Is there a relationship between contemporary high Aboriginal plant resource locations and mapped vegetation communities?

Abstract

Across western New South Wales agricultural practices have led to significant changes in the distribution and abundance of many native plant species. These changes have occurred due to past clearing practices and the introduction of grazing and pest animals. It is likely that such changes have affected the distribution of plant species used by Aboriginal peoples, and that formerly rich plant resource areas may also have changed. Here an attempt is made to map contemporary high aboriginal plant resource areas in the Yantabulla area (lat 29° 55'S, long 150° 37'E) of far western New South Wales, using kriging interpolation. High aboriginal plant usage resource areas were not found to be correlated with any particular vegetation assemblage, although Lignum Shrublands comparatively had the lowest scores. Site species richness was correlated strongly with sites of high abundance of aboriginal resource use. It is hoped that by identifying contemporary high resource locations, new understandings of the landscape can be developed by traditional owners and conservation land managers.