Tasmania in Action: Case Studies for Conservation Learning

Monitoring and research for informed conservation management

How ptunarra brown butterfly monitoring influences management decisions and helps achieve conservation goals at the Vale of Belvoir

Case study learning summary

This case study exemplifies how the results of a well conducted research and monitoring program can be used to inform and shape land management.

The continuously evolving work of the Tasmanian Land Conservancy demonstrates:

The importance of systematic monitoring and long-term research.
The need for adaptive conservation action.

Data collection and monitoring results will likely throw up surprises. Land managers need to be flexible in both the management practices and the governing focus that drive the actions they take. Be ready to be surprised and adapt according to those surprising outcomes.

Why the Vale of Belvoir

Paper daisies in the Vale of Belvoir, photo credit: Tasmanian Land Conservancy

The Vale of Belvoir (The Vale) was purchased by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) from the Charleston Family in 2008. It is one of TLC's 27 nature reserves.

TLC acquired the Vale to help protect its incredible natural values - high concentrations of intact threatened highland grass- and sedgelands habitat which house a variety of threatened flora and fauna species.

The reserve consists of large areas of highland grass and sedgelands, surrounded by highland eucalyptus forest and rainforest at the boundaries, and streams and wetlands across the valley. The grass and sedgeland communities are threatened ecological communities and are of high conservation value. These communities require disturbance through either fire or grazing and their condition will decline if left undisturbed. The region is home to many threatened flora and fauna species including the ptunarra brown butterfly, grassland paper daisy, alpine candle, tussock skink, Tasmanian devil, spotted-tailed quoll and more.

Mist over the Vale of Belvoir, photo credit: Melissa Kenihan

Highland grass and sedgelands in the Vale of Belvoir, photo credit: Tasmanian Land Conservancy

Highland grass and sedgelands in the Vale of Belvoir, photo credit: Melissa Kenihan

Female ptunarra brown butterfly, photo credit: Cat Young

Ptunarra brown butterflies are a nationally endangered species, endemic to Tasmania. When TLC purchased the Vale, they knew the region was one of the few areas of extensive, relatively intact habitat for the species in the state. In fact, the reserve is home to one of the largest populations of the ptunarra brown butterfly. The condition of the Vale population significantly impacts the overall species' population health.

So naturally, the butterfly is an important nested target in TLC's management and monitoring plan for the reserve.

It is also a good indicator species – population distribution of the butterfly is threatened by risks such as habitat loss and predation. Changes in butterfly populations are likely to indicate changes in habitat. If the butterfly is doing well, it is possible to generalise and assume the target ecosystem is doing well and in turn, that conservation efforts are effective.

Location map

A landscape shaped by people

Lutruwita (Tasmania) has been occupied by humans for around 34,000 years. The formation of various ecosystems on the island have been actively influenced by human-nature interactions. The traditional owners of the land, the Palawa people, have practised various ecological modifications like vegetation burning to meet their needs and maintain healthy landscapes.

With European colonisation, both Aboriginal life and the Tasmanian environment were severely disrupted. The genocide of Aboriginal communities caused by colonisation directly affected open countries like the Vale's grassland ecosystem. With the removal of fire from the landscape, grassland ecosystems will eventually grow into climax communities.

In some places, early settlers adapted the practices used by the Palawa, for grazing and agricultural benefits, maintaining some grassland habitat, although considerably altered. The Vale is an example of an area where expansion of woody vegetation into grasslands was kept at bay through colonial grazing and burning practices.

Managing the Vale

Conservation strategies

The TLC uses Conservation Standards, an internationally recognised adaptive management framework. The Conservation Standards strategies include:

Regular monitoring to ensure the health of the ecosystem.
Managing threats and disturbances, such as fire.
Regulated and monitored visitation.
Identifying conflicting effects of human influence.
Adaptive management.

These strategies support the overall conservation of the Vale's natural and social values.

TLC conduct regular habitat monitoring David Hamilton pictured above and Joe Quarmby below. Photo credit: Nancy van Nieuwvenhove

TLC’s goal for the Vale is to maintain or improve the condition of key conservation targets (KCTs), i.e. grasslands and associated species, wetlands, eucalypt forests, rainforests, karst, and community knowledge.

The desired outcomes for the reserve include:

the maintenance and improvement of healthy populations of the selected target species, and
the healthy state of vegetation communities including Poa grassland, grassy sedgeland and rushland.

TLC's specific objectives for the ptunarra brown butterfly are:

To maintain a healthy butterfly population that is stable or improving in condition.
To maintain or improve the condition of ptunarra brown butterfly habitat, which includes: Poa highland grassland, Lepidosperma grassy sedgeland, and Diplarrena rushland.

As a sub-objective TLC want to:

understand how the appropriate use of disturbance in land management (e.g. planned burning and grazing by marsupial herbivores) could enable a healthy population of ptunarra brown butterfly.

To ensure that TLC are meeting these objectives they complete annual surveys of ptunarra brown butterfly and regular monitoring of their habitats.

Fire as a management tool

Ptunarra brown butterflies rely on habitats such as Poa grasslands, rushlands, and grassy sedgelands, which make up about 82% of the Vale. These grassland communities depend on regular fire for their existence. Implementing the right fire management regime is therefore a management priority for the reserve.

However, with ecosystems hosting numerous inter-dependencies, it is also vital to consider the life cycles of other threatened species, such as the grassland paper daisy, and the effect burning could have on their populations.

Learning from past custodians, conservation managers and highland grassland research, it was determined wise to conduct mosaic patch burning annually, providing an average of 7 years for regeneration to facilitate heterogeneity across the larger landscape. In consideration of the threatened grassland paper daisy, planned burning is promoted only after their seed development is complete, and in areas where the species is widespread.

TLC conduct mosaic patch burning to maintain grassland communities and facilitate heterogeneity across the larger landscape, photos: Elise Jeffery

The role of monitoring

Monitoring is an important part of the adaptive management cycle which TLC uses to manage its reserves. Surveillance of the landscape helps to identify ecological responses to external influences, which then inform how conservation actions can be refined to help protect and maintain ecologically significant species and vegetation communities.

To identify the effectiveness of conservation action i.e. planned burning, monitoring the health of conservation targets is required.

In the case of the ptunarra brown butterfly, TLC are monitoring:

butterfly population trends,
condition variation of habitat communities, and
to identify further factors that influence the species.

When a decline in species abundance is identified, it is evident that something is affecting the population's health. Those negative factors need to be identified and conservation actions adjusted to address the issue.

16 years of management

Timeline of key events

After the reserve was acquired, TLC surveillance monitoring was established between 2010- 2012, which confirmed the presence of a large population of ptunarra brown butterfly in hot-spots across the reserve.

This led to the commencement of targeted monitoring in 2014, which was conducted annually until 2019. This targeted monitoring focused on the vegetation communities and regions that were assumed to be hosting a higher abundance of ptunarra brown butterfly. However, these presumptions were limiting the collection of any data on ptunarra brown butterfly numbers across other vegetation communities.

A reassessment of monitoring procedures in 2020 led to the expansion of sampling sites, with a systematic random stratified sampling regime implemented in 2021 in the three primary vegetation communities across the reserve, providing further data on ptunarra brown butterfly occurrence.

This led to the expansion of monitoring sites fourfold across the reserve in the following years, with 96 sites consistently monitored since 2003.

TLCs sampling sites across the Vale reserve. Created by Daniel Thaickan, 2024

The value of good monitoring and enablers for success

The conservation success at the Vale has been influenced by several key factors:

Systematic monitoring

Monitoring is a crucial part of adaptive conservation management. It must be carried out prior to and after the implementation of reserve management or any other conservation actions. It includes the surveying of focal species, studying factors like population health, identifying influential factors and species habitat. It is also crucial not to limit monitoring to assumptions and to have a random stratified sampling to discover unknown factors.

TLC’s systematic monitoring helped identify that the ptunarra brown butterfly was most abundant in highland sedgy grasslands at this site, rather than Poa highland grasslands as previously believed.

Adaptive conservation action

As monitoring data becomes meaningful, an adaptive approach will be needed. This includes amending existing practices like planned burning and monitoring. It is crucial to learn from experience (analyse and adapt) to improve future management. At the Vale, the establishment of new sampling sites across different vegetation communities in recent years is an example of adaptive management.

TLC’s monitoring data from the larger dataset suggests that there is a slight peak in ptunarra brown butterfly numbers about 10 years after burning. However, it is also known that their habitat relies on fire and that the species recolonises relatively quickly post-burn. This knowledge allows TLC to plan and adapt burning regimes to accommodate the ptunarra brown butterfly and maximise their habitat.

Long-term research

The highland grass and sedgelands of the Vale of Belvoir support a wide range of threatened species that all have complex burning requirements, and different tolerable fire intervals. Along with regular ptunarra brown butterfly and surveillance habitat monitoring there is a need to carry out further research. It is important to identify significant management requirements of other co-occurring species, that may be both inter- and independent that of the focal species or communities.

When ptunarra brown butterfly was monitored in association with planned burning, further research into the nationally endangered grassland paper daisies was also conducted, reinforcing the daisies need for regular grassland burning. A balanced approach that considers the impact of the planned burning regime on multiple species and communities is critical, to ensure the best outcomes.

Learning from others

Adapting and sharing knowledge stands hand-in-hand with science. Studying, understanding and incorporating Aboriginal knowledge is important for culturally appropriate and effective management of the country. In addition, it is also important to share and absorb land management information from people who manage the neighbouring lands and also from the people who have managed reserves prior to the contemporary owner.

For the Vale, understanding and continuing certain actions, like burning practised by Traditional Owners and European settlers, have been helpful in effective conservation.

Not without challenges - barriers to success

Managing the Vale and undertaking associated conservation measures has faced numerous ecological and practical challenges over the many years of reserve management.

Logistical/Practical

The ability to carry out burns at the optimal frequency and under ideal conditions is restricted by the remoteness of the location, the availability of trained personnel and the unpredictability of the weather. Often the ideal window of opportunity for conducting a burn is narrow, one morning or afternoon, making planning and logistics very challenging. The reserve is around 50 km away from the nearest town and 140 km away from the TLC’s closest office in Launceston, which makes it harder and more expensive for the staff to manage and carry out regular conservation measures. Collaborating with organisations that are actively working in the region like Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is of key importance. The establishment of a remote weather station has also been useful for planning burn windows and monitoring ongoing conditions at the Vale.

Ecological

Managing controlled burning is a major ecological challenge in the management of the Vale. For the healthy survival of ptunarra brown butterfly, the grassland needs to be regularly burned to curb ecological succession which could hamper the ptunarra brown butterfly’s survival. In addition, threatened species like paper daisies also require more frequent fires to promote suitable inter-tussock density for their seeds to germinate healthily. There is a conflict in managing both of these species when considering fire tolerance and the optimal burning time gap for each (Kutt et al., 2021), while the transition from Aboriginal grassland burning to modern controlled fires also complicates the issue. This kind of conflict and need for adaptability is common in conservation practices, where a preserving strategy for one species could negatively impact another. Such conflicts highlight the importance of long-term monitoring, which allows managers to observe the impact of divergent practices on multiple species.

Regulatory

To practise controlled burning, permits or authorisations are required from the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) and from Private Land Conservation and Threatened Species & Biodiversity sections of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas). The permit system is in place to ensure consideration is given to all safety requirements for people, infrastructure and ecological assets. TLC managers have adapted their management actions to account for risks. However, this becomes particularly complicated when two threatened species have different fire regime requirements. Good relationships and communications with NRE Tas has allowed TLC to demonstrate through their monitoring data that different types of fires could be beneficial. This has facilitated the extension of burn time across the reserve with the permission of the NRE Tas Threatened Species & Biodiversity section.

Lessons applicable to any program

The management of the Vale of Belvoir reserve is deeply rooted in effective conservation management actions, including monitoring, planned burning, independent research and adaptive management. Over one and a half decades of managing the Vale, TLC have learned a lot from and about the reserve through their ongoing conservation efforts. Some of the key take-aways applicable to any conservation program can be distilled under the following headings:

Challenge assumptions

Monitoring of ptunarra brown butterfly was carried out from 2014 to 2024 using the same method, but with increasing coverage across the reserve. However, only when TLC monitored and looked for the species outside of its assumed range did they discover that the species was present in higher numbers in unexpected habitats. Actions begin based on known quantities, but the key is to uncover and understand what we don’t know. Therefore it is equally important to adapt management and monitoring to new information, rather than holding on to what is already known.

Systematic stratified sampling

A good reliable result was achieved only when systematic stratified sampling was implemented over targeted monitoring. The systematic stratified sampling method facilitates the inflow of data from a wide range or spectrum, allowing the inclusion of more potential data and explanatory variables. Implementing this methodology also taught TLC the benefits of trying out new approaches and adapting the most effective ones.

Multi-factorial approach

Considering multiple species or factors is also key when planning a single conservation action. For example, controlled burning has been practised in the region to maintain a healthy grassland. As TLC learned more about different threatened species and other factors, conflicting interests were exposed that posed potential challenges. However, further research provided important data that can aid in overcoming these issues. It also directed TLC to the importance of balancing multiple demands to cope with conflicting factors and have a positive impact on all species or communities.

Consistency and persistence

Two of the most influential characteristics that helped TLC achieve success were consistency and persistence. It was only by undertaking long-term actions that TLC were able to acquire reliable data. Over the period, the organisation faced numerous challenges including limited resources, unpredictable weather conditions, short weather windows and even a pandemic that restricted the ability to carry out conservation actions. However, the resilience to get back on their feet and do it better, helped them to get where they are now. These lessons learnt from the Vale have also helped TLC grow as a conservation organisation and influenced their management approach to undertake programs and protect other reserves.

The influence of people

Palawa people

Aboriginal people have been central to the formation and management of the valley’s grasslands for tens of thousands of years, which were vital to the economy and culture of the Palawa people. Across northwest Tasmania, extensive grasslands can be found directly adjacent to rainforest and tall stringybark forests. Research at the Vale of Belvoir indicates a strong connection between Palawa land management practices, particularly the use of fire, and the long-term development of these grassy ecosystems (Fletcher et. al. 2024). Since the disruption of traditional fire regimes and the removal of Palawa people from their land, these areas have experienced a shift back to eucalypt forest before transitioning to rainforest, threatening both the ecological integrity of these cultural landscapes and the survival of associated threatened ecological communities.

Image: Tasmanian Aborigines painted by Robert Hawker Dowling.

Charleston Family

Colonial settlers' efforts to retain the vegetation communities by adapting practices used by the Aboriginal people had helpful effects.

While the land was in the hands of the Charleston family, along with grazing purposes, they also carried out regular planned burns such that the grasslands were maintained in a healthy state. The Charlestons helped to continue the practice even after TLC purchased the property.

Image credit: Charleston family hut, from Rotuli on Flickr

Tasmanian Land Conservancy

The Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) is an independent, for-purpose (not-for-profit), science and community-based organisation that protects nature on private land in Tasmania, both on our reserves and in partnership with landholders.

Through science, community and enduring commitment, our purpose is to inspire and empower people to conserve nature in Tasmania; we do this for the benefit of current and future human generations and for nature itself.

The TLC is staffed by passionate, committed conservationists, who work both across our reserves and with private landholders. Key staff members who have contributed to the management of the Vale of Belvoir, include Denna Kingdom (Reserve Manager) who instigated the monitoring and planned burning actions on the reserve with the Reserves Team, and the Science Team who carried out ecological research and planning. TLC’s supporters have continued to provide unwavering support for the long-term management of the site, through both donations and volunteering their time to undertake conservation actions.

Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) & Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS)

NRE Tas and the Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service (PWS) have been a critical part of the Vale of Belvoir’s management. TLC's conservation actions are within NRE Tas’s conservation covenant Nature Conservation Plan and scientific permits. The department has collaborated with TLC, guiding and assisting with conservation actions. It was with the help and guidance of PWS that TLC has been successful able to carry out many of the planned burning across the land.

Acknowledgements

This case study and its contents were researched and compiled by Our Common Place, formerly Conservation Management and developed with permission and generous input from Tasmanian Land Conservancy. Thank you to the staff, past and present, who contributed insights, expertise and publications to this resource.

Video production was provided by the University of Tasmania. Special thanks are extended to Matthew McKee, Educational Technologist Sciences and Engineering, Academic Division for his generous input of time and skill.

Banner image: Female ptunarra brown butterfly. Photo credit: Tasmanian Land Conservancy

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