Although Western Australia is a relatively unpopulated region, considerable areas of native vegetation have been modified by agricultural clearing, rangeland grazing, urbanization, road construction, and mining. Ant diversity is reduced and community composition changed by each of these land uses. Road construction has the greatest long‐term effect on the alpha diversity of ants, followed by agricultural clearing, mining, urbanization, and rangeland grazing. We present data on the extent of these various land uses in each major Western Australian vegetation association. Then, examples of ant diversity and community composition for each land use are coupled with geographic information system data on the extent of each land use in the various vegetation associations to calculate indices of “biodiversity integrity.” The extent of biodiversity integrity in each region concurs with a subjective opinion of the condition of each unit. Agricultural clearing, followed by rangeland grazing, were found responsible for the greatest loss of ant biodiversity integrity. The findings relate to Australia in general and may serve as a framework for estimating losses of biodiversity integrity in other regions of the world in taxa other than ants.
The literature relating to vegetation of the poplar box (Euca4,ptus populnea) lands of inland eastern Australia mas revieaed and a total of 31 plant communities recognised in which poplar bou (E pupulnea) was present. Descrjptions of floristics and structure were prepared for each community using published reports and data from approsimately 1,400 cite\ recorded during various regional and biological surveys. Structurally the communities occur mainly as low a.oodlands, woodlands and open forests, although closed scrubs and tall open shrublands also occur. I:loristically the communities varied considerably in composit~on and relative importance. Pastures of the communities show variation in composition due to the influences of climate, soils arid disturbance Areas for the conservation of the communities described are sma!l or non existent and further areas nerd to be reserved to conserve the variation in the communities.
Eucalyptus populnea Eucalj'ptus populnea (poplar or bimble box) can be controlled by ringbarking, mechanical pulling and by direct chemical appiication; fire alone has little effect. The initial ringbarking usually kills only a small percentage of trees, but repeated removal of the coppice growth leads to a complete kill. Mechanical pulling under favourable soil moisture conditions can remove many of the fignotubers from the ground and Little regrowth occurs, but in dry soils the trees break off at or near ground level and profuse re- growth occurs from the broken stumps. Chemical injection treatment, using the picloram compounds or 2,4,5-T, is probably the most economical method and high percentage kills can be obtained under all seasonal conditions. Of the shrub associates of poplar box, Eremophila mitchellii can be effectively controlled by basal stem sprays of 1.0% butyl 2,4,5-T in diesel distillate, whilst shrubs such as Cassia nemophila, C. artemisioides and Acacia deanei have been shown to be suscep- tible to fie under suitable fuel loads. Other important shrub species have reacted in varying degrees to both chemical and fue treat- ment.
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