Those Birds in Backyarders who are interested in ecological restoration to protect & extend bird habitat might find the following interesting & informative:
Nicola Munro & David Lindenmayer: Planting for Wildlife published by CSIRO. A number of the revegetation principles discussed are applicable to backyards.
Florabank www.florabank.org.au, particularly Seed Knowledge > Native Vegetation Management Tool.
Good one, thanks.
Important note: "A diversity of species that flower at different times can be important at the patch scale."
From Seed Knowledge > Native Vegetation Management Tool > Biodiversity At The Patch Scale;
"One of the very best publications to describe the principles behind designing revegetation for wildlife at both the patch and the landscape scale is Revegetation and wildlife: A guide to enhancing revegetation habitats for wildlife conservation in rural environments."
Link broken, find here instead:
http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/gov/20130904190503/http://www.environment.gov.au/land/publications/revegwild.html
Thanks ajanderson. I'll spend some time on reading that soon.
I'm cautious about planting "a diversity of species that flower at different times..." even at the patch scale. My caution stems from a talk given by an ecolgogist at a Birds SA meeting many moons ago. He mentioned that the planting in Melbourne of Eucalypts which flower at different times from the flowering of indigenous species meant that Red Wattlebirds were staying in Melbourne during the flowering of these non-indigenous Eucalypts instead of migrating to areas where there were insects containing thiamine. As a result, many Red Wattlebirds died from thiamine deficiency.
Sometimes we do things with the best of intentions, not realising that we're upsetting natural processes which have existed for aeons. Mind you, there may well be times when a species is on the verge of extinction in an area & is saved by planting native vegetation of almost any kind. But if we can replicate the vegetation sepecies & structure which once existed we can be at our most helpful in stemming the demise of so much of our wildlife.
Interesting.
Red Wattlebirds are one of the most abundant species here in Perth. I see them feeding on insects regularly too, so maybe it is only a regional issue.
You're too kind, Kaitykatedn.
I guess my perspectives on the environment generally & birds & other wildlife in particular come from listening to experts talk at Birds SA, Trees for Life & other forums. As well, I've done heaps of reading & I did a Natural Resources Management course at my local TAFE college. On top of that I've done lots of thinking & am seriously convinced that replicating as far as possible the original habitat of our wildlife is the most effective way of conserving & restoring our wildlife. Among other things, this involves planting indigenous vegetation species rather than any old native species from any old place in Australia.
For me, it's the most important issue facing Australia in view of both our long term dependence on the natural environment & our destruction of it.
There are regular community plantings of natives around my area. Missed this mornings one unfortunately.
"These aerial photographs document the changes of 21 years of revegetation efforts. Thank you to everyone in the community. ":Impressive change, ajanderson.
If I'm correct in assuming indigenous species are being used can you tell me where your group obtained the seed/plants & what methods of revegetation are being used.
Is bird & other animal species & population data being collected from the area to provide information about the habitat benefits for wildlife?
Many thanks.
Cockburn Wetlands Education Centre use:APACE AID NURSERY
About the Revegetation Guide Catalogues
Birdlife W.A have various projects and initiatives:
Probably most concise of what you're seeking: Perth Biodiversity Project
Most interesting, ajanderson. Thanks so much for the links. It’s great to learn of the ecological restoration activity in Perth.
Next one coming up:
Native Bird Oasis planting day