Modelling Tree Hollow Availability Over Time in the Barmah Landscape Zone (original) (raw)

Extensive areas of trees and shrubs are being planted for land rehabilitation and wood production on previously cleared agricultural land in Australia. Environmental benefits are a major incentive for this change in land management, but data concerning the response of biodiversity to new plantings are scarce and are needed to direct restoration efforts and to underpin policy development. This report outlines a large-scale study to guide future planting schemes for biodiversity recovery in agricultural landscapes. It documents and compares the occurrences of more than 180 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians sampled at 136 sites representing eucalypt plantings in two broad age-classes, nearby remnants of native forest and woodland, and cleared or sparsely-treed paddocks. The study design also enabled comparison of the occurrences of these species across a range of patch-sizes of both revegetation and existing remnant vegetation. Comparisons were also made of the occupancy of young plantings by birds and bats in two landscape types, which differed mainly in their proportions of retained native vegetation. The role of vegetation type and condition, and management history, in influencing the occurrences of species in plantings and remnants is discussed. The report concludes with recommendations for restoring habitat for wildlife on farms, in the context of improving conservation outcomes from eucalypt plantings that are established for multiple purposes. This project was funded by the Natural Heritage Trust and the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP). JVAP is supported by three R&D Corporations — Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), Land & Water Australia, and Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC), together with the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC). The R&D Corporations are funded principally by the Australian Government. State and Australian Governments contribute funds to the MDBC.