Evaluating the effectiveness of fencing to manage feral animal impacts on high conservation value artesian spring wetland communities of Currawinya national park

Abstract

High levels of domestic and feral ungulate activity adversely affect the condition and extent of artesian spring wetlands in the Great Artesian Basin. It is essential that programs aimed at managing pest animal impacts on spring wetlands are correctly evaluated to determine their effectiveness. Species diversity, species detectability, condition and impact assessment tools were used to evaluate the effectiveness of exclusion fences. Biological and condition recovery were greatest under total pest animal exclusion. Partial exclusion was only marginally better than uncontrolled pest animal con ditions. We found that evaluating management effectiveness of pest exclusion programs using targeted qualitative condition assessment tools is possible, allowing land managers to examine trends based on historical photo-monitoring.