Ecosystem Health and Native Species

What did people tell us?

Native plants and animals matter to almost everyone in the ARB, though people come to them from different directions. In the Community Survey, the decline of native species was the issue people rated highest and worried about most, and planting native vegetation was the action they most wanted to see. For Lifestylers, living among native plants and animals is often why they chose the land in the first place.  Every community group that responded works on it in some way, whether that's restoring riverbanks or putting up nesting boxes for Carnaby's Cockatoos. Elders want to see turtles, ducks, black swans and native fish returned to the rivers, and cultural burning used again to keep bushfires in check. At every youth forum, once students understood how much bush had been cleared, planting trees was the action they called for most.

Key figure: Native species was the top-ranked issue in the Community Survey, and revegetation the top priority action (46%). 

How is it tracking?

Because of past clearing, species will keep disappearing for decades regardless of what we do now. The ARB slightly exceeds the 30–40% bushland threshold needed to support species viability, but the cover is not spatially uniform. Fragmentation adds to the problem: 86% of remnant patches are smaller than 10 ha, rising to 90% in the Avon Arc.

Expert advice suggests that a climate-adapted area of 10–50 ha is a better target for restoration.

Status key: ▲ at or past a threshold   ⚠ at risk or worsening   ? not enough data to judge

  • Avon Arc

    Avon Arc

    • Manage major tributary riparian zones

    • Address peri-urban land use change affecting stormwater and nutrient runoff

    • Partner with local government on stormwater treatment as the urban fringe grows

    • Explore small-scale water reuse for peri-urban irrigation

    • Focus on priority wetland refugia like river pools and gnammas

    • Reintroduce Avon River and local nature-based education in schools

  • Central Wheatbelt

    Central Wheatbelt

    • Fence and revegetate major tributaries

    • Manage deep drainage disposal

    • Investigate engineered wetlands or interception at drainage outfalls

    • Support on-farm water storage upgrades to optimise run-off and rainfall capture, reduce evaporation and reduce reliance on scheme or carted water

    • Reintroduce Avon River and local nature-based education in schools

  • Eastern Wheatbelt

    Eastern Wheatbelt

    • Fence and revegetate major tributaries

    • Explore alternative water sources (including desalination) for stock and community supply, and innovative, sustainable disposal of reject water

    • Rainwater tank subsidy scheme for towns

    • Raise awareness of locally important wetlands in schools and introduce programs to support learning on Country

  • Southern Wheatbelt

    Southern Wheatbelt

    • Fence and revegetate major tributaries

    • Prevent further salinity expansion

    • Support perennial pasture trials on salt-affected land

    • Farm dam upgrade and surface water harvesting grants

  • Great Western Woodlands

    Great Western Woodlands

    • No secondary salinity; no major water priority identified beyond those below

    • Protect priority wetland refugia like primary salt lakes and gnammasSupport programs to bring locally important wetlands into school education, with opportunities to learn on Country

    • Monitor mining-related groundwater drawdown impacts on ephemeral wetlands, and dewatering and reject water disposal sites, as a watching brief

  • Basin-Wide

    Basin-Wide

    • Protect environmental water flows

    • Improve water monitoring infrastructure and reporting

    • Optimise water harvesting, re-use and recycling

    • Improve water-sensitive planning for land use change, particularly in the Avon Arc

    • Explore catchment-scale water stewardship incentives

    • Community-led water quality monitoring (citizen science)

    • Identify and protect priority wetland refugia

    • Educate the next generation on locally important water assets and issues

    • Assess and upgrade existing degraded riparian fencing, not only new fencing

    • Monitor sedimentation and dissolved oxygen levels in river pools used as dry-season refuges

    • Test water quality in gnamma and historic wells, working with Traditional Owners to protect and manage culturally important water sources.