An Environmental Overview of Yarran Dharan - Case Study Example

Yarran Dheran: an environmental overview Yarran Dheran: an environmental overview 1 Introduction: 1 Background and history: 1 Location: 2 Geology: 3 Flora (vegetation) and Fauna: 3 Hydrology: 4 Proposed land use changes: 4 Environmental Effects Statement: 7 Soil Sample results and analysis: 7 Soil pH Test 8  Soil Colour Test 8  Soil Texture Test 8 Soil Structure Test 8 Conclusion: 9 Reference: 10 Introduction: In the following report there shall be a detailed study of the Yarran Dheran. It is located in the suburbs of the city of Melbourne, in Mitcham which is on the border of the Donvale. Yarran Dheran is an important and integral part of the area. It is riparian bush land park and lies on the banks of the Mullum Mullum Creek. Background and history: The park is used today as a park for the conservation of the natural resources and to ensure that the flora and fauna that is present in the area is preserved. It is used as a public park. The park is an important and integral part of the plan that has been developed by the local authorities to ensure that the ecological balance of the area is maintained. The park will be reserved even though the local authorities shall be taking away a bit of it for the proposed development plan that is still in the stage of formulation. There have been a number of changes made and amendments have been passed by the local authorities on the local planning policies to ensure that this area is protected and the amendments clearly reflect the local authorities’ intention of maintaining the area and protecting and reserving the local flora and fauna. The park comes under the jurisdiction of the local authorities of the City of Whitehorse. This has helped ensure that the interests of the park are not under stated in favour of the pressures of the urban demands of the city of Melbourne. There has been undertaken by the local authorities a number of steps for growth and development of the area as it is the requirements of the time (Carr, et al., 1959) The official site of the Yarran Dheran describes it as-“Yarran Dheran is a reserve situated on the southern bank of the Mullum Mullum Creek in the north eastern corner of the City of Whitehorse. The western end of the Reserve was a quarry and then the local tip and the vegetation has almost all been planted since 1970. Much is indigenous to the area, but non-indigenous plants have also been used. The area further east is mainly natural bush, although some non-indigenous native species have been planted.” (Yarran Dehran Reserve) Location: Yarran Dheran is located on the outskirts of the metropolitan city of Melbourne in Australia. The park is made up of 7.2 hectares of land. It is mainly made up of bush land. The park lies on the bank of the Mullum Mullum Creek, and the trail runs straight through the park (Yarran Dheran visitor’s information centre). The park has a number of mowed grass areas for picnics and there is a visitor’s centre near the middle of the park. The park has a number of riparian zones which are either residue of the bush land or regenerated bush land which was restored by the local authorities. Geology: The geology of the area is of the area is one where the basic soil structuring is based on the sandy and the clayey soil formation and the top soil as well as the sub soil texture is mainly clayey sandy and sandy in most of the regions. In the areas where the land is close to the creek it has been observed that the top soil is clayey sand or light clayey where as the sub soil texture is more medium clay. Flora (vegetation) and Fauna: The area is important as it helps in the conservation of the soil. The area is important in the context of both flora and fauna. In the case of the flora, it is home to a number plants which are native to the area and it houses other plants also that have been planted by the authorities so as to ensure their conservation. Some of the flora that can be found in the area include Wattles such as Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) and Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), and wattles that flower during spring such as; Prickly Moses (Acacia verticillata) and Black Wattle (Acacia meatnsii). A number of species of Orchids can be found in Yarran Dheran including; Wax-lip orchid (Glassodia major), Bluebeard Caladenia (Caladeniadeformis) and the Spider Orchid. The creeper; Purple coral-pea (Hardenbergia violacea) which was once prevalent throughout the surrounding hills, to the extend that they were known as the purple hills, can also be found around the park. Aside from this there can also be found Eucalyptus and River Red Gums. In the case of the fauna that can be found in the area, it is important to note that the area houses over 85 species and these include Australian Magpies, Grey Fantail, the Noisy Miner, the Eastern Yellow Robin and the Eastern Silvereyes. Many birds use plastics washed down the creek as one of many materials to build their nests. Koala sightings are sometimes reported by residents in the surrounding area and are occasionally added to notice boards in the park. Hydrology: The area has a very large natural water base. The area receives water from the Mullum Mullum creek and there are a number of gullies that are spread over the whole park, and this acts as the natural water supply of the region. There also exists a pond in the area that acts as the water reservoir. The area also has a strong soil base and the park acts as a soil preserver where it binds the soil and stops soil erosion. The soil that is there is sandy and a little loamy. The area has been developed and in 1975 major earthworks began, a waterfall and fern gully were completed in 1979 and the information centre in 1980. Proposed land use changes: The area is an important part of the local government’s planning strategy and helps in the maintaince of the ecological balance. Urban growth and development is a major process threatening biodiversity globally, and there has been seen that the environment of the earth has suffered a greater amount of degradation after the industrial revolution. It has been predicted that over half of the world's population will reside in urban centres by 2010, and this will have a greater pressure on the existing resources. There has been a growing concern in the world due to the fact that the resources that are available are already limited due to the thoughtless exploitation of these natural resources by man in the past. There has been observed that there is growing awareness among the various countries in the world that there is a need to conserve biodiversity, and there has been recognized in order to do so there has to be a shift in perspective from traditional ecological studies based in natural environments, to studies based in less natural environments is paramount. It has believed that to effectively conserve species which are found mainly in urban environments, all-inclusive and complete analysis is essential to conclude the processes that are motivating this urban usage of resources that are not only wasteful but also harmful irrevocably to the environment in the long run. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology provides a valuable tool for efficient spatial analysis and predictive mapping of species distributions. There has been seen that there is a growing need that is recognized by all environmentalist that there has to be a made efforts to ensure that the existing resources that are still available are reserved and the use of these resources has to be such that the resources are utilized to the maximum potential, and also ensure that there is no wastage of the resources. The Yarran Dheran is a ecological park that has been maintained by the local authorities of the area so as to conserve the resources of the area, and also to provide a place of recreation. It also helps to provide a place for the conservation of the historical culture of the area. The area is important as it helps in provision of a place for the preservation of the fauna and flora that is found in the area (Ashton, 1971). This is important as the area that it is in is growing larger as there is more immigration into the area, and the area experiences continuous development. The urban area that surrounds the park is one of the most developed cities of the country that is Melbourne (11th Mullum Mullum Festival 2008). The park provides for greater amount of fresh air and helps in countering the pollution that is generated in the city. The park, as mentioned before also provides for a place for conservation of the cultural heritage of the area. As has been illustrated on the official site of the park- “pre white settlement of Victoria, the Mullum Mullum Creek would certainly have been occupied by aborigines of the Wurundjeritribe (Bates, 1995). Until recently there has been no direct evidence in the area of Yarran Dheran, but during the construction of the new Deep Creek Road Bridge over the Mullum Mullum Creek in 2001 a greenstone aboriginal axe head was found. There is now a designated aboriginal site between 2 piers of the bridge. One of the earliest white settlers in the area was August Schwerkolt, who built the still existing Schwerkolt Cottage to the east of Yarran Dheran in 1863. The Cottage was built of local stone, quarried from small quarries along the Mullum Mullum Creek. About this time, a larger quarry began to operate in what is now the eastern part of Yarran Dheran, although this was probably not the quarry used by Schwerkolt. The quarry seems to have begun operations in 1934 and may have been used until about 1955. The old quarry site was used as a municipal land fill from 1955. Its use for this purpose continued until approximately1963.” (History- Yarran Dheran Reserve) Environmental Effects Statement: . But there has been seen that there has been taken and maintained a conscious step by the local authorities to ensure that Yarran Dheran and the other parks in the area are able to maintain and sustain them (Whitehouse Planning Scheme). When the local authorities undertook the new planning policy it ensured that the land holdings and the resources of these natural parks and conservatories are not impinged upon. This is clearly seen in the amendment-“Implements part of the Whitehorse Neighbourhood Character Study 2002/2003 and the Whitehorse Neighbourhood Character Study Review of Areas 14 and 16, February 2004 by including land in the Yarran Dheran, Somers Trail, Mitcham and Glenburnie Road, Vermont in the Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO6 and SLO7),  making corresponding changes to the Local Planning Policy Framework and amends Schedules 1 to 4 of the SLO to extend the permit exemption to include a protected tree which is dead and dying to the satisfaction of the responsible authority.” (List of Amendments). Soil Sample results and analysis: In the following few tables there have been enumerated the results of the soil tests that were conducted in the area. These observations that were recorded are a clear reflection of the changes that have occurred in the ecology and especially the geology of the area. Soil pH Test Sample Top or Sub Soil pH Reading 1 Top 4.5 1 Sub 4.5 2 Top 4 2 Sub 5.5 3 (creek bank) n/a 6  Soil Colour Test Sample Top or Sub Soil Hue Value/Chroma Soil Colour 1 Top 10 YR 3/3 Dark brown 1 Sub 10 YR 4/4 Dark yellowish brown 2 Top 10 YR 3/2 Very dark greyish brown 2 Sub 2.5 YR 5/6 Light olive brown 3 (creek bank) n/a 2.5 YR 4/2 Dark greyish brown  Soil Texture Test Sample Top or Sub Soil Texture Code Behaviour of moist bolus Ribbon Clay Contents Comments 1 Top Sandy Clay loam SCL Strongly coherent but sandy to touch 3.5cm 20-30% Visible medium sand grains 1 Sub Sand S Nil to very slight coherence 0 cm Read More