Birds respond to woodland type, soil and mesic gradients in heterogeneous woodlands at Dryandra
Graham R. Fulton
A B D and John Lawson C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
B Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.
C Lions Dryandra Woodland Village, PO Box 118, Cuballing, WA 6311, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: grahamf2001@yahoo.com.au
Australian Journal of Zoology 68(2) 55-61 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20095
Submitted: 25 November 2020 Accepted: 22 March 2021 Published: 13 April 2021
Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2020 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
The vast clearance of forest and woodland for agriculture with the removal of more than 93% of the native vegetation has decimated the fauna of what is now known as the Western Australian wheatbelt. This clearing has been particularly severe on wandoo woodlands through the wheatbelt. In order to quantify the usefulness of what has been left, three native woodland types were surveyed for avian abundance and diversity, in a large heterogeneous remnant of old-growth woodland, at Dryandra. Birds were counted at 70 points along seven transects, through three woodland types: powderbark wandoo (Eucalyptus accedens), wandoo (E. wandoo) and a brown mallet (E. astringens) plantation. Greater abundance and species richness were detected in E. wandoo woodland, although this is thought to be related to the more mesic and productive low-lying contours of the landscape on which it is situated.
Keywords: forest, homogenisation, fragmentation, adaptive management, land-use change, biodiversity, ecology, disturbance.
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