Biodiversity

Availability of information

No consistent national-level data are available on the impact of pressures on all aspects of biodiversity in the past 5 years.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Biodiversity

Jurisdictional reporting on pressures

Each state and territory in Australia has highlighted a range of key pressures in their jurisdictional reporting.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Timor SeaGreater DarwinAustralian Capital Territory
Biodiversity

Spatial distribution of pressures

There has been no updated overall synthesis of the spatial distribution of pressures affecting biodiversity in the past 5 years. A 2015 publication (Lee et al.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Biodiversity

Global climate change and climate variability

All recent state and territory SoE reports note the adverse effects of global climate change on biodiversity. These increasingly include extreme weather, as well as bushfire, drought, cyclones and flood.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
TasmaniaMarine North
Biodiversity

Pollution

Pollution issues affecting biodiversity in Australia can generally be categorised as relatively local in nature (e.g. specific waste streams from poorly managed activities or legacy sources in groundwater, such as plumes under industrial sites) or relating to broad landscape
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
North East CoastGreat Barrier ReefMarine North
Biodiversity

Consumption and extraction of natural resources

The impact of harvesting is considered a potential threat to 30 per cent of listed threatened species across a wide range of taxa.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Murray DarlingNorth East CoastGreater BrisbaneGreater AdelaideEast CoastGreater MelbourneGreater PerthGreater SydneyIndian Ocean
Biodiversity

Urban development

A growing population puts increasing pressure on biodiversity when residential areas encroach on natural systems.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Greater BrisbaneAustralian Capital TerritoryGreater MelbourneGreater PerthGreater Sydney
Biodiversity

Pressures from livestock production

Livestock production is the dominant land use in the extensive land-use zone of Australia (see the Land report for further information).
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
North Western PlateauMurray DarlingNorth East CoastTimor SeaGulf of Carpentaria
Biodiversity

Pest species and pathogens

Pest plants, pest animals and pathogens have been identified by every state and territory as a key threat to biodiversity generally, and to threatened species specifically.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Murray DarlingTasmaniaTimor SeaMarine Temperate EastCocos ChristmasMarine North West
Biodiversity

Altered fire regimes

The Land report describes how fire frequencies have increased in Australia during the past decade.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Murray Darling
Biodiversity

Changed hydrology

Surface-water and groundwater conditions have varied considerably since 2011, largely in response to climate. Changes to flows and water levels are described in detail in the Inland water report.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Murray DarlingTimor SeaGreater Darwin
Biodiversity

Pressures facing aquatic ecosystems

In this report, we describe pressures facing biodiversity in general.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Biodiversity

Interactions among pressures

Few of the pressures documented in this section occur in isolation. Rather, pressures interact in complex ways, often compounding the threat to biodiversity.
2016
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Biodiversity
Pressures
Cresswell ID, Murphy H (2016). Biodiversity: Topics. In: Australia state of the environment 2016, Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra, https://soe.environment.gov.au/theme/biodiversity/topics?framework=106, DOI 10.4226/94/58b65ac828812