Download - 5 Birds Rainforest regeneration - aabr.org.au · rainforests easier - and, what’s more, more authentic. Seed sources Around 50 or so small, isolated remnants survive in the Lismore

of1 BirdsCanAssistwithRainforestRegeneration AABRInfoSheet5

BIRDSCANASSISTWITHRAINFORESTREGENERATIONSheet5

Didyouknowthatquiteafewnativebirdandbatspeciestraditionallydispersedrainforestseeds-andtheyarestilldoingit?Well,whydon’twedeliberatelyplantcertaintreestoattractbirddispersers!Itislikelytomakeourjobofreplantingrainforestseasier-and,what’smore,moreauthentic.

Seedsources

Around50orsosmall,isolatedremnantssurviveintheLismorearea,alongwithhundredsofresidualrainforestfragmentsonfarms,roadsandcreeks.Thesecanactasseedsourcesforbirddispersaltosmallerpatchesorclustersinbetweentheseremnants.However,closerseedsourcesneedtobeplantedbetweentheseremnants,ifwearegoingtoachieverestorationonalargerscale.(Especiallyforwind-dispersedspeciesthatcannottravelfar-andthemany“maturephase”rainforesttreesthatareunder-representedinthearea.)

Receivingtrees

Itseemsthatbirdswilldropseedunderallsortsoftrees.ThishasbeendemonstratedasVictoriaPark,Alstonville,NSW,andatnumeroussitesaroundthedistrict.

Whileanyspeciescanprovideperchesthatareattractivetobirds,particularlyattractivetreesarethosewithdesirablefruits(eg.Corkwood,BleedingHeartetc)orthosewhicharetallerormoreprominent(perhapsasvantagepoints).Treesthatlastonlyabout15yearsaregoodfostertreesforregenerationbecausetheydieandallowthenewrecruitstodevelop.

PoisonedCamphorlaurelsareidealperchtreesbecausetheyareoftentallandmakegoodvantagepoints,theyareusuallylocatedalongbirdflightpaths,andtheyallowplentyoflightintothedevelopingseedlings.

Closertoremnants,itisnotuncommontofind10rainforestspeciesunderthedriplinesoftrees,wherethesitewaspreviouslybarepaddock.Butfurtherawayfromaremnant,thenumberwillbesmaller,andwillbedependentonwhatgrowsinisolatedlocalseedsources.Inthelatercases,itmightbemoreworthwhiletoplantnewseedsources-andsubsequentlypoisontheCamphors.

Sothinktwicebeforesawingdowncamphorlaurels.Theymakeexcellentdispersalattractantsifleftstanding!

Needforweedcontrol

Butitisimportanttounderstand,that-aswellasdispersingrainforesttrees-birdswillalsodisperseweeds.Theseweedsshouldbeculledbeforetheyfruit-orbeforetheyshadeoutdesirablenatives.Thissoberingrealityshouldbefactoredintoyourplantoclearorplantanyarea.

Download - 5 Birds Rainforest regeneration - aabr.org.au · rainforests easier - and, what’s more, more authentic. Seed sources Around 50 or so small, isolated remnants survive in the Lismore

Top Related