over the image in Photoshop Elements for the different landscape unit outlines. The main landscape units were identified by close inspection on the aerial photograph and by the use of Google Earth, these include remnant vegetation, suburban, semi rural, low density residential, recreational and earthworks. The main dominant landscape unit being remnant vegetation was clearly distinguished by its characteristic dense tree canopy. Suburban areas were easily distinguished by a dense and gridded organisation of house roofs. The largest semi rural patch in the western side of the study area was easily distinguished by its hedgerows and cleared grassy paddock. The boundaries of semi rural areas closer to suburban areas were more difficult determine because of the obscurity caused by vegetation. Low density residential was more difficultly distinguished by having a higher house density than semi rural areas however having up to about fours times the property size of suburban blocks. Earthworks were easily distinguished by their light brown appearance. The use of different patterns were used to signify different landscape units. To measure the approximate squared area size of each patch a scale ruler was used in the 1:25 scale. As the aerial photo scale was 1:25,000, the measurement in millimetres was then converted into kilometres by dividing the measurement by 1,000.

LANDSCAPE NETWORKS

By using the aerial photograph in Photoshop Elements, different corridors were applied as different layers using different coloured lines. Roads through dense vegetation were quite easily distinguished. However, roads which were not adjacent to large vegetation were much more difficult to distinguish and thus were not all mapped due an inability to zoom into the inadequate resolution (detail) of the aerial photo. Fire fighting tracks were easily distinguished by their wide relative straight cleared corridors through the dense vegetation in the state forrest. Waterway corridors were quite easily distinguished by their meandering and sometime dendritic appearance which is highlighted by surrounding uncleared riparian vegetation. Species movement was determined by analysing natural corridors such as riparian vegetation along waterways and how much of a connection they had with patches of remnant vegetation and other natural corridors. The train line was relatively easy to distinguish from its very straight shape, however the end of the track was somewhat more difficult to establish.

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LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS

The flow of water and therefore rocks, soil and natural chemicals is important in understanding the hydrological dynamics of a landscape as it has a large contribution to landscape dynamics. This flow was determined by analysing the landscape contours and surface type, the flow of water and therefore rocks, soil and natural chemicals is obviously increased as the landscape angle in increased. The surface water flow rate theory was used in this assessment, this theory is based on that water flow is much slower on forrest floors than on comparable angled human surfaces such as sealed roads and particularly, roof tops. This remote form of analysis was managed to be validated on-ground during a rain storm whereby the author observed surface water flow rates in both remnant vegetation and suburban areas. For the sinks on-ground assessment will be needed to determine the level of sinkage. Changes in the source will be measured by comparing the older aerial photo with the Google Earth image.

LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS

The most evident current landscape transformation is urbanisation, which can easily be seen by comparing the aerial photograph taken on 19/03/02 with images from Google Earth. The earthworks patches were located on the Google Earth image to assess the rate of suburban transformation. Google Earth was also used to assess the level of development within the semi rural areas.

RESULTS

FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE - refer to patches map below and attribute tables in appendix

REMNANT VEGETATIONRemnant vegetation dominated the landscape with having a 69.4% cover, most of the boundaries were highly convoluted with some straight clearing. These patches are homogenous due to their dominant Eucalyptus species which form a dense canopy. Apart from the large singular patch, much of the smaller patches were islands of vegetation amongst suburbia which had some to no connection with other remnant vegetation patches. The small patches had various shapes from irregular ovals to dendritic to rectangular, many of these small patches were found towards the edge of the suburban rim. SEMI RURALSemi rural patches had the second largest area cover of 18.7%, these patches were found to have a heterogenous nature comprising small paddocks with some exotic and remnant vegetation. The second largest patch, only slightly, comprised of a completely different interior vegetation of predominately grass, this can be labeled as predominately homogeneous. These patches are mostly circular in shape with highly convoluted boundaries due to encroachment of remnant vegetation around the boundary layer.

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SUBURBANSuburban patches made up 10.9% of the cover, many of the boundaries were convoluted, especially adjacent to the state forest. Some boundaries were geometric, especially in newer estates on the suburban rim. Two relative large patches made up the dominant suburban cover, with some smaller patches divided from the larger patches by remnant vegetation, low density residential and mining earthworks. All of the suburban patches are heterogeneous, especially older suburban areas, however newer suburban areas seem to appear to be almost homogeneous due to the lack of vegetation and smaller block sizes.

LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIALLow density residential covered only 2.8% of the study area, their patch shape was mostly irregular elongated stretching out perpendicularly from the suburban rim. Many of these patches were relatively small compared to semi rural and suburban patches, they were found to have more geometric boundaries with some convolution. Their interiors were heterogeneous in nature and comprised of paddocks approximately half the size of semi rural properties and were approximately four times larger than suburban blocks. Their connectivity with the suburban network was somewhat disconnected, caused by vegetation divisions, however these vegetation divisions created a high connection with remnant vegetation.

EARTHWORKSEarthworks such as new house sites and mining only composed of a 1.5% cover on the study area but had quite a stand out homologous appearance. Their patch shape varied from rectangular which incorporated geometric boundaries in new suburban estates to to the irregular shape of the mining earthwork patch which incorporated a convoluted boundary on one side and had a geometric boundaries on the other side. Most of the patches in new suburban estates were quite small compared to the relatively large mining patch. Some of the residential patches had good connectivity with the suburban areas and some were somewhat disconnected due to remnant vegetation divisions.

RECREATIONALRecreational patches such as parks and golf courses only contributed a mere 1.2% cover within the study area. Their sizes ranged from medium sized parks to part of a golf course. The largest was a park comprising of a picnic area, football and soccer field, walking tracks and a beach volleyball court, this composition indicative of its very heterogeneous character. Their boundaries were mostly geometric, especially the park patches, while the golf course and adjacent park boundary was part convoluted due to be adjacent to the creek. Most of the smaller parks were islands within suburban areas and had no connection with remnant vegetation, while the largest park and part of the golf course had quite a high connection with remnant vegetation.

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Patches Map SEMI RURAL LOW DENSITY RESIDENTIAL EARTHWORKS

REMNANT VEGETATION SUBURBAN RECREATIONAL

FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE NETWORKS - refer to corridors map below

FIRE FIGHTING TRACKSFire fighting tracks are long cleared corridors which penetrate through remnant forest and have geometric straight boundaries with no conduit and minimal convolution, on closer inspection with Google earth it revealed there was shrub re-growth and bare soil vehicular paths running parallel through the interior. It is these attributes place this corridor into the heterogeneous category. The connectivity with the north and south areas of the largest remnant vegetation patch is quite good, however the connection with the east and west areas is non existent.

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MAIN ROADThe main the road corridor connects the semi rural areas with the suburban areas by having a curvilinear shape, especially through the hilly state forest. As ca be expected with human made corridors, the boundary on either side is very geometric with no convolution and minimal conduit. The corridor’s interior is homogenous, while the conduit is heterogeneous, making the corridor as a whole heterogeneous. The conduit has very high connection with remnant vegetation in the state forest, however adjacent to suburban areas there is little connection, especially further into the suburban areas.

SMALL ROADSSmall road corridors were of similar width to the main road but have a slightly narrower conduit. Most of them on hilly areas in the semi rural patches have a highly curvilinear shape while in suburban area they tend to have a more linear shape, especially further away from the hills and in older suburbs which are further in from the suburban rim. As like the main road, the boundary is very geometric with no convolution and minimal conduit. Some of the small roads which meander through the state forest had very little connection with the main road or other small roads. The connection with the conduit and remnant vegetation in semi rural areas is relatively high, however in the suburban areas the connection with remnant vegetation was extremely low.

WATERWAYS Waterways were quite small in width and had the characteristic curvilinear shape which meanders from the hills of the state forrest through into suburbia. Their boundary type was mostly convoluted, however in some areas adjacent to suburbia the boundary is bordering on geometric. They are heterogeneous due their waterbody and riparian components, these riparian conduits have a good mostly unbroken connection to remnant vegetation and in some areas are relatively wide.

TRAIN LINEThe train line within the study area has a very linear shape with no curvilinearity and has a very geometric boundary. It has a relatively wide conduit which has little connection with remnant vegetation. One can characterise it as being mostly homogenous due to the lack of natural features such as vegetation within the corridor.

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Corridors Map - red lines represent fire fighting tracks, blue lines represent the main road, yellow lines represent small roads, pink lines represent waterways, the green line represent the train track.

FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE DYNAMICS - refer to flow map below

The on-ground assessment of the speed and direction of surface water runoff into waterways from both remnant hill sides and suburban areas was mostly validated with the remote analysis. It was found that the speed of the surface water to be quite high in the upper reaches of the catchments, slightly conflicting to the theory of slower surface water runoff, however the speed of the surface water dramatically reduced as the land leveled out. This natural infiltration and slowing of surface water over unsealed land is was the vastly indifferent to the shed of surface water above many areas of land in suburban areas. Areas of grassland and/or poor surface soil in suburban areas had the least infiltration rate of the more ‘natural’ areas and therefore had the most amount of surface water runoff. It was concluded that areas with a high amount of leaf litter and porous top soil below vegetation, both indigenous and exotic, to provide the highest infiltration rate and thereby reducing the surface water runoff the most.

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The flow of the waterway increased in more linear sections while it slowed slightly in the more curvilinear areas. The level of sinkage to recreational areas varied from light in small parks to quite high in the golf course. On-ground analysis of soil quality validated that the hills in he state forest were the source of much of the rocks, sediment, natural chemicals and surface water water runoff which flowed down into the waterways. The soil quality in the riparian zone had a much higher humus content compared to the soil far upstream in the state forest.

Flow Map - pink arrows represent surface water flow from hills, red arrows represent the waterway’s direction of flow, blue arrows represent traffic direction on main road, green arrow represents train direction (left arrow indicates end of train line), yellow puffs represent geological sources, orange flowers indicate geological sinks, yellow scissors represent a geological source.

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FINDINGS ON LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATIONS - refer to aerial map on page 3 and google earth photo in appendix

The urbanisation of the study area was found to be developing mostly outwards towards the west, during this transformation remnant vegetation is seen to becoming islandised amongst the new suburban estates. It appears however that there has been slightly more remnant vegetation left uncleared to form these vegetated islands during the last ten years of development than compared to previous older development. The once earthwork patches on the aerial photo have since been built upon during the suburban expansion. The semi rural areas remained mostly unchanged in regards to housing development.

AND THE MATRIX IS...

After analysing all the patches and corridors on the map I decided the matrix remnant vegetation. I came to this conclusion after the analysis and documenting of all the patches and corridors in the study area, until then it had not become apparent to me. It seemed that nearly all the surrounding patches and non remnant vegetated corridors were being humanised in some way and that it was all going on around this dissimilar serene matrix.

DISCUSSION

The landscape ecology concept was useful in identify patches, corridors and finally the matrix in broad detail, at first it seemed too basic or obvious in its intension however as the report became more in depth it became more a technical tool in the landscape analysis. It makes landscape components and dynamics more graphically visible and understandable to people analysing a certain landscape. The patch size percentages would be very helpful to people in having a better understanding of the landscape’s big picture, as does the level of connectivity of the networks, both can be correlated with the patches and corridors maps respectively for a more visual understanding.

The relationship with patches and corridors was ever more apparent as the findings came through, by firstly understanding this relationship then discovering the short comings of the relationship to biodiversity it can be used to make suggestions to help improve the connectivity of remnant vegetation with recreational parks, semi rural or low density residential properties.

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CONCLUSION

Using R. Forman’s concept proved to be very helpful in the mapping of patches, corridors and eventually the matrix. The aims of this report as stated in the introduction were mostly achieved by remote analyzation of the aerial photo of the study area, this method is both quicker and less costly to do versus timely on-ground site analysis. However, it is suggested if one is undertaking a landscape study in an unfamiliar area it is suggested to firstly make on-ground observations and notes and taking photographs for memory recollection, otherwise one is just guessing by analysing remotely with poor knowledge of the study area.

Distinguishing small features such as small roads was very difficult and in many cases almost impossible. The scale of the aerial photo was not too large to map the finer detail of the landscape and is therefore suggested for people in future to use a map with either a smaller scale or with much higher resolution to enable digital zooming to accurately map all the roads and other important finer detail.

REFERENCES

1. Brough, R., Enchelmaier, K., Evans, D., Ewart, M., Hall, J., Rowley, M. et al. (1988). Tracks and times: A history of the pine rivers district. Pine Rivers, Brisbane: Whittington Print.

2. Forman, R. T. T. (1995). Land Mosiacs: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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APPENDIX

Humanisation Map - blue and light brown shades represent housing, red/brown shades represent cleared land.

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