The state of biodiversity in the State of Victoria
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see the Mornington Peninsula's biodiversity values
go to the peninsula threatened species page
go to the news page
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Local eco-systems - the death of a thousand cuts
The Victorian landscape has undergone massive changes in the past 150 years. As a consequence of environmental degredation and destruction of indigenous flora and fauna:
- over 60% of the state has been cleared, and much of what is left is seriously degraded by weed invasion;
- of the two thirds of the state which is privately owned, only 5% retains its natural cover;
- soil erosion and salination have become serious problems;
- over 35% of our wetlands have been drained;
- close to 80% of rivers and wetlands have been substantially modified;
- almost all native grasslands have been eliminated or modified;
- many other vegetation communities are almost extinct, or critically endangered;
- over 900 exotic plant species have been established in Victoria, many of which are weeds, and scores of noxious exotic animal species are now widespread;
- 42 native mammal species have become extinct in Victoria.
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Click on the document to enlarge it...
This report was compiled before the Victorian Government got politically spooked by the Black Saturday wildfire events and dramatically increased the amount of prescribed burning - See this page Read an SMH article about the prioritisation of endangered species management - Survival of the cheapest See the proportion and area of Australia's original native vegetation cover and the changes over time here... Download the paper as a PDF
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Brown Mountain, East Gippsland
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