Understanding how pyrodiversity begets biodiversity Key messages: Pyrodiversity describes the variation in the time between fires, their severity, size and patchiness New work is advancing our knowledge of the connection between pyrodiversity and biodiversity but there is a need to further develop approaches that are better tailored to local conditions All around the world fire […]
The processes of eucalypt recruitment are infrequent, patchy and difficult to predict. Long timeframes with appropriate incentives are needed to manage natural regeneration. These are the conclusions of Peter Vesk and colleagues who sought to investigate the processes of eucalypt regeneration within the Bush Returns trial, a native vegetation management incentive scheme in the Goulburn […]
What do dairy farmers think about planting riparian margins? Key messages: We surveyed Taranaki dairy farmers on their perceptions of the value of riparian plantings They reported many different values with the plantings; some positive, some negative Farmers who carried out riparian plantings reported improvement to both farm performance and the environment Over two stormy […]
Small patches of native vegetation are critically important to biodiversity conservation and need greater protection from clearing according to a new analysis undertaken by Ayesha Tulloch and colleagues. Just because a patch of native vegetation might be small, doesn’t mean we can afford to lose it. The researchers examined historical and current patch-size distributions to […]
What happens to the wildlife in patches of native vegetation when the surrounding agricultural landscape is converted from open grazed land to closed pine plantation forest? This is far from being an academic question as this situation is increasingly common as plantations are often established on cultivated or grazed land. Alessio Mortelliti and colleagues conducted […]
Understanding dense eucalypt stands and the pros and cons of thinning Stands of dense woody regrowth are increasing in extent across Australia and around the world, and that raises many questions on how they should be managed. What’s their value and should we leave them alone or actively thin them? Dense woody regrowth commonly pops […]
Hundreds of the invasive plant species that now inflict major environmental and economic damage in Australia were originally developed and distributed as pasture species. What a perverse outcome. What’s worse, we don’t seem to have learnt from these mistakes.
In many parts of the world, natural vegetation has been cleared to allow agricultural production. To ensure a long-term flow of ecosystem services without compromising agricultural activities, restoring the environment requires a balance between public and private benefits and costs. Information about private benefits generated by environmental assets can be utilized to identify conservation opportunities […]
How much native habitat is enough? The question for farm and landscape planning is: ‘How much intensive production can take place without excluding most native species from the landscape?’ Roughly speaking, if any land use that largely excludes native biodiversity (eg, crops, plantations, fertilised pastures) covers less than one-third of the landscape, it is unlikely […]