Biodiversity value of fodder shrub plantings

Dr Andrew FisherDepartment of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation

22 June 2010

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Production Perennials for Biodiversity

Project Logic:What does native biodiversity need to survive?What does native biodiversity need to survive?How do current landscapes provide these needs?What can be done to provide what is lacking?

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Production Perennials for Biodiversity

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Project History

Fauna use of Oil mallees

WA & SA d t b f i tWA & SA database of resource requirements

WA reptile project

SA fodder shrub workSA fodder shrub work

SA Complementary State NRM funded project

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Biodiversity value of planted saltbush

Preliminary investigation – plants, birds, invertebratesSaltbush, Pasture, RemnantSaltbush, Pasture, Remnant5 sites per treatmentSpring & Autumn

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Bird species richness

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12

ies

a

8

Num

ber

of s

pec

b

0

4

N

c

0Remnant Saltbush Pasture

Treatment

Combined seasonal data

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Bird abundance data▲/ ∆ = Remnant, ● / ○ = Saltbush, / □ = Pasture. Shaded =Spring 2008Unshaded = Autumn 2009

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Unshaded = Autumn 2009

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PP4B project evolution

Focus of field work moved to SA – personnel hubPhD student from March 2010PhD student from March 2010Revision of scope & deliverables

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PP4B – revision

Can saltbush-based farming systems improve biodiversity security in the SA Murray Mallee?y y“security” = persistenceTwo sub-projects:

Resource connectivity (birds) Fisher et alResource connectivity (birds) – Fisher et al.Functional connectivity (lizards) – Smyth et al.

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South Australia

Study Area

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Resource connectivity

For selected bird species:Foraging: food availability & how gatheredForaging: food availability & how gatheredReproductive successComparisons at landscape scale

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R

R s

vs vs

R

R vs vss

R RIntact mallee Fragmented mallee with

saltbush plantingsFragmented mallee with

conventional grazing

R = remnant mallee

s = saltbush planting

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Field Methods

For selected bird species:Survival = food, protectionSurvival food, protectionBreeding = nest materials, nest sites, food for young

T h i i l dTechniques may include:Territory mappingObservations of foraging movementsTime budgets

Nest observationsNest observationsPredation (adults, eggs, young) – observation/artificial nests/remote recordingsOb ti f di l t

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Observations of dispersal movements

Plans from here

Literature review & synthesisConfirm sitesConfirm sitesTest methodsData collectionA l iAnalysisReport/paper(s) by June 2011

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Autumn 2009

Spring 2008

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Outputs

Output 5.1 Management & decision packages that promote farming systems that integrate production and biodiversity g y g p youtcomes

Conceptual model developedData collection / model refinement to June 2011Data collection / model refinement to June 2011Report = paper(s)Guidelines for saltbush management

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Outputs (cont.)

Collard & Fisher (2010) Shrub-based plantings of woody perennial vegetation in temperate Australian agricultural p g p glandscapes: What benefits for native biodiversity? Ecological Management & Restoration 11(1): 31 – 35Smith, Fisher, Collard (in prep) - synthesis paper on resource , , ( p p) y p pprovided for vertebrates in woody perennial farming systemsSmyth et al. – paper(s) on functional connectivityRichards - PhD thesisRichards - PhD thesisConvening ESA symposium Dec 2010: Biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes: is it really worth the effort?

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