The multidecadal response of alpine and treeless subalpine vegetation on fertile sites in Tasmania to the exclusion of vertebrate grazing animals might be expected to mirror the transition from grassy shrubland to complete vegetation cover dominated by tall herbs and grasses, as documented for sites in the Australian Alps. We use vegetation survey results from 50 year old long-term grazing exclosures on Liawenee Moor, Tasmania to determine whether long-term protection from vertebrate herbivore grazing results in a change from subalpine shrubland to grassland. Drone images were used to map the extent of the dominant shrub Grevillea australis inside and outside of the grazing exclosures. Data from repeat sampling of vegetation (species frequency, cover, height) from 1997, 2011 and 2018 were used to map the trajectory of vegetation change in the ungrazed exclosure. Results were highly variable with no indication of a permanent transition from shrubland to a herb rich grassland. A decline in the cover of short-statured species may be related to declining summer soil moisture and increasing temperatures, while endogenous successional processes adjusted to sporadic winter snow, never achieving complete cover dominated by grasses and herbs. The significance of this site is retained as one of the oldest long-term monitoring sites in Tasmania, and in the context of likely increased grazing pressure from wild herbivores (deer) and for investigating changes in vegetation dynamics under a warming and drying climate.

Jamie Kirkpatrick argued that biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes is hampered by misapplication of island biogeography theory. It posits that species richness of islands is positively related to island size and negatively related to island isolation based on species-level mechanisms including carrying capacity, migration, colonisation, rescue and local extinction. Several empirical manipulations from around the world supported the predicted outcomes of fragmentation based on these mechanisms. The corollary, that small habitat fragments lose species, lack viability and thus contribute little to biodiversity conservation, has become a pervasive paradigm in design of protected area networks, environmental regulation, impact assessment, and ecological restoration practice. Jamie challenged the foundations of these practices as an ‘ecological myth’, citing evidence from his collaborative studies that small habitat fragments in the Tasmanian midlands sustained enduring conservation values. Here, we investigated patterns and decadal-scale changes in plant species diversity in woodland fragments on the Cumberland plain, a southeastern Australian landscape fragmented by land clearing for agriculture over 200 years ago and now undergoing rapid urbanisation. Contrary to predictions, we found weak evidence that native plant species richness may have increased within remnant patches over 20 years independently of patch size and connectivity. There was no clear evidence that native species loss from small remnants was greater than that from larger remnants, but our results indicate complex dependencies. For example, native species loss increased with patch size and connectivity on some tenures and decreased on others, suggesting a dependence on land management legacies and/or biophysical properties that vary between tenures. We recommend adoption of policies and practices that: 1) embody a strong evidenced-based approach to conservation, development and restoration decisions that accounts for site-specific contributions of patches to landscape biodiversity, irrespective of patch size and connectivity; and 2) reject ‘ecological myths’ derived from misapplications of ecological theory.

Biogeomorphology is a field that transcends disciplinary boundaries, occurring at the interface of plant ecology, animal ecology, and the earth sciences. Distinguished Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick was a strong advocate of this interdisciplinary space, and his supervision and support were foundational to this research, which explores connections between landforms and biota. In a subalpine grassland of high conservation value in northwest Tasmania, the Vale of Belvoir, we investigated the reciprocal interactions among karst dolines (‘sinkholes’), vegetation communities, and native marsupial fauna—interactions that remain markedly understudied despite their potential importance for conservation.

Our field research combined wildlife surveys, vegetation sampling, and experimental exclosures to examine these complex relationships. Using camera traps and sign surveys, we show that dolines act as wildlife hotspots, concentrating marsupial herbivores and their ecosystem-modifying activities, including grazing and bioturbation. Vegetation surveys revealed distinct plant assemblages in dolines, differing markedly from adjacent plateau grassland. Dolines not only contained more ‘marsupial lawn’, but also supported higher occurrences of rare plants and greater relative cover of ‘highland Poa grassland’, a threatened vegetation community. Further, we explored associations with doline hydrology - including seasonally inundated ‘vernal’ dolines - and topographic position (floor, slope, rim), uncovering striking differences in flora between types and zones. Finally, exclosure experiments revealed rapid changes in community structure and composition following herbivore exclusion, reinforcing the importance of fauna–landform–flora feedbacks.

Our findings highlight karst dolines as ecological and geoconservation hotspots, where landform-driven heterogeneity underpins biotic distributions and ecosystem processes. By integrating biogeomorphological perspectives into grassland ecology, this work builds on Jamie Kirkpatrick’s legacy of linking geodiversity, wildlife, and vegetation dynamics to inform conservation. Our research underscores the need to consider both physical landscape features and their biotic interactions when designing effective strategies for the protection and management of threatened grasslands and other complex natural systems.

Wetlands associated with carbonate rocks typically have distinctive, landforms, soils and biota. A form of such wetlands is found in the inland superhumid, maritime southwest of the island of Lutruwita/Tasmania, Australia. There is only patchy knowledge of the characteristics and aetiology of these alkaline wetlands and their vulnerability to changing fire regimes and climate. In the present paper, we examine the distribution of these alkaline wetlands, their morphology, their vegetation, their flora and their decadal dynamics. We develop and begin to test a theory that these features comprise ephemeral stream beds, soaks, flushes and alluvial deposits that are kept largely bare by periodic peat-dissolving alkaline flow from underlying and adjacent carbonate rocks. Similar features do occur elsewhere in the world, although their geneses vary. The alkaline wetlands of superhumid Lutruwita support a geographically restricted endemic flora and contribute to the outstanding universal value of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Alpine snowpatch plant communities are re-occurring assemblages of plants that exist where snow lies late into the summer. These occur on high elevation ridges and mountain sides, in the lee of the prevailing winds. The highest elevation snowpatches can develop impressive cornices of snow that may be up to 10 m deep on the mainland. Snowpatches are one of the rarest communities in the Australian alpine landscape due to topographical constraints and the restricted nature of the alpine zone in general, and are listed as critically endangered ecological communities. Tasmanian snowpatches have a high degree of endemism making them distinct from mainland communities, and within the 119 mapped Tasmanian snowpatches, there are five recognised floristic communities. Snow is the primary environmental driver in a snowpatch community, creating a repeating pattern of melt every year and thus predictable zones of growing season length across a snowpatch. Soil water availability is also determined by the regular pattern of melting snow, and this affects nutrient cycling and litter decomposition processes. Many species time their growth and phenology to these snowmelt patterns. Shrub species are also more abundant around the edges of some lower-elevation snowpatches, as they are restricted by their requirements for a longer growing season, however the lasting snow is dwindling and species abundances are changing…

In this update, I will present some recent research on how the inter-linked threatening processes of snow cover duration and warming temperatures have been driving changes in the composition of snowpatch communities and how this has led to ecological collapse in some areas. I will also describe some potential mechanisms for snowpatch plant regeneration from the soil seed bank and outline some options for how these communities might be managed into the future.

In the spirit of Jamie Kirkpatrick’s place-based, policy-relevant conservation legacy, this research explores how integrated approaches to social and ecological wellbeing are being advanced in Tasmania and beyond. The study responds to the growing call for conservation and sustainability efforts that are not only ecologically grounded but also socially just, recognising that effective conservation must account for complex local contexts, values, and power relations. Using a qualitative methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of key informants (policymakers, community leaders, artists, and activists) who are actively engaged in shaping place-based initiatives for change. Interviews focused on participants’ experiences with wellbeing-oriented efforts, perceived barriers and enablers, and their visions for an ecologically sustainable future. Early findings indicate strong support for transformative, systems-based approaches that move beyond siloed or incremental action. Participants emphasised the importance of governance reform (including democratic structures and participatory processes), the removal of institutional barriers, and the provision of universal public services such as access to nature and time to contribute to community and environmental care. There were strong calls for redirection of public funding toward social and ecological outcomes, combined with increased transparency and accountability. Participants also critiqued prevailing mental models and systemic constraints, including what Jamie Kirkpatrick referred to as “growthism” - the dominant logic of economic growth at all costs. This research contributes to a growing body of work that situates conservation within broader wellbeing frameworks, such as doughnut economics, and offers practical insights for designing more holistic, equitable, and future-fit conservation policy. In doing so, it honours and extends Jamie Kirkpatrick’s legacy by combining both ecological integrity and human flourishing in the Tasmanian context.

Cool Temperate Rainforests of southern Australia are threatened by climate warming, increased fire frequency and anthropogenic disturbance. They support a high proportion of the region’s bryophyte species, including several that are threatened with extinction. We hypothesised that bryophyte functional traits respond predictably along lateral gradients and that narrowing rainforest patches may lead to trait loss, reducing functional diversity and redundancy.
To test this, we sampled epiphytic bryophytes from ten Nothofagus cunninghamii (Myrtle Beech) trees in each of six rainforest stands; three in the Otway Ranges and three in the Central Highlands of Victoria. We assigned 23 traits linked to ecophysiology and niche differentiation for 71 species recorded. Trait responses were analysed in relation to lateral distance from gullies, trunk height class, trunk diameter, canopy gap fraction, basal vegetation cover and region.
Gametophyte traits such as leaf surface texture, leaf division, leaf overlap and marginal toothing showed significant associations with environmental gradients. For example, species located farther from gullies tended to have smoother cells, reduced leaf overlap and less marginal toothing. Bryophyte diversity (H’) increased with trunk diameter and decreased with distance from gullies, demonstrating that larger trees in more humid positions support higher epiphytic diversity.
These results highlight complex spatial patterns in bryophyte trait distribution and demonstrate the importance of microhabitat in rainforest ecosystems. The findings may inform the management of rainforest buffers and fire regimes to support bryophyte conservation and maintain functional diversity.

This project was partly conceptualised by the late Jamie Kirkpatrick, and we fondly remember our fieldtrip to the paperbark forests and many discussions about the topic with him. Jamie’s influence and guidance served us well as we critically examined the studies of this conservation-dependent ecological community and picked out pathways (through the swamp) for new research to emerge.
What do we know about the biodiversity, spatial variability and carbon storage capacity of Melaleuca ericifolia swamp forest (MESF) in Tasmania?
A systematic literature review methodology was used to analyse all relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature addressing the ecology or management of this threatened vegetation community, or its carbon sequestration science.
We searched academic databases using keywords pertaining to the MESF ecosystem’s position and function as a coastal, riparian or supratidal wetland. Additionally, we identified papers related to its potential role as a blue carbon ecosystem.
Our study identified 64 “papers about paperbark” that were directly relevant to our research questions. These were published between 1964 and 2025 with a research peak between 2005-2014 focusing on the Victorian paperbark swamp forests (Swamp Scrub in EVC).
The MESF community, mapped as a single community in the Tasmanian TASVEG system, could likely be split further, based on environmental setting and floristics. It has been extensively cleared for agriculture in Tasmania and Victoria and is subject to other threats such as weed incursion and hydrological change.
Our search found an additional 144 papers about other supratidal forests, ecosystems similar or adjacent to the MESF stands, or key methods, which have provided a conceptual foundation to the broader project.
This review has highlighted the ecological variability, conservation values and ecosystem services held within the MESF ecological community across Tasmania. It offers many possibilities for research to improve our understanding of MESF conservation ecology and restoration.