Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
4
What makes a good paddock
for biodiversity?
In a nutshell
A good paddock will typically have several or all of the following features:
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some areas of scattered trees that are in good condition
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some young regenerating trees to replace older paddock trees as they age and die
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trees of a range of ages, including dead trees
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some areas of fallen timber and native pasture
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appropriate grazing regimes that limit the risks of overgrazing and excessive tram-
pling in high traffic areas by domestic livestock.
Introduction
Paddocks are where grazing and/or cropping take place and these commodity
production areas usually dominate a farm. Paddocks have traditionally been
thought to be places lacking habitat value for wildlife and unsuitable
for biodiversity. Recent research, however, is demonstrating that this is not the
case. This work shows that the way paddocks are managed can make a significant
difference to the conservation of biodiversity on a farm.
In this chapter, we examine the attributes that can make a paddock good for
biodiversity without reducing productivity. We also outline the processes which
can degrade the suitability of paddocks for biodiversity and suggest management
approaches to address these threatening processes. We dedicate an entire chapter
to a discussion of paddocks because they collectively comprise a large proportion
