Bird utilisation of rehabilitated bauxite minesites in Western Australia

Nichols, O.G.; Watkins, D. W.

doi:10.1016/0006-3207(84)90061-2

Cited by 40 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Of perhaps more importance to restoration is the bird community composition in revegetation. Several studies found that the bird composition in revegetation as young as 5 years after mining resembled that in the surrounding forest, depending on the development of the vegetation, particularly the understorey (Nichols & Watkins 1984; Armstrong & Nichols 2000). Borsboom et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faunal response to revegetation in agricultural areas of Australia: A review

Munro

Lindenmayer²,

Fischer³

2007

Eco Management Restoration

117

111

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The research was undertaken in response to a need for collated and reviewed information on how fauna respond to revegetation and how we can best revegetate to maximize use by fauna.Summary We reviewed the literature on fauna in revegetation in Australian agricultural areas. Of 27 studies, 22 examined birds, with few studies focusing on other faunal groups (four to six studies for each remaining group) and nine examined multiple groups. Existing evidence suggests that revegetation provides habitat for many species of bird and some arboreal marsupials. Species richness of birds was greater in revegetated areas that were large, wide, structurally complex, old and near remnant vegetation. Bats, small terrestrial mammals, reptiles and amphibians did not appear to benefit significantly from revegetation in the short term. Evidence to date suggests that revegetation is not a good replacement of remnant vegetation for many species. Key information gaps exist in the faunal response to (i) revegetation as it ages; (ii) different structural complexities of revegetation; (iii) revegetation that is composed of indigenous vs. non-indigenous plant species; and (iv) revegetation that is in riparian vs. non-riparian locations. In addition, little is known on the value of revegetation for declining or threatened fauna, or of the composition of fauna in revegetation. There is a need to better understand the balance between quantity of revegetation in the landscape, and the quality or complexity of revegetation at the patch scale. Based on current evidence, we recommend revegetation be conducted in patches that are large, wide and structurally complex to maximize the benefits to fauna.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faunal response to revegetation in agricultural areas of Australia: A review

Munro

Lindenmayer²,

Fischer³

2007

Eco Management Restoration

117

111

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“…Termites A third group of soil and litter organisms, the Isoptera or termites, has been the subject of three different surveys (Nichols & Bunn 1980; Burns 1992; Langlands 2003). Termites are decomposers but are of additional interest because of their influence on soil structure, as well as their food value for certain vertebrates (Lobry de Bruyn & Conacher 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invertebrates and the Restoration of a Forest Ecosystem: 30 Years of Research following Bauxite Mining in Western Australia

Majer

Brennan²,

Moir

2007

Restoration Ecology

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Restoration needs to consider more than just soils and plants. The role of terrestrial invertebrates in the restoration of Alcoa's bauxite mines in the Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest of Western Australia has been the subject of over 20 individual studies. Projects range from arthropods in soil and leaf litter, to the understorey vegetation, and the tree canopy. Moreover, projects span a range of trophic groups, including decomposers (e.g., springtails and termites), predators (e.g., ants and spiders), and herbivores (e.g., true bugs and ants preying on seeds). Elucidation of recolonization trajectories uses both spacefor-time substitutions and long-term regular sampling. Importantly, many studies are at species level rather than coarser taxonomic ranks. This paper provides an historical account and an integrated review of this research. The role of ants as seed predators and as indicators of ecosystem health is described. Successional data for other groups, when measured by species richness (ants, spiders, and hemipterans) and composition (ants and spiders), show their reassembly trajectories tracking toward unmined reference areas. Hemipteran species composition tracks the vegetation reassembly trajectory but not toward unmined reference areas. Studies also have revealed optimal sampling methods for surveying invertebrates and their rich biodiversity in southwestern Australia. In restored mine pits burnt to reduce fuel loads, the response of spiders to this additional disturbance was retrogression/alteration of the post-mining trajectory. Finally, attention is drawn to research areas receiving limited scrutiny to date, such as the contribution of terrestrial invertebrates to ecosystem function and taxonomic groups not yet studied.

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“…An ~xample is bauxite mining in the jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest of Western Australia, where the aim of rehabilitation/restoration is to establish a functional forest ecosytem which meets the designated land uses for the area (Ward et al 1990). Studies in rehabilitation areas have documented biomass and nitrogen accumulation in rehabilited areas (Koch 1987;Ward and Pickersgill 1985), litterfall and decomposition (Ward et al 1990(Ward et al , 1991, vegetation development Nichols and Michaelsen 1986;Ward et al 1990), and recolonization and utilization by reptiles (Nichols and Bamford 1985), birds (Nichols and Watkins 1984;Collins et al 1985;Curry and Nichols 1986;Ward et al 1990) and invertebrates (Majer et al 1984;Nichols and Burrows 1985;Nichols et al 1989;Greenslade and Majer 1992).…”

Section: Revegetation In Agricultural Areas Compared With Minesite Rementioning

confidence: 99%

Can revegetation assist in the conservation of biodiversity in agricultural areas?

Hobbs

1994

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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It has been suggested that revegetation in agricultural areas to tackle land degradation problems can also aid in the conservation of biodiversity in these regions. Native biota is restricted to remnant areas, which are mostly small, often unconnected, and subject to a variety of impacts from the surrounding altered landscape. The current remnant network is not sufficient to ensure the long-term persistence of the biota, and requires enhancement. Revegetation provides an opportunity to protect and add to the existing remnant network. However, there are few data available with which to assess the likely impact of revegetation on conservation values, and few guidelines as to how revegetation should be designed for conservation purposes.This paper presents an initial framework for developing revegetation strategies which tie into the existing conservation network. Revegetation can either provide buffer strips around existing remnants to protect them from external impacts, corridors between them to increase connectivity, or additional habitat to increase the area of vegetation available, or can enhance degraded remnant areas. Precise design principles and specifications for these types of revegetation are lacking, and may not be appropriate since they will depend on vegetation types and the requirements of target species. In addition, revegetation will help retain biodiversity indirectly if it helps stabilize an otherwise degrading agricultural landscape.Revegetation in agricultural areas is compared with minesite rehabilitation, where the redevelopment of functioning ecosystems and faunal habitat appears to be possible. The task is harder in the agricultural situation because the scale of modification is greater, soil changes are more difficult to redress, and recolonization by native species is less likely.Increased research effort is needed on the implementation and effects of differing types of revegetation, strategies for increasing rates of adoption of revegetation and methods of integrating conservation considerations into revegetation programmes.

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Bird utilisation of rehabilitated bauxite minesites in Western Australia

Cited by 40 publications

References 6 publications

Faunal response to revegetation in agricultural areas of Australia: A review

Faunal response to revegetation in agricultural areas of Australia: A review

Invertebrates and the Restoration of a Forest Ecosystem: 30 Years of Research following Bauxite Mining in Western Australia

Can revegetation assist in the conservation of biodiversity in agricultural areas?

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