Journal articles on the topic 'Eucalypt woodland'
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1
Burrows, W. H., M. B. Hoffmann, J. F. Compton, P. V. Back, and L. J. Tait. "Allometric relationships and community biomass estimates for some dominant eucalypts in Central Queensland woodlands." Australian Journal of Botany 48, no. 6 (2000): 707. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt99066.
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Allometric equations are presented relating stem circumference to branch, leaf, trunk, bark, total above-ground and lignotuber biomass for Eucalyptus crebra F.Muell. (woodland trees), E. melanophloia Sol. Ex Gaerth. (both woodland and regrowth community trees) and E. populnea F.Muell. (woodland trees). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the slopes of individual lognormal regression lines plotting stem circumference against total above-ground biomass for E. crebra, E. melanophloia and E. populnea. Root-to-shoot ratios and leaf area indices were also determined for the stands contributing to each regression. The regressions were then applied to measured eucalypt stems in the associated plant community to give estimates of each stand’s component (eucalypt tree fraction only) biomass per hectare. These eucalypt regressions were next applied to measured stems of each species on a total of 33 woodland sites in which these eucalypts individually contributed > 75% of total site basal area. Above-ground biomass/basal area relationships averaged 6.74 0.29 t m–2 basal area for 11 E. crebra sites, 5.11 0.28 t m–2 for 12 E. melanophloia sites and 5.81 0.11 t m–2 for 10 E. populnea sites. The mean relationship for all sites was 5.86 0.18 t m–2 basal area. The allometric relationships presented at both individual tree and stand levels, along with calculated biomass : basal area relationships, enable ready estimates to be made of above-ground biomass (carbon stocks) in woodlands dominated by these eucalypts in Queensland, assuming individual stem circumferences or community basal areas are known. However, to document changes in carbon stocks (e.g. for Greenhouse Gas Inventory or Carbon Offset trading purposes), more attention needs to be placed on monitoring fluxes in the independent variables (predictors) of these allometric equations.
2
Yates, Colin J., and Richard J. Hobbs. "Temperate Eucalypt Woodlands: a Review of Their Status, Processes Threatening Their Persistence and Techniques for Restoration." Australian Journal of Botany 45, no. 6 (1997): 949. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt96091.
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Temperate eucalypt woodlands were once widespread throughout southern Australia and Tasmania. Following European settlement, woodlands were cleared for agriculture, or grazed and converted to pasture. In the wheatbelts of south-western and south-eastern Australia, woodlands have been almost completely eliminated from the landscape with as little as 3% of some woodland types remaining. As a consequence, some temperate eucalypt woodland communities are amongst the most poorly conserved ecosystems in Australia. The main effect of widespread clearing and grazing has been the loss of habitat. This has had a devastating impact on the woodland flora and fauna. A number of species have become extinct and many are threatened; many others have undergone regional and local population declines. Woodlands now occur throughout much of their former range as remnants of varying size, quality and isolation. Many of these are under threat from further clearing, rising saline water tables and increased inundation, livestock grazing, nutrient enrichment, soil structural decline, altered fire regimes and the invasion of exotic weeds. The degradation and loss of biodiversity in temperate eucalypt woodlands will continue unless clearing stops and the management of remnants changes; this will invariably involve ecological restoration both at the patch and landscape level. The review discusses approaches to restoration and reveals that there are few data in the published literature describing techniques for reversing degrading processes and restoring diversity structure and function in remnant woodlands. This information is urgently needed. Past research on temperate eucalypt woodlands has focused on identifying the processes of degradation and these are now relatively well documented. There is a need to shift the focus of research to developing solutions for these problems.
3
J. Grey, Merilyn, Michael F. Clarke, and Richard H. Loyn. "Influence of the Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala on avian diversity and abundance in remnant Grey Box woodland." Pacific Conservation Biology 4, no. 1 (1998): 55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc980055.
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The abundance of an aggressive Australian honeyeater, the Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala, was reduced at four small (<8 ha) Grey Box Eucalyptus microcarpa woodland remnants by experimental removal. The diversity and abundance of small insectivorous and nectarivorous birds increased at three of the four sites (relative to matching control sites) over the twelve months following the removal of the Noisy Miners. The one exception occurred at a pair of sites where eucalypts began flowering at one site and finished at the other during the Noisy Miner removal period. These results, taken together with those from three earlier experiments where the abundance of Noisy Miners was reduced in Mugga Ironbark E. Sideroxylon woodland remnants, demonstrate that Noisy Miners affect avian diversity and abundance by aggressive exclusion of other species. In five out of seven experiments, Noisy Miners did not reinvade the small woodland remnants during the ensuing twelve months. When Noisy Miner abundance was reduced, increased populations of small insectivorous and nectarivorous birds used small degraded woodland remnants. Colonizing populations of small birds have the potential to reduce insect infestations and may assist in the recovery of dieback-affected woodland remnants. Research is continuing to test this hypothesis. Reducing the abundance of Noisy Miners in remnant eucalypt woodlands may also be a useful, short-term measure, which could assist in the recovery of threatened or endangered bird species.
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Adams-Schimminger, Miriam, Graham Fifield, Bruce Doran, and David Freudenberger. "Woodland Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Conservation in an Agricultural Landscape in South Eastern Australia." Case Studies in the Environment 1, no. 1 (2017): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/cse.2017.sc.399598.
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Southern Australia has a tree crisis. The iconic and ecologically essential eucalypt trees are dying out across vast swathes of farmland that were once grassy woodlands. A century of clearing and agricultural intensification, plus the failure of these trees to self-regenerate, has led to a massive loss of wildlife habitat, particularly tree hollows that only form in large and old Eucalyptus trees. Just as importantly, this decline in trees has exposed farmers to losses of agricultural productivity. There is now a lack of shelter for livestock. Rising salty ground water is degrading pastures as this ground water is no longer being controlled by the deep roots and respiration of eucalypts. We describe the research that shows how an innovative partnership between farmers, a non-government environmental organisation, and government funding is rehabilitating entire fields to a productive and wildlife-rich woodland full of thriving eucalypts.
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Crane, M. J., D. B. Lindenmayer, and R. B. Cunningham. "Use and characteristics of nocturnal habitats of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfocensis) in Australian temperate woodlands." Australian Journal of Zoology 60, no. 5 (2012): 320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo12080.
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In Australian temperate woodlands, most squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) habitats exist outside formal conservation reserves, often in highly fragmented agricultural landscapes. To conserve squirrel glider populations in such woodlands it is essential to define important habitats and understand how they are used. This study examines the nocturnal habitat use of squirrel gliders across five sites within an agricultural landscape in south-eastern Australia. Over a five-month period we radio-tracked 32 gliders to 372 nocturnal locations. We quantify characteristics of key nocturnal habitats and describe their use. Gliders were more likely to use large eucalypt trees, particularly yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora) and mugga ironbark (E. sideroxylon). Nocturnal activity mostly took place high in the canopy of eucalypts, accounting for 74% of fixes. Multiple regression models revealed that feeding was more likely to occur in large, healthy trees close to drainage lines, with a preference for E. melliodora, when eucalypts were not flowering. Flowering trees were preferentially sought and were strongly associated with being large healthy trees that occur on ridges and upper slopes. Showing that the squirrel glider utilises key feeding structures (large healthy Eucalyptus trees) in different parts of the landscape at different times has direct management implications in the conservation and restoration of squirrel glider habitat, particularly in fragmented temperate woodland.
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Abensperg-Traun, Max, Lyn Atkins, Richard Hobbs, and Dion Steven. "Exotic plant invasion and understorey species richness: a comparison of two types of eucalypt woodland in agricultural Western Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 4, no. 1 (1998): 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc980021.
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Exotic plants are a major threat to native plant diversity in Australia yet a generic model of the invasion of Australian ecosystems by exotic species is lacking because invasion levels differ with vegetation/soil type and environmental conditions. This study compared relative differences in exotic species invasion (percent cover, spp. richness) and the species richness of herbaceous native plants in two structurally very similar vegetation types, Gimlet Eucalyptus salubris and Wandoo E. capillosa woodlands in the Western Australian wheatbelt. For each woodland type, plant variables were measured for relatively undisturbed woodlands, woodlands with >30 years of livestock grazing history, and woodlands in road-verges. Grazed and road-verge Gimlet and Wandoo woodlands had significantly higher cover of exotic species, and lower species richness of native plants, compared with undisturbed Gimlet and Wandoo. Exotic plant invasion was significantly greater in Gimlet woodlands for both grazed (mean 78% cover) and road-verge sites (mean 42% cover) than in comparable sites in Wandoo woodlands (grazed sites 25% cover, road-verge sites 19% cover). There was no significant difference in the species richness of exotic plants between Wandoo and Gimlet sites for any of the three situations. Mean site richness of native plants was not significantly different between undisturbed Wandoo and undisturbed Gimlet woodlands. Undisturbed woodlands were significantly richer in plant species than grazed and road-verge woodlands for both woodland types. Grazed and road-verge Wandoo sites were significantly richer in plant species than communities in grazed and road-verge Gimlet. The percent cover of exotics was negatively correlated with total (native) plant species richness for both woodland types (Wandoo r = ?0.70, Gimlet r = ?0.87). Of the total native species recorded in undisturbed Gimlet, 83% and 61% were not recorded in grazed and road-verge Gimlet, respectively. This compared with 40% and 33% for grazed and road-verge Wandoo, respectively. Grazed Wandoo and grazed Gimlet sites had significantly fewer native plant species than did road-verge Wandoo and road-verge Gimlet sites. Ecosystem implications of differential invasions by exotic species, and the effects of grazing (disturbance) and other factors influencing susceptibility to exotic plant invasion (landscape, competition and allelopathy) on native species decline are discussed. Exclusion of livestock and adequate methods of control and prevention of further invasions by exotic plants are essential requirements for the conservation of these woodland systems.
7
Recher, Harry F., and William E. Davis Jr. "Response of birds to a wildfire in the Great Western Woodlands, Western Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 19, no. 4 (2013): 188. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc130188.
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In December 2005, a wildfire burnt a large area of semi-arid eucalypt woodland along ~10 km of the Norseman- Coolgardie Road north of Norseman in the Great Western Woodlands (GWW), Western Australia. Few birds used the burnt area in the first year after the fire and these were mainly ground and shrub foraging insectivores. There was no influx of seed-eaters or open-country species as reported for post-fire habitats elsewhere in southern Australia. The greatest number of individuals and species of birds occurred in the second year post-fire when ground and shrub vegetation was floristically most diverse. Canopy foragers were attracted to the burnt area in the second year by an outbreak of psyllid insects on seedling eucalypts. At the same time, bark dwelling arthropods associated with the standing stems of fire-killed eucalypts attracted bark-foragers. From the third year, small insectivorous ground, shrub, and canopy foragers dominated the avifauna on the burnt area. These foraged on fire-killed shrubs, as well as living vegetation, including the lignotuberous regrowth of eucalypts. Bark foragers were uncommon after the second year. Throughout the study, the burnt area had fewer species and individuals than adjacent unburnt habitats. Compared with unburnt woodlands there were few differences in how species foraged on the burnt plots, but most species foraged lower reflecting the stature of the vegetation in the burnt woodland. Nectar-feeders, fruit-eaters, large insectivores, raptors, and parrots, although common in the unburnt woodland, were absent or rare in the burnt area. This reflected the limited regrowth of vegetation on the burnt area, which lacked the structural and floristic complexity of nearby unburnt woodlands. Ground foragers probably commenced nesting on the burnt area in the first year, with shrub and canopy foragers nesting from the second year. However, after five years, there was no evidence of large insectivores, nectar-feeders, raptors, seed-eaters, or foliage-eaters (i.e., parrots) nesting despite their abundance in adjacent unburnt woodland. Some of the unburnt woodlands monitored in this study were even-aged regeneration estimated to be 30–50 years post-fire or logging. Regardless of origin, these even-aged plots lacked the diverse avifauna associated with mature woodlands and suggest that post-fire recovery of birds and vegetation in these woodlands is likely to take decades and probably more than 100 years. If so, human activities that increase fire frequency in the GWW, including climate change and fuel-reduction burns, will have long-term adverse impacts on regional biodiversity exceeding those associated with wildfires in less arid forests and woodlands where rates of recovery are more rapid.
8
Fensham, RJ, and JB Kirkpatrick. "The Eucalypt Forest Grassland/Grassy Woodland Boundary in Central Tasmania." Australian Journal of Botany 40, no. 2 (1992): 123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt9920123.
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Downslope boundaries of forest with grassland and grassy woodland occur over a wide altitudinal range in central Tasmania. Three sites were selected for study of the causes of these boundaries at low, medium and high elevations. The open vegetation was generally associated with moister and less rocky soils and more subdued topography than the adjacent forest. Frost incidence and intensity, soil moisture and waterlogging varied markedly among the three open areas. Planted tree seedlings survived 4 years in the open at all sites, and seedlings established in the open both naturally, and after sowing, where grass competition was reduced by herbicide application, digging or root competition from adult eucalypts. Grazing had no detectable effect on seedling establishment. A pot experiment demonstrated a suppressive effect of native grass swards on both seedling establishment and growth, this effect being largely independent of available moisture and nutrients. While frost, waterlogging, fire and drought may play a role in inhibiting eucalypt establishment and increasing eucalypt mortality at some or all of the sites, the dense grass swards found in all the open areas are considered to be the most likely primary agent of tree exclusion.
9
Howard, J. L. "Diet of Petaurus breviceps (Marsupialia: Petauridae) in a mosaic of coastal woodland and heath." Australian Mammalogy 12, no. 1 (1989): 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am89002.
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Diet of Petaurus breviceps in a coastal woodland and heath mosaic was assessed by timed feeding observations and qualitative faecal analysis. Feeding at banksia and eucalypt flowers was the most observed foraging behaviour. Faeces contained abundant pollen. The pattern of foraging closely followed changes in patterns of flowering in the area because P. breviceps regularly visited flowers for nectar and pollen. It fed at a faster rate per flower when foraging on eucalypts, but had a high number of inter-plant movements when foraging on banksias. Seventy-one per cent of Eucalyptus gummifera trees were incised to obtain sap. Values obtained for sap flow showed that incised trees exuded more sap than non-incised ones. Gum was abundant at Jervis Bay, and sap may be utilised when nectar is abundant.
10
Jonson, J. H., and D. Freudenberger. "Restore and sequester: estimating biomass in native Australian woodland ecosystems for their carbon-funded restoration." Australian Journal of Botany 59, no. 7 (2011): 640. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt11018.
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In the south-western region of Australia, allometric relationships between tree dimensional measurements and total tree biomass were developed for estimating carbon sequestered in native eucalypt woodlands. A total of 71 trees representing eight local native species from three genera were destructively sampled. Within this sample set, below ground measurements were included for 51 trees, enabling the development of allometric equations for total biomass applicable to small, medium, and large native trees. A diversity of tree dimensions were recorded and regressed against biomass, including stem diameter at 130 cm (DBH), stem diameter at ground level, stem diameter at 10 cm, stem diameter at 30 cm, total tree height, height of canopy break and mean canopy diameter. DBH was consistently highly correlated with above ground, below ground and total biomass. However, measurements of stem diameters at 0, 10 and 30 cm, and mean canopy diameter often displayed equivalent and at times greater correlation with tree biomass. Multi-species allometric equations were also developed, including ‘Mallee growth form’ and ‘all-eucalypt’ regressions. These equations were then applied to field inventory data collected from three locally dominant woodland types and eucalypt dominated environmental plantings to create robust relationships between biomass and stand basal area. This study contributes the predictive equations required to accurately quantify the carbon sequestered in native woodland ecosystems in the low rainfall region of south-western Australia.
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Sangha, Kamaljit K., Rajesh K. Jalota, and David J. Midmore. "Litter production, decomposition and nutrient release in cleared and uncleared pasture systems of central Queensland, Australia." Journal of Tropical Ecology 22, no. 2 (February 1, 2006): 177–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467405003020.
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The temporal impact of clearing trees on litter production, litter decomposition and on C, N and P release through decomposition of litter was examined in the pasture systems of a semi-arid zone of central Queensland. Paired sites for cleared pastures (developed from clearing woodlands) and uncleared (intact woodland) pastures were selected to represent three dominant tree communities of the region i.e. Eucalyptus populnea, E. melanophloia and Acacia harpophylla, with three different time-since-clearing (5, 11–13 and 33 y) treatments. Yearly litter production was greater at uncleared sites (1732–1948 kg ha−1 y−1 for eucalypt and 2596 kg ha−1 y−1 for acacia communities) compared with cleared sites (1038–1282 kg ha−1 y−1 for eucalypt and 1100 kg ha−1 y−1 for acacia communities averaged over three time-since-clearing treatments). Rates of litter decomposition and of release of C, N and P from decomposing litter were higher at cleared than uncleared sites for all three tree communities. The cleared and uncleared sites did not differ significantly in total amount of C and N released per year since the concentrations of C and N were greater in litter from uncleared sites but the rate of release was less than that at cleared sites. Slow but continuous release of nutrients in eucalypt and acacia woodlands may be an adaptation of these communities to maintain the nutrient cycle and to avoid leaching of nutrients in the nutrient-poor soils of the region.
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M. Watson, David, I. Ralph Mac Nally, and Andrew F. Bennett. "The avifauna of severely fragmented, Buloke Allocasuarina luehmanni woodland in western Victoria, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 6, no. 1 (2000): 46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc000046.
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Buloke Allocasuarina luehmanni woodland is an endangered habitat type that was once widespread in southern Australia but now is restricted to a series of remnants, many of which are located in the Wimmera region of western Victoria. The bird communities inhabiting 27 remnants were sampled on transects of 1.0 ha at 6-week intervals over one year. Ninety-five species of birds were observed in Buloke woodlands, of which 66 species were recorded during transect counts. The total species richness, the richness of groups of birds based on their habitat use, and the composition of assemblages on transects, were examined in a series of analyses with respect to habitat type (which probably reflects "quality"), remnant area, shape, isolation and geographic location. There was little evidence for attributes of remnants significantly influencing species richness per transect, but the composition of avifaunal assemblages varied in relation to habitat type, size and geographic location. The Buloke woodlands supported a diverse assemblage, including numerous species believed to be experiencing a regional decline in southern Australia. The composition of the Buloke assemblage has similarities to those of dry eucalypt woodlands across the plains of central Victoria, but elements contributing to a distinctive avifauna include species associated with semi-arid and mallee environments, and a high frequency of occurrence of a group of small insectivores (thornbills, robins) that favour dry She-oak and Callitris woodlands. A likely reason for the rich representation of small insectivores in woodland stands, even in small degraded remnants grazed by stock, was the scarcity of the Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala that are often common in eucalypt remnants and known to aggressively exclude other species. The results of this study add weight to the recommendation that protection and restoration of Buloke woodlands is a priority for conservation in the Wimmera bioregion of Victoria.
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Lunt, Ian D. "Allocasuarina (Casuarinaceae) Invasion of an Unburnt Coastal Woodland at Ocean Grove, Victoria: Structural Changes 1971 - 1996." Australian Journal of Botany 46, no. 6 (1998): 649. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt97032.
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Changes in vegetation structure in a long-unburnt (> 115 years) woodland at Ocean Grove, Victoria, were assessed by comparing density data collected in 1971 by Withers and Ashton (1977) with comparable data from 1996. The changes in structure outlined by Withers and Ashton (1977) continued to operate over the 25 year period, namely, a dramatic increase in the density of Allocasuarina littoralis (Salisb.) L.A.S.Johnson, and a continued decline in the once-dominant eucalypts, especially Eucalyptus ovata Labill. The density of A. littoralis increased from 911 trees ha–1 in 1971 to 3565 trees ha–1 in 1996. Most of the surviving E. ovata displayed extensive crown dieback, and appear likely to die in the near future. Many eucalypt seedlings which were planted into burnt and unburnt experimental plots in 1971 were still alive in 1996, but most were less than 0.5 m tall and suppressed by tall regrowth of A. littoralis and Acacia pycnantha Benth. In the continued absence of fire and other disturbances, it is predicted that A. littoralis will continue to dominate the reserve, leading to further declines in eucalypts. It appears unlikely that a single fire will prevent A. littoralis dominance, and frequent burning at short intervals may be required to reinstate an open woodland structure.
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Werner, Patricia A., and Lynda D. Prior. "Tree-piping termites and growth and survival of host trees in savanna woodland of north Australia." Journal of Tropical Ecology 23, no. 6 (October 29, 2007): 611–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467407004476.
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Most trees in the eucalypt savannas of Australia have hollow cores, or pipes, caused by termite activity, yet little is known about their effect on tree growth or survival. Five hundred and forty-one trees with known growth and survival histories were cored to determine pipe diameters in wooded savanna of Kakadu National Park, north Australia. Generalized linear modelling and multi-model inference was used to analyse frequency and degree of piping relative to initial tree diameter at breast height (dbh), eco-taxonomic group or species of eucalypt. Growth (dbh increment) and survival (4 y) were analysed relative to initial tree size, pipe ratio (pipe diameter:dbh) and eco-taxonomic group. The frequency of piping was strongly dependent on dbh, increasing with size of tree, and was highest in eucalypts. Growth and survival of eucalypts increased with tree diameter and decreased with pipe ratio. For example, from modelled data, 10-cm-diameter trees without pipes grew 0.14 cm y−1 with 85% survival vs. 10-cm trees with pipe ratios of 0.60 which had near-zero growth and only 46% survival. Comparing 40-cm-diameter trees without pipes to those having pipe ratios of 0.80, growth was 0.22 vs. 0.05 cm y−1, with little difference in survival, 97–99%, respectively. Contrary to the suggestion that tree hollows are an adaptive trait whereby trees benefit by the release of nutrients, in the north Australian eucalypt savannas the net effect of termite piping on individual tree growth and survival was negative.
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Hall, Trevor J., Paul Jones, Richard G. Silcock, and Piet G. Filet. "Pasture production and composition response after killing Eucalypt trees with herbicides in central Queensland." Rangeland Journal 38, no. 5 (2016): 427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj16013.
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Clearing woodlands is practised worldwide to increase crop and livestock production, but can result in unintended consequences including woody regrowth and land degradation. The pasture response of two eucalypt woodlands in the central Queensland rangelands to killing trees with herbicides, in the presence or absence of grazing and regular spring burning, was recorded over 7 or 8 years to determine the long-term sustainability of these common practices. Herbage mass and species composition plus tree dynamics were monitored in two replicated experiments at each site. For 8 years following herbicide application, killing Eucalyptus populnea F. Muell. (poplar box) trees resulted in a doubling of native pasture herbage mass from that of the pre-existing woodland, with a tree basal area of 8.7 m2 ha–1. Conversely, over 7 years with a similar range of seasons, killing E. melanophloia F. Muell. (silver-leaved ironbark) trees of a similar tree basal area had little impact on herbage mass grown or on pasture composition for the first 4 years before production then increased. Few consistent changes in pasture composition were recorded after killing the trees, although there was an increase in the desirable grasses Dichanthium sericeum (R. Br.) A. Camus (Queensland bluegrass) and Themeda triandra Forssk. (kangaroo grass) when grazed conservatively. Excluding grazing allowed more palatable species of the major grasses to enhance their prominence, but seasonal conditions still had a major influence on their production in particular years. Pasture crown basal area was significantly higher where trees had been killed, especially in the poplar box woodland. Removing tree competition did not have a major effect on pasture composition that was independent of other management impositions or seasons, and it did not result in a rapid increase in herbage mass in both eucalypt communities. The slow pasture response to tree removal at one site indicates that regional models and economic projections relating to tree clearing require community-specific inputs.
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Pereira, J. S., J. A. Mateus, L. M. Aires, G. Pita, C. Pio, V. Andrade, J. Banza, T. S. David, A. Rodrigues, and J. S. David. "Effects of drought – altered seasonality and low rainfall – in net ecosystem carbon exchange of three contrasting Mediterranean ecosystems." Biogeosciences Discussions 4, no. 3 (June 12, 2007): 1703–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bgd-4-1703-2007.
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Abstract. Droughts cause reductions in gross primary production (GPP) and also in net ecosystem exchange (NEE), contributing to most of the inter-annual variability in terrestrial carbon sequestration. In seasonally dry climates (Mediterranean) droughts result from reductions in annual rainfall and from changes in rain seasonality. In western Iberia, the hydrological-year (i.e., from October to September) of 2004–2005 was extremely dry, with precipitation 50% below the long-term mean (691 mm in 1961–1990), but 2005–2006 was normal. We compared the carbon fluxes measured by the eddy covariance technique from three contrasting ecosystems in southern Portugal: an evergreen oak woodland (savannah-like) with ca. 21% tree cover; a Mediterranean C3/C4 grassland; and a coppiced eucalyptus plantation. During the dry hydrological-year of 2004–2005, NEE was lowest, the highest sink strength was in the eucalypt plantation (NEE = –399 g C m −2 year−1) as compared to the oak woodland (NEE = –88 g C m −2 year−1), and the grassland (NEE = +49 g C m −2 year −1). The latter was a source of carbon dioxide. The NEE values of the dry year were, however, much lower than those for wetter years, e.g. NEE = –861 g C m−2 year −1 in 2002–2003 in the eucalypt plantation. The NEE of the grassland and the oak savannah in the 2005–2006 hydrological-year, with annual precipitation above the long term mean, were –190 and –120 g C m −2 year−1, respectively. All ecosystems studied increased their rain-use efficiency (GPP per unit of rain volume) increased in dry years. In the case of annual vegetation – grassland and low tree density woodland, however &ndash, rain-use efficiency decreased with severe drought. However, this was more pronounced in the eucalypt plantation due to greater GPP and the use of deep soil water resources. Although both calendar years of 2004 and 2005 had equally low rainfall, the effect of drought on the eucalypt plantation was delayed until the second dry year. This suggests that the effects of water deficits on Mediterranean forests are exacerbated by prolonged droughts when long-term soil water reserves are depleted. The grassland, however, was more vulnerable and responded faster to water deficits. This effect of drought was less pronounced in the oak woodland due to the sparse tree cover.
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Vesk, Peter A., William K. Morris, Warwick McCallum, Rhiannon Apted, and Carla Miles. "Processes of woodland eucalypt regeneration: lessons from the bush returns trial." Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 128, no. 1 (2016): 54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rs16005.
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Natural regeneration may contribute significantly to eucalypt woodland management, but has uncertain outcomes. As part of a monitoring program, we sought to investigate the processes of eucalypt regeneration within the Bush Returns trial, a native vegetation management incentive scheme in the Goulburn Broken catchment of Victoria. By year 4 of the 10-year program, eucalypt seedlings were found at about 24% of sampled quadrats. This varied substantially across sites, with only half the participating properties having any seedlings. Individual trees varied widely in their seed production, but seed rain was not related to the spatial context of the trees. Seedling emergence was infrequent and seed sowing trials had very patchy, and overall low, success. Seed removal experiments indicated that seeds were removed faster and more completely in sites with more bare ground (less grass and litter) and during warmer weather. The probability of a seedling surviving summer was approximately 0.3‒0.5, with some site-to-site uncertainty attributable to soil moisture availability. The processes of eucalypt recruitment are infrequent, patchy and difficult to predict. Long timeframes with appropriate incentives are needed to manage natural regeneration. Research to investigate this would require replicated experiments, with multiple treatments across multiple sites.
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Jones, P., T. J. Hall, R. G. Silcock, and P. G. Filet. "Open woodland tree and shrub dynamics and landscape function in central Queensland after killing the trees with herbicide." Rangeland Journal 40, no. 5 (2018): 473. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj18002.
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Herbicides are used in savanna to control tree and shrub density, primarily to maintain the value of the country for pastoral enterprises. However, the concomitant effects on biodiversity and landscape functioning need to be recognised and better understood. This study monitored tree and shrub dynamics and eventual landscape functionality in response to tree-killing over 7–8 years at two open eucalypt woodland sites in central Queensland. Paddocks denuded of trees using herbicide or not so treated were subject to three differing grazing pressures by cattle. Similarly treated but ungrazed sets of plots were subjected to either regular spring burns or were rarely burnt. Tree and shrub growth and seedling recruitment were slightly affected by grazing pressure but regular spring burns minimised recruitment of minor woodland species and reduced the population of original saplings and seedlings that survived the herbicide. Few eucalypt seedlings emerged from soil surface samples taken each spring in any treatment, despite the presence of flowering trees in half the treatments. Capture and retention of resources, particularly rainfall and nutrients, were slightly improved by killing the trees, and worsened by grazing. We conclude that killing trees with herbicide at these sites did not adversely affect landscape function and that woody species regeneration was almost inevitable on these open eucalypt woodland native pastures.
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Gosper, Carl R., Colin J. Yates, Suzanne M. Prober, and Georg Wiehl. "Application and validation of visual fuel hazard assessments in dry Mediterranean-climate woodlands." International Journal of Wildland Fire 23, no. 3 (2014): 385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wf13096.
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Understanding fire behaviour and vegetation flammability is important for predicting the consequences of fires. Visual assessments of fuel, such as those developed in Project Vesta, have been widely applied to facilitate rapid data acquisition to support fire behaviour models. However, the accuracy and potential wider application to other plant communities of Vesta visual fuel assessments has received limited attention. We conducted visual fuel assessments and detailed quantitative structural measurements in Eucalyptus salubris (gimlet) woodlands in the world’s largest extant Mediterranean-climate woodland. With one exception, there was moderate to strong correlation between visual assessments of cover in vegetation layers and quantitative measurements, indicating that visual assessments adequately capture changes in fuels. This suggests that the Vesta visual fuel assessment methodology may have wide application in Australian eucalypt forests and woodlands and perhaps in similar communities around the world. However, several issues limiting the wider application of Vesta visual fuel assessments were identified, mainly associated with differences in community ecology between non-resprouter dominated E. salubris woodlands and the epicormic resprouter-dominated dry forests where the method was developed. Patterns of change in fuels suggest that flammability in E. salubris woodlands peaks at intermediate times since fire, potentially providing opportunities for fire management interventions.
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Moore, T. L., K. X. Ruthrof, M. D. Craig, L. E. Valentine, G. E. St J. Hardy, and P. A. Fleming. "Living (and reproducing) on the edge: reproductive phenology is impacted by rainfall and canopy decline in a Mediterranean eucalypt." Australian Journal of Botany 64, no. 2 (2016): 129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt15004.
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Many of the worlds’ forests and woodlands are currently showing symptoms of declining condition due to a range of factors, including changing climatic conditions, drought and insect herbivory. Altered abiotic and biotic conditions can influence the condition of trees that can, in turn, affect tree reproductive cycles. However, the potential impact of tree decline on reproductive cycles has rarely been examined. This study investigated the influence of canopy condition on the reproductive cycle of Eucalyptus wandoo Blakely in south-western Australia. Canopy and seed trap monitoring were used to assess bud production, flowering, fruiting and seed fall over 12 months at 24 sites across two locations (Dryandra Woodland and Wandoo Conservation Park). Time since last fire, rainfall, ambient temperatures and the condition of individual trees were recorded. We found that bud production, flowering and fruiting was correlated with tree condition: healthier trees were generally associated with higher reproductive effort. Time since last fire was also strongly related to the reproductive efforts at both locations. Declining annual rainfall and increased temperatures also impact on reproduction, made evident by the aborted flowering in Dryandra Woodland. Decline in tree condition, coupled with changes in climate, have major implications for flowering phenology of this species and have the potential to alter reproductive effort, recruitment and future population dynamics. Consideration of these issues should be incorporated into the conservation management of E. wandoo and similar Eucalypt species.
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Lamb, RJ. "Litter Fall and Nutrient Turnover in Two Eucalypt Woodlands." Australian Journal of Botany 33, no. 1 (1985): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt9850001.
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The components and chemical composition of litter fall and the litter layer of two woodlands growing close together near Narrabeen Lagoon, New South Wales, were examined over a 5-year period. Total litter fall peaked in the summer but some tree and shrub species in both communities showed peaks of litter fall in summer and autumn. Litter fall averaged 540 g m-2 year-1 for a hillside Angophora costata-Eucalyptus gummifera-dominated woodland on a gradational sand, and 745 g m-2 year-1 for a E. botryoides-E. robusta-A. floribunda-dominated community on podzolized sand at the slope foot. The accumulated litter masses averaged 2100 and 1900 g m-2, respectively: calculated litter half-lives were 2.7 years and 1.8 years. The higher rates of litter fall and turnover of organic matter and nutrients in the E. botryoides-E. robusta-A. floribunda community, despite its poorer soil nutrient status, are postulated to result from a more reliable water supply and differing microbial activity at the litter-soil interface, leading to more rapid recycling of nutrients.
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Heinsohn, Robert, Stephen Murphy, and Sarah Legge. "Overlap and competition for nest holes among eclectus parrots, palm cockatoos and sulphur-crested cockatoos." Australian Journal of Zoology 51, no. 1 (2003): 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo02003.
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We examined the extent of overlap in the characteristics of nest holes used by eclectus parrots (Eclectus roratus), palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) and sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita) in patches of rainforest and woodland in and around Iron Range National Park, Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Eclectus parrots nested only in rainforest and palm cockatoos nested mostly in eucalypt woodland adjacent to rainforest. Sulphur-crested cockatoos nested in both habitats. Nest holes of eclectus parrots and rainforest sulphur-crested cockatoos were in trees of larger DBH (diameter at breast height) and higher off the ground than those of palm cockatoos and sulphur-crested cockatoos in woodland. Palm cockatoos differed from the other parrots in their use of deeper holes with entrances that faced skywards rather than sideways. Both palm cockatoos and woodland sulphur-crested cockatoos used nests with smaller entrances than eclectus parrots and rainforest sulphur-crested cockatoos. All species showed intraspecific competition for nest holes. Behavioural conflict was also common between sulphur-crested cockatoos and the other two species. Each year 9.7–25.8% of eclectus parrot nests were taken over either permanently or temporarily by sulphur-crested cockatoos. Only one palm cockatoo nest was taken over by sulphur-crested cockatoos. Nest-holes were destroyed by natural causes at similar rates in rainforest (3.8% per annum over 174 nest-years) and woodland (5.4% per annum over 93 nest-years). Four nest trees fell over, and the floor of the nest collapsed at a further four holes. Three woodland nest trees burnt down during dry-season fires (August–October). New eclectus parrot and rainforest sulphur-crested cockatoo holes originated from incipient hollows on the tree that were modified by the parrots. We discuss the intense competition between these large parrots in light of the apparent shortage of appropriate nest holes in Cape York rainforest and eucalypt woodland.
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Romanin, Louise M., Lynda D. Prior, and David J. M. S. Bowman. "The legacy of pasture improvement causes recruitment failure in grassy eucalypt woodland conservation reserves in the Midlands of Tasmania." Australian Journal of Botany 67, no. 7 (2019): 558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt18222.
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Australia’s most fragmented and least reserved landscapes are the grassy eucalypt woodlands of the south-east. Two hundred years of agricultural disruption have transformed these landscapes, and agricultural enterprises continue to expand and develop, meaning the threats to these landscapes have not abated. The Tasmanian Midlands is primarily privately owned, with very little area devoted to conservation of biodiversity. In this landscape, conservation covenants have been enacted on many private properties with the intention of encouraging tree recruitment and conservation of threatened plant communities and rare species. Evidence of the effectiveness of these covenants in protecting overstorey tree population health is lacking. This study compared the demographic structures of overstorey Eucalyptus species and midstorey tree genera on public and private properties with contrasting land use histories. Reserves on private lands had little tree recruitment, probably because exotic pasture species were common, whereas tree recruitment was abundant in public reserves, where pasture improvement has not occurred. Active measures are needed to restore ecological structure and function in grassy woodland conservation reserves on private land by encouraging regeneration of Eucalyptus and Acacia species as well as returning the ground layer to a functionally native state. This will entail reinstating fire disturbance, reducing exotic pasture species cover and managing domesticated, feral and native herbivores.
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Callaghan, John, Clive McAlpine, David Mitchell, Jane Thompson, Michiala Bowen, Jonathan Rhodes, Carol de Jong, Renee Domalewski, and Alison Scott. "Ranking and mapping koala habitat quality for conservation planning on the basis of indirect evidence of tree-species use: a case study of Noosa Shire, south-eastern Queensland." Wildlife Research 38, no. 2 (2011): 89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr07177.
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Context Mapping the habitat and distribution of a species is critical for developing effective conservation plans. Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus, Phascolarctidae) distribution is constrained by the nutritional and shelter requirements provided by a relatively small number of key tree species in any given area. Identifying these key species provides a practical foundation for mapping koala habitat and prioritising areas for conservation. Aims To determine key tree species for koalas in Noosa Shire (south-eastern Queensland, Australia) as a basis for mapping koala habitat quality. Methods We applied a faecal-pellet survey methodology in 1996/97 to assess evidence of use by koalas of 4031 trees from 96 randomly stratified survey sites across different eucalypt-forest and woodland communities. Results were compared with those from a later survey undertaken in 2001/02 involving 5535 trees from 195 sites that were distributed across broadly similar areas with the aim to investigate aspects of koala landscape ecology. Key results A total of 66.7% of the 1996/97 survey sites contained koala faecal pellets, recorded under 953 eucalypt trees (14 species) and 1670 non-eucalypt trees (27 species). The proportion of trees at a given survey site that had koala faecal pellets at the base ranged from 2.2% to 94.7% (mean = 31.13 ± 2.59% s.e.). For the 2001/02 dataset, koala pellets were found at 55.4% of sites, from 794 eucalypt and 2240 non-eucalypt trees. The proportion of trees with pellets ranged from 3% to 80% (mean = 21.07 ± 1.77% s.e.). Both the 1996/97 and 2001/02 surveys identified the same three tree species (forest red gum, Eucalyptus tereticornis, swamp mahogany, E. robusta, and tallowwood, E. microcorys) as the highest-ranked for koala use in the study area. Three additional species (red mahogany, E. resinifera, small-fruited grey gum, E. propinqua, and grey ironbark, E. siderophloia) were identified in the 1996/97 surveys as key eucalypt species. Of the non-eucalypts in the 1996/97 dataset, coast cypress pine (Callitris columellaris) and broad-leaved paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) ranked highest for use by koalas, followed by pink bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia) and brush box (Lophostemon confertus). White bottlebrush (Callistemon salignus), hard corkwood (Endiandra sieberi), M. quinquenervia and C. intermedia ranked highest in the 2001/02 dataset. The findings showed significantly greater use of larger eucalypts (i.e. 300-mm to >600-mm diameter at breast height). Conclusions The identified key eucalypt species, being the critical limiting resource for koalas, were used to assign koala habitat-quality classes to mapped regional ecosystem types to create a Koala Habitat Atlas (KHA) for Noosa Shire. The combined two highest quality classes based on abundance of the key eucalypt species comprised only 15.7% of the total land area of the Shire. Implications The KHA approach provides a practical and repeatable method for developing koala habitat-suitability mapping for national-, regional- and local-scale conservation and recovery planning purposes.
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Macdonald, Stuart, Tanya Bailey, Mark Hunt, Neil Davidson, and Greg Jordan. "Stable states in soil chemistry persist in eucalypt woodland restorations." Applied Vegetation Science 22, no. 1 (November 11, 2018): 105–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12404.
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Maes, Wouter, Alfredo Huete, Michele Avino, Matthias Boer, Remy Dehaan, Elise Pendall, Anne Griebel, and Kathy Steppe. "Can UAV-Based Infrared Thermography Be Used to Study Plant-Parasite Interactions between Mistletoe and Eucalypt Trees?" Remote Sensing 10, no. 12 (December 19, 2018): 2062. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs10122062.
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Some of the remnants of the Cumberland Plain woodland, an endangered dry sclerophyllous forest type of New South Wales, Australia, host large populations of mistletoe. In this study, the extent of mistletoe infection was investigated based on a forest inventory. We found that the mistletoe infection rate was relatively high, with 69% of the Eucalyptus fibrosa and 75% of the E. moluccana trees being infected. Next, to study the potential consequences of the infection for the trees, canopy temperatures of mistletoe plants and of infected and uninfected trees were analyzed using thermal imagery acquired during 10 flights with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in two consecutive summer seasons. Throughout all flight campaigns, mistletoe canopy temperature was 0.3–2 K lower than the temperature of the eucalypt canopy it was growing in, suggesting higher transpiration rates. Differences in canopy temperature between infected eucalypt foliage and mistletoe were particularly large when incoming radiation peaked. In these conditions, eucalypt foliage from infected trees also had significantly higher canopy temperatures (and likely lower transpiration rates) compared to that of uninfected trees of the same species. The study demonstrates the potential of using UAV-based infrared thermography for studying plant-water relations of mistletoe and its hosts.
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Houston, Wayne A., and Alistair Melzer. "Dry rainforests have a distinct and more diverse assemblage of epigaeic invertebrates than eucalypt woodlands: implications for ecosystem health monitoring." Pacific Conservation Biology 18, no. 2 (2012): 133. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc120133.
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Dry rainforests have a disproportionately higher diversity of plant species than the eucalypt woodlands that dominate Australian landscapes. While several endemic vertebrate species have been found in dry rainforests, their values for invertebrate fauna are relatively poorly known. Epigaeic invertebrates of four patches of dry rainforests in Queensland were annually compared to those of nearby eucalypt woodlands using pitfall traps between 1998 and 2002. Dry rainforests had significantly greater Order-level richness, lower dominance, fewer invertebrates and a different assemblage. Invertebrate composition was characterized by typically shelter- or moisture-requiring taxa, such as earwigs, pseudoscorpions, gastropods, millipedes, isopods, Diplura and Symphyla. This may reflect the greater prevalence of moister microhabitats in dry rainforests in comparison to woodlands. Coinciding with several years of low dry season rainfall, invertebrate abundance declined in dry rainforests but not woodlands, indicating that dry rainforest epigaeic fauna may be more sensitive to reduced soil moisture compared with woodland fauna. This may reflect differences of some taxa in evolutionary lineage or the mediation of vegetation phenology and differences in drought susceptibility of the two vegetation types. Importantly, the study provides evidence that faunal assemblages of drier rainforests may be more vulnerable to tipping points associated with droughts and changing rainfall regimes than nearby woodlands. Furthermore, it demonstrated the importance of including a range of vegetation types in any long-term monitoring programs and that an understanding of ecological responses to environmental drivers is critical to interpreting data. The relatively greater sensitivity of dry rainforest biota to droughts compared with woodlands indicates that it could provide a regional “control” for this effect.
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Majer, Jonathan D., Harry F. Recher, Christopher Norwood, and Brian E. Heterick. "Variation in bird assemblages and their invertebrate prey in eucalypt formations across a rainfall gradient in south-west Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 23, no. 4 (2017): 372. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc17024.
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Our previous work has shown how invertebrate food resources influence usage of tree species by birds. Using data from Western Australian forests and woodlands, we extend the findings to indicate how the avifauna is influenced by these resources at the landscape level. The northern dry sclerophyll forest of south-west Australia comprises jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) to the west, with an abrupt replacement by wandoo (E. wandoo) plus powderbark wandoo (E. accedens) woodland to the east; codominant marri (Corymbia calophylla) trees occur throughout. Knockdown samples have previously indicated that the canopy invertebrate fauna is richer and more abundant in wandoo woodland than in jarrah/marri forest. To provide an indication of their general abundance and diversity in these formations, invertebrates using the trunks of the ubiquitous marri were measured along a transect from jarrah/marri forest to wandoo woodland. Mirroring the canopy, the trunk fauna had high species turnover over short distances. As with the canopy fauna, invertebrate diversity and abundance was higher on marri situated in the wandoo zone than in the jarrah/marri areas, indicating a generally larger invertebrate fauna in the drier regions of the transect. Abundance and diversity of birds, many of which are wholly or partly insectivorous, were measured at the same sites. Birds were more abundant and there were more species in areas with the wandoo species than in those dominated by jarrah/marri. Assemblage composition also differed in the two forest types. It is evident that changes in bird abundance, richness, and assemblage composition are likely determined on a landscape scale by the type, abundance, and diversity of food resources available to them. These patterns of change within forest invertebrate faunas and their primary vertebrate predators need to be considered when making decisions on conserving or managing forest communities in Australia.
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Burrows, DM, and WH Burrows. "Seed Production and Litter Fall in Some Eucalypt Communities in Central Queensland." Australian Journal of Botany 40, no. 3 (1992): 389. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt9920389.
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Seed production and litter fall were studied for seven woodland communities, dominated by Eucalyptus spp., in central Queensland. Seed and capsule fall are usually completed between annual flowering periods, for each of the Eucalyptus spp. studied. A pattern of light and heavy seed production is common over different years. Annual seed yields up to 20 kg ha-1 (or c. 49 million seed ha-1) were estimated over the varying 1-3-year study periods. Litter fall followed expected trends, ranging from 900 to 2700 kg ha-1 year-1, with peak production in the warmer months. These litter yields, coupled with understorey grass production, could provide adequate fuel for a ground fire to occur in most years. The implications of these findings for woodland management under pastoral use are discussed.
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Williams, Moira C., and Glenda M. Wardle. "Pine and eucalypt litterfall in a pine-invaded eucalypt woodland: The role of fire and canopy cover." Forest Ecology and Management 253, no. 1-3 (December 2007): 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.06.045.
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Brigham, R. Mark, and Fritz Geiser. "Breeding Biology of Australian Owlet-nightjars Aegotheles cristatus in Eucalypt Woodland." Emu - Austral Ornithology 97, no. 4 (December 1997): 316–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mu97046.
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Travers, Samantha K., and David J. Eldridge. "Landscape modulators and resource accumulation in a post-fire eucalypt woodland." Forest Ecology and Management 285 (December 2012): 11–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2012.08.015.
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McCallum, Kimberly P., Martin F. Breed, David C. Paton, and Andrew J. Lowe. "Clumped planting arrangements improve seed production in a revegetated eucalypt woodland." Restoration Ecology 27, no. 3 (December 10, 2018): 638–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.12905.
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Jones, P., P. Filet, and D. M. Orr. "Demography of three perennial grasses in a central Queensland eucalypt woodland." Rangeland Journal 31, no. 4 (2009): 427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj09035.
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The population dynamics of the palatable, perennial grasses Bothriochloa ewartiana (Domin) C.E.Hubb. (desert Mitchell grass), Chrysopogon fallax S.T.Blake (golden beard grass) and Heteropogon contortus (L.) P.Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult. (black speargrass), were studied in an extensive grazing study conducted in a eucalypt woodland within the Aristida–Bothriochloa pasture community in central Queensland between 1994 and 2000. Treatments were three grazing pressures based on light, medium and heavy utilisation of forage available at the end of summer and two timber treatments (trees intact and trees killed). Seasonal rainfall throughout this study was generally favourable for plant growth with no severe drought periods. Grazing pressure had a greater overall impact on plant dynamics than timber treatment, which had minimal impact. Grazing pressure had a large impact on H. contortus dynamics, an intermediate impact on B. ewartiana and no impact on C. fallax. Fluctuations in plant density of both B. ewartiana and C. fallax were small because both species were long lived with low levels of seedling recruitment and plant death, whereas fluctuations in H. contortus density were relatively high because of its relatively short life span and higher levels of both recruitment and death. Heavy grazing pressure increased the recruitment of B. ewartiana and H. contortus in some years but had no impact on that of C. fallax. Heavy grazing pressure reduced the survival of the original plants of both B. ewartiana and H. contortus but not of C. fallax. For H. contortus, the size of the original plants was larger where trees were killed than where trees were left intact and plants of the 1995 seedling cohort were larger in 1998 at heavy compared with those at light and medium grazing pressure. Grazing had a minor negative impact on the soil seed bank of H. contortus. Populations of all three species remained stable throughout this study, although the favourable seasonal rainfall experienced and the short duration of this study relative to the life span of these species may have masked longer term, deleterious impacts of heavy grazing pressure.
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KAVANAGH, RODNEY P., MATTHEW A. STANTON, and MATTHEW W. HERRING. "Eucalypt plantings on farms benefit woodland birds in south-eastern Australia." Austral Ecology 32, no. 6 (September 2007): 635–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2007.01746.x.
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Morgan, John W., Nathan K. Wong, and Seraphina C. Cutler. "Life-form species–area relationships in a temperate eucalypt woodland community." Plant Ecology 212, no. 6 (January 13, 2011): 1047–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11258-010-9885-8.
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D. Majer, J., H. F. Recher, B. E. Heterick, and A. C. Postle. "The canopy, bark, soil and litter invertebrate fauna of the Darling Plateau and adjacent woodland near Perth, Western Australia, with reference to the diversity of forest and woodland invertebrates." Pacific Conservation Biology 7, no. 4 (2001): 229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc020229.
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This paper tables and reports on pooled taxonomic data from three separate research projects involving aspects of eucalypt invertebrate ecology: canopy invertebrates in jarrah and marri forest; bark invertebrates on four eucalypt species in forest and woodland; and soil and litter fauna in jarrah and marri forest. The data support the concept of a high invertebrate biodiversity on and under southwestern eucalypts, with 1 234 adult morphospecies of invertebrates being collected from the bark alone. Despite different trapping methods used in each of the three studies, we were able to find a high degree of overlap at the family level between bark and canopy fauna (126 families were found on both bark and in the canopy representing 79.2% of 159 canopy families). Eighty identified genera were also found on both bark and canopy, which represents 46.2% of the 173 identified canopy genera. The soil and litter fauna data are not complete (a taxonomic inventory of Acarina and Formicidae is not available) but appears to be more distinctive, sharing only 24 families (= 60% of the 40 identified soil-litter families) with bark, and 17 families (= 42.5% of the soil-litter families) with the canopy. At the generic level, only seven identified genera (= 8.6% of 22 soil-litter genera) were shared between soil-litter and bark, and five genera (= 6.2% of soil-litter genera) were shared between soil-litter and the canopy. An examination of the trophic guilds reveals that fungivores-decomposers were very diverse in soil and litter (accounting for approximately 50% of the biodiversity in these substrates). This guild was much less diverse on the canopy (21.6% of the canopy diversity) and the bark (16.9% of bark diversity). Sap-sucking organisms were more diverse in soil (13.9%) and litter (12.8%) than on the canopy (5.3%) or on bark (5.9%). The canopy result is surprising, and suggests that not many invertebrate species are able to feed on the sap of southwestern eucalypts, the sap of which may contain a high proportion of toxic compounds. Predators were more diverse on the canopy and on bark (?19-23% of total taxa) than in soil and litter (? 9-9.5%), as were parasitoids (18.7% and 22.5% compared with 10.5% and 14.8%). Epiphyte grazers and phytophages were not very diverse (=11 %) on any of the substrates, and representatives of other guilds or organisms whose diet was unknown accounted for less than 2.5% of the total diversity. Tourist species were not recognised among the soil and litter fauna, though they were found in the canopy and on bark, and ants were not quantified for soil and litter.
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Dunlop, J. N., and R. D. Bullen. "Habitat use and trophic structure in a microbat assemblage on the edge of the southern rangelands, Western Australia: insights from stable isotope analysis." Rangeland Journal 33, no. 1 (2011): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj10028.
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The microbat assemblage on Charles Darwin Reserve was investigated between 2007 and 2009 to provide a benchmark for monitoring long-term responses to climate change on a major bioregional boundary, the mulga–eucalypt line. Stable isotope analysis of bat fur was used to interpret the current local habitat and trophic relationships between microbat species with different biogeographical affinities. The stable isotope values of the ants inhabiting 10 broad vegetation types were used to provide an isotopic baseline of the Reserve to assist in the interpretation of the δC or δN signatures observed in the bat assemblage. The δC signatures of ants in both a Salmon Gum woodland and an arid shrubland shifted significantly after the breaking of a prolonged drought but there was no change in the bats. The ubiquitous bat species, and those with south-western affinities, probably used most of the available vegetation types on the Reserve and displayed some significant differences in mean trophic level. Scotorepens balstoni, a species of the southern interior of Western Australia, specialised at foraging within patches of eucalypt woodland. Vespadelus baverstocki, a southern arid zone species, was evidently restricted to the proximal arid habitats with distinctively high δN signatures.
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Hill, Sarah J., and Kristine French. "Potential impacts of fire and grazing in an endangered ecological community: plant composition and shrub and eucalypt regeneration in Cumberland Plain Woodland." Australian Journal of Botany 52, no. 1 (2004): 23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt02068.
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Exclosure plots were used to determine the effect of fire and grazing on the structure of a grassy-woodland community. Eighteen months after fire and fence treatments were applied, the species richness, cover and composition of shrubs, trees, herbs and grasses were assessed and compared to pre-treatment censuses. Unburned plots had fewer shrub species and a lower abundance of shrubs, indicating the importance of fire in promoting regeneration of shrub species. Eucalypt species were more abundant and richer following the wildfire burn in summer, suggesting timing of fires is an important aspect in the establishment of the canopy species. Interactions between fire and grazing were found for the abundance of eucalypts (although weak) and resprouting eucalypts, suggesting a subtle interaction between fire and grazing shortly after fire. There was no effect of grazing and no interaction effect between fire and grazing on shrub species richness and abundance or tree species richness and seedling abundance.All plots showed a change in species composition despite treatment, and 46 species (32% of total richness) were recorded only in the final survey. The high rainfall during the 18-month study is likely to be an important factor in facilitating the establishment of species following all disturbances. This may have ameliorated the impact of grazing as abundant food was available throughout the woodland. The interaction between fire and grazing may be more important in structuring these grassy communities during periods of lower rainfall.
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Prior, L. D., D. Eamus, and D. M. J. S. Bowman. "Tree growth rates in north Australian savanna habitats: seasonal patterns and correlations with leaf attributes." Australian Journal of Botany 52, no. 3 (2004): 303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt03119.
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We demonstrate a significant relationship between leaf attributes and growth rates of mature trees under natural conditions in northern Australia, a pattern that has not been widely reported before in the literature. Increase in diameter at breast height (DBH) was measured every 3 months for 2 years for 21 tree species from four habitats near Darwin: Eucalyptus open forest, mixed eucalypt woodland, Melaleuca swamp and dry monsoon rainforest. Assimilation rates and foliar chlorophyll, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were positively correlated with growth rate and negatively correlated with leaf mass per area. For most species, increases in DBH were confined to the wet-season (summer) period between November and May. Average annual increases in DBH were larger in the dry monsoon rainforest (0.87 cm) and the Melaleuca swamp (0.65 cm) than in the woodland (0.20 cm) and the open forest (0.16 cm), and were larger in non-Myrtaceous species (0.53 cm) than in Myrtaceous species (0.25 cm). These results are discussed in relation to the frequent fire regime prevailing over much of northern Australia which causes the marked contrast between the small pockets of fire-tender closed monsoon rainforest and large expanses of fire-tolerant savanna.
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J. S. Debus, S., H. A. Ford, and D. Page. "Bird communities in remnant woodland on the New England Tablelands, New South Wales." Pacific Conservation Biology 12, no. 1 (2006): 50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc060050.
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We provide a geographic and landscape context for ongoing studies on bird communities in eucalypt woodland remnants on the New England Tablelands, New South Wales. We draw together several surveys that have not been published in the scientific literature, and integrate them with previously published material. A total of 142 woodland bird species, including 12 threatened species, was recorded in remnant woodland in the area above 900 m elevation from 50 km SSE to 100 km NNW of Armidals. There was a positive relationship between remnant size and bird species richness. Woodland reserves >300 ha supported significantly more species than remnants <100 ha on private land. Intensively surveyed reserves also had more species than remnants surveyed more casually. Threatened and other declining species occurred mainly in medium-sized (100-300 ha) and large reserves; foraging guilds of small to medium-sized, ground and above-ground insectivores were impoverished in degraded medium-sized and small remnants on private land. Almost the full range of woodland bird species was found at one or more sites, indicating their conservation value. However, some species were found in few sites or were only vagrants at a site. Active management will be needed to retain the current diversity of bird species in such heavily cleared landscapes.
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Larkin, Candice, Ross Jenkins, Paul G. McDonald, and Stephen J. S. Debus. "Breeding habitat, nest-site characteristics and productivity of the little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides) near Armidale, New South Wales." Pacific Conservation Biology 26, no. 3 (2020): 258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc19033.
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We aimed to elucidate nesting requirements and nest success of the threatened little eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoides). Nest sites (n=12 active and 2–5 recent historical nests) near Armidale, New South Wales, were measured in 2017 at three scales: the nest tree, the nest woodland (≤25m from the nest tree), and (using GIS) the landscape scale (within 200-m and 2-km radii of the nest). The eagles typically nested ≥14m above ground in the canopy of emergent (>20m tall) living eucalypts in sheltered positions (midslope, with a north-easterly to southerly aspect), in woodland patches >5ha (mean 76ha), <200m (mean 78m) from the woodland edge, though ≥11m (mean 190m) from an agricultural edge, ≥38m (mean 485m) from the nearest rural dwelling, >1km from suburbia, and farther from sealed roads (mean 832m) than gravel roads (mean 490m) than minor tracks (mean 291m). Breeding productivity in 2017–18 (n=15 and 18 territories, respectively) was 0.91 young fledged per attempt (clutch laid) and 0.67 young fledged per occupied territory per year. Nest sites were used annually for at least 3–7 years. Nest abandonments or site shifts were associated with human disturbance (e.g. clearing, earthmoving, subdivision and construction in or beside the nest patch), death of the nest tree or nest stand (‘eucalypt dieback’ or rural tree decline), pindone baiting for rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and displacement by wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) and ravens (Corvus sp.). As most little eagle nests were located on private land, we recommend, inter alia, greater protection of breeding habitat, nest sites and foraging habitat, woodland regeneration (especially riparian), and a buffer around established nests of ≥1km from major developments such as urbanisation.
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D. Hamilton, S. "Impacts of agricultural land use on the floristics, diversity and life-form composition of a temperate grassy woodland." Pacific Conservation Biology 7, no. 3 (2001): 169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc010169.
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This opportunistic study examines the impacts of cropping and grazing management on a eucalypt grassy woodland in northern Victoria. The woodland is an area of uniformity in abiotic attributes, and with significant anecdotal similarity in pre-European floristic composition and abundance. Permanent vegetation quadrats were established within the now named Dookie Bushland Reserve, a 270 ha remnant of White and Grey Box grassy woodland located at Dookie College in northern Victoria. Density and cover for all species, as well as life form type, were evaluated within quadrats in 1992, when agricultural land uses ceased and conservation management was instigated. Results indicate that agricultural impact over a 27 year period had contributed to significant declines in the number and cover of indigenous species, and had resulted in the significant increase in the number and cover of introduced species. The loss of shrub species, juvenile eucalypts, and the dominance of tussock-forming indigenous grasses with increased agricultural impact was observed. Individual species responded differently to increased agricultural impacts. Some species, particularly non-tussock forming indigenous grasses and introduced annuals, were promoted in establishment and cover by increased impact, while others, most notably Orchidaceae and Liliaceae, were intolerant of any impact. Certain groups of indigenous species, particularly the Asteraceae and tussock forming indigenous grasses, were reduced significantly in cover by increasing impact. Grazing increased proportions of therophytic (annuals) and/or hemicryptophytic (rosette-forming) forbs, while lesser impacted sites contained a greater diversity of forbs, greater evenness across life form types, and greater proportions of perennial phanerophytes, chamaephytes and cryptophytes, and with fewer therophytes.
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Ford, Hugh A., Susan Noske, and Lynda Bridges. "Foraging of Birds in Eucalypt Woodland in North-Eastern New South Wales." Emu - Austral Ornithology 86, no. 3 (September 1986): 168–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mu9860168.
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Barton, Philip S., Maldwyn J. Evans, Jennifer L. Pechal, and M. Eric Benbow. "Necrophilous Insect Dynamics at Small Vertebrate Carrion in a Temperate Eucalypt Woodland." Journal of Medical Entomology 54, no. 4 (March 3, 2017): 964–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjw242.
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Egan, JL, and RJ Williams. "Lifeform distributions of woodland plant species along a moisture availability gradient in Australia's monsoonal tropics." Australian Systematic Botany 9, no. 2 (1996): 205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb9960205.
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A series of vegetation sites was established in Australia's Northern Territory between Darwin and Tennant Creek, a distance of approximately 1000 km and 7° latitude (12°30'–19°30'S). This region encompasses a strong environmental gradient in mean annual moisture availability (450–1600 mm) whilst remaining within a predominantly summer monsoonal rainfall regime. All sites are within eucalypt-savanna habitats on lighter textured soils (sands–loams). Major changes in family and species representation occur at approximately 16–17° latitude, supporting findings of other workers. Within these eucalypt-savanna communities, the percentage of annual species is consistently around 30% regardless of latitude. However, the distribution of resource allocation strategies used by perennial plants exhibits distinct latitudinal trends. The proportion of deciduous and seasonally perennial species declines with latitude whilst suffrutescent shrub species become increasingly abundant. Species possessing root structures adapted for storage purposes appear to be limited to latitudes north of 15°S.
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Baker, Andrew C., Brad R. Murray, and Grant C. Hose. "Relating pine-litter intrusion to plant-community structure in native eucalypt woodland adjacent to Pinus radiata (Pinaceae) plantations." Australian Journal of Botany 55, no. 5 (2007): 521. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt06135.
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Radiata pine (Pinus radiata D.Don) plantations are often found in close proximity to vegetation set aside for biodiversity conservation. We examined the intrusive effects of radiata pine beyond the confines of plantations by quantifying the penetration of pine litter (needles, cones, twigs and seeds) and wildings from plantations into adjacent eucalypt woodland in the Jenolan Caves Karst Conservation Reserve (south-eastern Australia). We then investigated the relationship between pine-litter intrusion and plant-community structure in adjacent woodland vegetation. We found significantly higher quantities of pine litter and wildings at all sites adjacent to plantations than at reference woodland sites that were not adjacent to plantations. At adjacent sites, pine litter decreased significantly with increasing distance from plantations. Alarmingly, native plant species richness declined and exotic plant species richness increased with increasing quantities of pine litter. Thus, there were fewer native plant species and more exotics in areas bordering pine plantations. Our findings suggest a potentially important link between the intrusion of pine litter and a loss of native biodiversity and facilitation of exotic-species invasion. We suggest the provision of a buffer zone around plantations in order to minimise intrusive impacts of plantations on native biodiversity.
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Phillips, Stephen, John Callaghan, and Valerie Thompson. "The tree species preferences of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) inhabiting forest and woodland communities on Quaternary deposits in the Port Stephens area, New South Wales." Wildlife Research 27, no. 1 (2000): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr98054.
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An assessment of the tree species preferences of koalas inhabiting forest and woodland communities growing on Quaternary deposits in the Port Stephens area, New South Wales, was undertaken between November 1994 and March 1996. Using a plot-based methodology, 3847 trees were sampled, comprising 15 Eucalyptus species and 17 species of non-eucalypt. Evidence of tree use by koalas, specifically the presence of koala faecal pellets, was recorded from beneath 10 Eucalyptus species and 9 species of non-eucalypt. Tree species preferences were determined by analyses of log- likelihood ratios derived from data based on the presence/absence of koala faecal pellets, rather than on gross counts. This approach confirmed significant variation in the levels of utilisation amongst and between different tree species, and that two in particular – swamp mahogany (E. robusta) and drooping red gum (E. parramattensis) – were most preferred. Increases in the levels of use of other tree species were also positively associated with the presence of E. robusta and/or E. parramattensis. Levels of utilisation of E. robusta and E. parramattensis did not alter significantly in response to changes in their respective densities, suggesting that the relative abundance of both was important in terms of understanding the carrying capacity of vegetation communities utilised by koalas. The results have established the success with which an enumerative approach to the interpretation of faecal pellet data can be utilised to clarify the tree species preferences of koalas. Application of the approach for habitat assessment and mapping purposes is also discussed.
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Cheal, David. "Twenty Years of Grazing Reduction in Semi-arid Woodlands." Pacific Conservation Biology 15, no. 4 (2009): 268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc090268.
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Twenty year old floristic data were reassessed to determine whether inclusion of remnant non-eucalypt semi-arid woodlands in national parks had enabled recovery from a degraded state, after decades of overgrazing. In Hattah- Kulkyne and Murray-Sunset National Parks (north-western Victoria), landscape condition had substantially improved by 2006. Formerly mobile dune systems in Hattah-Kulkyne are now stabilized by perennial field strata and increasingly dense shrubs (mostly Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustissima). In Murray-Sunset, chenopod shrubs now dominate and there are signs of regeneration of some of the formerly dominant trees. Semi-arid woodland condition has not (yet) fully recovered, but there are encouraging signs of partial recovery, and indications that further improvements in landscape condition will occur, as long as overgrazing (particularly by rabbits) can be reduced further or maintained at low levels. There are indications that rabbit numbers have greatly increased post-Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease, threatening the recovery to date.
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Fensham, R. J., R. J. Fairfax, and Y. M. Buckley. "An experimental study of fire and moisture stress on the survivorship of savanna eucalypt seedlings." Australian Journal of Botany 56, no. 8 (2008): 693. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt08152.
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Eucalyptus melanophloia and E. populnea dominate large areas of savanna in eastern Australia. Under aboriginal management, fires probably occurred under a broad range of conditions, but under pastoral management, burning is avoided when soil moisture is low. This experiment subjected E. melanophloia and E. populnea seedlings to burning and moisture stress, to examine whether this change in burning regime could affect seedling survivorship. The findings suggest survivorship rates are 87–93% for unstressed seedlings with relatively large lignotubers (>12 mm2 plan area) and 56–66% for unstressed seedlings with small lignotubers. There was no substantial interactive effect between moisture stress and burning for E. melanophloia, but such an interaction was apparent for E. populnea, such that moisture stress multiplied the effect of burning. The timing of burning in relation to soil-moisture conditions may have an enduring effect on woodland structure where E. populnea is dominant. E. melanophloia seedlings are more resistant to burning, especially with moisture stress, and fire may not be limiting structural development in woodlands where this species dominates. However, a more detailed understanding of species demography is required, including the conditions required for germination, causes of seedling mortality and the time taken for seedlings to develop fire resistance in the field.