1. Conservation and management of
temperate eucalypt woodlands
David Lindenmayer, ANU
Emma Burns, ANU

2. Woodland distribution
Extant
(2001)
Cleared native
vegetation
(2001)
http://www.environment.gov.au/erin/nvis/m
vg/index.html

3. Ecosystem overview
(left) The Mulligans Flat–Goorooyarroo Woodland Experiment where exclusion fences reduce kangaroo
grazing (photo by Adrian Manning); (right) a scattered paddock tree landscape near Ladysmith in
southern New South Wales

4. Temperate eucalypt woodland research
Chapter authors: David Lindenmayer, Suzanne Prober, Mason Crane, Damian Michael, Sachiko Okada, Geoff
Kay, David Keith, Rebecca Montague-Drake and Emma Burns
Study name Data collected Start year Current status
Nanangroe Plantation Plot Network Plants, animals and vegetation structure 1997 Ongoing
South West Slopes Restoration Study Plants, animals and vegetation structure 2000 Ongoing
Woodland Restoration Plot Network (Cumberland Plain) Plants, animals and vegetation structure 1992 Ongoing

5. Key discoveries
• Detection rates of some species of temperate woodland birds have increased over the past
decade, including several which were previously considered to be declining
• Both re-planted temperate woodland and natural regrowth temperate woodland are
important habitats for birds and reptiles, including a range of species of conservation
concern.
• Planted areas are significantly different (but also complementary) to old-growth woodland.
• Interventions such as grazing control lead to improvements in vegetation condition and
these changes can, in turn, have positive impacts on temperate woodland birds
A replanted field site in the South West Slopes Restoration
study in New South Wales

6. Woodland issues and trends

7. Woodland and declining bird
species
An assessment of the evidence
Laura Rayner (Ph.D candidate @Fenner School)

8. Evidence of decline
conservation studies

9. Evidence of decline
acknowledgment of decline
Wald = 11.95
p < 0.001

10. Evidence of decline
systematic review
empirical population studies
30 (out of 474 review articles, 1980 to 2012)
Most studies are
“snapshots”
Maron et al. (2005)

11. Evidence of decline
systematic review
How strong is the available evidence?
Very few long-term studies to tell
Birds may be declining – but the
evidence to support this across
woodlands is scant

12. Woodlands, conservation and farming
14 years of research and monitoring
South West Slopes and Western Murray
404 sites – re-plantings, remnant vegetation etc
Many groups of biota
Several kinds of farms
•

15. Many declining small birds here.
We can help best target billions of $$ in
investment where will have best outcomes
for biodiversity

16. High levels of breeding success in
planted areas

17. Does intervention help biodiversity? Or
what to we get for the $$$ (billions)?

18. Changes in vegetation with
management intervention

19. Changes in vegetation with
management intervention
Native shrub ground cover (positive)
Native plant species richness (positive)
Percentage overstorey regeneration (positive)
Percentage of bare ground (negative)

20. Changes in vegetation with
management intervention
Intervention changes the vegetation
Changed vegetation influences the birds +
reptiles
Intervention is working
We can predict which kinds of birds that are
added by intervention
• Small, non-seed eaters, open nesters
(Lindenmayer et al. [2012] Biol. Conserv.]

21. Temporal changes in cover
Significant increase in native vegetation cover over the past 10+
years
Has there been a change in biodiversity in concert with these
changes?

23. 2000
2006
2010

24. Design

25. Mean number (and 95% CI) of overall bird species richness per
landscape and % native vegetation cover [an increase of 4.4
species (3.8-6.2) by doubling % vegetation cover]

26. Mean number (and 95% CI) of bird species of conservation
concern per landscape and % native vegetation cover at the
landscape scale [ increase of 0.5 species by doubling % cover]

27. Curve of diminishing “returns”
Doubling of species richness easiest to achieve
at lowest levels of veg cover
(e.g. 4-8% cover)
[There are no threshold responses and no triage
landscapes]
27

28. Increasing cover links with increase
in some individual species and
decreases in others
Brown Treecreeper
Noisy Miner
Common Starling

29. Key management recommendations
• Conservation initiatives focused on private land are needed.
• Support incentives that prevent clearing.
• Control damaging grazing regimes like high-intensity set stocking
• Maintain funding schemes that catalyse major restoration efforts—both natural
regeneration and replanting
Measuring vegetation condition on an Environmental
Stewardship Program Box Gum Grassy Woodlands Project
control site (photo by Geoff Kay)

30. Acknowledgments
TERN
Co-authors on Woodlands Chapter in the TERN/MSPN Book
Other partners in Woodlands work – Australian Government,
Murray CMA, Other CMA’s, ARC etc