Biodiversity value of fodder shrub plantings
Dr Andrew FisherDepartment of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation
22 June 2010
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Production Perennials for Biodiversity
Project Logic:What does native biodiversity need to survive?What does native biodiversity need to survive?How do current landscapes provide these needs?What can be done to provide what is lacking?
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Production Perennials for Biodiversity
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Project History
Fauna use of Oil mallees
WA & SA d t b f i tWA & SA database of resource requirements
WA reptile project
SA fodder shrub workSA fodder shrub work
SA Complementary State NRM funded project
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Biodiversity value of planted saltbush
Preliminary investigation – plants, birds, invertebratesSaltbush, Pasture, RemnantSaltbush, Pasture, Remnant5 sites per treatmentSpring & Autumn
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Bird species richness
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12
ies
a
8
Num
ber
of s
pec
b
0
4
N
c
0Remnant Saltbush Pasture
Treatment
Combined seasonal data
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Bird abundance data▲/ ∆ = Remnant, ● / ○ = Saltbush, / □ = Pasture. Shaded =Spring 2008Unshaded = Autumn 2009
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Unshaded = Autumn 2009
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PP4B project evolution
Focus of field work moved to SA – personnel hubPhD student from March 2010PhD student from March 2010Revision of scope & deliverables
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PP4B – revision
Can saltbush-based farming systems improve biodiversity security in the SA Murray Mallee?y y“security” = persistenceTwo sub-projects:
Resource connectivity (birds) Fisher et alResource connectivity (birds) – Fisher et al.Functional connectivity (lizards) – Smyth et al.
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South Australia
Study Area
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Resource connectivity
For selected bird species:Foraging: food availability & how gatheredForaging: food availability & how gatheredReproductive successComparisons at landscape scale
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R
R s
vs vs
R
R vs vss
R RIntact mallee Fragmented mallee with
saltbush plantingsFragmented mallee with
conventional grazing
R = remnant mallee
s = saltbush planting
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Field Methods
For selected bird species:Survival = food, protectionSurvival food, protectionBreeding = nest materials, nest sites, food for young
T h i i l dTechniques may include:Territory mappingObservations of foraging movementsTime budgets
Nest observationsNest observationsPredation (adults, eggs, young) – observation/artificial nests/remote recordingsOb ti f di l t
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Observations of dispersal movements
Plans from here
Literature review & synthesisConfirm sitesConfirm sitesTest methodsData collectionA l iAnalysisReport/paper(s) by June 2011
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Autumn 2009
Spring 2008
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Outputs
Output 5.1 Management & decision packages that promote farming systems that integrate production and biodiversity g y g p youtcomes
Conceptual model developedData collection / model refinement to June 2011Data collection / model refinement to June 2011Report = paper(s)Guidelines for saltbush management
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Outputs (cont.)
Collard & Fisher (2010) Shrub-based plantings of woody perennial vegetation in temperate Australian agricultural p g p glandscapes: What benefits for native biodiversity? Ecological Management & Restoration 11(1): 31 – 35Smith, Fisher, Collard (in prep) - synthesis paper on resource , , ( p p) y p pprovided for vertebrates in woody perennial farming systemsSmyth et al. – paper(s) on functional connectivityRichards - PhD thesisRichards - PhD thesisConvening ESA symposium Dec 2010: Biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes: is it really worth the effort?
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