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We applied an ecosystem risk assessment to the mountain ash forest ecosystem of the Central Highlands of Victoria (hereafter 'mountain ash forest'), south-eastern Australia, using the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems criteria. Using this methodology, we quantified: (i) key aspects of the ecosystem's historical, current and future decline in spatial distribution; (ii) the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy for the mountain ash ecosystem; and (iii) the decline in key abiotic and biotic processes and features for historical, current and future time periods. We developed a probabilistic model of tree growth stages to estimate the risk of ecosystem collapse within 50 to 100 years in the mountain ash forest. There was uncertainty in our estimates of risk under the various IUCN criteria, with two sub-criteria being categorized as 'Data Deficient'. Our overall ranking of risk of collapse for the ecosystem was Critically Endangered. We are confident that this risk category is appropriate because all 39 scenarios modelled indicated a ≥92% chance of ecosystem collapse by 2067. Our findings highlight the important need for timely policy reform to facilitate improved management of the mountain ash ecosystem in Victoria. In particular, there needs to be greater protection of remaining areas of unburned forest, and restoration activities in parts of the forest estate. Implementation of these strategies will require a significant reduction in logging pressure on the mountain ash ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at ecological risk assessment methodologies, comparing federal and state risk assessment protocols for ecological communities currently in use in Australia to that of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN's) Red List of Ecosystems (RLE). Topics include conservation policies for threatened ecosystems, uncertainty in ecological risk assessment, and quantitative assessments of ecological functioning.

Species' movements affect their response to environmental change but movement knowledge is often highly uncertain. We now have well‐established methods to integrate movement knowledge into conservation practice but still lack a framework to deal with uncertainty in movement knowledge for environmental decisions. We provide a framework that distinguishes two dimensions of species' movement that are heavily influenced by uncertainty: knowledge about movement and relevance of movement to environmental decisions. Management decisions can be informed by their position in this knowledge‐relevance space. We then outline a framework to support decisions around (1) increasing understanding of the relevance of movement knowledge, (2) increasing robustness of decisions to uncertainties and (3) improving knowledge on species' movement. Our decision‐support framework provides guidance for managing movement‐related uncertainty in systematic conservation planning, agri‐environment schemes, habitat restoration and international biodiversity policy. It caters to different resource levels (time and funding) so that species' movement knowledge can be more effectively integrated into environmental decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the broad-headed snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides), which inhabits sandstone outcrops and dry forest areas within a 200-km radius of Sydney, Australia. Impact of habitat degredation and forest modification on the population of broad-headed snakes; Discussion of the method necessary for effective conservation management; Role of microsatellite loci in population genetic studies; How these genetic markers have proved informative in research studies.