Revegetation for Increased Biodiversity
Areas of high biodiversity often have the best soils for agriculture. As such only 13% of the original vegetation remains in the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges (1), with the bulk of it persisting on shallow or poorer soils unsuitable for agriculture. Less than 1% of the original grasslands and shrublands remain.
With so much land already cleared, what form should any habitat restoration works take? Restoring the original vegetation community assumes we have knowledge of what was originally there, which is not always the case. Additionally, doing so does not necessarily result in maximising conservation efforts for at risk species.
Recent research by Tom Hunt on the Rufous Whistlers in the Monarto Woodlands area considers that a more diverse vegetation community than may have originally existed has the potential to support higher population densities. His findings are discussed in the BIOR December Newsletter.
The Monarto Woodlands area covering 1800 hectares was planted with local, interstate and exotic species in the 1970s in preparation for a satellite city that never eventuated. The area now supports a large range of bird species, including many that are at risk in the Mount Lofty region. Approximately half the species of birds inhabiting the Mount Lofty region are predicted to go regionally extinct based on the size of the remaining habitat. Areas such as the Monarto Woodlands can provide a refuge for some of these species.
As of 2016 much of the area now forms the Monarto Woodlands Conservation Park.
A popular birding spot known as “Browns Road” just outside of Callington is a good spot to see a number of these less common bird species. This area is near Monarto Woodlands CP, but doesn’t seem to be part of the Conservation Park. An iNat collection project has been set up for this location: Birding Hot Spot - Brown's Road, Monarto South Australia. as has an umbrella project to bring together various Birding Hot Spots in South Australia.
To the north of Browns Road is a 550ha area of Crown land known as Frahn’s Farm where BIOR is undertaking restoration works and supporting research projects on clustered plantings, all-year-round flowering Eucalypts and Bird populations/movements. (Or if you prefer, here is a BSSA podcast on the various projects)
(1) Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia, Table 2.1, Pg 13
Comments
Sad but so true,and posts like this are beacons of hope in the gloom,those rays of light that this planet(and we) so desperately need.
Thanks for sharing the above.
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