Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 3.5. Birds versus reptiles - dealing with the complexity created
by different responses of different animals groups to plantings
The previous paragraph highlighted how the density of the understorey in a planting
can have a positive effect on bird species richness. Dense plantings are not good for
all species, however. For example, rock-dwelling and ground-dwelling reptiles can
be strongly disadvantaged by dense vegetation cover because it limits the amount
of light (and hence heat) reaching the ground.
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This highlights two common themes
in conservation science and natural resource management: (1) the need to think
deeply about the objectives of management; for example, is the aim to establish a
planting for birds or for reptiles? (see Box 1.2); and (2) one prescription does not fit
all. If an aim of management is to create suitable environments for a range of differ-
ent species on a farm, then the best way to deal with the complexity created by
different species is to make sure that not all plantings on a farm are established in
exactly the same way. For example, some plantings might have densely stocked
understorey vegetation to make them unsuitable for the Noisy Miner, whereas
others might have trees and other plants spaced widely to provide suitable thermal
micro-environmental conditions for some species of reptiles.
Management of plantings
The way plantings are managed can have a substantial influence on their
suitability for wildlife. For example, plantings are often characterised by lower
levels of grazing pressure than other parts of farms and this can significantly
influence their use by some species, such as the Superb Fairy-wren
3
(Figure 3.17)
and the Olive Legless Lizard (Box 3.6). Total exclusion of grazing from plantings
No
Ye s
Grazing
Figure 3.17:
Relationships between the occurrence of the Superb Fairy-wren in plantings and grazing.
