Conservation
The day-to-day effort to improve biodiversity at Arkaba is focussed on conservation and land management through the removal of feral herbivores (sheep, goats, rabbits) and predators (foxes and feral cats) from the landscape, giving native flora and fauna the opportunity to thrive.
Feral Herbivore Management
Following the removal of sheep from Arkaba in 2013, much of the work to improve biodiversity is focussed on keeping feral herbivores, goats and rabbits in particular, out of the landscape. This brings a number of benefits to the land:
- allows native grasses and vegetation to regenerate
- native species can compete more successfully
- the recovery of ground cover and reduction of soil erosion
- allowing natural springs to recover
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Native Vegetation Restoration
In conjunction with activity to reduce the impact of feral herbivores, Arkaba has surveyed the recovery of the landscape since 2014 with 20 monitoring sites across a variety of vegetation communities. This is most evident in the recovery of Bullock Bush, regrowth of River Red gums on creek lines and of Acacia Victoriae as a pioneer species across the landscape.
Feral Predator Management
Feral predators, most notably foxes and feral cats, have had a catastrophic impact on small native mammals, reptiles and ground-nesting birds. The team at Arkaba engage in an eternal effort to keep the impact of these predators at bay. This in turn has benefited other native species:
- Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies have re-colonised their natural habitat following goat control work
- Ground nesting birds, such as Owlet Nightjars, quail etc have reappeared on the property since control programs for cats and foxes were introduced
- Echidna populations have benefited from an absence of foxes
Native Species Recovery
With control of herbivores and feral predators, Arkaba has seen a recovery of many native species, notably large macropods, echidnas, reptiles and also the reappearance of species that had previously disappeared, such as Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, Western Quoll and Brushtail Possum.
Weed Removal
Invasive weeds have an increasingly damaging impact in our environment, displacing native vegetation and degrading habitat. African Boxthorn, Peppertree and Datura are target species for removal at Arkaba while the control of feral herbivores is a longer-term strategy to allow native species to eventually gain a hold in a landscape where onion weed and horehound have become pervasive.