Native species dominate the millipede fauna in a second-rotation Pinus radiata plantation in Tasmania, Australia

Abstract

Soil-dwelling millipedes were methodically hand-sampled in two second-rotation Pinus radiata stands in Stoodley Plantation in north-central Tasmania. Eleven of 14 species collected were natives, and native millipedes comprised 83% of the 1 456 identified specimens. The average millipede catch in 40 x 0.5 m2 quadrats was 74 individuals/m2. All nine of the native species of Chordeumatida, Polydesmida and Polyzoniida found in the survey had previously been collected in native forest within a 10 km radius of the pine plantation. Historical records indicate that Stoodley Plantation was established on abandoned farmland, and the two sampled areas have carried P. radiata for at least 60 years. The survey results support the suggestion that plantation development on cleared farmland can assist in local-scale conservation of native invertebrates.