Great Otway National Park
Great Otway National Park Apollo Bay | |
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Coordinates | 38°46′24″S 143°33′27″E / 38.77333°S 143.55750°E |
Established | 11 December 2005[1] |
Area | 1,031 km2 (398.1 sq mi)[1] |
Managing authorities | Parks Victoria |
Website | Great Otway National Park |
See also | Protected areas of Victoria |
The Great Otway National Park is a national park located in the
History
Commercial
The park was declared in 2004 when Otway National Park, Angahook-Lorne State Park, Carlisle State Park, Melba Gully State Park, areas of the Otway State Forest and a number of Crown Land reserves were combined into one park.[3] The parks were combined after a campaign by the local community and the Otway Ranges Environment Network and was officially gazetted on 11 December 2005.[1]
Features
The Great Otway National Park is popular with Victorian, interstate, and international tourists, with a number of companies operating tours in the region. It contains three camping areas at
Glow worms (
Important Bird Area
The park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of rufous bristlebirds, striated fieldwrens and pink robins, as well as numerous other species.[5]
Climate
The area has a very wet temperate oceanic climate
Climate data for the Otway Ranges are sourced from Weeaproinah, at an elevation of 492 metres (1,614 ft); operating between 1965 and 2012. The Otway Ranges feature a cold rainforest climate with extreme winter rainfall, which owes to the westerly exposure year-round. Heavy, wet
Climate data for Weeaproinah (1965–2012, rainfall to 1901); 492 m AMSL; 38.64° S, 143.51° E | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 39.4 (102.9) |
39.0 (102.2) |
35.9 (96.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
22.8 (73.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
16.4 (61.5) |
20.3 (68.5) |
25.4 (77.7) |
28.1 (82.6) |
32.0 (89.6) |
36.5 (97.7) |
39.4 (102.9) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.0 (68.0) |
20.6 (69.1) |
18.3 (64.9) |
15.0 (59.0) |
11.9 (53.4) |
9.6 (49.3) |
8.8 (47.8) |
9.8 (49.6) |
11.4 (52.5) |
13.7 (56.7) |
16.0 (60.8) |
17.9 (64.2) |
14.4 (57.9) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.8 (51.4) |
11.5 (52.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
8.8 (47.8) |
7.2 (45.0) |
5.4 (41.7) |
4.5 (40.1) |
4.7 (40.5) |
5.4 (41.7) |
6.6 (43.9) |
8.1 (46.6) |
9.4 (48.9) |
7.7 (45.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) |
4.1 (39.4) |
3.0 (37.4) |
1.3 (34.3) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
3.2 (37.8) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 87.8 (3.46) |
85.8 (3.38) |
111.7 (4.40) |
154.6 (6.09) |
197.1 (7.76) |
211.7 (8.33) |
226.3 (8.91) |
233.9 (9.21) |
199.9 (7.87) |
174.0 (6.85) |
139.3 (5.48) |
113.3 (4.46) |
1,936.7 (76.25) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 12.8 | 11.8 | 15.6 | 18.1 | 20.7 | 21.5 | 23.4 | 23.1 | 21.1 | 19.8 | 16.7 | 14.8 | 219.4 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Weeaproinah |
Fungi
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2020) |
The Great Otway National Park is extremely rich in fungal diversity. Although hundreds of species of flora and fauna are listed in the Great Otway National Park Management Plan Archived 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, there is only a single reference to fungi. The reference is to the fungal pathogen, Chalara australis that affects myrtle beech. However, the great majority of fungi in the Park perform beneficial ecological roles. In fact, most fungi perform positive rather than negative roles. Even parasitic fungi – often regarded only negatively – are a vital part of healthy ecosystems, regulating ecosystem functions.
As primary recyclers of organic matter, saprobic fungi break down fallen branches and leaf litter, making vital nutrients available to other organisms. Other fungi form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. Although rarely acknowledged, the great majority of plants in the Great Otway National Park (indeed in the world) form mutually beneficial mycorrhizal relationships with fungi.
Given the great diversity of plants, specialist habitats and micro-climates in the park, a great diversity of fungi, including lichens, is also expected to occur there. Two hundred and seventy-eight species of fungi are listed in the Atlas of Living Australia. This is likely to be only a fraction of the total number of fungal species that grow in the Park.
Despite their essential roles in underpinning terrestrial ecosystems, fungi are barely recognised as a vital part of Australia's biodiversity. Although Australia has national and state level biodiversity conservation strategies and has ratified international conventions, most overlook fungi. There is currently no statewide biodiversity strategy for managing biodiversity in Victoria and the Colac Otway Shire Environment Strategy makes no reference to fungi. There is however, a great deal of interest in fungi among the local community. The Southern Otways Landcare Network have been actively involved in learning about and surveying the Park's fungi in recent years and produced a guide to one hundred of the more easily recognisable fungal species found in the park.
The Australian citizen-science organisation, Fungimap is also documenting and mapping the distribution of fungi including those that occur in the Great Otway National Park.
One of the tiniest yet conspicuous species found in the wetter parts of the park is the ruby bonnet (Mycena viscidocruenta). The ghost fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis) grows on trees and is another easily recognisable species, especially at night when it glows a pale green. The rosette fungus (Podoscypha petalodes) often appears in funnel-shaped rosettes at the base of trees and among leaf litter and is widespread throughout the park. The flame fungus (Clavaria miniata) grows singly or in groups on soil.
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Clavaria miniata
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Omphalotus nidiformis
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Mycena viscidocruenta
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Podoscypha petalodes
See also
- Great Ocean Walk
- Protected areas of Victoria
- Triplet Falls
- Strzelecki Ranges
- Redwoods of the Otway Ranges
- List of national parks of Australia
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7311-8384-5. Archived from the original(PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ "Culture and heritage". Parks Victoria.
- ^ a b c d e "Great Otway National Park". Parks Victoria. 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ a b Baker, Claire H. (2010). "A new subgenus and five new species of Australian glow-worms (Diptera: Keroplatidae: Arachnocampa)". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 55 (1): 11–43.
- ^ "IBA: Otway Range". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.