The 'sense of place' that a city and its inhabitants come to identify themselves by can have profound impacts on the way that urban landscapes develop. In the case of Perth, its icons are the Swan River, The sandy beaches of the Indian Ocean coastline, and Kings Park. While the first two have defined the way that the city is laid out and has grown, the latter has fostered the development of an Australian garden and landscape approach to urban design, and a strong native species conservation ethic

Crosti, R.

Enright, N.J.

Ladd, P.G.

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  MURDOCH RESEARCH REPOSITORY        Ladd, P.G., Enright, N.J. and Crosti, R. (2007) A variable sense of place as exemplified in an iconic urban reserve in Western Australia. In: Stewart, G., Ignatieva, M., Bowring, J., Egoz, S. and Melnichuk, I., (eds.) Globalisation and landscape architecture : issues for education and practice. St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University Publishing House, St. Peterburg, pp. 120-123.      http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/14940/         It is posted here for your personal use. No further distribution is permitted.     120 A Variable Sense of  Place as Exemplified in an Iconic Urban Reserve in Western Australia P.G. Ladd, School of  Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Western Australia N.J. Enright, Geography Program, The University of  Melbourne, Australia R. Crosti, School of  Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Western Australia Introduction Extensive open spaces containing predominantly natural vegetation are rarely represented the inner areas of  major cities. In Europe, from centuries to several millennia of  human Im]pacts has created a primarily human landscape. Some public open spaces can be traced back to commons and hunting estates (e.g. Phoenix Park, Dublin), while others were established the l91h century to restore human health and well-being, as well as natural beauty, to overcrowded and polluted urban areas (Gilbert, 1989). In the New World, many cities which rapid population growth prior to the turn of  the 201h century have similar open spaces, characterised by picturesque-style landscape gardens and recreational facilities. For example, Central Park in New York was established in 1853 on 700 acres (290 ha) ofland previously occupied by the shanties and subsistence gardens of  the poor. Few major urban areas have extensive inner city open spaces dominated by natural vegetation. Among them are Kings Park in Perth (Australia) and Stanley Park in Vancouver (Canada), boasting areas of  around I 000 acres (  400 ha) within 2 km of  the city centre. Perth was first settled in 1829 and part of  the area now occupied by Kings, Park was set aside as parkland in 1831. Its reserve status was confirmed in 1872 and the area was enlarged to its current size in 1890 (Beard 1967). Subsequent development of  a botanical garden has left a natural vej~et[ttio:n remnant of  about 300 ha. Many large city public open spaces have acquired iconic status, attracting strong public participation and support, and Kings Park enjoys such status in Western Australia. The park serves a variety of  functions including as an important cultural link to nature for urban indigenous peoples, recreation, conservation of  native vegetation and species, a demonstration site for plant species adapted to the local environment, and as one of  the largest vegetation remnants in a network of  reserves providing stepping stones for plant and animal species movement across the city. The 'sense of  place' that a city and its inhabitants come to identify themselves by can have profound impacts on the way that urban landscapes develop. In the case of  Perth, its icons are the Swan River, The sandy beaches of  the Indian Ocean coastline, and Kings Park. While the first two have defmed the way that the city is laid out and has grown, the latter has fostered the development of  an Australian garden and landscape approach to urban design, and a strong native species conservation ethic. Pickett and Cadenasso (2006) argue that urban ecology is increasingly being recognised as relevant to urban design and that ecologists need to engage more fully with urban planners, landscape architects and social scientists in planning the ,u,~-­of  our cities.  They identify a number of  integrative tools for the study of  urban ecosystems, including watersheds, patch dynamics, comparative studies, simulation modelling and long data. Long-term monitoring of  public open spaces elsewhere has shown significant changes in the composition and structure of  vegetation (Nygaard &  Odegaard, 1999) with causes linked to management activities and user impacts. Pickett and Cadenasso argue that the combination of long-term vegetation monitoring, use of  historical documents, and empirical/experimental ~in lia !a i within npacts during 1ich saw 1ple, sly ation. r), both ~st din zem otation ark ration )J1 ve rs are e the ·ed the ng vis ;age futures ms, >ng terlll gesin lked to on of al 121 studies of  plant species demography in the urban context can detect and determine the causes of vegetation and biodiversity charige associated with management and hlllllan use, and contribute to better urban plarllling and management. Methods In 1939 the vegetation in a 60 ha area of  Kings Park was mapped by A.M. Baird of  The University of  Western Australia, and in 1965 the tree layer composition of  another area of  Kings Park (4.9 ha) was surveyed by Beard (1967). Resurvey of  the area mapped by Baird was reported by Crosti et al. (2007) while re-examination of  the Beard area was completed by us early in 2007. By reassessing these two areas we aim to determine ariY chariges in the vegetation over the intervening 60 and 40 years, respectively, why they have occurred and what management responses are needed. The Kings Park bushlarid is a mixed Eucalyptus-Banksia-Casuarina woodland located within the 400 ha Kings Park and Botarlical Gardens, approximately 1.5 km from the Perth Central Business District. The park is isolated from other native vegetation by the Swan River to the south and east, and urbari development in all directions. Almost a third of  recorded plarit species are exotics, with the South African grass, Ehrharta calycina, a major understorey invader since the 1940s. In both studies the dominant species (the tall trees Eucalyptus marginata Garrah), E. gomphocephala (tuart), Corymbia calophylla (marri), arid small trees Casuarinafraseriana, Banksia attenuata, B. menziesii, B. grandis arid B. ilicifolia) were mapped and the density of selected understorey species enlllllerated. The original plots were relocated as accurately as possible, the trees enlllllerated and eucalypts and banksias mapped. Saplings of  all tree species (plants 30 em to 2m tall and with a'stem diameter less than 2.5 em) were counted in each plot or, in the case of  the prolific Casuarina, a subset of  the plots. In this paper the results of  the resurvey cover 12 of  Beard's 24 plots. Results In both areas there has been considerable change in the abundance of  tree species. In the area mapped by Baird the mean density of  woody plants increased substaritially in the 60 years (Crosti et al. 2007). The relative abundance of  species also chariged, with increases in proportions of Corymbia calophylla, Casuarinafraseriana, Acacia saligna and the shrub, Dryandra sessilis. However there was a marked decrease in the density and relative frequencies of  Banksia species. Similarly, in the area originally mapped by Beard, there has been a large increase in Casuarina, and a decrease in Banksia (Table 1  ). For E. gomphocephala, many large trees carry dead brariches (as they did in 1965) but few have died, while there has been ari increase in the density of  both young trees and saplings. Casuarina saplings were not recorded by Beard (1967) but have a very high density. Some of  the changes in the appearance of  the vegetation can be illustrated in a profile diagram of  a 90 X 15m plot  that was drawn in 1965 (Beard, 1967) and re-examined in 2007 (Fig. 1  ). Many of  the Casuarina trees have increased in height, while some Banksia and Casuarina and two of  the large moribund E. gomphocephala have died. I !: I !j_£ ,, ! ' 122 Table 1.  Tree layer vegetation change (mean± se tree density ha-1)  from 1967 to 2007 in Kings Park, Perth based on remeasurement of  trees in twelve contiguous 0.5 acre (0.21 ha) plots. fu!ecies  Size-class  1965  2007 Eucalyptus gomphocephala (tuart)  tree  14±3  52±23 sapling  2.5  26±13 E. marginata (jarrah)  tree  6+2.5  15+7 sapling  7.4  3.5±2 Banksia species  tree  158±14  55±11 sapling  60+18 Casuarina fraseriana  tree  24+3.4  419±60 sapling  1770±480 Corymbia calophylla (marri)  tree  18+6 sapling  19±6 Figure 1:  Profile diagram of  a 90m section of  the Kings Park bushland; B = Banksia attenuata, C = Casuarina, M = Corymbia calophylla, J = Eucalyptus marginata, T = Eucalyptus gomphocephala; dark shading in (c) indicates dead limbs or trees. a. Inferred vegetation structure many years prior to 1965 from Beard (1967), b. Vegetation structure in 1965 from Beard (1967), c. Vegetation structure in 2007. DiSCI This chan not c bush incn bani Bea• hav1 UllSl pre~ intl rect IUCI Up (Bt cla DOl tm res the De reJ se gr m su ll E :e 20 cjO 120 10 20 M 10 ~ata, 123 Discussion This study emphasises that the vegetation in urban reserves occupied by indigenous plants will change over time due to impacts inevitably associated with their urban setting, mostly in ways not desired by management authorities. In 1967 Beard was pessimistic about the future of  the bushland, proposing that E. gomphocephala was declining while Casuarina and Banksia were increasing, transforming the area from an open eucalyptus woodland into a low, dense casuarina-banksia woodland. There is consistency between the two remeasurement areas reported here; Beard's projections of  increased Casuarina have been proven correct, however, Banksia species have declined rather than increased. Further, Beard's concern for E.  gomphocephala seems unsubstantiated, since few mature trees have died and there are many young individuals now present, albeit patchily distributed. The causes of  shifts in dominance are most likely an increase in the occurrence of  frre and weed invasion, both of  which advantage casuarina seedling recruitment, and a syndrome that kills banksias in late sururner/auturnn (perhaps linked to increased heat and drought over the past 30-40 years; see Crosti et al. 2007). Up until the 1960's plants not native to Western Australia were planted in Kings Park bushland (Buist eta!. 2000). Some of  these have become pests (e.g. Brachychiton populneus, Eucalyptus cladocalyx) and considerable efforts have been made in recent years to remove them. Planting of non-native species in urban bushland is no longer a management practice. Wildfires and weed invasion are problems for all reserves. However urban reserves are increasingly valued by local residents as areas to be protected. As ecological sustainability becomes a more common concern they are also considered part of  an urban network to support biodiversity and sustainability. Despite rapid globalisation, the indigenous vegetation of  Kings Park continues to provide a reference point for local residents for their ovyn urban landscape design and for retention of  their sense of  place. This is likely to become more, rather than less, important as the city continues to grow and to be influenced in other ways by global factors. This in tum makes the sound management of  natural vegetation fragments in urban areas an important focus in the context of sustainable cities. References Beard, J.S. (1967). Natural woodland in King's Park, Perth.  Western Australian Naturalist 10: 77-84. Buist,  M.,  Yates,  C.J.  &  Ladd,  P.G.  (2000).  The  ecological  characteristics  of Brachychiton populneus (kurrajong) in relation to the invasion of native bushland. Austral Ecology 25: 487-496. Crosti, R., Dixon, K.W., Ladd, P.G. & Yates, C.J. (2007). Changes in the structure and species dominance in vegetation over 60 years in an urban bushland remnant. Pacific Conservation Biology (in press). Gilbert, O.L. (1989). The ecology of  urban habitats. London: Chapman Hall. Nygaard, P.H.  &  Odegaard, T.  (1999).  Sixty years of vegetation dynamics in a  south boreal coniferous forest in southern Norway. Journal of  Vegetation Science 10: 5-16. Pickett, S.T.A. & Cadenasso, M.L. (2006). Advancing urban ecological studies: Frameworks, concepts, and results from the Baltimore ecosystem study. Austral Ecology 31:  114-125. ii; 

Advancing urban ecological studies: Frameworks, concepts, and results from the Baltimore ecosystem study.

Changes in the structure and species dominance in vegetation over 60 years in an urban bushland remnant. Pacific Conservation Biology

Natural woodland in King's Park,

Sixty years of vegetation dynamics in a south boreal coniferous forest in southern Norway.

The ecological characteristics of Brachychiton populneus (kurrajong) in relation to the invasion of native bushland.

The ecology of urban habitats.

A variable sense of place as exemplified in an iconic urban reserve in Western Australia

http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/14940/

A variable sense of place as exemplified in an iconic urban reserve in Western Australia

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