BIODIVERSITY AND MANAGEMENT OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION IN WESTERN-AUSTRALIA

This paper considers the nature of riparian vegetation in south west W estern Australia and issues relevant to its management. Riparian fores ts and vegetation in Western Australia are generally less species rich than adjacent upland communities, This correlates with the few studie s in other parts of Australia and South Africa, but is in contrast wit h the situation in Europe, Structurally, the vegetation is usually mor e complex than that of upland areas. Riparian vegetation has been seve rely degraded in many parts of Western Australia and plant species bio diversity is threatened by a number of environmental problems. Foremos t among these are clearing, grazing, salinization, weed invasion, urba nisation and frequent burning, The relative importance of these proble ms is related to the geographical area in question. Management practic es to maintain biodiversity need to be tailored to the conditions of e ach particular area. In relatively undegraded areas an integrated mana gement approach, especially in relation to weeds, is likely to provide the best outcome, In more degraded areas, biodiversity is greatly dec reased from that of natural systems, The priority in these areas shoul d be to enhance the value of the system through revegetation and moder ation of degrading influences. A primary need in this area is a data-b ank of recruitment requirements of suitable riparian plant species to enable their re-establishment on riverbanks.