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Summary A key task for native grassland managers is to assess when biomass reduction is necessary to maintain plant and animal diversity. This requires managers to monitor grassland structure. Parks Victoria and La Trobe University developed a method for rapid assessment of grassland structure using golf balls. Baker‐Gabb et al. (Ecological Management & Restoration, 17, 2016, p235) provide an example of where the method has been used to manage grassland structure to favour an endangered bird, the Plains‐wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus). In this study, we provide further critical analysis of the method using three data sets collected across different parts of Victoria that relate golf ball scores to various habitat attributes. We demonstrate how the golf ball score provides a good surrogate for key aspects of grassland structure. We show that the method does not provide a reliable surrogate for above‐ground biomass or vegetation cover, although we discuss how biomass and cover are not particularly good indicators of grassland structure. We argue that elements of grassland structure may be better correlated with desired conservation outcomes (e.g. plant species diversity or the presence of a particular species) than biomass or cover alone. We discuss examples of how the golf ball method has been used, and how it can be improved. The method will be particularly useful where a link can be demonstrated between golf ball scores and desired conservation outcomes, such as in the case of the Plains‐wanderer.

Question How does experimental habitat fragmentation of a temperate Australian eucalypt forest affect local population patterns of common plant species 22 yr after landscape transformation to a pine plantation? Location Wog Wog Habitat Fragmentation Experiment, southeast Australia. Methods We use occupancy–scale relationships to examine the patterns of community organization of common understorey plant species in fragmented forests (small: 0.25 ha; large: 3.062 ha) relative to an intact native forest. Results Occupancy–scale patterns for intact forest and large‐sized remnants were isotropic; slope (z) values ranged across all values, from aggregated to scattered. In the smallest remnants, however, mean and median z values, as well as their interquartile range, were significantly lower than expected. The convergence in occupancy–scale relationships in small remnants hints that many of the commonest plant species have become even more common (i.e. aggregated). Conclusions The ecological assembly processes that influence common species in small‐sized remnants differ from those in larger remnants and intact forest. Fragmentation effects on assembly processes are greater at smaller patch sizes because these habitats are likely altered by changed environmental filters more so than large patches. Such shifts may have implications for habitat structure, ecosystem function and food web interactions in small remnant forests.

Fire has a major influence on the structure and composition of temperate grasslands and woodlands. We investigated whether the impacts of fire exclusion on a temperate grassland plant community varied according to the scale of investigation and soil texture. Ten sites with known fire histories were selected along a soil texture gradient in south-eastern Australia. Floristics and ground layer attributes were investigated at small (0.25 m2) and large (100 m2) spatial scales in regularly burnt and unburnt grasslands. Fire exclusion over a 10 year period led to declines in native species diversity, richness and cover at both spatial scales and in most cases effects were consistent regardless of soil texture. However, the richness of native plant species at small scales and the cover of native plants at large scales were most negatively influenced by fire exclusion on fine textured soils. Conversely, at large scales, exotic plant richness and cover were only weakly increased by fire exclusion. Responses of eight common species were modelled and in seven of these, fire exclusion was a strong predictor of occurrence, although both positive and negative responses were observed. These results reiterate the importance of frequent fire as a management tool in temperate grasslands, but also shed light on how sites may require specific fire management regimes depending on the underlying soil texture.

The establishment of commercial tree plantations is a common cause of habitat fragmentation globally, yet the influence of this land use on plant species density in fragmented native forests requires further understanding. Theory predicts species density will be highest in large areas of habitat, and should decline as area is reduced, but whether these effects are scale-dependent is largely unknown.We assessed plant species density (total, common and uncommon species) in experimentally fragmented eucalypt forest remnants (0.25, 0.88, 3.06 ha) surrounded by a pine plantation, at three spatial scales using nested quadrats. Specifically, we consider how plant species density varies across three different sized fragments, and whether the response of species density is magnified in common or uncommon species. Species density in small fragments was higher than continuous forest for all species groupings at the smallest spatial scale (1 m 2 ), and for total and common species at the next smallest spatial scale (16 m 2 ). No species groupings responded to reductions in habitat area at the largest spatial scale (144 m 2 ).We suggest that pine plantations may cause higher species density in small fragments via two mechanisms, either by allowing species to infill unoccupied areas within small fragments, or by buffering small fragments from species losses during a severe and prolonged drought. In both cases we suspect reduced moisture stress (e.g. increased soil moisture, higher shading and reduced temperature) in small fragments has led to the observed changes in species density.

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Stanton Braude and Bobbi S. Low (eds). Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA, 2010. xiii + 267 pp. Price £46.95 (hardback). ISBN 978 0 691 12723 1. Also available in paperback This textbook introduces quantitative models and methods in ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation. The text is designed to guide undergraduate students through the core concepts using scientific tools to enhance their practical skills. Braude and Low have produced a text that not only offers fantastic introductions to the topics covered with effective exercises, but also will serve as a reference to undergraduate students. The text will prove to be a very important teaching guide for undergraduate biology courses the world over.The overall aim of this text is to provide a useful, engaging and thorough teaching and learning guide, which the authors have achieved. The text is divided into three partitions that deal with the fields of biological research (Sections I-III), quantitative ecological tools (Section IV) and synthetic exercises and writing assignments (Section V).The aim of the editors is to show that ecology (Section I), demography and population biology (Section II) and population genetics (Section III) are closely related fields. In addition, it is a requirement of all of these fields of research that students be able to perform some form of quantitative analysis (Section IV), and also be able to synthesize what others have done in the past, leading to the current understanding (Section VI). Overall, this book is well structured.The exercises in this textbook are the reason why it is so practical. Within each section, students are given the opportunity to 'have a go' at exercises prior to class and, when in class, are able to build on the exercises in a supervised environment. In addition to independent learning, the exercises also provide students with the opportunity to carry out collaborative tasks with fellow students. The text uses both hypothetical and real datasets to explore the challenges presented for each section, promoting real learning, rather than memorization. In addition, much of the 'black box' computing has been eliminated and replaced with simplified exercises based on a 'coin and die' approach, which ensures that students have a better understanding of scientific principles.Although numerous authors were involved in the creation of this text, the quality and consistency of writing style remains constant throughout. Small elements of repetition crept into associated parts, but should not pose a problem as in most cases a section (containing many parts) will be used as a whole. A few editing errors were noticed in regard to letter casing, parentheses, and on one occasion a species was referred to by its species name and genus name numerous times, which could potentially confuse students. Scientific figures and tables are presented clearly with annotations where appropriate, helping to illustrate the core themes. In addition, all images of plants and animals were anatomically correct and did not ...

Questions Globally, grassy ecosystems are threatened and are still declining in extent in many areas. Improving the management of degraded native temperate grasslands that are grazed by livestock is important to the conservation of this critically endangered ecosystem. Questions remain about the role of grazing in the management of such grasslands, particularly in the face of climate change and given the sensitivity of these systems to inter‐annual rainfall variability. Here, we investigate the effect of livestock exclusion on grassland composition. Location Temperate grassland, Victoria, Australia. Methods Over 9 years (2009–2017), we monitored plant functional groups in plots open‐to‐grazing or ungrazed exclusion plots within five fields of degraded native temperate grassland on private land. Results In the years after grazing had been excluded, we found significant differences in cover between grazed and ungrazed plots for some functional groups (e.g. native perennial graminoids) in some years, but we did not observe long‐term divergence in cover or composition of the treatments. At the final monitoring point there were no significant differences in native or exotic species richness between the grazed and ungrazed plots. We show that the years in which differences were observed correspond with the 2010–2011 La Niña high‐rainfall event, suggesting that grazing exclusion effects are mediated by rainfall, and are likely to be evident only under certain conditions. Conclusion In grassy ecosystems already degraded by long‐term grazing, excluding grazing has limited potential to shift plant species composition in favour of native dominance. Such grasslands may persist in the medium term in a stable but degraded state with or without continued light to moderate livestock grazing pressure. Hence, managed livestock grazing need not be incompatible with the conservation of degraded temperate grasslands particularly where biomass management is important for the maintenance of faunal habitat. However, improving the function and diversity of these degraded grasslands will seemingly require additional management, including seed addition and experimentation with alternative disturbance regimes.