Castlereagh Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Castlereagh Nature Reserve is a regional park in New South Wales
, Australia
, 60 km (37.3 mi) west of Sydney, and located near the townships of Castlereagh
and Londonderry. The reserve covers 495 hectares (1,223.2 acre). In 1960, 266 hectares (657.3 acre) was reclaimed for use as a Child Welfare Training School, and in 1971, 389 hectares (961.2 acre) was reclaimed for the establishment of a liquid waste disposal facility.
The boundary of the reserve is marked by The Northern Road to the west, by Llandilo Road to the east, rural properties to the south and by the Castlereagh Waste Management Centre to the north. The nature reserve was formerly Castlereagh State Forest and was managed as a production forest from 1917 to 1988, then as a demonstration forest from 1988 to 1995.
producing clays, sand, gravel and shales at depth. Parts of Castlereagh Nature Reserve support Cumberland Plain Woodland vegetation.
The nature reserve is between 30 and 40 m (98.4 and 131.2 ft) above sea level and is predominately flat with broad, shallow depressions forming a sparse drainage network. Small, shallow lakes form after wet weather to the north of the reserve where gravels and other alluvials have been extracted when the reserve was a production forest.
sap. Fibrosa with occasional mugga ironbark
Eucalyptus sideroxylon
, thin-leaved stringybark Eucalyptus enugeniodes, woollybutt Eucalyptus longifolia and Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus sclerophylla. Threatened plant species found in the nature reserve include Dillwynia tenuifolia, Pultenea parviflora, Acacia bynoeana, dwarf casuarina Allocasuarina glareicola, nodding geebung Persoonia nutans and Micromyrtus minutiflora.
The reserve is relatively free of significant weed infestations. A few slash pines Pinus elliotti are found in the northern section of the reserve from when 300 hectares (741.3 acre) of Castlereagh State Forest was used for trial plantings of pines in the 1920s and 1930s. Heavy harvesting of ironbark during the Second World Ware, illegal timber collection and numerous fires generally thinned the forest, resulting in no mature trees in some areas.
The eastern brown snake Pseudonaja textilis, red-bellied black snake Psuedechris porphriacus, lace monitor Varanus varius and a number of frog species including the endangered green and golden bell frog Littoria aurea also reside within the reserve.
An area of 1 hectares (2.5 acre) to the north western boundary of the nature reserve adjacent to the Castlereagh Waste Management Centre was previously used as an area for the disposal of heavy metals including zinc, cadmium and lead. The contaminated soil was removed in 1996 and replaced with clean local fill. Groundwater quality is monitored at six sampling stations by Waste Services.
Fire has been a major factor in shaping the flora in the reserve. The last major fire occurred in 1982 and burnt over 75 percent of the reserve which has altered the understory of the forest and woodland communicates.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 60 km (37.3 mi) west of Sydney, and located near the townships of Castlereagh
Castlereagh, New South Wales
Castlereagh is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castlereagh is located 67 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.-History:The suburb is one of the...
and Londonderry. The reserve covers 495 hectares (1,223.2 acre). In 1960, 266 hectares (657.3 acre) was reclaimed for use as a Child Welfare Training School, and in 1971, 389 hectares (961.2 acre) was reclaimed for the establishment of a liquid waste disposal facility.
The boundary of the reserve is marked by The Northern Road to the west, by Llandilo Road to the east, rural properties to the south and by the Castlereagh Waste Management Centre to the north. The nature reserve was formerly Castlereagh State Forest and was managed as a production forest from 1917 to 1988, then as a demonstration forest from 1988 to 1995.
Geology
The Castlereagh Nature Reserve contains a geographically restricted substrate of Tertiary alluvialsAlluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
producing clays, sand, gravel and shales at depth. Parts of Castlereagh Nature Reserve support Cumberland Plain Woodland vegetation.
The nature reserve is between 30 and 40 m (98.4 and 131.2 ft) above sea level and is predominately flat with broad, shallow depressions forming a sparse drainage network. Small, shallow lakes form after wet weather to the north of the reserve where gravels and other alluvials have been extracted when the reserve was a production forest.
Flora
Open forest occurs on clay soils and is dominated by broad-leaved ironbark Eucalyptus fibrosaEucalyptus fibrosa
Eucalyptus fibrosa, commonly known as the Red Ironbark or Broad-leaved Red Ironbark, is a type of Ironbark tree found in eastern Australia, mainly in Queensland and New South Wales. This plant is in family Myrtaceae....
sap. Fibrosa with occasional mugga ironbark
Ironbark
Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus Eucalyptus that have dark, deeply furrowed bark....
Eucalyptus sideroxylon
Sideroxylon
Sideroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapotaceae. There are about 70 species, collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος , meaning "iron", and ξύλον , meaning "wood."-Distribution:The genus is distributed mainly in the neotropics,...
, thin-leaved stringybark Eucalyptus enugeniodes, woollybutt Eucalyptus longifolia and Scribbly Gum Eucalyptus sclerophylla. Threatened plant species found in the nature reserve include Dillwynia tenuifolia, Pultenea parviflora, Acacia bynoeana, dwarf casuarina Allocasuarina glareicola, nodding geebung Persoonia nutans and Micromyrtus minutiflora.
The reserve is relatively free of significant weed infestations. A few slash pines Pinus elliotti are found in the northern section of the reserve from when 300 hectares (741.3 acre) of Castlereagh State Forest was used for trial plantings of pines in the 1920s and 1930s. Heavy harvesting of ironbark during the Second World Ware, illegal timber collection and numerous fires generally thinned the forest, resulting in no mature trees in some areas.
Fauna
The nature reserve is home to a diverse range of manuals including sugar gliders Petaurus breviceps, brush-tailed possum Trichosurus vulpecular and eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus.The eastern brown snake Pseudonaja textilis, red-bellied black snake Psuedechris porphriacus, lace monitor Varanus varius and a number of frog species including the endangered green and golden bell frog Littoria aurea also reside within the reserve.
Environmental Impacts
In 1987 the area around the old gravel pits was planted with over 3,000 seedlings but ultimately the plantings were unsuccessful. Due to past logging and other plantings, parts of the reserve are dominated by immature regrowth and has modified species composition and abundance.An area of 1 hectares (2.5 acre) to the north western boundary of the nature reserve adjacent to the Castlereagh Waste Management Centre was previously used as an area for the disposal of heavy metals including zinc, cadmium and lead. The contaminated soil was removed in 1996 and replaced with clean local fill. Groundwater quality is monitored at six sampling stations by Waste Services.
Fire has been a major factor in shaping the flora in the reserve. The last major fire occurred in 1982 and burnt over 75 percent of the reserve which has altered the understory of the forest and woodland communicates.
Accidents
In 1957 a Vampire fighter jet crashed into Castlereagh State Forest however the Flying Officer, Gavin Collins was able to eject safely.External links
- http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/pomfinalagnescastlereagh.pdf
- http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-pa-HTTP%253A%252F%252FACMS.SL.NSW.GOV.AU%252FITEM%252FITEMDETAILPAGED.ASPX%253FITEMID%253D212493
- http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/project/Biographies/C/Collins_Gavin_Michael/Collins_Gavin_Michael.htm