IS REVEGETATION GOOD FOR BIODIVERSITYΓ

Date Issued:2008-10-01

Abstract

When it comes to restoring the natural values of our agricultural landscapes, revegetation with native plants would have to be one of the more common approaches employed. This technical note presents a summary of a recent review of the scientific literature carried out by Nicky Munro, David Lindenmayer and Joern Fischer from the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University (ANU). The three ecologists are investigating how you manage agricultural landscapes to look after its biodiversity, and were interested in reviewing what the current state of knowledge is on revegetation and its use by native animals. Their review also sought to identify any significant gaps in our understanding. They looked at 27 studies (22 of which examined birds) and found that while revegetation provides habitat for many species of birds and some arboreal marsupials, it is far from being a substitute for remnant vegetation, at least in the medium term (several decades). 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.

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