Northern Tablelands Koala Management Area – Restoring koala habitat | Threatened species

In this section

Low-density koala populations are scattered throughout the highly fragmented and cleared Northern Tablelands Koala Management Area (KMA 4).

The distribution of koalas in this area is poorly understood. They are found in a range of habitat types including small woodland and forest remnants, paddock trees within fertile agricultural areas, and more rugged woodlands and forests.

Map showing the Northern Tablelands Koala Management Area (KMA), with national parks, state forests, major waterways and roads in various shades of green.

Map showing the extent of the Northern Tablelands Koala Management Area (KMA), with national parks, state forests, major waterways and roads

Threats

Koalas and koala habitat in KMA 4 are threatened by:

lack of knowledge about this low-density population and its threatening processes
continued habitat clearing and fragmentation due to rural residential development
climate change, drought and heatwaves
high-intensity fires causing koala injury and death, and temporarily eliminating food sources
possible future influx of koalas from the larger populations to the west, as their habitat range shrinks due to climate change, increasing competition for limited resources
vehicle strike and domestic dog attack
diseases such as chlamydia and koala retrovirus.

Restoration of habitat

Habitat restoration aims to reduce threats to koalas, increase habitat and help conserve koala populations.

Read our Koala habitat restoration guidelines (the guidelines) for evidence-based recommendations and best-practice methods for restoring koala habitat.

Choosing an approach

Before you choose a restoration approach, such as natural regeneration, assisted regeneration, reintroductions or a combination of these, carefully assess your site and identify:

which plant community you aim to reinstate
whether the site has existing native vegetation on it. If native vegetation exists, try to facilitate natural regeneration before planting or direct seeding. The guidelines have more information.

Plant spacing

Plant spacing can vary depending on the vegetation structure you aim to establish (for example, woodland, open forest or tall open forest). Trees should be planted far enough apart to have good tree form or formation of lateral branches and to allow enough light through for native grasses, shrubs and ferns to thrive.

Some tips for planting:

Plant trees 8–10 metres apart (150 trees/hectare).
Tree spacing closer than 8 metres should usually be avoided to ensure enough light is available for understorey plants that provide habitat for other animals, although in moist high-fertility sites close spacing of 3–5 metres (400–625 trees/hectare) is recommended.
Plant shrubs 3–5 metres apart (400–625 shrubs/hectare), depending on the size of shrubs.
Spacing for groundcover varies and can be anywhere from one to 6 plants per square metre.
A density of 600–1,000 trees and shrubs per hectare is common.

Trees koalas prefer

Koalas use a broad range of tree species for food, shelter, rest and socialising.

Koalas usually feed within trees of the Eucalyptus genus, but they use many non-eucalypt species for shelter and sometimes feed on trees from genera such as:

Lophostemon – swamp box, swamp turpentine
Melaleuca – paperbark/tea tree
Acacia – wattle
Allocasuarina – she oak
Callitris – conifer/cypress.

We recommend you plant a range of high, significant and occasional-use tree species from our recommended tree species list.

Not all species will be relevant for all sites.

When you choose trees to plant, consider whether:

species are locally native
species are suitable for your site in terms of landscape position, such as near a creek, on a slope or ridge
you have chosen a mix of species that koalas will use for food, shelter and social activities
you have included shrubs and groundcover species as well as tree species.

Tree species lists

These tree lists contain recommended tree species for koala habitat within KMA 4. The lists align with local government areas located within this KMA: