Reserve, Mount Nothofagus Flora Reserve, Mount Warning National Park,

Nightcap National Park (Tweed Volcano Group). Comprises part of the

Australian East Coast Temperate and Subtropical Rainforest Parks World

Heritage site

IUCN Management Category X (World Heritage)

Border Ranges National Park II (National Park)

Limpinwood Nature Reserve I (Strict Nature Reserve)

Numinbah Nature Reserve I (Strict Nature Reserve)

Mount Nothofagus Flora Reserve I (Strict Nature Reserve)

Mount Warning National Park II (National Park)

Nightcap National Park II (National Park)

Biogeographical Province 6.06.06 (Eastern Sclerophyll)

Geographical Location The sites occur in far north-eastern New South Wales; all, except Mount Warning and Nightcap, are adjacent to the border with Queensland and in many places their northern boudaries are contiguous to protected areas in this state. Border Ranges and Limpinwood are contiguous to each other.

Date and History of Establishment Border Ranges National Park (8 June 1979), Limpinwood Nature Reserve (11 April 1963), Numinbah Nature Reserve (31 December 1981), Mount Nothofagus Flora Reserve (14 September 1973), Mount Warning National Park (14 January 1966), Nightcap National Park (1983). In accordance with the Rainforest Policy 1982, the size of Border Ranges National Park was greatly increased by the addition of Wiangarie, Roseberry and part of Mount Lindesay state forests under the Forestry Revocation and National Parks Reservation Act, 1983. Nightcap National Park was created from Goonimbar and part of Whian Whian state forests under the same act. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986.

Area Border Ranges National Park (31,228ha), Limpinwood Nature Reserve (2,442ha), Numinbah Nature Reserve (800ha), Mount Nothofagus Flora Reserve (650ha), Mount Warning National Park (2,138ha), Nightcap National Park (4,945ha).

Land Tenure Government of the State of New South Wales

Altitude No information

Physical Features The geological history of this volcanic region is outlined by Stevens (1977). The majority of sites are remnants of Mount Warning (Tweed) Volcano, while Mount Nothofagus and the western part of Border Ranges lie within the area of Focal Peak Volcano. The erosion caldera of Mount Warning Volcano, one of the largest in the world, is remarkable for its size, prominent central mountain mass (Mount Warning) and because the caldera floor has been eroded down to basement rock by Tweed River. Mount Warning itself represents the original neck of the volcano which, being more resistant to the extruded basalt and rhyolite, remains as an isolated plug. Differential erosion of the basalt and rhyolitic lava flows is responsible for a landscape characterised by sloping valleys below vertical rhyolite cliffs and such features as the tiered shape of Mount Lindesay. Basalts give rise to krasnozems on the plateau and less acidic prairie soils on the slopes, both of which are moderately fertile. Weathering of rhyolites produces yellow podzolic soils of much lower fertility (Beckmann and Thompson, 1977).

Climate The climate of Tweed Valley is subtropical with a well-defined rainfall maximum in summer-autumn. Wettest months are January, February and March and driest months are August and September. Mean annual rainfall ranges from 1400mm to 2985mm, depending on altitude and distance from the coast. Rain-bearing winds are predominantly easterly or southerly. Westerly or north-westerly winds, which bring dry airstreams from the arid centre of the continent, are particularly common in winter but may feature in winter when they are usually associated with extreme fire conditions. Tropical cyclones moving down the Queensland coast from the Coral Sea quite often affect the Tweed Valley; the associated strong winds and floods may cause great damage. Temperatures are lower inland than on the coast, averaging 13-14°C in winter and 22-23°C in summer (National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1985).

Vegetation Basaltic soils in the area that is now north-eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland used to be covered by lowland subtropical rainforest, the Big Scrub. Despite its reduction to a few fragments, the north-east of New South Wales still has extensive areas of rain forest which are a major centre of diversity for rain forest flora (and fauna). The main rain forest formations are subtropical and dry rain forest but there are also areas of warm and cool temperate rain forest that are of considerable scientific and scenic importance. Subtropical rain forest is restricted to soils derived from basic igneous rocks or enriched alluviums on sheltered southern aspects. Booyong Argyrodron spp. is abundant below about 800m. Downstream, a distinctive gallery fringe, marked particularly by black bean Castanospermum australe, is characteristic of broad, drier valleys. At higher altitudes (800m-1,000m), booyong is uncommon and the more important species include Sloanea woolsii, Geissois benthami, Cryptocarya erythroxylon, Dysoxylum fraserianum and Caldcluvia paniculosa. Dry rain forest is also found on fertile soils at low altitudes but is largely restricted to localities having a marked dry season in spring and early summer. It is characterised by hoop pine Araucaria cunninghamii and but the canopy is not intact due to heavy logging in the past. Owenia cepiodora is now an extremely rare associate, due to its former exploitation, and occurs only in the western section of Border Ranges and Mount Warning national parks, and several other locations nearby. Warm temperate rain forest occurs on soils too infertile to support subtropical rain forest and also on high windswept ridges (900m-1,100m), where shallow soils and exposed conditions prevent the development of a more luxuriant vegetation. The most widespread dominant of warm temperate rain forest is coachwood Ceratopetalum apetalum and, in its absence, crab-apple Schizomeria ovata is the major species on the less fertile soils and corkwood Caldcluvia paniculosa on the more fertile basalt soils. Cool temperate rain forest, at its northern limit in the area, is dominated by beech Nothofagus moorei. Most stands occur above 1,000m and Tristaniopsis collina is an important component of some. The small shrub Pittosporum o'reillyanum, another associate, is endemic to the area and occurs in both Border Ranges National Park and Limpinwood Nature Reserve. In addition to rain forest, wet sclerophyll forest generally occurs at sites with at least 1250mm annual rainfall. Important canopy species of low altitudes include brush box Lophostemon confertus (those at Terania Creek are up to 1,200 years old and are among the oldest dated trees in mainland Australia), flooded gum Eucalyptus grandis, E. microcorys and E. saligna. At higher altitudes, blackbutt E. pilularis is important. New England blackbutt E. andrewsii is dominant above 600m, on soils derived from rhyolite, and stands of Blue Mountains ash E. oreades occur at 900m-1,000m. Dry sclerophyll forests normally occur at low altitudes on drier northern or western aspects, or in shallow soils on steep slopes. Among endemics are a number with affinities to species in Oceania, particularly New Caledonia. These include Uromyrtus australis, the main population of which comprises some 15 trees in Nightcap National Park, Corokia whiteana, which is largely confined to the Nightcap Range, including Nightcap National Park, and Argophyllum nullumense, which is virtually limited to the vicinity of Mount Warning Volcano. In addition to Owenia cepiodora, Ardisia bakeri, Lepiderema pulchella and Ochrosia moorei are reduced to small populations. A number of species in the Nightcap Range are rare or endemic. In addition to the above mentioned, these include Endiandra introrsa, E. hayesii, Acronychia bauerlenii, Symplocos baverlenii and Quassia sp. aff. bidwillii. A list of vascular plants recorded in the Tweed Volcano Group has been compiled by New South Wales Government (1984). Threatened or rare species not already mentioned include Lastreopsis smithiana, Dicksonia youngiae, Cyperus rupicola, Dendrobium tenuissimum, Sarcochilus fitzgeraldii, S. hartmannii, Diospyros mabacea, Austrobuxus swainii, Milletia australis, Abarema muellerana, Eucalyptus dunnii, Kunzea bracteolata, Microcitrus australasica and Zieria granulata.

Fauna The Border Ranges region is of outstanding international significance because of the overall diversity of the fauna and the intermingling of northern and southern biogeographic elements (Pianka and Schall, 1981; Archer and Fox, 1984). The region is likely to have been a refugium for rain forest biota during the onset of continental aridity in the late Tertiary and throughout the climatic oscillations of the Quaternary. For a number of faunal groups, species diversity is the highest on the continent. Species lists for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians have been compiled (New South Wales Government, 1984). Among the avifauna, the distribution of a number of species is concentrated in the region. These include Albert's lyrebird Menura alberti (for which the type locality is Terania Creek), the southern race of marbled frogmouth Podargus ocellatus and Coxen's fig parrot Psittaculrostris diophthalma coxeni. Of the herpetofauna, the unusual pouched frog Assa darlingtoni has its distribution centred on the Border Ranges.

Cultural Heritage It appears from archaeological excavations at Terania Creek Cave in Nightcap National Park that Aboriginal tribes used the rain forest for gathering food about 4,000 years ago, although they did not actually live in the rain forest (Buchan, 1978; Sullivan, 1978). Some of the main geographical features of the Border Ranges area are regarded as sacred by Aboriginal communities. On the southern rim of the Mount Warning crater, rhyolite cliffs have been undercut forming rockshelters. Here, evidence of Aboriginal occupation has been found.

Local Human Population There is no permanent resident population within any of the sites.

Visitors and Visitor Facilities Estimated annual numbers of visitors are: Border Ranges National Park - 15,100, Limpinwood Nature Reserve - 100, Numinbah Nature Reserve - 100, Mount Warning National Park - 49,200, and Nightcap National Park - 29,500. Facilities for public use exist in Border Ranges, Mount Warning and Nightcap national parks. Overnight camping is available only in Border Ranges National Park. There are youth hostels and hotels/motels at Murwillumbah, north-east of Mount Warning National Park, at Nimbin, south-west of Nightcap National Park, and at Kyogle, south of Border Ranges National Park. The provincial city of Lismore is only one hour's drive from Nightcap and Border Ranges national parks.

Scientific Research and Facilities A detailed survey of rain forest vegetation was undertaken in 1977 by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales). Aboriginal sacred sites have been surveyed. Other research includes a mammal survey (Commonmwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), a survey of rain forest fauna (The Australian Museum), studies on bird populations (University of Queensland), a study of the habitat requirements of rufous scrub-bird Atrichornis rufescens (University of New England), studies of vulcanology (University of Queensland) and isotopic ageing of igneous rocks (University of Sydney).

Conservation Value No information

Conservation Management The areas are all in public ownership and specifically reserved for conservation purposes as follows: national parks and nature reserves under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 (New South Wales) and flora reserves under the Forestry Act, 1916 (New South Wales). The areas are accessible to the public subject to the provisions of both these acts. Conservation is the responsibility of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (New South Wales), in the case of national parks and nature reserves, and of the Forestry Commission (New South Wales), in the case of Mount Nothofagus Flora Reserve. Interim management guidelines have been released by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. A management plan exists only for Mount Warning National Park and this document is awaiting formal adoption. In this plan, a natural zone, maintained for conservation purposes, and a facilities area, suitable for the development of limited facilities, have been delineated. A draft plan of management has been prepared for Border Ranges and Nightcap national parks and Limpinwood and Numinbah nature reserves (NPWS, 1987). A working plan for Mount Nothofagus Flora Reserve has been adopted.

Management Constraints From the mid-1970s, the management of what is now the Border Ranges National Park was a source of controversy, while in the late 1970s the active confrontation between conservationists and logging interests took place in the Terania Creek basin of the Nightcap Range. These controversies were important catalysts leading to a review of state government conservation and forestry activities, which culminated in the Rainforest Policy of October 1982. The principal management problem now is to maintain the integrity of the margins of rain forest stands in the face of fire, be it unscheduled fire or prescribed burns. Long-standing grazing leases have been inherited with the reservation of former state forests as national parks, in the case of Border Ranges National Park, but the National Parks and Wildlife Service is committed to phasing out cattle grazing in the long term.

Staff Senior Ranger, Rangers and Work Staff (total = 6.0)

Budget Aust. $183,650, of which Aust. $115,650 is spent on salaries (1985/86)

Local Addresses

National parks and nature reserves: Senior Ranger, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Lismore District, P.O. Box 91, Alstonville 2477.

Flora reserves: Forestry Commission, 95-99 York Street, Sydney.

References

Archer, M. and Fox, B. (1984). Background to vertebrate zoogeography in Australia. In: Archer, M. and Fox, B. (Eds), Vertebrate zoogeography and evolution in Australasia. Hesperian Press, Carlisle. Pp. 1-15.

Beckman, G.G. and Thompson, C.H. (1977). The soils. In: Monroe, R. and Stevens, N.C. (Eds), The Border Ranges. A land use conflict in regional perspective. Royal Society of Queensland, Brisbane. Pp. 7-10.

Buchan, R. (1978). Investigation of Terania Creek Cave. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney. Unpublished report.

National Parks and Wildlife Service (1984). Rainforest national parks of the far north coast interim management. New South Wales Government, Sydney. 12 pp.

National Parks and Wildlife Service (1985). Mount Warning National Park. Plan of management. New South Wales Government, Sydney. 112 pp.

National Parks and Wildlife Service (1987). Border Ranges NP, Nightcap NP, Limpinwood NR and Numinbah NR: draft plan of management. New South Wales Government, Sydney. 37 pp.

New South Wales Government (1984). Nomination of New South Wales rainforest for inclusion in the World Heritage List. 275 pp. (Contains a comprehensive bibliography.)

Pianka, E.R. and Schall, J.J. (1981). Species densities of Australian invertebrates. In: Keast, A. (Ed.), Ecological biogeography of Australia. Junk, The Hague. Pp. 1675-1694.

Stevens, N.C. (1977). Geology and landforms. In: Monroe, R. and Stevens, N.C. (Eds), The Border Ranges. A land use conflict in regional perspective. Royal Society of Queensland, Brisbane. Pp. 1-6.

Sullivan, S. (1978). Aboriginal diet and food gathering methods in the Richmond and Tweed river valleys, as seen in early settler records. In: McBride, I. (Ed.), Records in times past. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. Pp. 101-114.

Date November 1986

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