Managing ski resorts to improve biodiversity conservation: Australian reptiles as a case study

Sato, Chloe F.; Schroder, Mellesa; Green, Ken; Michael, Damian; Osborne, Will; Lindenmayer, David B.

doi:10.1111/emr.12111

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Threatened reptiles occur in most Victorian ecosystems, and continuing land clearing for agriculture, timber harvesting, recreational and residential development (and related infrastructure) and industrial estates means that remaining habitat is shrinking and becoming increasingly isolated. Degradation and fragmentation of key habitat for threatened reptiles also occurs during development and maintenance for recreational facilities such as ski runs (Sato et al 2014a). Fragmentation of threatened reptile habitat is exemplified by the draining and removal of swamps, wet heath, riparian vegetation and saltmarsh that forms critical habitat for the swamp skink, Lissolepis coventryi, and glossy grass skink, Pseudemoia rawlinsoni, in southern Victoria.…”

Section: Habitat Loss and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many processes degrade reptile habitat, such as removal of rocks (including exfoliating slabs: Webb and Shine 2000) and fallen timber, overgrazing and trampling, creation and maintenance of recreational infrastructure (e.g. Sato et al 2014a), inappropriate fire regimes, and weed invasion (Gibbons et al 2000) (but, notably, some threatened reptiles persist, and even thrive, in weedy environments, such as the swamp skink, which can persist in areas with an understorey dominated by weeds, provided that the vegetation structure remains suitable: author's obs.). Populations persisting in degraded habitat may be particularly susceptible to stochastic events or systematic pressure from other threats, such as predation by exotic (Gibbons et al 2000) or even native species (Sato et al 2014b).…”

Section: Preventing Habitat Loss and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cold-blooded indifference: a case study of the worsening status of threatened reptiles from Victoria, Australia

Clemann¹

2015

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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For the first time in the history of life, a biodiversity extinction crisis is being driven by a single species – humans. Humans also have unprecedented control over both the threats and conservation actions that influence this crisis. When prioritising conservation actions, innate human bias often favours endothermic vertebrates over other fauna. Reptiles are the least popular terrestrial vertebrate class, and consequently are particularly disadvantaged in terms of being listed as threatened and receiving conservation management. Despite 30 years of formally evaluating and listing threatened vertebrates in the Australian State of Victoria, there is a strong worsening trend in the conservation status of all faunal groups. The deteriorating status of Victorian reptiles mirrors worrying documented trends in reptile conservation status around the world. I review the history of listing threatened reptiles in Victoria, detail worsening trends in their conservation status, and suggest that, as in other parts of the world, the threats common to most listed taxa are climate change, habitat loss and degradation, and elevated rates of predation by exotic predators. I also identify poor advice and planning as a considerable threat to Victorian reptiles; this threat is rarely reported, but may be more pervasive than currently recognised. I argue that what is needed for most reptiles to have the greatest chance of persisting in the long term is prevention of habitat loss and degradation, research to underpin listing and management, improved policy so that unproven management strategies are not sanctioned, and vetting of consultant’s reports so that unproven ‘mitigation’ strategies and inadequate preimpact surveys do not mask the true cost of loss and degradation of habitat.

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Section: Habitat Loss and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preventing Habitat Loss and Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold-blooded indifference: a case study of the worsening status of threatened reptiles from Victoria, Australia

Clemann¹

2015

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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“…; Burt & Rice ; Roux‐Fouillet, Wipf & Rixen ; Sato et al . ). Ski runs may be constructed either by machine grading (‘graded runs’), or by simple removal of trees and other large obstacles (‘cleared runs’).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Ski areas extensively and dramatically alter fragile highelevation ecosystems, and are thus of great conservation and policy interest (Wipf et al 2005;Burt & Rice 2009;Roux-Fouillet, Wipf & Rixen 2011;Sato et al 2014). Ski runs may be constructed either by machine grading ('graded runs'), or by simple removal of trees and other large obstacles ('cleared runs').…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial disturbance intensity affects recovery rates and successional divergence on abandoned ski slopes

Burt¹,

Clary²

2015

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary The importance of site history (including initial disturbance intensity and propagule arrival) in determining successional trajectories is a key theoretical and applied line of research in ecology. Abandoned ski slopes provide an opportunity to study successional processes following differing initial disturbance intensities. Some ski slopes are graded with heavy equipment when constructed (‘graded’, severe initial disturbance), while others are simply cleared of tall woody vegetation (‘cleared’, lesser initial disturbance). In a blocked chronosequence study of graded and cleared ski slopes abandoned 10–43 years previously, we found that graded ski slopes did not show predictable recovery trajectories over many decades. In contrast, cleared ski runs showed significant convergence with adjacent reference forest communities. Convergence in community composition on cleared ski runs was driven by trees, though understorey species were more numerous and dominant during succession. Understorey communities did not predictably change in species or life‐form composition over time, regardless of ski run type. Graded ski runs exhibited little or no edaphic recovery over time, showing neither reductions in bare ground and visible soil erosion, nor increases in soil depth. Cleared ski runs, in contrast, showed evidence of recovery in all of these variables except soil depth, which remained uniformly high. Synthesis and applications. The creation of new ski slopes by tree clearing is preferable to the grading of new slopes with heavy machinery, because grading reduces ecosystem function and decreases the predictability of soil and vegetation recovery decades after abandonment. Existing graded ski slopes (both operational and abandoned) may benefit from restoration of soils and vegetation.

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“…On the other hand, the depletion of prey sources (Negro et al, 2009(Negro et al, , 2010, the removal of suitable refuges (Amo et al, 2007;Sato, Schroder, Green, Michael, et al, 2014;Sato, Wood, Schroeder, et al, 2013; and the homogenising of microclimates along ski-runs (Sato, Schroder, Green, Michael, et al, 2014 might lead to an unsuitable environment to reduced individuals' health status and time available for activity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of ski‐runs, meadow management and climate on the occupancy of reptiles and amphibians in a high‐altitude environment of Italy

Chiacchio,

Rödder,

Henle

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Alpine ecosystems harbour a rich and highly specialised biodiversity, which is particularly susceptible to anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat loss and fragmentation as well as to climate change. Combined with other forms of land‐use conversion, construction and maintenance of ski resorts can have severe consequences on alpine biodiversity. In this study, we show how one amphibian and two reptile species, namely Rana temporaria, Zootoca vivipara and Vipera berus, respond to such impacts by means of a multi‐season occupancy analysis. We found all three species both in and outside ski‐runs, showing that these habitats do not necessarily preclude their occurrence. Contrarily, this is influenced more by microhabitat availability, such as ground vegetation, humid areas and rock cover, rather than by macro‐characteristics like elevation or habitat type. Moreover, we found a climatic influence on the year‐to‐year occupancy change of the species, with activity‐month conditions being more relevant than overwintering ones. Our results demonstrate how, in the specific case of reptiles and amphibians, ski resorts do not necessarily limit species' occurrence and that a mild series of management actions might secure the species' persistence in the area.

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Managing ski resorts to improve biodiversity conservation: Australian reptiles as a case study

Cited by 9 publications

References 27 publications

Cold-blooded indifference: a case study of the worsening status of threatened reptiles from Victoria, Australia

Cold-blooded indifference: a case study of the worsening status of threatened reptiles from Victoria, Australia

Initial disturbance intensity affects recovery rates and successional divergence on abandoned ski slopes

Influences of ski‐runs, meadow management and climate on the occupancy of reptiles and amphibians in a high‐altitude environment of Italy

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