Practical Example of Planting for Biodiversity
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Revegetation case study (Adding area to woodland using a corridor) Landscape Goal Create woodland patches of greater than 50ha to maintain breeding viability of the most sensitive fauna in the medium term (50 years). Land manager Land manager (conservation) (agriculture) OBJECTIVE(S) OBJECTIVE(S) Connect two isolated Reduce waterlogging, (less than 50 ha) improve cultivation patches of woodland, pattern, protect raising their combined paddock remnants, area to greater than and replant natural 50 ha. vegetation associations. Ν Department of Conservation and Land Management Site characteristics Heath / mallee Woodland ~ 25 ha Woodland ~ 30 ha Topographic contour Ν 1.1 km = Winter waterlogging (water discharge sites) Woodland note: isolated areas of woodland, each < 50 ha. Woodland tree species are predominantly Eucalyptus salmonophloia (salmon gum), E. longicornis (morrel), E. wandoo (white gum), and E. loxophleba subsp. loxophleba (york gum). Surface water run-off Eucalyptus loxophleba subsp. loxophleba vegetation association with scattered granite rocks Eucalyptus salmonophloia and E. longicornis vegetation association. Eucalyptus astringens (brown mallet) vegetation association. Draft of 18 April 2000 2 Design of revegetation: Nest hollows - will be provided by the selection of native overstorey tree species. These may take around 100 – 150 years to develop. Species Selection Based on the objective of increasing area Provenance protection - seed was of habitat via a connection of isolated collected local to revegetation site to woodland areas, species selected represent ensure protection of local genotypes from those of pre-clearing native vegetation. inter-breeding with introduced genetic This was determined by assessment of on- stock. site fragmented remnant bush and soil types (see page 7). Vegetation Structure (density) - is based on stem counts in surrounding remnant Characteristics to meet objectives bush. Nature Conservation Objectives Vegetation Structure (form characteristics) - are based on the Increasing area to maintain breeding clumping habit resulting from the viability of the most sensitive fauna interaction of fire, seed fall and seedbed in the medium term (50 years). - the preference for areas of hot burn. A revegetation links two areas of woodland planting pattern based on a 4 m – 2 m – 4 (30 ha and 25 ha) with a ‘habitat’ corridor, m – 2 m rip line spacing was intended to thereby effectively creating a 55 ha impose a degree of clumpiness and also woodland patch. The minimum size to variation in form. maintain breeding viability of the most sensitive fauna in woodland in the Vegetation Structure (layers) - this medium term (50 years) for this area was planting was predominantly overstorey assessed to be 50 ha. species (large trees and mallees), with a small proportion of small trees and shrubs. Natural plant associations - eg The small trees and shrubs were Eucalyptus wandoo with Hakea concentrated into thicket style ‘habitat lissocarpha; Eucalyptus phenax and patches’ (see above) to capture a range of Eucalyptus phaenophylla subsp. other habitat values. phaenophylla scattered throughout E. wandoo vegetation association. By using Buffering of remnant bush - part of the natural plant associations, an appropriate revegetation provides direct protection scale of diversity is achieved also, ie from wind, spray drift, fertiliser / nutrient diversity is not equally distributed over the movement and weed seed movement. whole site. Incorporation of paddock based Nest sites, Shelter, Protection and remnant vegetation - values associated Nesting material - provided in part by with including paddock remnant ‘habitat patches’ or thicket areas. Most vegetation, regardless of size include: native mammals of the south west prefer provision of age structure to the or require areas of dense vegetation for vegetation, provision of a potential source these purposes. Attracting native animals of ‘small fauna’ eg invertebrates, and also forms the basis to the distribution of capturing unique sources of plant and seed and / or plant propagules from animal genetic material (diversity). remnant vegetation. Contour planting to increase habitat value - in addition to contour ripping to Draft of 18 April 2000 3 minimise erosion, planting on the contour factor to increasing the number of patches was considered to facilitate retention of and their extent. In addition, many of the litter within the site, especially in the event nitrogen fixing and nutrient cycling plants of a rainstorm. are poisonous to agricultural stock and were unaccepted by the landholder for Ecosystem process objectives inclusion. Level of diversity - as many species as Replacability / stability - Fire appears to was practical were planted. Species be the primary threat to replacability. generally had to have accessible seeds and Accessing the primary regeneration be easily mass propagated. It was techniques (ie seeders and resprouters) that generally expected that the initial level of plants employ assisted with determining diversity, together with species density species replacability / stability. The will strongly influence successional proportion of seeders to resprouters of patterns of the revegetation. The major wheatbelt vegetation appears to flux at the deficiency in the species mix at this site 25-40 % level (Kingsley Dixon pers. (as will be all other agricultural comm. 1999). Evidence on the ecological revegetation) is the resprouting role of seeder:sprouters (ie species that can understorey component. regenerate from seed and resprout, eg E. wandoo, E. loxophleba) indicates that this Nitrogen fixing plants - with a paddock particular life form has increased history of cereal cropping and sheep ecological ‘fitness’ in conditions of grazing, it was considered that nitrogen irregular fire events (a likely farmland would not be a limiting nutrient to plant revegetation scenario), eg combinations of growth. Nitrogen fixing plants were periods of short fire intervals (15-25 years) therefore concentrated within the ‘patches’ and periods of long fire intervals (>30 of revegetation. years). This particular planting has a seeder:sprouter composition of 75 % with Nutrient cycling plants - evidence the balance accounting for seeders and indicates that early successional species obligate seeders. Note that Acacia generally have more nutrients in their acuminata has been identified as a seeder. falling leaves. For example, Acacia spp. This is its primary regeneration method are generally known to relocate less however, it does have the ability to nutrients from their phylodes/leaves before resprout (see page 7). dropping than Eucalyptus spp. Nutrient levels and rate of decay (residence time) of The seeder and resprouter composition of litter is also considered to be positively the revegetation represents a mix of correlated, aiding in the establishment of species that have accessible seeds and can ecosystem functioning attributes. Plants be mass propagated. Diversity of these from the Mimosaceae, Caesalpinaceae, mechanisms also gives the revegetation as Casuarinaceae and Fabaceae families are a whole, the capacity to withstand suitable. Preferred litter producers and environmental extremes. nitrogen producing species, not surprisingly, (being attributes of pioneer or Hydrological issues - revegetation targets early successional species), are from the areas of ‘change in slope’, recognised as same plant families and forfill a being key areas for revegetation to access multifunctional ecological role. and use ground water and also targets a series of areas suffering from winter As for nitrogen fixing plants, nutrient waterlogging. cycling plants were concentrated within the ‘patches’ of revegetation. Availability of landholder time was the most limiting Draft of 18 April 2000 4 Agricultural land use objectives higher using seedlings than for direct seeding in this area. Reducing waterlogging - revegetation was located on and directly upslope of Contour ripping - as the site was sloping seasonally waterlogged areas. (about 2.5 % grade), contour guide lines were surveyed about every 50 m for Consistent with contour cultivation - ripping. Ripping was performed with a orientation of revegetation boundary single tine trailable ripper to a depth of allows for a dramatic improvement in 40cm and was completed in early July. Rip paddock cultivation pattern. line spacing followed a pattern of 4 m – 2 m – 4 m – 2 m. The contour ripping was Protection of paddock remnant bush - also essential to prevent erosion from four separate unprotected areas were surface water run-off from the bare site incorporated into the revegetation. after blanket herbicide weed control. Replant natural vegetation associations Weed control - the site was blanket - importance was placed on maintaining a sprayed with 1 L of glyphosate per ha and natural appearance by the agricultural land 3.5 L of simazine per ha in mid July. This manager. Attention was therefore placed spraying date is later than normally on planting natural vegetation associations recommended, however, it allowed for and matching different vegetation excellent control of late germinating associations with changing soil types. weeds. Minimising of competition with Planting boundaries pegged before paddock production - Eucalyptus planting - natural vegetation boundaries loxophleba subsp. loxophleba (york gum) were assessed and predicted before was used as a border species. This species planting. These boundaries were clearly has been