King Island as a microcosm of 19th- and 20th-century agricultural land clearing in Australia

Le résumé fourni par la source

King Island (Lutruwita/Tasmania) provides a sharply bounded microcosm of the landscape change resulting from European colonisation and agricultural expansion across temperate Australia. Over two centuries, extensive land clearance, wetland drainage, and altered fire regimes have reshaped its vegetation and biodiversity. Using historical maps, aerial imagery, and spatial overlays with vegetation and land use data, we reconstruct the extent, timing, and ecological impacts of vegetation loss from 1827 to 2022. In this period, over two-thirds of native vegetation has been cleared, with wet forests and swamp systems disproportionately affected. What remains is fragmented, structurally simplified, and increasingly vulnerable to interacting pressures, including fire suppression, uncontrolled wildfires, invasive herbivory, and climate change. Current vegetation conservation efforts are constrained by land tenure legacies, misclassification of degraded systems, and the ambiguous ecological status of post-clearing scrub and grasslands. We argue that passive protection is insufficient. Restoration must prioritise ecological representativeness, structural complexity, and functional connectivity, informed by both historical baselines, Indigenous-led land care practices and targeted ecological pressures. King Island's bounded geography and long disturbance history make it a powerful microcosm for understanding landscape transformation and restoration potential in fragmented agricultural systems in Australia, and more broadly globally. By integrating spatial analysis with historical interpretation, this study contributes to broader efforts to reconcile restoration goals with ecological thresholds and socio-political constraints in post-clearing environments. • Two-thirds of King Island's native vegetation cleared since European colonisation • Wet forests and swamps show highest historical loss and structural decline. • Historical maps and aerial photos reveal spatial-temporal clearance patterns. • Results provide insight into conservation in fragmented, post-clearing landscapes.

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