Noosa Biosphere Reserve is an internationally protected area covering the region of Noosa in Queensland, Australia. It contains the Noosa Everglades system, an 85,000ha system that stretches 65 km from the headwaters of the Noosa River in the North, to Lake Weyba, Lake Doonella and Laguna Bay in the South. It is described as one of only two Everglades systems in the world due to the entire system's close analogues to the Florida Everglades as a whole https://www.visitnoosa.com.au/destinations/noosa-country/noosa-everglades It is formally recognised as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program for its highly diverse ecosystem over a relatively small space. It was the first Biosphere Reserve for the state of Queensland, established in September 2007. The reserve is bound by the Noosa Shire Council boundaries, extending offshore by , covering in total.Noosa Biosphere Limited. 2009. Noosa biosphere reserve management plan. Noosa Biosphere Limited, Noosa, Queensland. Available from http://noosabiosphere.org.au/facts-vision/documents-resources (accessed March 2013). It is governed by Noosa Biosphere Limited (NBL), a not-for-profit company, which mainly consists of members from the local community who fulfil roles in the governance board, sector boards, and partnerships. Community plays a significant role in the implementation of the Biosphere Reserve guidelines.
History The Noosa Biosphere Reserve was established as a protected area by UNESCO in 2007. A designation for the biosphere reserve was reinstated in 2018 for the community to live in sustainability and harmony for the natural environment.
Ecology Noosa Biosphere Reserve is located in the Macpherson-Macleay overlap, where tropical and temperate zones overlap.Burbidge, N. T. 1960. The phytogeography of the Australian region. Australian Journal of Botany 8: 75–211. The landscape has an extensive composition of rainforests, beaches, woodlands, wetlands, lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains. The Noosa region provides an extremely accommodating landscape for both flora and fauna due to its location in the intersection of the Torresian and Bassian biogeographic regions.Schodde, R., and Calaby, J. H. (1972). The biogeography of the australo-papuan bird and mammal faunas in relation to Torres Strait. Pages 257-300 in D. Walker, editor. Bridge and barrier: the natural and cultural history of the Torres Strait. Ed. Australian National History Press, Canberra. It is a major centre of species richness and endemism,Crisp, M. D., Laffan, S., Linder, H. P., and A. Monro. 2001. Endemism in the australian flora. Journal of Biogeography 28: 183-198. supporting speciation and biodiversity.Low, T. 2011. Climate change and terrestrial biodiversity in Queensland. Department of Environment and Resource Management, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
The reserve includes the following National Parks - Noosa National Park, Noosa River National Park, Great Sandy National Park and Mount Pinbarren National Park. Three State Forests exist: Ringtail, Yurol, and Toolara. Four Forest Reserves exist in this area, including Tewantin Forest Reserve, Woondum Forest Reserve, Noosa Forest Reserve, Tuchekoi Forest Reserve. Nine Conservation Parks are part of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve, and focus on the following areas: Mt Cooroy, Tuchekoi, Harry and Gladys Spring, Cooloothin, Sheep Island, Keyser Island, Weyba Creek, Goat Island, and Six-Mile Creek. The following eight nature refuges are included in the protection plan: Arthur Harrold, Bill Huxley, Pender Scrub, Burrawingee, Hilltop, Una and Harold Corbold, Giraween, and Schreibers Road, Cooran. In addition to this, Cooloola (Noosa River) Resource Reserve and Great Sandy Resource Reserve are also included in the region.
Flora Vegetation types include rainforest, ecotonal forests, eucalypt forests, melaleuca communities, heathlands and sedgelands, mangroves and saline communities, frontal dune and foreshore communities, exposed high dune sand systems, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Significant species in the area include Acronychia littorali, she-oak (Allocasuarina rigida), keys boronia (Boronia keysii), swamp string bark (Eucalyptus conglomerata), Macarthuria complanata, pineapple zamia (Macrozamia pauli-guilielmi), swamp orchids (Phaius australis/tancarvilleae), glossy spice bush (Triunia robusta), and southern penda (Xanthostemon oppositifolius).
The genus Allocasuarina provides the predominant food source for the vulnerable glossy black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), with Allocasuarina rigida and Allocasuarina littoralis being the most commonly consumed.Chapman, T. F. 2007. Foods of the glossy black-cockatoo: calyptorhynchus lathami. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 30-36. The Koala Habitat Atlas study performed on the former Noosa Shire in 1996/1997 and 2001/2002 confirmed that the genus Eucalyptus is a primary factor in habitat selection for koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).Callaghan, J., McAlpine, C., Mitchell, D., Thompson, J., Bowen, M., Rhodes, J., de Jong, C., Domalewski, R., and Scott, A. 2011. Ranking and mapping koala habitat quality for conservation planning on the basis of indirect evidence of tree-species use: a case study of Noosa Shire, south-eastern Queensland. Wildlife Research 38: 89–102. The glossy spice bush (Triunia robusta) is currently endangered, and the majority of its population is restricted to Maroochy river area.Powell, M. A., Accad, A., and Shapcott, A. 2005. Geographic information system (GIS) predictions of past, present habitat distribution and areas for re-introduction of the endangered subtropical rainforest shrub Triunia robusta (Proteaceae) from south-east Queensland Australia. Biological Conservation 123: 165-175
Fauna
Amphibians
Located in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve are the giant barred frog (Mixophyes iteratus) and cascade tree frog (Litoria pearsoniana). They are both currently listed as threatened species in the Nature Conservation Act (NCA) 1992.Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. 2013. Threatened species. Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland. Available from http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened-species/ (accessed April 2013). Residing in the same reserve are the wallum froglet (Crinia tinnula), green thighed frog (Litoria brevipalmata), cooloola sedgefrog (Litoria cooloolensis), wallum rocketfrog (Litoria freycineti), and wallum sedgefrog (Litoria olongburensis). These particular species have experienced declining populations in Australia, and are part of the global amphibian decline.Campbell, A., ed. 1999. Declines and disappearances of australian frogs. Environment Australia, Canberra.
Reptiles
Threatened species in the area include the flatback turtle (Natator depressus), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), collared delma (Delma torquata), and the three-toed snake-tooth skink (Coeranoscincus reticulatus). Reptiles, along with amphibians, provide the reserve with indications of the ongoing and future state of the environmental quality.Gibbons, J.W., Stangel, P.W., eds. 1999. Conserving amphibians and reptiles in the new millenium. Proceedings of the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) Conference 2–4 June 1999. Atlanta (GA). Herp Outreach Publication #2.
Birds The Noosa Biosphere Reserve is a vital element of the BirdLife International designated Endemic Bird Area (EBA) Eastern Australia zone.BirdLife International. 2013. Endemic bird area factsheet: eastern Australia. BirdLife International, United Kingdom. Available from http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/ebafactsheet.php?id=186 (accessed April 2013). The reserve houses over 300 bird species, with a dynamic and diverse population encompassing 44% of documented Australian resident bird species population, as well as migratory bird species.Noosa Biosphere Limited. 2009. Conservation. Noosa Biosphere Limited, Noosa, Queensland. Available from http://noosabiosphere.org.au/facts-vision/documents-resources (accessed March 2013). Significant species in the area include the square-tailed kite (Lophoictinia isura), red goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiates), black-breasted button-quail (Turnix melanogaster), glossy black cockatoo (Calyptohynchus lathami erebus), Coxen’s fig parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni), swift parrot (Lathamus discolor), eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus wallicus), and the regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus).
The woodlands in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve provide an ideal habitat for many of the bird species mentioned. The glossy black cockatoo (Calyptohynchus lathami erebus) is especially reliant on large woodland tree hollows for breeding.Ford, H. A. 2011. The causes of decline of birds of eucalypt woodlands: advances in our knowledge over the last 10 years. EMU 111: 1–9. This particular species is currently listed as vulnerable in Queensland, as is the black breasted button-quail (Turnix melanogaster), and the eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus wallicus). Species with significantly small populations and recognised as endangered by Queensland Government are the red goshawk (Erythrotriorchis radiates), Coxen’s fig parrot (Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni), and the swift parrot (Lathamus discolor).
The swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) is a nationally endangered migratory bird which breeds only in Tasmania but migrates to mainland Australia for wintering.Higgins, P. J. ed. 1999. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Volume Four - Parrots to Dollarbird. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.Hingston, A. B., and Piech, M. 2011. Eucalypt flower production in the suburbs and bush: implications for the endangered swift parrot lathamus discolor. Pacific Conservation Biology 17: 338-346. Its habitat requirements are similar to the glossy black-cockatoo in that it requires shelter in a woodland tree hollow, albeit a smaller size. The habitat requirements of the black breasted button-quail (Turnix melanogaster), and the eastern ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus wallicus) are somewhat different in that they forage and live in the rainforest vine thickets and heathland floors respectively.McConnell, P., and Hobson, R. 1995. The diet and behaviour of the black-breasted button-quail turnix melanogaster. Sunbird 25:18-23.Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. 2013. Species profile and threat database. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Queensland. Available from http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl (accessed April 2013).
Mammals