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Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Soil Temperatures During Autumn Prescribed Burning: Implications For The Germination Of Fire Responsive Species?, Trent D. Penman, A L. Towerton
Soil Temperatures During Autumn Prescribed Burning: Implications For The Germination Of Fire Responsive Species?, Trent D. Penman, A L. Towerton
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Prescribed fire is a widely applied management tool in native forests. There have been concerns raised about the ecological impacts of prescribed fire on native flora. One aspect of the debate is the extent towhich prescribed fire heats the soil to levels reported to trigger germination in the soil seed banks.We used Thermochrons to test soil temperatures at 2 and 5 cm in prescribed burns in dry sclerophyll forests. Soil temperatures during the burns were generally low (<40◦C) with less than 5% of sites being exposed to temperatures necessary for the germination of fire-dependent shrub species. High temperatures were associated with high fuel consumption and large woody debris. This information suggests that prescribed fires, carried out according to standard practices, in these forests are unlikely to trigger germination in the majority of the soil-stored seed banks. If ecological burns in these forests are aimed at promoting populations of senescing obligate seeder species, they need to be hotter than standard practice if they are to achieve their objectives, although we acknowledge that there are inherent risks associated with hotter burns.
Spatial Ecology Of The Giant Burrowing Frog (Heleioporus Australiacus): Implications For Conservation Prescriptions, Trent D. Penman, F Lemckert, M J Mahony
Spatial Ecology Of The Giant Burrowing Frog (Heleioporus Australiacus): Implications For Conservation Prescriptions, Trent D. Penman, F Lemckert, M J Mahony
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
Management of threatened anurans requires an understanding of a species’ behaviour and habitat requirements in both the breeding and non-breeding environments. The giant burrowing frog (Heleioporus australiacus) is a threatened species in south-eastern Australia. Little is known about its habitat requirements, creating difficulties in developing management strategies for the species.Weradio-tracked 33 individual H. australiacus in order to determine their habitat use and behaviour. Data from 33 frogs followed for between 5 and 599 days show that individuals spend little time near (<15 m) their breeding sites (mean 4.7 days for males and 6.3 days for females annually). Most time is spent in distinct non-breeding activity areas 20–250m from the breeding sites. Activity areas of females were further from the breeding site (mean 143 m) than those of males (mean 99 m), but were not significantly different in size (overall mean 500m2; males 553m2; females 307m2). Within activity areas, each frog used 1–14 burrows repeatedly, which weterm home burrows. Existing prescriptions are inappropriate for this species and we propose protection of key populations in the landscape as a more appropriate means of protecting this species.
Management Implications Of Recent Research Into The Effect Of Bitou Bush Invasion, Kristine O. French, Emilie-Jane Ens, Carl Gosper, Elizabeth Lindsay, Tanya J. Mason, Ben Owers, Natalie A. Sullivan
Management Implications Of Recent Research Into The Effect Of Bitou Bush Invasion, Kristine O. French, Emilie-Jane Ens, Carl Gosper, Elizabeth Lindsay, Tanya J. Mason, Ben Owers, Natalie A. Sullivan
Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)
We review recent research into the impact of bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera spp. rotundata (DC.) Norl.) on coastal ecosystems which suggest this weed is having widespread impacts on ecosystem services, flora and fauna. Increased decomposition rates and altered nutrient cycling accompany changes in plant community structure and composition. Changes in invaded habitats influence invertebrate and bird assemblages. We summarise research that shows that the establishment phase of seedlings is the key phase where bitou bush outcompetes native species through both resource and interference competition mechanisms.