Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Plant Surveys at Dakalanta Reveal Key Species
Staff and volunteers at Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC)’s Dakalanta Wildlife Sanctuary, on Nauo Country in South Australia, have been getting their hands dirty identifying and mapping the sanctuary’s flora.
Led by AWC Botanist Rigel Jenson and Vegetation Ecologist Jeanette Kemp, the team spent two months establishing and surveying 22 monitoring sites of key vegetation types, confirming and removing plenty of weed species, and recording hundreds of plant specimens.
From this data, 45 plant species have been added to the sanctuary’s flora list, with at least another 30 likely after identification by the State Herbarium of South Australia.
A total of 18 terrestrial orchid species are now confirmed at Dakalanta, including some notably rare or poorly known specimens.
Terrestrial orchids are Australia’s largest orchid lineage, accounting for over 60 per cent of Australia’s orchid diversity. These endemic, ground-dwelling species contrast with most orchid species found globally, which are epiphytic (tree-dwelling). Unfortunately, many native orchids face an uncertain future-17 per cent of all nationally threatened plants in Australia belong to the orchid family, more than any other plant group.
Further surveys planned for 2025 and 2026 will likely uncover even more species, filling important knowledge gaps and providing Ecohealth survey data to inform AWC’s conservation land management practices.
In addition to making species discoveries, our team dedicated their time to mapping vegetation communities, particularly those harbouring fragile and declining species. Among these were numerous small patches of regenerating ‘Drooping Sheoak Grassy Woodland on calcrete’ – a Critically Endangered ecological community. Approximately three per cent of this community remains, compared to the vast areas of Eyre Peninsula it covered prior to European settlement. This habitat loss has contributed to the decline or localised extinction of numerous native animals on Eyre Peninsula, including the Greater bilby, Brush-tailed bettong, Tammar wallaby, Diamond Firetail, and Western barred bandicoot.
The patches at Dakalanta have regenerated since sheep were removed from the property, and this recovery has been supplemented by revegetation efforts across the sanctuary. Survey plots in these plantings show that the planted Drooping Sheoaks are doing very well.
The survey also provided an opportunity to refine existing statewide vegetation mapping. Vegetation communities visible on aerial photography at Dakalanta’s survey site were reviewed from on-site and compared to existing mapping in a process known as ground-truthing. These mapping updates will enhance future conservation planning at Dakalanta, guiding plant and fauna surveys, monitoring for threatened species like the Malleefowl, habitat assessments for iconic species like the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, and strategies for weed control and fire management.
This vegetation survey work, among other conservation management actions, is being carried out on Dakalanta over a three-year period with funding from the South Australian State Government’s Native Vegetation Heritage Agreement Grant Program. This program provides support to landowners of registered heritage agreements to enhance biodiversity on their property and build resilience to climate change. By funding research at scale, the program enables critical discoveries that expand our understanding of Dakalanta’s ecosystems, from rare orchids to woodland regeneration. The data collected not only informs AWC’s conservation strategies on the ground but also contributes to broader ecological research and land management efforts across South Australia.
With each survey, we gain a clearer picture of how to protect and restore these landscapes for the future.
https://www.australianwildlife.org/plant-surveys-dakalanta/