Australia's Gondwana Rainforests World Heritage Site; happy 40th!

If I were to ask someone (you perhaps?) with an interest in the natural world to name some UNESCO World Heritage natural sites in Australia, I imagine that Kakadu, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, the north Queensland Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef would be likely to come to their mind. Perhaps the Blue Mountains and the Tasmanian Wilderness would also feature, but I'm not sure that the topic of today's post would occur immediately to most people. (For the record, Wikipedia provides a very nice summary of the full list of 21 sites here; 16 of these are listed for their natural values, 12 of them solely for those.)  

A lush creek, with banks and rocks rich in ferns and mosses, flowing through warm 
temperate rainforest dominated by Coachwood Ceratopetalum apetalum
in the Gibraltar Range National Park in north-eastern NSW. This park is 
one of 41 disparate units of crown land, including various classes of nature reserve
and state forest, in north-eastern NSW and adjacent south-east Queensland,
which together comprise the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Site.

I won't list all the component reserves here, though I'll be introducing some of them as we go, but here's the full official list. Together they cover 370,000 hectares (ie 3700 square kilometres) of forest on and near the Great Dividing Range. In far north Queensland the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site (WHS from here on) incorporates the bulk of the Australian tropical rainforest which still remains, and the Tasmanian Wilderness WHS does the same for the largest areas of cool temperate rainforest. Our focus today, the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia WHS, helps protect,manage and promote swathes of subtropical and warm temperate rainforests geographically almost exactly halfway between the tropical and cool temperate strongholds. There are also smaller areas within the WHS of cool temperate rainforest (at higher elevations) and some littoral (ie shoreline) rainforest at Iluka, and some dry rainforest areas at lower elevations.

Minyon Falls, Nightcap National Park, northern NSW.

It may be surprising to read that these forests were the only the sixth to be added to the Australian list, 40 years ago in 1986 - this was even before the listings of Uluru-Kata Tjuta and the Queensland Wet Tropics. At that stage it was known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves and comprised only New South Wales sites; later Queensland come on board and in 1994 the listing was expanded to the current situation. In 2007 the name was amended to Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. In 2010 Australia put a proposal to UNESCO to further extend the area covered by another 690,000ha, which would almost treble its size. This process of adding a nomination to the Tentative List is a prerequisite for a subsequent listing. In this case the process, already a complex one with many diverse units of land and three separate governments, was further stalled by the 2019-20 bushfires, which affected more than half of the forests under consideration. Australia must report on the progress of recovery by the end of 2027.

Bunya Pines Araucaria bidwillii emerging from subtropical rainforest in Bunya Mountains NP
in south central Queensland. This park is a key element on the Tentative List, including
the largest population of this ancient Gondwanan tree and which would extend the 
northern limits of the overall heritage site.

The original nomination was based on the WHS meeting three criteria for listing; there is a lot more detail on this here if you're interested. That link is to the UNESCO synopsis of the listing and the following quotes are from that document. The WHS 'contains outstanding examples of major stages in the Earth’s evolutionary history as well as ongoing evolutionary processes' (meeting Criterion ix) and 'contains significant and important natural habitats for species of conservation significance, particularly those associated with the rainforests which once covered much of the continent of Australia and are now restricted to archipelagos of small areas of rainforest isolated by sclerophyll vegetation and cleared land' (meeting Criterion x). These will be addressed as we go through the post, mostly by implication. 

The third Criterion to be met is viii, and UNESCO found that the WHS 'provides outstanding examples of significant ongoing geological processes'. This refers to the volcanic history of eastern Australia after it broke free from Antarctica (the last stage in the sundering of Gondwana) and moved north, passing over a 'hot spot' rising from the earth's mantle and leading to violent volcanic action as weaknesses in the earth's crust were affected by it.

The Tweed Caldera with Wollumbin/Mount Warning on the skyline to the left. The synopsis explains 
that 'the Tweed Shield erosion caldera is possibly the best preserved erosion caldera in the world, 
notable for its size and age, for the presence of a prominent central mountain mass 
(Wollumbin/Mt Warning), and for the erosion of the caldera floor to basement rock'.
This photo is looking north towards Queensland from Border Ranges NP.

The majority of the rainforest in WHS is subtropical rainforest. This is a complex habitat found from Mackay to Wollongong in fertile soils where the rainfall is over 1300mm a year . There are tall emergent trees (like the Bunya Pines above) above the rest of the canopy, the trees often have buttresses, there are lots of lianas and epiphytes, and a fairly open understorey in the shadow of the canopy, often containing palms and ferns, especially along creek lines. Here are some examples in the WHS, though I have to confess that I find it difficult to take meaningful photos in such rainforest.

View over the rainforest from the Skywalk, Dorrigo NP.

Subtropical rainforest by our camp at Sheepstation Creek, Border Ranges NP.

Looking up through the canopy at emergent Hoop Pines Araucaria cunninghamii
in Bunya Mountains NP.

A strangler fig Ficus watkinsiana (there are several species of strangler), Border Ranges NP.
A fig seed is deposited by a bird or fruit bat on a branch or the trunk of a rainforest tree. It
germinates and the roots grow down until they reach the ground, at which point the fig
seedling begins to grow up and out. After many decades it will overshadow the host tree which
eventually dies from being unable to photosynthesise (not from strangulation!) and
the fig is now a free-standing buttressed big tree. They are characteristic of these rainforests.

Palms are another characteristic of the understorey of subtropical rainforests.
This is an understorey of Bangalow, or Picabeen, Palms Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, 
Mount Tamborine, south-east Queensland. The Mount Tamborine reserves were 
not included in the WHS because they are too small and not well-buffered. However
they are within the geographical area and are of the same forest types as those
of the WHS, so I have used some photos from there to illustrate where appropriate.

Bangalow Palms in subtropical rainforest below Minyon Falls, Nightcap NP.

Understorey of Walking Stick Palms Linospadix monostachyos, Gibraltar Range NP. 

Massive twisted liana, Nightcap NP.

Diverse epiphytes using a massive tree trunk and branches to get access to the sun,
Mount Tamborine.

Staghorn Fern Platycerium sp. (P. superbum I think), Mount Tamborine.

Spreading Fan Fern Sticherus lobatus, Gibraltar Range NP.

King Ferns Todea barbara, Washpool NP. 

Fallen seed pods of Black Bean Castanospermum australe, Mount Tamborine.
This can be a very large tree which grows in rainforest north from the WHS
to Cape York Peninsula.

Giant Stinging Tree Dendrocnide excelsa, Mount Tamborine.
This is literally a giant stinging nettle and it's a good one to be able to recognise!
It grows commonly in open areas such as along tracks or in forest clearings.

Fungi are common in all rainforests, helping to return fallen vegetation, including massive tree trunks, to the soil. These four examples were all growing on one huge tree stump on Mount Tamborine.

Bracket fungi and lichens, elsewhere on Mount Tamborine.

The next most prominent rainforest type in the WHS is warm temperate rainforests, which occur on less fertile soils and often steeper slopes than subtropical rainforests. Like the subtropical rainforests they have a dense canopy which permits little light to reach the ground. The most prominent tree is Coachwood Ceratopetalum apetalum, family Cunoniaceae.

Coachwoods in warm temperate rainforest, Washpool NP.

Walking track out of the Sheepstation Creek campground, Border Ranges NP,
straight into the warm temperate rainforest.
The blotchy appearance of the Coachwoods is evident here.

Extensive warm temperate rainforest below Raspberry Hill Lookout,
Gibraltar Range NP.

Helmholzia Loop walk, Border Ranges NP, featuring Rough Tree Ferns, Cyathea sp.

Coombadjha Nature Walk, Washpool NP; this easy walk is a truly 
lovely introduction to the warm temperate rainforests.

Cunjevoi or Elephant's Ears Alocasia brisbanensis in warm temperate rainforest
in Border Ranges NP, though it is also found in subtropical rainforests. It is a huge
herb in the arum lily family, with near-round leaves up to 70cm long. It grows
on margins, like here, and along creek lines.

Narrow-leaved Palm Lily Cordyline stricta in the family Asparagaceae (above and below)
is a common understorey component in the warm temperate rainforests.

A much smaller rainforest component of the WHS is cool temperate rainforest, in NSW found mostly only in the WHS, though it extends south into Victoria and especially Tasmania. This is a direct link to our Gondwanan origins; a walk in a cool temperate rainforest in Patagonia feels very like one in the wild country of Tasmania. This was a contributing factor to the listing of the WHS. These forests are not rich in wildlife or tree species, but are very atmospheric and rich in mosses, lichens and ferns, though not in lianas or epiphytes and there are no palms. The most conspicuous tree species is Antarctic Beech  Nothofagus moorei. These photos were taken on Mount Bar in Border Ranges NP at about 1100masl. 

Mist on Mount Bar, typical of the habitat and very atmospheric. We could hear 
an Albert's Lyrebird through the mist - this species is only found in this WHS 
- but still haven't seen one! The tree ferns, Cyathea sp., are typical of these forests.

The Falcorostrum walking track. 

The Antarctic Beech trees can be very old indeed. This is one tree, the centre
of which has collapsed and rotted, then coppiced to form new trunks.
The dense moss carpets are also typical of the habitat.

Another old-timer.

Dawsonia superba, the world's tallest moss which can grow to over half a metre high.

And there is a tiny amount of littoral rainforest in Iluka NR on the NSW north coast, which covers only 135ha. Overall this habitat only accounts for 1% of NSW rainforests, and all are in small scattered areas. 

Iluka Nature Reserve. This habitat is reminiscent in some ways of the much more
extensive vine forests further north, with lots of woody lianas and generally open understorey.

We can often find a blurred zone of contact between rainforest and eucalypts; the magnificent Flooded Gum Eucalyptus grandis in particular often appears as an emergent near the edge of the rainforest. 

Flooded Gums growing in rainforest, Mount Tamborine.

On the other hand it surprises me sometimes how abrupt the line between can be between habitats.

Murrumbooee Cascades walk Gibraltar Range NP. This photo was taken
standing in dry open eucalypt forest, just before stepping into the warm
temperate rainforest.

The hard line between open heathy eucalypt forest with many Xanthorrhoeas
and the edge of the subtropical rainforest at Pinnacle Lookout,
Border Ranges NP.

Needless to say, in such a high rainfall environment, creeks and waterfalls are abundant. Here are a few more.

The delightful walk along Sheepstation Creek through subtropical rainforest
to Brushbox Falls begins at the Sheepstation Creek campground, 
above and below.

Brushbox Falls.

Terania Creek, Nightcap NP.

Protesters' Falls, Terania Creek, Nightcap NP. The name commemorates a pivotal
event in the history of Australian environmental politics, which ultimately led to the 
declaration of the WHS. In August of 1979 the NSW Forestry Commission 
was preparing to log the rainforests and ancient Brushbox trees, many of them
well over 1000 years old according to the NSW National Parks Service,
in the Terania Creek catchment. In response hundreds of people, firstly local, then 
many from further away, gathered to physically block access to the bulldozers and held
 them off for three weeks. By then, many arrests later, the scenes had been shown around 
Australia and well beyond and Premier Neville Wran eventually called a halt to the 
logging plans in early September. The Nightcap National Park was declared in 1983
and three years later the World Heritage declaration was made.

Minyon Falls on Repentance, or Boggy, Creek, Nightcap NP.

Dangar Falls, Dorrigo NP.

Cedar Creek Falls, Mount Tamborine.

Curtis Falls, Mount Tamborine.

And to finish off a fairly long post, just a few animals. There are animals that are wholly or mostly confined to the WHS, but not many today I'm afraid; believe me please, I'd love to be able to show you my photos of Albert's Lyrebird or Rufous Scrubbird, but sadly that must wait.... In further negative vein I can't offer you any invertebrates (except for one that was very worse-for-wear) but we seem to have always been up that in winter; makes sense I suppose when you consider Canberra's winters. Anyway, here are a few, including some pretty common and widespread species.

Australian Brushturkey Alectra lathami, in camp at Sheepstation Creek, Border Ranges NP.
This is a large mound-builder found from the tip of Cape York to about Sydney (and apparently a
bit south of there too, but they're pretty scarce there). They are mostly rainforest birds but
are increasingly making themselves at home in suburbia, to the dismay of many gardeners.
The male rakes the ground bare to build a huge mound of compost which he maintains at
a temperature suitable for incubating eggs. Females inspect the mound and, if they deem it
suitable, lay a fertilised egg into it - but only after she has mated with the owner of the mound will
he allow her to do so. The logic is that, if she's discriminating enough to choose his mound, it
doesn't matter if the egg she leaves in isn't his (he's not going to be looking after it anyway)
because he can be sure that she'll lay his egg into an equally high quality mound. The chicks hatch,
dig up to the surface, and are completely alone from that moment. They can immediately
run and feed themselves, and can fly within hours. 

A Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii inspecting our camp kitchen bench. This bold
and attractive honeyeater is found from Cape York Peninsula to eastern Victoria, in rainforests 
but also a range of other habitats. They quickly learn to visit camps and cabins for food.

Female Australian Logrunner Orthonyx temminckii, Border Ranges NP. These birds are
specialists in hunting the rainforest floors, from the WHS south to the Illawarra. Sometimes
they can be hard to approach but this one and her mate fed calmly right alongside the track
and took no notice when I gave up battling the lack of light and used the flash.

Male Logrunner, Boorganna NR, engrossed in an ongoing battle to subdue a big centipede.
This is a small southern family of just three species, the other two being also rainforest
specialists - the Chowchilla of tropical Queenland and the Papuan Logrunner.from
New Guinea mountain forests.
(The same comment I made earlier about Mount Tamborine applies here. It is not included in 
the WHS listing, though it was nominated, on the grounds that it is remote from the others; some 
with credibility have questioned this decision. It is within the overall area of the WHS
and has excellent subtropical rainforest, so I'm happy to include a couple of photos of birds
from there which occur widely in the WHS. It's a delightful little reserve  too, for the record.)

Russet-tailed Thrush Zoothera heinei, Mount Clunie. Very similar to, and closely related to,
the better-known Bassian Thrush Z. lunulata. However I'm sure the two are often confused where 
they co-occur - it took me too long to confidently identify this species! This one lives mainly
in rainforests and is not found south of Sydney.

Yellow-throated Scrubwren Neosericornis citreogularis, Boorganna NR. This smart little
scrubwren inhabits dim places, rainforest floors and gullies and understories of nearby forests. 
Accordingly I've often found it hard to get a decent photo, so I was glad when this one emerged
from the shadows to the edge of a clearing. Despite the name it turns out to be not very
closely related to other scrubwrens, and in 2018 it was assigned its own genus. It is found
from the WHS south to the Illawarra, and in a separate population in the Queensland
Wet Tropics.

Lace Monitor Varanus varius, hiding on a tree trunk in Nightcap NP. This big goanna
is found a range of habitats along the east coast, from heathlands to open forests
to rainforests. They are commonly found investigating campgrounds for food opportunities.

Carpet Python Morelia spilota, digesting a recent substantial meal (young wallaby or bandicoot
perhaps) in the campground at Nightcap NP. While at home in rainforests this big python 
is found throughout the continent with the exception of the central and western deserts. 
A very beautiful snake in my opinion.

Southern Dwarf Crowned Snake Cacophis krefftii, Mt Clunie NP. This little snake (rarely more
than 30cm long) lives in rainforests and associated wet sclerophyll forests in the WHS and a bit|
further south. It is said to be nocturnal but this one was active in the afternoon (albeit in 
very low light). It is one of the elapids (front-fanged venomous snakes) so has venom, but
it is insufficient in quantity or toxicity to be of threat to humans; it only needs enough
potency to immobilise small skinks.

Red-bellied Black Snake Pseudechis porphyriacus, Washpool NP, crossing a grassy clearing/
picnic area in the rainforest. I only include such a common and widespread species here because
of the interesting eye situation, which I'd never seen before. It has just moulted its skin 
- hence the very glossy body scales - but the transparent protective eye scale has not yet fallen off 
(they don't have eyelids). To protect they eye surface a lubricating fluid is produced 
between the old and new eye scales; for a few days they can see very little and are likely 
to be nervous and reactive in this time. This is definitely not the normal demeanour of this snake, 
which is usually very calm and relaxed.

Short-eared Brushtail Possum Trichosurus caninus, Washpool NP. 
This confident big possum sauntered out of the rainforest into our camp each evening,
strolled around inspecting everything and then left again. This species lives in the ranges
of the WHS in rainforests and adjacent wet eucalypt forests, and south to nearly Sydney.
South of Sydney it is replaced by the Mountain Brushtail T. cunninghamii. 

And I'm sure that's enough to absorb in one post! If you're still reading, thank you. It's a superb part of Australia and deserves more attention than most of us give it. I hope you're able to do so, and if this has encouraged you to spend some time there, that makes me happy. I think it will do the same for you!

 NEXT POSTING WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER

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