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Abstract

Determining the level of investment and support needed to maintain biodiversity across vast areas is

difficult. In response to this challenge the South Australian Department of Environment, Water and

Natural Resources has developed an information synthesis and evaluation process known as the

“Aridlands Landscape Assessment Framework” (ALAF), which attempts to provide a systematic

basis for landscape-specific conservation planning and priority setting across the arid zone. The

project is part of a broader scoping study that supports the development of the Trans-Australian

Ecolink Initiative in South Australia (TAEL SA).

The ALAF is an analytical and conceptual framework that seeks to define ecosystem components

and ecological processes operating at a landscape level. This requires a systematic process to name

and identify plant communities that occur in distinct biophysical settings. The next, more difficult

challenge is to document the dynamic processes that drive change within a landscape, to assist our

understanding of how systems vary in space and time. The last step in the ALAF is to identify which

components are most under threat, where and for what reasons.

Here we provide an outline of the ALAF process and snap-shot of current knowledge for Witjira

National Park in northern South Australia. The most resilient ecosystem types appear to be those

with physical attributes that limit soil erosion, retain water and support woody shrubs with low

palatability during dry times. This is largely due to the ability of these systems to accumulate soil

moisture, nutrients and biological propagules.