RST Apology to Tasmanian Aboriginal people 2021.
Seedling surveys indicated that landslide faces provide opportunities for Athrotaxis selaginoides and Nothofagus cunninghamii to regenerate in thamnic and high altitude callidendrous rainforest. The spatial distribution of mature A.selaginoides stems at some sites suggests that they have originated on past landslides. Leptospermum scoparium and Eucalyptus vernicosa seedlings were also present at some of the sites investigated. Therefore, landslides may provide regeneration opportunities for these species in rainforest communities in the absence of fire.
The physical attributes of A. selaginoides suggest that the species would be advantaged by canopy disturbance of the scale caused by landslides as opposed to smaller treefall gaps. The cooler climate, higher levels of slope instability, avalanches and snowstorms during the last glacial would have been well suited to this species.
Royal Society of Tasmania, RST, Van Diemens Land, natural history, science, ecology, taxonomy, botany, zoology, geology, geography, papers & proceedings, Australia, UTAS Library
Published Papers
The Royal Society of Tasmania acknowledges, with deep respect, the traditional owners of this land, and the ongoing custodianship of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. The Society pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that Tasmanian Aboriginal Peoples have survived severe and unjust impacts resulting from invasion and dispossession of their Country. As an institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, the Royal Society of Tasmania recognises Aboriginal cultural knowledge and practices and seeks to respect and honour these traditions and the deep understanding they represent.
On 15 February 2021, the Royal Society of Tasmania offered a formal Apology to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.