Book Chapter
The value of unlogged buffers for vulnerable bird species in the jarrah forest of south-west Western Australia
-
Published:2004
Citation
Michael D. Craig, 2004. "The value of unlogged buffers for vulnerable bird species in the jarrah forest of south-west Western Australia", Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, Daniel Lunney
Download citation file:
Retaining strips of unlogged forest, called buffers, is a common strategy for maintaining populations of vulnerable species in production forests in Australia. I conducted a study to examine the effectiveness of buffers in maintaining populations of vulnerable bird species in jarrah forests of south-west Western Australia. I examined changes in the population densities of all bird species in buffers in the first 12 months after logging and compared these to changes in logged and unlogged forest. I also conducted detailed ecological studies on Golden Whistlers to determine whether buffers were important for this species and, if so, why they were important. Buffers were important in maintaining populations of vulnerable bird species after the first logging rotation. Of the six species that declined after logging, only one (the Golden Whistler) showed a significant decrease in buffers and the decrease was less than in logged forest. Buffers were important for Golden Whistlers in providing both foraging and nesting sites. Whistlers also moved the location of their territories to include buffers, indicating that they are critical for this species in production forests. Given their importance to vulnerable species, I recommend that buffers are not logged at the second logging rotation until research is conducted that demonstrates that the surrounding logged forest has matured sufficiently to support viable populations of vulnerable species.
Abacus Concepts 1988 Statview SE + Graphics. Abacus Concepts Inc., Berkeley.
Abacus Concepts 1993 SuperANOVA. Abacus Concepts Inc., Berkeley.
Abbott, I. and Loneragan, O. 1986 Ecology of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) in the northern jarrah forest of Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management Research Bulletin 1.
Anon. 1998 Towards a Regional Forest Agreement for the South-West Forest Region of Western Australia. Joint Commonwealth and Western Australian Regional Forest Agreement Steering Committee: Bentley.
Burkey, T. V. 1993. Edge effects in seed and egg predation at two neotropical rainforest sites. Biological Conservation 66: 139-143.
CALM 1990 Silvicultural Specifications 3/90 - Jarrah regeneration surveys. Department of Conservation and Land Management: Como.
CALM 1991 Silvicultural Specifications 1/91 - Fire as a silvicultural tool in the jarrah forest. Department of Conservation and Land Management: Como.
CALM 1995 Silvicultural Guidelines 1/95 - Silvicultural practice in the jarrah forest. Department of Conservation and Land Management: Como.
Calver, M. C. and Dell, J. 1998. Conservation status of mammals and birds in southwestern Australian forests. II. Are there unstudied, indirect or long-term links between forestry practices and species decline and extinction? Pacific Conservation Biology 4: 315-325.
Claridge, A. W., McNee, A., Tanton, M. T. and Davey, S. M. 1991. Ecology of bandicoots in undisturbed forest adjacent to recently felled logging coupes: a case study from the Eden Woodchip Agreement Area. Pp. 331-345 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Cooper, D. S. and Francis, C. M. 1998. Nest predation in a Malaysian lowland rain forest. Biological Conservation 85: 199-202.
Coulson, R. I. and Coulson, G. M. 1981 The effect of forestry practices on birds breeding in open forest. Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania. Project Report 1980/4.
Craig, M. D. 1999. The short-term impacts of timber harvesting on the jarrah forest avifauna. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Western Australia, Perth.
Craig, M. D. 2002. The comparative ecology of four passerine species in jarrah forests used for timber production in southwestern Western Australia. Conservation Biology 16: 1609-1619.
Craig, M. D. and Roberts, J. D. 2001. Evaluation of the impact of time of day, weather, vegetation density and bird movements on outcomes of area searches in eucalypt forests in southwestern Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 1-7.
Dell, B. and Havel, J. J. 1989. The jarrah forest, an introduction. Pp. 1-10 in The Jarrah Forest edited by B. Dell, J. J. Havel and N. Malajczuk. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.
Donovan, T. M., Jones, P. W., Annand, E. M. and Thompson, F. R. III 1997. Variation in local-scale edge effects, mechanisms and landscape context. Ecology 78: 2064-2075.
Flashpoler, D.J., Temple, S.A. and Rosenfield, R.N. 2001. Species-specific edge effects on nest success and breeding bird density in a forested landscape. Ecological Applications 11: 32-46.
Holmes, R. T. and Recher, H. F. 1986. Search tactics of insectivorous birds foraging in an Australian eucalypt forest. Auk 103: 515-530.
Loyn, R. H. 1980. Bird populations in a mixed eucalypt forest used for production of wood in Gippsland, Victoria. Emu 80: 145-156.
Loyn, R. H. 1985a. Strategies for conserving wildlife in commercially productive eucalypt forest. Australian Forestry 48: 95-101.
Loyn, R. H. 1985b. Bird populations in successional forest of mountain ash, Eucalyptus regnans, in central Victoria. Emu 85: 213-230.
Major, R. E., Christie, F. J., Gowing, G. and Ivison, T. J. 1999. Elevated rates of predation on artificial nests in linear strips of habitat. Journal of Field Ornithology 70: 351-364.
Matthews, A., Dickman, C. R. and Major, R. E. 1999. The influence of fragment size and edge on nest predation in urban bushland. Ecography 22: 349-356.
Murcia, C. 1995. Edge effects in fragmented forests, implications for conservation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 10: 58-62.
Nams, V. 1990 Locate II. Pacer, Truro.
Norton, T. W. and Mitchell, N. D. 1994. Towards the sustainable management of southern temperate forest ecosystems: lessons from Australia and New Zealand. Pacific Conservation Biology 1: 293-300.
Norwood, C., Wardell-Johnson, G., Majer, J. D. and Williams, M. 1995. Short-term influences of edge and gap creation on bird populations in jarrah forest, Western Australia. Australian Forestry 58: 48-57.
Paton, P. W. C. 1994. The effect of edge on avian nest success: How strong is the evidence? Conservation Biology 8: 17-26.
Recher, H. F. and Davis, W. E. 1998. The foraging profile of a wandoo woodland avifauna in early spring. Australian Journal of Ecology 23: 514-527.
Recher, H. F. and Holmes, R. T. 1985. Foraging ecology and seasonal patterns of abundance in a forest avifauna. Pp. 79-96 in Birds of Eucalypt Forests and Woodlands: Ecology, Conservation and Management, edited by A. Keast, H. F. Recher, H. Ford and D. Saunders. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.
Recher, H. F., Holmes, R. T., Schulz, M., Shields, J. and Kavanagh R. 1985. Foraging patterns of breeding birds in eucalypt forest and woodland of southeastern Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 10: 399-419.
Recher, H. F., Shields, J., Kavanagh, R. and Webb, G. 1987. Retaining remnant mature forest for nature conservation at Eden, New South Wales: a review of theory and practice. Pp. 177-194 in Nature conservation: the role of remnants of native vegetation, edited by D. A. Saunders, G. W. Arnold, A. A. Burbidge and A. J. M. Hopkins. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.
Smith, A. P. 1991. Forest policy: fostering environmental conflict in the Australian timber industry. Pp. 301-314 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Smith, P. 1985. Effects of intensive logging on birds in eucalypt forest near Bega, New South Wales. Emu 85: 15-21.
SPSS 1997 Systat 7.0: new statistics. SPSS Inc., Chicago.
Taylor, R. J. 1991a. Fauna management practices in State forests in Tasmania. Pp. 259-264 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Taylor, R. J. 1991b. The role of retained strips for fauna conservation in production forests in Tasmania. Pp. 265-270 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Underwood, T. J. and Roth, R. R. 2002. Demographic variables are poor indicators of Wood Thrush productivity. Condor 104: 92-102.
Van Horne, B. 1983. Density as a misleading indicator of habitat quality. Journal of Wildlife Management 47: 893-901.
Wardell-Johnson, G. and Nichols, O. 1991. Forest wildlife and habitat management in southwestern Australia: knowledge, research and direction. Pp. 161-192 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Williams, M. R., Abbott, I., Liddelow, G. L., Vellios, C., Wheeler, I. B. and Mellican, A. E. 2001. Recovery of bird populations after clearfelling of tall open eucalypt forest in Western Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology 38: 910-920.
Wilson, B. A. 1991. Conservation of forest fauna in Victoria. Pp. 281-299 in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, edited by D. Lunney. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW.
Wykes, B. J. 1985 The jarrah forest avifauna and its reestablishment after bauxite mining. Western Australian Institute of Technology, School of Biology Bulletin 11.
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.
