Yarra Ranges National Park

Yarra Ranges National Park Victoria
IUCN category II (national park)
A waterfall in the national park near Marysville
Yarra Ranges National Park
Nearest town or city	Melbourne
Coordinates	37°40′50″S 145°59′27″E / 37.68056°S 145.99083°E / -37.68056; 145.99083Coordinates: 37°40′50″S 145°59′27″E / 37.68056°S 145.99083°E / -37.68056; 145.99083
Established	December 1995 (1995-12)
Area	760 km2 (293.4 sq mi)
Visitation	800,000 (in 2002)
Managing authorities	Parks Victoria
Website	Yarra Ranges National Park
See also	Protected areas of Victoria

Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the southeastern region of Australia, in the Victoria Central Highlands, 107 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the carbon-rich forest is home to the majestic Mountain Ash Tree, one of the tallest tree species in the world. A wide diversity of fauna make their home across the park's 76,003 hectares, including kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, platypi and 120 species of native birds. The Yarra, O'Shaunessy and Taggerty Rivers flow through the Park, and with several reservoirs form an important source of drinking water for the City of Melbourne. Among the conservation challenges facing Yarra Ranges National Park are logging, climate change and invasive species of weeds.

The Yarra Ranges National Park was created in December 1995, and spans 76,003 hectares within Victoria's Central Highlands. This National Park has been given "the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Category 2 (National Parks) of the United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas". By being category 2, it means that the park is primarily managed for the ecosystem conservation and appropriate recreation within it. The park is made up of wet Mountain Ash Forest and Cool Temperate Rainforest, as well as a diverse range of flora and fauna species. Mount Donna Buang, standing 1,245 meters above the town of Warburton is the parks largest mountain. The park encompasses the headwaters of the Yarra, O’Shannassey and Taggerty Rivers, as well as key dam and reservoirs, which make up 70% of Melbourne's drinking water. This is because 84% of the park is within the Designated Water Supply Catchment Area (DWSCA) which is managed under the Government's Closed Catchment Policy. Because of this, much of the park has limited access to the public to better protect the water supply catchments.

Victoria's Mountain Ash trees (Eucalyptus regnans) are among the most spectacular trees in the world being one of the worlds tallest tree species, as well as the tallest flowering plant.

The Mountain ash trees have a lifespan of 400 years and tower up to 90 meters, though have been known to grow taller with the highest ever recorded being the "Ferguson Tree," discovered near Healesville in 1872 standing at over 154 meters high. They grow in stands that have the highest above-ground biomass of any trees in the world, allowing them to store large quantities of carbon dioxide. In 2009, a study was conducted by Professor Brendan Mackey of the Australian National University, who found that Mountain Ash forests are the best in the world at locking up carbon, storing 1,867 tonnes of carbon per hectare. Once they have reached the end of their lifespan, their dead tree stumps and fallen logs continue to provide homes for at least 40 hollow-dependant species, including Victoria's faunal emblem – the endangered Leadbeater's Possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri) – as well as the Mountain Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus cunninghami) and the Greater Glider (Petauroides volans). There has also been nine epiphyte species that have been observed growing on the Mountain Ash trees, the most prevalent of these being Liverwort (Bazzania adnexa). Other than Mountain Ash trees, the park also contains several threatened species of flora, including the Slender Tree Fern (Cyathea cunninghamii).