The Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve, as part of the Kangaroo Valley Group of Nature Reserves, is a

protected Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

located on the cliffs and plateaus of the

Kangaroo Valley Kangaroo Valley is a river valley along the Kangaroo River in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales, Australia, located west of the seaside in the City of Shoalhaven. It is also the name of the small suburb within it, formerly known as Osbo ...

in the Southern Highlands and South Coast regions of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in eastern Australia. The Reserve is situated approximately south of Sydney, southwest of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

and northwest of . The Reserve has a total area of 1684 hectares, and includes 11 privately owned properties. It is critical for it to be pristine for a variety of reasons, not the least the catchment of water, as the Reserve floor flows into the Kangaroo Valley River and the Shoalhaven River, from which the Sydney Water Authority draws water to supply large populations in Sydney and Wollongong. Established in 2001, the Reserve is ecologically representative of the local

Shoalhaven The City of Shoalhaven is a local government area in the south-eastern coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is about south of Sydney. The Princes Highway passes through the area, and the South Coast railway line traverses ...

area, which is home to

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

and threatened species; such as the

Brush-tailed rock-wallaby The brush-tailed rock-wallaby or small-eared rock-wallaby (''Petrogale penicillata'') is a kind of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus '' Petrogale''. It inhabits rock piles and cliff lines along the Great Dividing Range from ab ...

and the

apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...

, the

tiger quoll The tiger quoll (''Dasyurus maculatus''), also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tail dasyure, native cat or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus '' Dasyurus'' native to Australia. With male ...

. It has a protective covenant placed on it, with the ultimate purpose to ensure the protection of the natural heritage of the area. In 2003, Devils Glen, Red Rocks and Black Ash Nature Reserves were amalgamated into Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. This is now a part of the Kangaroo Valley National Parks, consisting of the smaller refuges of Kangaroo River, Cambewarra Range, Barrengarry and Rodway Nature Reserves, which are covered by the Southern Regional Forest Agreement. The

Illawarra-Shoalhaven subtropical rainforest The Illawarra-Shoalhaven subtropical rainforest, or Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest (ISR), is a scattered rainforest community in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Occurring just south of Sydney, it spans from the Royal Nati ...

occurs in the reserve. Kangaroo valley is part of a system of conservation reserves, which includes Kangaroo River Nature Reserve and Barrengarry Nature Reserve. National parks in the area including the

Morton National Park The Morton National Park is a national park located in the Southern Highlands, South Coast and Illawarra regions of New South Wales, Australia, situated approximately south southwest of Sydney. Location and features The most notable attractio ...

, Budderoo National Park and

Barren Grounds Nature Reserve The Barren Grounds Nature Reserve is a protected nature park located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. The reserve is situated east of Budderoo National Park, and west of the city of Kiama. The reserve can also be ...

Geology and soils

The Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve is located in the southern part of the Sydney Basin. The Sydney Basin is located on the central east coast of New South Wales, and it covers an area of 36240 km². The geological basin is filled with sandstones and shales from the Permian to Triassic periods that overlies older basement rocks of the

Lachlan Fold Belt The Lachlan Fold Belt (LFB) or Lachlan Orogen is a geological subdivision of the east part of Australia. It is a zone of folded and faulted rocks of similar age. It dominates New South Wales and Victoria, also extending into Tasmania, the Australia ...

. The southern part of the Sydney basin, the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...

deposits, are subdivided into two major units, the Shoalhaven Group and the Illawarra Coal Measures. The Shoalhaven Group consists of a thick succession of fine to medium-grained clastics passing upwards into a number of lava flows and interspersed volcanic flows, forced into the sandstones and originating from the Gerringong Volcanics. The Cambewarra Latite, which comprises highly

feldspathic Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...

and sparsely porphyritic lava. It has the highest elevation of the group, situated in the Cambewarra Mountain region. The Illawarra Coal Measures originated from a fluvial environment; they have recognizable marine strata. The group is made up of lithic sandstones, siltstones, shales, and coal seams. Above the Permian deposits overlie Triassic sediments, which are of fluvial origin. The Triassic deposits are subdivided into three major units: the

Narrabeen Group The Narrabeen group of sedimentary rocks occurs in the Sydney Basin in eastern Australia. This series of rocks was formed in the Triassic Period. Geology It includes various rock types including lithic sandstone, quartz sandstone, siltstones, ...

, the

Hawkesbury Sandstone Sydney sandstone is the common name for Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone, one variety of which is historically known as Yellowblock, and also as "yellow gold" a sedimentary rock named after the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, where this ...

and the

Wianamatta shale The Wianamatta Group is a geological feature of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales, Australia that directly overlies the older (but still Triassic in age) Hawkesbury sandstone and generally comprise fine grained sedimentary rocks such as shales an ...

. These groups are made up of volcanic rocks and lithic sandstones, with occasional dark coloured shales, but there is no presence of coal found in these groups. Also, soils of the Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve have good water holding capacity and are fertile. Path in cambewarra

Climate

The average annual rainfall is above the 1200 mm level that applies around the South Coast. Snowfalls are common above than 1000 m on the Central and Southern tablelands through winter, and even as late as November in unusual falls. The mean yearly temperature remains nearly 16 °C along the Coastal plains.James, N. and Gellie, H., (2005). Cunninghamia, 9(2), pp.219–254. Occasional heat waves occur when the conditions like

temperature inversion In meteorology, an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude. It almost always refers to an inversion of the air temperature lapse rate, in which case it is called a temperature inversion. Nor ...

s apply, especially in Kangaroo Valley, which acts as a basin, trapping air with inversion layers. The southern region coastal section around

Kiama Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

shows the highest rainfall in summer, whereas the western region has more rain in winter. The climate of the coastal region remains calmer and warmer than high rainfall in Kangaroo Valley. Prevailing winds during summer come from the north-east onshore, whereas winds come from the west and south-west throughout the winter season, particularly in July and August (the 'westerlies'). North Westerly winds occasionally arise in November, bringing dangerous

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

conditions. The Coastal face of the region is colder in summer and less vulnerable to mist during winter than

, which is enshrouded in mist each morning until the sun lifts the mist layer. The South facing cliffs and plateaus of many sites receive scant sunshine and so are damp and cold in winter. Sunshine in cambewarra

Rivers and water quality

There are numerous small creeks, such as Nugents Creek and O’Hares Creek, flowing through Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve, which eventually flow into the Kangaroo River and Shoalhaven River and onto Lake Yarrunga that is created by Tallowa Dam. The Berry Mountain Section of Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve has private dams that provide water to nearby residences. The high rainfall brings fast filling of dams, which from the air or satellite imaging, can be seen dotted throughout the region. The Kangaroo River Sub-catchment is part of the drinking water catchment for Sydney,

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

and

Regions. A water quality survey of benthic macroinvertebrates in Nugent's Creek and O’Hares Creeks conducted by students from the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

in April 2016 revealed the presence of Mayfly, Stonefly,

Caddisfly The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the ...

and Dragonfly larvae. The largest number of larvae found, were that of the mayfly and stonefly; these two species are sensitive to pollution and are therefore only found in areas where water is of high to good quality i.e. free of pollution. During the summer, some parts of the river in Cambewarra dry or the water becomes black. 'Black' water is water with little or no oxygen in it. This water is dark in color due to the destruction of plants and other organic matter so as to have high dissolved organic carbon from decomposing vegetation. River in the middle of Cambewarra

History

The range was first in use in the 1800s for red cedar cutting.Vader, John. (1987). Red Cedar. The Tree of Australia’s History. Reed: Sydney. Mr Richard Brooks, who was a soldier-settler in the Kangaroo Valley, held the first licence to cut red cedar in the area in 1836; it is said that cedar was cut from the many arms of the Kangaroo Valley, with the Cambewarra Range likely to have been one such arm. Logging, burning and trampling of the soils continued with farming and stock. The land was cleared in 1861 with increasing settlements. Around the 1960s, it was partially used for

gravel extraction A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used eith ...

. Today, the area is not under economic use anymore. Aboriginal trails

The

Tharawal The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...

(Dharawal) people, traditional custodians, gave the name of the area as Cambewarra. They dwelled as groups in coastal areas, now known as Sydney basin, where they relied on hunting and fishing. They hunted different Possums, Wallabies and Goannas, along with their eggs. Many berries and leafy foods are present in the Reserve, used for food and medicine. Modern covered drain, previously known as creeks, were the main source of fresh water for them. The term 'Cambewarra' means 'mountain of fire'. So, these aboriginal people named the mountain, Cambewarra, because it was believed that volcano eruption once took place in the mountain. Another logic behind the name, Cambewarra, is that the apex of the mountain is mostly covered by the cloud which appears as the smoke coming from the top of the mountain.

Habitat

Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve has mixed habitats but is dominated by coastal hinterland subtropical warm temperate rainforest consisting mainly of

coachwood ''Ceratopetalum apetalum'', the coachwood, scented satinwood or tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is native to eastern Australia in the central and northern coastal rainforests of ...

(Ceratopetalum apetulum) which occurs in protected slopes and gullies. The Red Rocks plateau (formerly known as Red rocks Nature Reserve) and Black Ash segment (Bellawongarah Mountain) of the reserve is also covered in parts by the lowland dry shrub forest, northern coast and hinterland moist heath shrubland. There are small areas of upland swamp on Bellawongarah Mountain and at the western end of the Red Rocks section. © Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW 2009: Use permitted with appropriate acknowledgment. The Red Rocks Plateau in small areas also include Northern Coastal Hinterland Heath Shrub Dry Forest and a survey conducted in the area found seven forest communities categorized as: Coachwood rainforest, Open heathland, Brown barrel (''E. fastigata'')/Sydney blue gum tall open forest, Silvertop ash woodland, Heathland sedge land, Sydney peppermint open forest and Open woodland-heathland. The Berry Mountain section of the reserve comprises three types of rainforest: mixed subtropical/warm temperate rainforest, warm temperate rainforest and dry rainforest. The reserve is providing suitable habitat for a large number of threatened animal species and regionally rare plant species.

Flora

The Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve, a large portion of which is old growth forest, most commonly comprises coachwood (''

Ceratopetalum apetalum ''Ceratopetalum apetalum'', the coachwood, scented satinwood or tarwood, is a medium-sized hardwood tree, straight-growing with smooth, fragrant, greyish bark. It is native to eastern Australia in the central and northern coastal rainforests ...

''), Lilly pilly ('' Syzgium smithii''), native laurel (''

Cryptocarya glaucescens ''Cryptocarya glaucescens'', commonly known as jackwood, is a rainforest tree of the laurel family growing in eastern Australia. Taxonomy ''Cryptocarya glaucescens'' was one of the many species first described by Scottish botanist Robert Brown ...

'') and sassafras ('' Doryphora sassafras'').Lowland Dry Shrub Forest is found on the plateau tops and upper slopes in Rodway Nature Reserve and in the Red Rocks and Black Ash sections of Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. Other common trees showing dominance in this region includes red bloodwood (''

Corymbia gummifera ''Corymbia gummifera'', commonly known as red bloodwood, is a species of tree, rarely a mallee, that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, tessellated bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups o ...

''), the scribbly gum (''

Eucalyptus sclerophylla ''Eucalyptus sclerophylla'', known as the scribbly gum, is a tree native to eastern Australia. Very similar to the related Scribbly Gum (''E. haemastoma''), a better known tree. The best way of distinguishing the species is the smaller hemisph ...

''), brown barrel ('' E. fastigata''), Sydney peppermint ('' E. piperita''), silver quandong, brown beech ('' Pennantia cunninghamii''), soapy box ('' Citronella moorei''), and giant stinging tree (''Dendrocnide excelsa'').Small patches of Southern Escarpment Shrub/Fern/Herb Moist Forest also occur in these areas, dominated by brown barrel '' E. fastigata'', whitetopped box '' E. quadrangulata'' and river peppermint '' E. elata''. Two endangered plant species '' Solanum celatum'' and ''

Cryptostylis hunteriana ''Cryptostylis hunteriana'', commonly known as the leafless tongue-orchid is a flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to south eastern Australia. It is leafless but has up to ten green flowers with a more or less erect, ...

'' (vulnerable orchid) were also recorded in the Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. The tall shrubland dominated by '' Melaleuca linariifolia'', together with '' Leptospermum polygalifolium'' and '' Leptomeria acida'' on plateau tops of Black ash and Red Rocks sections shows significance due to restricted distribution. The Berry Mountain section of Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve showed three separate groupings: firstly, mixed subtropical/warm temperate rainforest on boulder and scree slope, with silver quandong ''

Elaeocarpus kirtonii ''Elaeocarpus kirtonii'', commonly known as silver quandong, white quandong, brown hearted quandong, brownheart, mountain beech, Mowbullan whitewood, pigeonberry ash, white beech or whitewood, is species of flowering plant in the family Elaeocar ...

'', maidens blush ''

Sloanea australis ''Sloanea australis'', commonly known as the maiden's blush, is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. The range of natural distribution is from near Batemans Bay (35° S) in southern New South Wales to Cape Tribulation (16° S) in tropical Quee ...

'' and brush cherry ''

Syzygium australe ''Syzygium australe'', with many common names that include brush cherry, scrub cherry, creek lilly-pilly, creek satinash, and watergum, is a rainforest tree native to eastern Australia. It can attain a height of up to 35 m with a trunk diameter o ...

'' on deeper soil secondly, warm temperate rainforest of coachwood, crabapple ''

Schizomeria ovata ''Schizomeria ovata'', a medium to large Australian rainforest tree, is widespread in warm-temperate rainforest in coastal New South Wales north from Narooma (36° S) and southern Queensland south from Fraser Island (25° S). It is also found ...

'', sassafras, jackwood ''

'', bolly gum ''

Litsea reticulata ''Litsea reticulata'' is a common Australian tree, growing from near Milton, New South Wales to the Bunya Mountains, Queensland. Common names include bollygum, bolly wood and brown beech. The habitat of the bollygum is rainforest of most types, ...

'' and lilly pilly on shallower soils and lastly, dry rainforest of whalebone tree '' Streblus brunonianus'', deciduous fig ''

Ficus henneana ''Ficus henneana'' is a strangler fig only occurring in Australia. Previously considered a variety of ''Ficus superba'' which occurs in China, Japan and parts of South East Asia. The cedar fig or deciduous fig grows in Australia from Milton, New ...

'', red olive-berry '' Elaeodendron australe'', grey myrtle ''

Backhousia myrtifolia ''Backhousia myrtifolia'' (commonly referred to as ''carrol, neverbreak, iron wood, grey myrtle'' or ''cinnamon myrtle'') is a small rainforest tree species which grows in subtropical rainforests of Eastern Australia. First discovered and subs ...

'' and water gum '' Tristaniopsis laurina'' on shallowest soils subject to water stress. In addition to trees, various types of beautiful flowers can be found in this region such as '' Sonchus asper'' (L.) Hill and '' Callistemon citrinus''. The study stated that the Cambewarra Mountain area has one of the largest areas of subtropical rainforest remaining in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven. Much of the vegetation is old growth or mature forest but significant areas have been disturbed and there are small areas of regrowth. The disturbances are a result of fires and selective logging in parts of Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve in the early 1900s. Two threatened plant species have been recorded in Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. The endangered '' Solanum celatum'' was observed on Cambewarra Mountain early in the 20th century but it is not known if it still occurs there. The vulnerable orchid ''

'' is found on the Red Rocks plateau. Flora in Cambewarra

Fauna

Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve provides suitable habitat for diverse species of animals as it has a combination of different types of habitat; the diversity is particularly high in the case of birds and herpetofauna. Fauna surveys conducted in the area has revealed a total of 61 species in the Red Rocks section of the Reserve. Several endangered native animal species are found in Camberwarra Range Nature Reserve which includes eastern bristlebird (''

Dasyornis brachypterus The eastern bristlebird (''Dasyornis brachypterus'') is a species of bird in the bristlebird family, Dasyornithidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland. It is thr ...

''), brush-tailed rock-wallaby ('' Petrogale penicillata''), sooty owl (''

Tyto tenebricosa The greater sooty owl (''Tyto tenebricosa'') is a medium to large owl found in south-eastern Australia, Montane rainforests of New Guinea and have been seen on Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. The lesser sooty owl (''T. multipunctata''), ...

''), powerful owl ('' Ninox strenua''), giant burrowing frog ('' Heleioporus australiacus''), olive whistler ('' Pachycephala olivacea''), spotted-tail quoll (''

Dasyurus maculatus The tiger quoll (''Dasyurus maculatus''), also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tail dasyure, native cat or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus ''Dasyurus'' native to Australia. With males ...

''), eastern bent-wing bat ('' Miniopterus schreibersii''), yellow-bellied glider ('' Petaurus australis'') and long-nosed potoroo (''

Potorous tridactylus The long-nosed potoroo (''Potorous tridactylus'') is a small, hopping, gerbil-like mammal native to forests and shrubland of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it lives alone and digs at night f ...

''). Rock-wallaby numbers are declining and there is current only one known rock-wallaby colony remaining in the reserves – in the western part of Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. Also, faunal surveys (using remote cameras and hair funnel traps) conducted by citizen scientists (staff and students from the University of Wollongong) since 2014 have revealed the following common native species in abundance: swamp wallaby ('' Wallabia bicolor''), bush rat ('' Rattus fuscipes''), Eastern swamp rat (''

Rattus lutreolus The Australian swamp rat (''Rattus lutreolus''), also known as the eastern swamp rat, is a species of rat native to the coasts of southern and eastern Australia. Description The Australian swamp rat grows to have a body length of approximately ...

''), brown antechinus (''

Antechinus stuartii The brown antechinus (''Antechinus stuartii''), also known as Stuart's antechinus and Macleay's marsupial mouse, is a species of small carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. The males die after their first breeding season, and the speci ...

''), ringtail possum (''

Pseudocheirus peregrinus The common ringtail possum (''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'', Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, ...

''), squirrel glider (''

Petaurus norfolcensis The squirrel glider (''Petaurus norfolcensis'') is a nocturnal gliding possum. The squirrel glider is one of the wrist-winged gliders of the genus ''Petaurus''. Habitat This species' home range extends from Bordertown near the South Australia ...

''), and sugar glider ('' Petaurus breviceps''). Tree in Canbewarra

Human impacts

Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve is larger in area compared to other nature reserves in the same region and it is surrounded by private land. With this urbanization, native faunal and floral diversity has more trends to be influenced by humans. For example, clearing and incursion weed, agricultural pest control and introduced predators such as cats and foxes may affect the fauna and flora in the nature reserve.

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

is a most common incursion weed type in wet forest margins of Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. The native species of

is threatened by foxes, but the fox control has been undertaken within the reserve. Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve has water catchment areas. There are creeks that flow in to Kangaroo river and hence to Lake Yarrunga ( Tallowa Dam). That is a part of

Shoalhaven Scheme The Shoalhaven Scheme is a dual-purpose water supply and Pumped-storage Hydroelectricity scheme located on the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Scheme was built as a joint project between the Electricity Commission of NSW ...

. The dam supplies water for the residences around Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. Although the nature reserve is known to have limited access and few facilities for public, it already has facilities for walking, bird watching, scenery viewing, horse riding (only on public roads within reserve) and educational use like research. A vehicle park and also publicly available vehicle access are available within the reserve. Leobold Hill road and Red Rocks Trig Trail are the roads across the reserve’s plateau which makes available the access through to the end of the cliff line. It makes significant damage to the trail where it crosses a poorly drained area. This happens especially in wet weather.

Research and management

Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve has recently attracted attention from students and citizen scientists from the University of Wollongong. These student biologists conduct regular fieldwork and ecological research in the reserve to monitor habitat structure and biodiversity. Due to its high conservation values and the reserve holding some threatened species, it is critical to monitor the species population levels, as animals like foxes are capable of disrupting whole populations of native animals like the Rock Wallaby. Sections of the Reserve were identified for suitability in long term ecological research (see LTER: Long Term Ecological Research Network), and since 2014 areas in the Reserve have been surveyed for its fauna, using various techniques, such as

remote camera A remote camera, also known as a trail camera or game camera, is a camera placed by a photographer in areas where the photographer generally cannot be at the camera to snap the shutter. This includes areas with limited access, tight spaces where a ...

s and hair funnel traps. These were placed and retrieved for data by scientists and students from

. Twice a year (since 2014) the data is collected and some of it is represented in the gallery of fauna found on this page. The legislation and policies for the management of nature reserves in NSW come under

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 The ''National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974'' is the legislation passed by the New South Wales Parliament with the explicit intent of conserving the's natural and cultural heritage of the state of New South Wales; fostering public appreciation, u ...

(NPW Act), the NPW Regulation, the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act),

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 was passed in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is an " Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales". The act incorporated a t ...

(EPA Act), and the policies of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). This area contains the Endangered Ecological Community known as the Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest (in the Sydney Basin Bioregion); see Schedule 2, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 no 63. The Illawarra Subtropical Rainforest is one of ten priority management sites which have been identified by the NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Site 10: is the Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve. This site incorporates the slopes to the north of Cambewarra, including Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve, up to Tourist Road and extending east towards Jaspers Brush. The total site area is 1,322 (ha) The developmental control of this Reserve is effectively exercised by the director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW). Cambewarra Range Nature Reserve management objectives are to protect and conserve the biodiversity, the geological features and the cultural values of landscapes. There is a rural-residential pressure on this area, as the landscape of Cambewarra Range consists of bushland, agricultural and urban elements. The pressure on the habitat, particularly on the quoll, is undergoing a slow but inevitable transformation towards a higher proportion of cleared land for residential and farm buildings, with gardens, grazing paddocks, and bushfire reduction areas through clearing around buildings. Although not as extensive as it once was, there is still some clearing for defined agricultural use, rather than the lifestyle, accommodation clearing that predominates throughout the region. Other land management issues include encroachment and introduction of weeds, invasion by feral cats, foxes and other introduced animals. There is a degree of difficulty in achieving effective fire protection, in avoiding disturbance from trail bikes and quads, and there can be pollution of streams (spillage, fertiliser runoff) and illegal forest clearing for timber that is sold for furniture manufacture, housing, fencing and boutique firewood use, like the special aromas coming from certain wood-fired ovens. Given that the native carnivore, the spotted-tail quoll, has been sighted in the Reserve, as the native

or apex

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other s ...

, this species deserves special mention. It is now widely regarded that key objectives of many programmes, which seek to maintain

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

function, should include strategies to conserve such carnivores. The study by Glen and Dickman (2008) found that quolls foraged mainly in forested

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, while introduced carnivores foraged mainly in cleared habitat. This study, although conducted in north-eastern NSW, is still applicable to the Cambewarra area. The study indicated there was a strong potential for competition between quolls and the non-native carnivores, like the fox and feline cat. Thus, continued monitoring, and where applicable, the eradication of pest species such as foxes, cats and dogs, including the use of poison ground baits, is recommended. The study also highlights the relationships between clearing of native habitat and the spread of introduced speciesGlen A.S. and Dickman C.R. Niche overlap between marsupial and eutherian carnivores: does competition threaten the endangered spotted-tailed quoll? Journal of Applied Ecology 2008, 45, 700-707

Gallery

Callistemon citrinus in Cambewarra Reserve.jpg, Callistemon citrinus Cambewerra Nature Reserve Discovery.jpg, Cambewerra Nature Reserve Discovery Field Trip to Cambewarra.jpg, Field trip Some plants from cambewarra.jpg, Plants Landscape of cambewarra range.jpg, Landscape Group Project.jpg, Enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful landscape while discussing the project DIY Toilet in Nature.jpg, DIY toilet in nature Photos of the waterfall.jpg, Zekai and David while taking photos of the waterfall

References

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External links

Seeking data: images of sugar gliders

Uncle Frank Mumbler from the South Coast of NSW, Australia. This song 'Jacky' contains Tharawal language and is likely the only recording ever made of his important story. This film, and many other recordings made in 1987, 88 and 89, are with The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) - a world-renowned research, collections and publishing organisation. AIATSIS promotes "knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, traditions, languages and stories, past and present".
Climbing treesSinging
Nature reserves in New South Wales Southern Highlands (New South Wales) South Coast (New South Wales) 2001 establishments in Australia Protected areas established in 2001