Ashmore Reef Marine Park Terrestrial Ecosystem Characterisation and Restoration Plan 2023

Ashmore Reef Marine Park is located 630km north of Broome and has four vegetated islands that support significant biodiversity values. These values are under threat from non-native species and global environmental change. Parks Australia manages Ashmore Reef Marine Park under the North-West Marine Parks Network Management Plan and applies a risk-based assessment process to prioritise park protection and management actions. 

In early 2022, Parks Australia commissioned CSIRO to produce a management plan for ecosystem restoration on the Ashmore Islands, recognising there was significant value in managing current and emerging threats, as well as restoring native species values in a single integrated program.

This metadata record describes the outcome of terrestrial ecosystem characterisation of the Ashmore Islands, and development of a restoration plan and plain-language field manual for implementing restoration activities. A database of biological observations underpinning historical ecosystem characterisation is described in a separate metadata record: 'Biological Records Database for Terrestrial Plants and Animals of the Ashmore Reef Marine Park, Australia (1949-2022)'.

From historical records, a qualitative species interaction network was constructed for the Ashmore Islands, and 13 priority interactions were characterised between species or species-groups. Threats to priority ecological interactions were identified, including impacts from non-native species and on-going decline of native shrub species. Eleven non-native species were identified for control, including tropical fire ant (Solenopsis geminata), black crazy ant (Paratrechina longicornis), Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus), southeast Asian house mouse (Mus musculus castaneus), burr grass (Cenchrus brownii), buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris), innocent weed (Cenchrus echinatus), annual mission grass (Cenchrus pedicellatus), beach caltrop (Tribulus cistoides), spiderwisp (Gynandropsis gynandra) and African morning vine (Xenostegia tridentata). The shrub community is a priority focus for restoration activities, particularly for octopus bush (Argusia argentea), fish plate shrub (Guettarda speciosa), bay cedar (Suriana maritima), sea trumpet (Cordia subcordata) and Cardwell cabbage tree (Scaeveola taccada), along with construction of artificial structures to provide alternative nesting opportunities for obligate shrub-nesting seabirds.

The report describes how a successful restoration program would ensure stability and resilience for the terrestrial ecosystems of Ashmore Reef Marine Park into the future, including actions that:
• promote habitat that supports natural values and that is self-sustaining and resilient to threats and pressures;
• maintain important ecosystem processes and services that underpin the ecological character description of the Ashmore Reef Marine Park Ramsar site;
• mitigate existing threats to ecosystem resilience through appropriate interventions;
• take into account emerging threats to ecosystem resilience, including climate change, direct human impacts, and increasing biosecurity risk;
• increase the capability of Parks managers and government officials to manage non-native species and restore island ecosystems; and
• provide data to inform management of visitation and island access.

Organization: CSIRO Data Access Portal