Survey of vertebrate fauna and habitats in a cypress pine-ironbark forest in Central-West New South Wales

Abstract

Eighty-tvo species of vertebrates were recorded hom an area of cypress pine and ironbark forest within G m o o Stab Forest, bcatod 42 Idlometres northeast of D W. Now South Wales. Grass-ssebeating birds were uncommon due to the lack ol gasses within the forest. Small birds such as faiywrens, Umnbilla and warblers were o m found where patches of dense shrub were found, usually where the csnopy has beon dlsturbod. Flowering ironbarks were found to attact a variety of bird spacies utilizing both tha pollen and nectar as well as the insects that were attncted. Four threatened species (Glossy Black Cockatoo. Koala. Yellow-belEed Sheathtall Bat. Little Pied Bat) were recordsd as well as a nsw range &ension for ihe Eastern P y m y Possum. Retentlot! of ironbarks we^ 47.0cm diemeta at breast height is needed to p e s w e the presence of large tree hollows as well as eucalypt blossom souroes within the loreat.

Plant cover and composition in relation to density of Callitris glaucophylla (white cypress pine) along a rainfall gradient in eastern Australia

“…The value of Callitris woodlands for maintaining and conserving biodiversity has only recently been explored (e.g. Shelly 1998aShelly , 1998bEldridge 1999;Murphy 1999;Date et al 2000) as the area of higher-productivity woodlands has continued to decline. There is an estimated 2.1 million hectares of C. glaucophylladominant and sub-dominant forests remaining in NSW, of which only 9% is held on conservation reserves (Binnington 1997), often as highly fragmented patches of woodlands.…”

Historical forest survey data from Eucalyptus - Callitris forests: a valuable resource for long-term vegetation studies

“…In nearby Goonoo State Forest, the number of Eucalyptus sideroxylon A. Cunn. ex Woolls trees containing hollows increases dramatically above 40 cm DBH, and large hollows were found only in trees > 47 cm DBH (Shelly 1998). This relationship holds strongly for all ironbark and box species in the Pilliga (Forests NSW unpublished data, from 21 144 trees > 10 cm DBH).…”

“…While merchantability characteristics were originally recorded in the Pilliga to allow foresters to estimate the volume of timber available for different product types, characteristics associated with nonmerchantability also allow information about important habitat elements to be deduced. For example, large eucalypts are more likely to contain tree-hollows, a key resource for many animals including owls, parrots and arboreal mammals (Shelly 1998;Gibbons and Lindenmayer 2002). Ironbark and box eucalypts > 40 cm DBH contain considerably more hollows than smaller trees in both the Pilliga and the nearby Goonoo State Forest (Shelly 1998;Forests NSW unpublished data).…”

“…For example, large eucalypts are more likely to contain tree-hollows, a key resource for many animals including owls, parrots and arboreal mammals (Shelly 1998;Gibbons and Lindenmayer 2002). Ironbark and box eucalypts > 40 cm DBH contain considerably more hollows than smaller trees in both the Pilliga and the nearby Goonoo State Forest (Shelly 1998;Forests NSW unpublished data). Unmerchantable large stems recorded in the Pilliga in the 1940s are likely to have contained abundant large hollows.…”