1) The presentation discusses managing production forests in Tasmania to sustain mature forest biodiversity under the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA).
2) Retaining patches of mature forest, configuring harvest areas near retained forest, and providing mature forest in highly disturbed landscapes are important for maintaining biodiversity.
3) Analysis found the RFA has increased long-term retention, especially in areas deficient in mature forest, and retained enough mature forest to sustain biodiversity in less disturbed areas. However, not all retained forest is mature and proximity benefits need demonstration in highly disturbed landscapes.
Jeremy Russell-Smith_Fire management in tropical savannas: the Three Parks pl...TERN Australia
This document summarizes a long-term ecological monitoring program across three national parks in northern Australia called the Three Parks network. The network was established in 1994-1995 to monitor the impacts of different fire regimes on savanna ecosystems. It involves annual fire mapping using satellite imagery and sampling vegetation and fauna at 220 permanent plots every 5 years. Analysis of the plot data shows impacts of fire on small mammals and fire-vulnerable vegetation. Relationships between fire severity and frequency and changes in biomass were also developed. The network provides long-term data to inform park management and fire management is increasingly involving Indigenous rangers and commercial operations.
Spatial variation of soil constraints and its implications for site-specific ...Joanna Hicks
This document discusses spatial and temporal variability in soil properties and its implications for site-specific soil and nutrient management in conservation agriculture. It finds that variation between seasons is greater than within-season variation. It also evaluates different methods of measuring soil variability, including farmer knowledge, yield monitoring, remote sensing, and discrete soil sampling. The document advocates for site-specific soil amelioration like applying gypsum to address sodicity issues. It also promotes matching nutrient inputs to realistic yield potentials based on soil constraints in order to optimize economic returns from fertilizer application.
This document summarizes information about coastal carbon in Australia. It discusses how Australia's coasts are biodiverse, highly productive, store significant carbon, and are undergoing change. Coastal ecosystems like seagrasses, salt marshes, and mangroves store large amounts of carbon in their soils. However, degradation of these habitats releases their stored carbon. The document outlines how organizations like CSIRO and TERN are studying carbon storage and fluxes in coastal regions. This includes quantifying carbon sequestration potential and modeling changes under different scenarios. Monitoring at a study site in southeast Queensland examines how land use impacts carbon sources and cycling in a peri-urban estuary system.
OP01:Dung beetle communities and ecological services in a mixed-use Amazon la...CSM _BGBD biodiversity
This document summarizes research on dung beetle communities and their ecological services across a gradient of land use intensities in the Amazon. The study aims to evaluate how dung beetle community structure and functions like dung removal, soil pedoturbation, and seed dispersion are affected from primary forests to degraded pastures. Methods include sampling dung beetles and measuring their services in various habitats. Results show differences in community structure and reduction of services from natural to intense human-used areas, with primary forests supporting the most diverse and functionally active dung beetle communities.
Frt 111102 - meerdere keren verdienen aan een product, to good to be true -...Flevum
This document provides an overview of Gansewinkel, a waste management company. It summarizes Gansewinkel's revenues and earnings in 2011, breaking them down by business segments. The main business segments are collection, recycling, and energy from waste. Collection accounted for 19% of revenues and 53% of earnings. Recycling accounted for 39% of revenues and 12% of earnings. Energy from waste accounted for 8% of revenues and 69% of earnings. The document also provides charts showing volumes of waste handled by Gansewinkel and trends in municipal solid waste recycling rates in Europe.
This document lists three notable landmarks: Qazvin, which was the capital city of Persia under the Safavid dynasty; the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, an important mosque in Istanbul; and Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous Gothic cathedral located in Paris, France.
El documento discute el estado actual del comercio electrónico y las oportunidades para las tiendas minoristas de adoptar soluciones en línea. Reconoce que aunque muchas empresas ven el comercio electrónico como importante, pocas tiendas tienen tiendas en línea completamente funcionales o capacidad de pago en línea. Las tiendas deben decidir si desarrollar su propia plataforma de comercio electrónico o contratar una existente, y determinar en qué etapa de "evolución digital" se encuentran para aprovechar mejor las oportunidades
Mythen und Legenden über die Europäische Unionepwien
...und was wirklich dahinter steckt
Über die EU wird oft gesprochen. Dies kann einerseits ein Zeichen dafür sein, dass viel Gutes geleistet wird, andererseits erzeugen die Aktivitäten der EU oft einen gewissen Unmut. Warum muss ich mich nicht vor der EU fürchten und wie viel ist tatsächlich dran an all diesen Legenden über die EU?
Jeremy Russell-Smith_Fire management in tropical savannas: the Three Parks pl...TERN Australia
This document summarizes a long-term ecological monitoring program across three national parks in northern Australia called the Three Parks network. The network was established in 1994-1995 to monitor the impacts of different fire regimes on savanna ecosystems. It involves annual fire mapping using satellite imagery and sampling vegetation and fauna at 220 permanent plots every 5 years. Analysis of the plot data shows impacts of fire on small mammals and fire-vulnerable vegetation. Relationships between fire severity and frequency and changes in biomass were also developed. The network provides long-term data to inform park management and fire management is increasingly involving Indigenous rangers and commercial operations.
Spatial variation of soil constraints and its implications for site-specific ...Joanna Hicks
This document discusses spatial and temporal variability in soil properties and its implications for site-specific soil and nutrient management in conservation agriculture. It finds that variation between seasons is greater than within-season variation. It also evaluates different methods of measuring soil variability, including farmer knowledge, yield monitoring, remote sensing, and discrete soil sampling. The document advocates for site-specific soil amelioration like applying gypsum to address sodicity issues. It also promotes matching nutrient inputs to realistic yield potentials based on soil constraints in order to optimize economic returns from fertilizer application.
This document summarizes information about coastal carbon in Australia. It discusses how Australia's coasts are biodiverse, highly productive, store significant carbon, and are undergoing change. Coastal ecosystems like seagrasses, salt marshes, and mangroves store large amounts of carbon in their soils. However, degradation of these habitats releases their stored carbon. The document outlines how organizations like CSIRO and TERN are studying carbon storage and fluxes in coastal regions. This includes quantifying carbon sequestration potential and modeling changes under different scenarios. Monitoring at a study site in southeast Queensland examines how land use impacts carbon sources and cycling in a peri-urban estuary system.
OP01:Dung beetle communities and ecological services in a mixed-use Amazon la...CSM _BGBD biodiversity
This document summarizes research on dung beetle communities and their ecological services across a gradient of land use intensities in the Amazon. The study aims to evaluate how dung beetle community structure and functions like dung removal, soil pedoturbation, and seed dispersion are affected from primary forests to degraded pastures. Methods include sampling dung beetles and measuring their services in various habitats. Results show differences in community structure and reduction of services from natural to intense human-used areas, with primary forests supporting the most diverse and functionally active dung beetle communities.
Frt 111102 - meerdere keren verdienen aan een product, to good to be true -...Flevum
This document provides an overview of Gansewinkel, a waste management company. It summarizes Gansewinkel's revenues and earnings in 2011, breaking them down by business segments. The main business segments are collection, recycling, and energy from waste. Collection accounted for 19% of revenues and 53% of earnings. Recycling accounted for 39% of revenues and 12% of earnings. Energy from waste accounted for 8% of revenues and 69% of earnings. The document also provides charts showing volumes of waste handled by Gansewinkel and trends in municipal solid waste recycling rates in Europe.
This document lists three notable landmarks: Qazvin, which was the capital city of Persia under the Safavid dynasty; the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, an important mosque in Istanbul; and Notre Dame Cathedral, the famous Gothic cathedral located in Paris, France.
El documento discute el estado actual del comercio electrónico y las oportunidades para las tiendas minoristas de adoptar soluciones en línea. Reconoce que aunque muchas empresas ven el comercio electrónico como importante, pocas tiendas tienen tiendas en línea completamente funcionales o capacidad de pago en línea. Las tiendas deben decidir si desarrollar su propia plataforma de comercio electrónico o contratar una existente, y determinar en qué etapa de "evolución digital" se encuentran para aprovechar mejor las oportunidades
Mythen und Legenden über die Europäische Unionepwien
...und was wirklich dahinter steckt
Über die EU wird oft gesprochen. Dies kann einerseits ein Zeichen dafür sein, dass viel Gutes geleistet wird, andererseits erzeugen die Aktivitäten der EU oft einen gewissen Unmut. Warum muss ich mich nicht vor der EU fürchten und wie viel ist tatsächlich dran an all diesen Legenden über die EU?
This publication was endorsed by the National Soils Advocate, The Hon. Penny Wensley AC, on the 8th of December 2022 during the launch of the TERN Australia Soil & Herbarium Collection.
The publication contains the results of 33 interviews with people who, in 2022, have jobs relevant to soils. It is intended for use by secondary and tertiary students who are perhaps wondering what to study or which career might be satisfying - or maybe they have already chosen a soils-related career and are keen to learn something about others who they may meet as lecturers, coworkers or employers.
The booklet will also hopefully be a useful resource for those that assist students with such decisions, including teachers, careers counsellors, guidance officers, librarians, and parents.
TERN Australia Soil & Herbarium Collection BrochureTERN Australia
The TERN Australia Soil and Herbarium Collection contains over 150,000 vegetation and soil samples collected from over 900 sites across Australia, representing every major ecosystem. It has supported the identification of 11 golden everlasting paper daisy species, discovery of new medicines from soil compounds, and improved models of carbon sinks and forests. The collection is unique in linking samples to detailed environmental data and is used by scientists worldwide in fields like agriculture, environmental science and pharmaceutical development.
Summary of TERN monitoring plots in the Pilbara WA, Apr2015 - Jun2021TERN Australia
This report provides a snapshot of the data collected by TERN in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Also included in this report is how to access the data, descriptions of data types, panorama photos and examples of research using TERN data. Plots on the Pilbara were first surveyed by TERN from April 2015 to August 2016. The surveys collected vegetation and soil, data and samples following the AusPlots Rangelands methodology, with 37 plots completed. Some of the plots were revisted in 2021. An updated version of this report will be provided as this data becomes available.
Summary of TERN plots on Kangaroo Island, SA, Oct 2018 - Oct 2021TERN Australia
In October 2018, TERN undertook a survey on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The survey involved vegetation and soils work following the AusPlots Rangelands methodology, with 13 plots completed. The plots are part of over 800 plots completed nationally. The plots were revisited following the fires in 2020
and again in 2021. This report will be updated as that data becomes available.
Evaluating ecological outcomes in the Regional Land Partnerships Program: A pilot monitoring, evaluation and research (MER) network.
This three-year project will trial Australia’s first MER network by implementing a pilot network – to promote national-scale learning about bushfire recovery across different ecosystem types, and the
ecological effectiveness of post-fire interventions.
Australia's Environmental Predictive CapabilityTERN Australia
Federating world-leading research, data and technical capabilities to create Australia’s National Environmental Prediction System (NEPS).
Community consultation presentation.
3-12 February 2020
Dr Michelle Barker (Facilitator)
(Presentation v5)
Biodiversity Management in Tasmania's Temperate Native ForestsTERN Australia
Sustainable Timber Tasmania's Dr Marie Yee's entry to the ILTER Most Striking Case competition on using the research from TERN's Warra Tall Eucalypt SuperSite to facilitate innovative biodiversity management in Tasmania's temperate native forests.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia: Conversations for SustainabilityTERN Australia
A comprehensive and engaging review of how the past decade of Australian Government research infrastructure investment has transformed our understanding of the environment.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia – Conversations for Sustainability covers the monitoring of environmental change, urbanisation and land-use changes, biodiversity, extreme events, climate, carbon and water.
Chapters detail the importance of Indigenous knowledge, the use of satellite remote sensing and drones, and managing ‘big data’. The book concludes with descriptions of visualising environmental information, emerging technologies, and the importance of engaging the community.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia: Conversations for SustainabilityTERN Australia
A comprehensive and engaging review of how the past decade of Australian Government research infrastructure investment has transformed our understanding of the environment.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia – Conversations for Sustainability covers the monitoring of environmental change, urbanisation and land-use changes, biodiversity, extreme events, climate, carbon and water.
Chapters detail the importance of Indigenous knowledge, the use of satellite remote sensing and drones, and managing ‘big data’. The book concludes with descriptions of visualising environmental information, emerging technologies, and the importance of engaging the community.
Dr Michael Mirtl (ILTER Chair) presenting at the AusLTER Forum 2018TERN Australia
The document discusses the International Long Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER). It provides an overview of ILTER's activities which include coordinating key elements of environmental systems research, developing a strategic framework, and facilitating partnerships. ILTER aims to fill critical gaps in multi-site, cross-disciplinary, and conceptual long-term ecological research. It also establishes scientific initiatives and works to develop a global research infrastructure to integrate terrestrial observation networks.
Prof Bob Scholes (Wits University, South Africa) presenting at the AusLTER Fo...TERN Australia
EFTEON is South Africa's Enhanced Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecological Observation Network, a new ecological research infrastructure announced in late 2016. It will have around 6 landscapes by 2020 and use a modular, nested design across landscapes to facilitate multi-user, long-term research on biogeochemistry, hydrology, biodiversity and human-ecosystem interactions. EFTEON will establish a tiered observation platform including satellites, highly instrumented core sites, and sparsely instrumented linked sites, along with experiments and social surveys. It aims to provide answers unavailable elsewhere and leverage South Africa's comparative advantages in international research, including existing long-term manipulative experiments. Establishing and sustaining such research infrastructures
Prof Phil Robertson (Michigan State University, USA) presenting at the AusLTE...TERN Australia
The document describes three long-term ecological research networks in the United States: 1) The Long Term Ecological Research network has 28 sites across different biomes that have been funded by the NSF for 6 years each since 1980 to address long-term ecological questions. 2) The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research network has 18 agricultural sites funded by the USDA since 2012 to study sustainable agriculture. 3) The National Ecological Observatory Network has 20 primary sites across climate regions in the US funded by the NSF since 2011 to detect environmental changes over decades.
Dr Manuel Maass (National Autonomous University of Mexico) presenting at the ...TERN Australia
The document discusses long-term socioecological research and the need for a transdisciplinary approach. It provides an overview of the International Long Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER) and its focus on long-term monitoring of sites, data sharing standards, and detecting global trends. The document argues that purely interdisciplinary research is not sufficient and a transdisciplinary approach is needed where researchers work directly with different knowledge sources, including local communities, to address sustainability challenges.
Yuxia Liu Phenology 2018 poster on tracking grass phenologyTERN Australia
University of Technology Sydney Yuxia Liu's Phenology 2018 conference poster on tracking grass phenology with phenocams and remote sensing over victorian pastures.
This document describes mapping ecological facets across Australia by analyzing the key drivers of ecosystem formation - macroclimate, lithology, landform, and vegetation structural formations. 59 homogeneous bioclimatic regions were mapped based on clustering uncorrelated bioclimatic variables. Lithology and weathering intensity were derived from existing Geoscience Australia data. Landform was characterized through land surface form and topographic moisture potential indicators. Combining these ecosystem drivers with vegetation structural formations data resulted in a continental dataset of 369,439 unique ecological facets at 90m resolution. This ecological facets mapping provides insight into biophysical variation across Australian ecosystems.
TERN Ecosystem Surveillance Plots Roy Hill StationTERN Australia
A summary of TERN ecosystem observing plots on Roy Hill Station. The report also contains a list of the data and soil and plant samples openly available via TERN.
TERN Ecosystem Surveillance Plots Kakadu National ParkTERN Australia
A summary of TERN ecosystem observing plots in Kakadu National Park. The report also contains a list of the data and soil and plant samples openly available via TERN.
This publication was endorsed by the National Soils Advocate, The Hon. Penny Wensley AC, on the 8th of December 2022 during the launch of the TERN Australia Soil & Herbarium Collection.
The publication contains the results of 33 interviews with people who, in 2022, have jobs relevant to soils. It is intended for use by secondary and tertiary students who are perhaps wondering what to study or which career might be satisfying - or maybe they have already chosen a soils-related career and are keen to learn something about others who they may meet as lecturers, coworkers or employers.
The booklet will also hopefully be a useful resource for those that assist students with such decisions, including teachers, careers counsellors, guidance officers, librarians, and parents.
TERN Australia Soil & Herbarium Collection BrochureTERN Australia
The TERN Australia Soil and Herbarium Collection contains over 150,000 vegetation and soil samples collected from over 900 sites across Australia, representing every major ecosystem. It has supported the identification of 11 golden everlasting paper daisy species, discovery of new medicines from soil compounds, and improved models of carbon sinks and forests. The collection is unique in linking samples to detailed environmental data and is used by scientists worldwide in fields like agriculture, environmental science and pharmaceutical development.
Summary of TERN monitoring plots in the Pilbara WA, Apr2015 - Jun2021TERN Australia
This report provides a snapshot of the data collected by TERN in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Also included in this report is how to access the data, descriptions of data types, panorama photos and examples of research using TERN data. Plots on the Pilbara were first surveyed by TERN from April 2015 to August 2016. The surveys collected vegetation and soil, data and samples following the AusPlots Rangelands methodology, with 37 plots completed. Some of the plots were revisted in 2021. An updated version of this report will be provided as this data becomes available.
Summary of TERN plots on Kangaroo Island, SA, Oct 2018 - Oct 2021TERN Australia
In October 2018, TERN undertook a survey on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. The survey involved vegetation and soils work following the AusPlots Rangelands methodology, with 13 plots completed. The plots are part of over 800 plots completed nationally. The plots were revisited following the fires in 2020
and again in 2021. This report will be updated as that data becomes available.
Evaluating ecological outcomes in the Regional Land Partnerships Program: A pilot monitoring, evaluation and research (MER) network.
This three-year project will trial Australia’s first MER network by implementing a pilot network – to promote national-scale learning about bushfire recovery across different ecosystem types, and the
ecological effectiveness of post-fire interventions.
Australia's Environmental Predictive CapabilityTERN Australia
Federating world-leading research, data and technical capabilities to create Australia’s National Environmental Prediction System (NEPS).
Community consultation presentation.
3-12 February 2020
Dr Michelle Barker (Facilitator)
(Presentation v5)
Biodiversity Management in Tasmania's Temperate Native ForestsTERN Australia
Sustainable Timber Tasmania's Dr Marie Yee's entry to the ILTER Most Striking Case competition on using the research from TERN's Warra Tall Eucalypt SuperSite to facilitate innovative biodiversity management in Tasmania's temperate native forests.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia: Conversations for SustainabilityTERN Australia
A comprehensive and engaging review of how the past decade of Australian Government research infrastructure investment has transformed our understanding of the environment.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia – Conversations for Sustainability covers the monitoring of environmental change, urbanisation and land-use changes, biodiversity, extreme events, climate, carbon and water.
Chapters detail the importance of Indigenous knowledge, the use of satellite remote sensing and drones, and managing ‘big data’. The book concludes with descriptions of visualising environmental information, emerging technologies, and the importance of engaging the community.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia: Conversations for SustainabilityTERN Australia
A comprehensive and engaging review of how the past decade of Australian Government research infrastructure investment has transformed our understanding of the environment.
Observing Environmental Change in Australia – Conversations for Sustainability covers the monitoring of environmental change, urbanisation and land-use changes, biodiversity, extreme events, climate, carbon and water.
Chapters detail the importance of Indigenous knowledge, the use of satellite remote sensing and drones, and managing ‘big data’. The book concludes with descriptions of visualising environmental information, emerging technologies, and the importance of engaging the community.
Dr Michael Mirtl (ILTER Chair) presenting at the AusLTER Forum 2018TERN Australia
The document discusses the International Long Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER). It provides an overview of ILTER's activities which include coordinating key elements of environmental systems research, developing a strategic framework, and facilitating partnerships. ILTER aims to fill critical gaps in multi-site, cross-disciplinary, and conceptual long-term ecological research. It also establishes scientific initiatives and works to develop a global research infrastructure to integrate terrestrial observation networks.
Prof Bob Scholes (Wits University, South Africa) presenting at the AusLTER Fo...TERN Australia
EFTEON is South Africa's Enhanced Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecological Observation Network, a new ecological research infrastructure announced in late 2016. It will have around 6 landscapes by 2020 and use a modular, nested design across landscapes to facilitate multi-user, long-term research on biogeochemistry, hydrology, biodiversity and human-ecosystem interactions. EFTEON will establish a tiered observation platform including satellites, highly instrumented core sites, and sparsely instrumented linked sites, along with experiments and social surveys. It aims to provide answers unavailable elsewhere and leverage South Africa's comparative advantages in international research, including existing long-term manipulative experiments. Establishing and sustaining such research infrastructures
Prof Phil Robertson (Michigan State University, USA) presenting at the AusLTE...TERN Australia
The document describes three long-term ecological research networks in the United States: 1) The Long Term Ecological Research network has 28 sites across different biomes that have been funded by the NSF for 6 years each since 1980 to address long-term ecological questions. 2) The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research network has 18 agricultural sites funded by the USDA since 2012 to study sustainable agriculture. 3) The National Ecological Observatory Network has 20 primary sites across climate regions in the US funded by the NSF since 2011 to detect environmental changes over decades.
Dr Manuel Maass (National Autonomous University of Mexico) presenting at the ...TERN Australia
The document discusses long-term socioecological research and the need for a transdisciplinary approach. It provides an overview of the International Long Term Ecological Research Network (ILTER) and its focus on long-term monitoring of sites, data sharing standards, and detecting global trends. The document argues that purely interdisciplinary research is not sufficient and a transdisciplinary approach is needed where researchers work directly with different knowledge sources, including local communities, to address sustainability challenges.
Yuxia Liu Phenology 2018 poster on tracking grass phenologyTERN Australia
University of Technology Sydney Yuxia Liu's Phenology 2018 conference poster on tracking grass phenology with phenocams and remote sensing over victorian pastures.
This document describes mapping ecological facets across Australia by analyzing the key drivers of ecosystem formation - macroclimate, lithology, landform, and vegetation structural formations. 59 homogeneous bioclimatic regions were mapped based on clustering uncorrelated bioclimatic variables. Lithology and weathering intensity were derived from existing Geoscience Australia data. Landform was characterized through land surface form and topographic moisture potential indicators. Combining these ecosystem drivers with vegetation structural formations data resulted in a continental dataset of 369,439 unique ecological facets at 90m resolution. This ecological facets mapping provides insight into biophysical variation across Australian ecosystems.
TERN Ecosystem Surveillance Plots Roy Hill StationTERN Australia
A summary of TERN ecosystem observing plots on Roy Hill Station. The report also contains a list of the data and soil and plant samples openly available via TERN.
TERN Ecosystem Surveillance Plots Kakadu National ParkTERN Australia
A summary of TERN ecosystem observing plots in Kakadu National Park. The report also contains a list of the data and soil and plant samples openly available via TERN.
TERN Ecosystem Surveillance Plots Kakadu National Park
Tim Wardlaw_A gradient study at the Warra Supersite provides new knowledge to support the management of production forests to sustain biodiversity
1. Managing a production forest landscape to
sustain mature forest biodiversity?
Is the Regional Forest Agreement working?
Presentation by: Tim Wardlaw, Forestry Tasmania
2. What we want
Mature forest species to persist in
mature eucalypt forests
Mature forest species to
recolonise areas after disturbance
……….throughout forest landscapes
3. We have a lot of mature eucalypt
forests BUT it’s not evenly distributed
As here?
What about the recolonisation of
areas by mature forest species
after disturbance?
Do mature eucalypt forests here
have a similar biodiversity
4.
5. A mosaic of disturbance-driven
vegetation types
Rainforest LONG
Interval between disturbance events
Wildfire eucalypt
(mature)
Wildfire eucalypt
(regrowth)
Other native forest
Older silvicultural
regeneration
Younger silvicultural
regeneration
Plantation
Increasing disturbance Native non-forest
Agricultural land SHORT
Huon River
6. Landscape context: what’s in the neighbourhood?
Two patches of silvicultural
regeneration
Frequent disturbance: Infrequent disturbance:
(mostly anthropogenic) (mostly natural)
• Non-forest • Rainforest
• Plantation • Mature eucalypt forest
• Silvicultural regeneration • Wildfire regrowth
7. The gradient of disturbance intensity
100
Proportion of landscape (% area)
90 Natural
• Rainforest
80
• Mature eucalypt
70 • Wildfire regrowth
60 • Other native forest
50
40
30
20 • Silvicultural regen .
Anthropogenic
10 • Plantation
• Agricultural
0
3 4 5 6 7
Most disturbed Context-class Least disturbed
8. Sampling the gradient Mature eucalypt
100
Older silvicultural
Proportion of landscape (% area)
90 Natural regeneration
80
70 7 7 7 7
60
50 7 7 7 7 2 forest types
40 X
30
4 context-classes
20 Anthropogenic
10 X
0 7 replicates
3 4 5 6 7
Context-class
Most disturbed Least disturbed
10. The biodiversity
44 species 619 species
107 species
3133 observations 85,740 specimens
Responsive to landscape disturbance intensity
5 species 38 species 13 species
12. Response of disturbance-sensitive
elements to landscape disturbance
Context-class of 1 km radius landscape
3 4 5 6 7
Reduced abundance / richness Abundance / richness maintained
Mature
Silvicultural
Mature
Silvicultural
Mature
Silvicultural
13. Biodiversity response to context-class
= response to mature eucalypt forest
Plot offorest birds
Dense Fitted Model Disturbance-sensitive beetles
Plot of Fitted Model Rainforest plants
Plot of Fitted Model
50 30 10
Number of beetle species
Number of birds counted
Number of plant species
40 25
8
20
30 6
15
20 4
10
10 5 2
0 0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Amount of mature eucalypt forest in 1 km landscape (% area)
• Poorer recolonisation in landscapes with little
mature eucalypt forest
• Maintain at least 20% mature eucalypt forest
14. Biodiversity response to context-class
= response to mature eucalypt forest
10
8
Number of rainforest species
6
4
2
0
-2
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Distance to nearest mature forest (m)
• More disturbance-sensitive species recolonise older
silvicultural regeneration when mature forest is nearby
15. To maintain mature forest biodiversity
in production forest landscapes
1. Retain patches of mature forest in reserves or
long-term retention
(Aim for at least 20% in 1 km radius landscape)
2. Configure retention so that a high proportion of
harvest areas are close to retained mature forest
(Aim for harvest areas to be within 400 m of
mature forest)
How does the RFA perform?
16. RFA: a mix of retention strategies
Formal reserves
Informal reserves
Off-reserve management
17. Disturbance context-class: priorities for
retention to sustain mature forest biodiversity
Minimally disturbed
(context classes 7-10)
Intensively disturbed
(context classes 1-4)
Decline in mature forest
Intermediate disturbance biodiversity. Retention to
(context classes 5-6)
provide more future mature
forest a high priority
Wood production areas
provide comparable
mature forest biodiversity
as minimally disturbed
areas
22. Current and future mature eucalypt
forest in long-term retention
80
Amount in surrounding 1km landscape (% of area)
Mature in CAR Mature - excluded
70
Regrowth in CAR Regrowth - excluded
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Context-class
52% of total landscape
40% of total landscape
23. Proximity of available harvest areas to long-
term retention
95% of areas available for
harvest within 500m of
long-term retention
24. Is the RFA working?
Mostly…..
• It’s increased long-term retention of eucalypt forest in
parts of the landscape where mature eucalypt forest is
deficient
• It’s retained sufficient mature forest in long-term
retention to sustain biodiversity in the less intensively
disturbed parts of the production landscape
But,
• Not all retained eucalypt forest is mature
• Proximity benefits for recolonisation need to be
demonstrated in most disturbed landscapes
25. Postscript
• The Tasmanian Parliament is currently
considering the Tasmanian Forests
Agreement
• Aims to end forestry conflict in Tasmania
• Proposes a more “black and white” forest
landscape.
• Conservation Science did not get considered
during negotiations to this agreement
26. With:
The team • Ruiping Gao
• Marie Yee
• Dave McElwee
• Jordan Rendell
Simon Grove (FT) • Leigh Edwards
• Dick Bashford
Jayne Balmer (UTas) • Liam Hindrum
Andrew Hingston (FT) • Nita Ramsden
Lynne Forster (UTas) • Kevin Bonham
• Nicky Lynch
Christina Schmuki (UTas) • Lucile Baud
Rob Musk (FT) • Grégoire Thauvin
• Elsa Libis
Steve Read (FT)
• Chloe Hill
• Yijin Ong
Editor's Notes
Can production forests provide us with goods and services and still provide habitat for their dependent biodiversity, particularly the biodiversity dependent on mature forests? We have just completed a 3-year co-funded study with Forest and Wood Products Australia to see what the science says about this.
From the perspective of management we want the mature forest we retain to continue to function as mature forest and support the suit of species characteristic of that successional stage. We also want forests to recover after disturbance, whether it be from forestry or natural events, and be recolonised by those late-successional species.We also want these two processes to happen throughout the forest landscape – from forest landscapes that are largely natural with little human modification through to forest landscapes that have been substantially modified by human activities.
There is still a lot of mature eucalypt forest in the Tasmanian landscape but it’s not distributed evenly through the landscape. Do the mature forests in parts of the landscape less rich in mature forest have similar biodiversity as those parts where mature forests are rich? Does silvicultural regeneration acquire a similar biodiversity in those contrasting parts of the landscape?
We established the Southern Forests Experimental Forest Landscape in 2007 as a place where we could attempt to answer such landscape-level questions.This 110,000 ha landscape, dominated by tall, wet E. obliqua forest, extends from the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in the west to the Huon Estuary in the east and is anchored to the Warra Tall Eucalypt Supersite.
It contains a mosaic of vegetation types that have developed from a long history of natural disturbance and a more recent history of European land-use. (mouse click) Each vegetation type is maintained in that state by a particular interval between disturbance events: where there are very long intervals between disturbance events rainforests persist, while at the other extreme there tend to be short intervals between disturbance events on agricultural land.(mouse click)The patterns of natural disturbance and European land-use have played out to provide a gradient of disturbance intensity in a relatively uniform biophysical environment. This gradient allows us to examine how the intensity of disturbance in the surrounding landscape affects biodiversity: specifically whether mature forest species can persist in retained patches of mature forest and whether they can recolonise forest areas after disturbance.
Landscape context is the term used to describe the characteristics of the region in which a patch sits. Landscape context helps us to explain how something we observe at a point is influenced by things beyond that point. For example if we see a wedge tail eagle flying over a paddock it means that the paddock is situated within the territorial range of the mature eucalypts it needs for nesting. We developed a context-class score to measure landscape context in terms of the intensity of disturbance in the surrounding landscape. In this example we have two patches of forest in the centre of landscapes of varying size represented by the concentric circles. Both patches are in the same forest type - older silvicultural regeneration. However they are located in landscapes with contrasting disturbance context-classes.On the left, the patch in context-class 4 is embedded in a landscape that has a high intensity of disturbance: a high proportion of the area in the surrounding different sized landscapes is of vegetation types typified by relatively short intervals between disurbance events, such as plantations shown as the blue areas; buttongrass plains, shown as the yellow areas, and silvicultural regeneration shown as the light green areas. On the right, the patch in context-class 6 is embedded in a landscape that has a low intensity of disturbance: a high proportion of the area in the surrounding landscapes is of vegetation types that reflect relatively long intervals between disturbance events, such as rainforest shown in blue and mature eucalypt forest shown in red.
The gradient of disturbance intensity we sampled in the SFEFL ranged between context-class 3 – the most intensely disturbed landscapes, to context-class 7 – least disturbed landscapes. You can see how the composition of the surrounding landscapes changes across this gradient.
We located patches of mature eucalypt forest and 30-50 years-old silvicultural regeneration in the centre of landscapes ranging between context-class 3 and context-class 7. Each plot type sampled four context-classes with three of those context-classes overlapping. There were seven replicate patches of each plot type in each of the four context-classes they sampled – a total of 56 plots.
In each of the 56 plots we did intensive surveys to measure the species-richness and abundance of three focal groups – birds, flighted beetles and vascular plants.We chose these groups because past research, particularly at Warra, has found them to be biodiverse in these forests and they are responsive to disturbance.
In the surveys we recorded 44 species of birds, 619 species of flighted beetles and 107 species of vascular plants.(mouse click)A small subset of species in each of the three groups were sensitive to the intensity of disturbance in the surrounding landscape.The subset of disturbance-sensitive bird species was dominated by ground-foragers that prefer wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest.The subset of disturbance-sensitive plant species was dominated by rainforest plants.The subset of disturbance-sensitive beetles was ecologically more diverse suggesting a variety of traits confer a sensitivity to disturbance.
Remember, reductions in context-class reflect patches with increasing levels of disturbance in their surrounding landscape. (mouse click)
In patches of mature eucalypt forest disturbance sensitive birds and plants persisted in the most intensively disturbed landscapes at comparable abundance and richness as in the least disturbed landscapes. Disturbance-sensitive beetles showed a decline in richness in the most disturbed landscapes compared to landscapes with intermediate or low levels of disturbance. This decline was associated with both a long history of more frequent natural disturbance and more intensive post-European land-use.(mouse click)In patches of older silvicultural regeneration, disturbance-sensitive species of all three groups showed declines in abundance and richness in the most disturbed landscapes compared to landscapes with intermediate or low levels of disturbance.(mouse click)To maintain the abundance and richness of disturbance-sensitive species we need to ensure our land-use coupled with natural disturbance does not exceed intermediate levels, represented here by context-class 5.
In our study landscape, differences in disturbance context-class were strongly correlated with the amount of mature eucalypt forest in the surrounding landscape. This was reflected in strong positive correlations in the abundance and species-richness of the disturbance-sensitive elements of the three focal groups recolonising older silvicultural regeneration with the amount of mature eucalypt forest in the surrounding landscape; in this case the surrounding 1 km radius landscape.(mouse click)Those correlations were strongly influenced by consistently low biodiversity values for the three groups in parts of the landscape with little or no mature eucalypt forest in the surrounding 1 km landscape.(mouse click)These results suggest that be maintaining a minimum of 20% mature eucalypt forest in the 1 km landscape should ensure allow mature forest biodiversity to recolonise areas after disturbance.
The response of disturbance-sensitive species recolonising previously harvested areas was also affected by the proximity of that harvested area to the nearest patch of mature forest. Here the number of rainforest plant species recolonising the harvested area generally remains low when the harvested areas are distant to the nearest mature forest but increases rapidly once the harvested area is closer. (mouse click)In this case, we see more rainforest plant species recolonising harvested areas that are within 400 metres of the nearest patch of mature forest.The amount of mature forest in the surrounding landscape and the distance of the harvested area to the nearest patch of mature forest were
The amount of mature forest in the surrounding landscape and the distance of the harvested area to the nearest patch of mature forest were strongly correlated. So it’s safer to consider both when consider how much mature forest should be retained in the landscape and where.For the groups we looked at in our study landscape the response of the disturbance-sensitive species indicate we should be aiming for at least 20% retention of mature eucalypt forest in the surrounding landscape AND we should be configuring that retention to ensure as much of future harvest areas will be within 400 m of mature forest.(mouse click)How has the RFA performed in providing these levels of retention of mature forest in our study landscape?
From our findings we can use landscape disturbance context-class to see where the priorities for conservation of mature forest biodiversity are, at least in our experimental landscape. (mouse click)Production forest areas kept to an intermediate intensity of disturbance can maintain a mature forest biodiversity that is comparable with a minimally disturbed landscape.(mouse click)In intensively disturbed parts of the landscape though, mature forest biodiversity has declined. We want these areas to eventually become grey. To do this we need more mature forest here, so we need to retain the remaining mature forest and augment this by retaining additional younger forest and allowing it to mature.
I just want us to focus on the public forests, particularly State forest.
The network of informal reserves does extend into the more intensively disturbed parts of the production forestry landscape so provides retention of either currently mature forest or regrowth forest that may become mature. There are still large areas the are too distant to the retention to get the benefit of proximity to mature needed for mature forest species to recolonise areas after disturbance. Note here, that we are only considering retention on public land. Covenants and other long-term retention measures on private land have not been considered here.
Exclusions provided, for example, through Forest Practices Code provisions provide retention at smaller spatial scales and within the most intensively disturbed parts of the landscape.
52% of the study area had sufficient mature eucalypt forest in CAR reserves or set asides outside of reserves to meet the 20% retention target. A further 40% of the study area relies on regrowth forest to meet some of the 20% retention target.
We also want the current or future mature forest retained to be close enough to harvest areas assist mature forest species recolonise areas after harvest. For most of the areas currently available for harvesting most of that proximity benefit to assist recolonisation is provided by informal reserves and areas outside reserves that have been excluded from harvesting – shown here in pink. Only a small proportion of the areas available for harvesting receive a proximity benefit from formal reserves – shown as yellow or brown areas.