The Value of Dead Trees

To some, woodland and parkland cleared of dead trees, logs and stumps etc, might be called aesthetically attractive, to others such a scenario is akin to a desert!

In 2001, the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council prepared a report in which it stated that … ‘ongoing removal of dead trees and woody debris on the ground caused by human activity has been recognised as a factor contributing to loss of biological diversity’.

 

Dead trees contain hollows and crevices for a myriad of wildlife.

 As much as 40% of Australian woodland wildlife is dependent on dead wood material. Dead trees and logs play an essential role in woodland, parkland, forest and wetland ecosystems.

 

Logs on the ground are an essential part of woodland biodiversity.

Logs and dead trees have lots of hollows, cracks and crevices of various sizes where animals may live, breed or shelter. In Victoria more than 60 species of mammals and birds are directly reliant on hollows – the list is expanded somewhat when the reptiles and invertebrates are included.  The loss of hollow bearing trees from Victorian native forests is listed as a potentially threatening process under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

 

Buff-rumped Thornbills seem to particularly 

inhabit woodland containing logs and stumps.

Many of our birds, mammals 

and reptiles need hollows in dead trees.

Hollows, cracks and crevices aside, dead trees and logs play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem by returning nutrients to the soil, insulation for the micro-organisms in the soil, providing a barrier to erosion by wind and rain, etc. Many mosses, lichens and fungi would not survive without dead woody material.

 

Fungi, mosses and lichens play their 

role in returning nutrients to the ecosystem.

Every tree dies eventually but its ecological value lasts long after the last leaf has fallen!

Further reading:-

Dead Wood and Wildlife – Dept of Conservation and Land Management WA.

Removal of dead wood and trees a key threatening process – NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.

The value of dead wood to wildlife and agriculture – DNRE Vic.

The Value of Habitat Trees – Land forWildlife Q.

Drouin's Valuable Urban Bushland #1

The clearing of native vegetation poses a significant threat to the biodiversity of our natural environment and this can occur within our urban zones just as readily as in the rural areas.

Drouin is blessed with some wonderful remnant bush patches both within the town and very near to the boundaries of the urban area.

Click to enlarge

Fragmented they may be, due to development such as housing, industry, roads and powerlines, urbanization in general, they remain essential links to our magnificent West Gippsland natural bush containing towering trees and a dense understorey of a bewildering variety of sedges, grasses and shrubs.

 

Gahnia sp in McGlone Rd - a valuable 'butterfly bush'.

Some of these remnant bushland places provide a welcome buffer between industrial and residential areas. They help absorb noise and atmospheric pollutants, mitigate strong winds and flooding and are of course a valuable resource for urban wildlife.

 

The old Drouin Nature Reserve in Pryor Rd.

Drouin’s parks, gardens and backyards will often be visited by an astounding array of bird life. It is not difficult to see the connection of these beautiful creatures with the small tracts of natural bush we have in our midst and on our doorstep. 

 

The Brown Thornbill, a good bushland indicator, is often seen in Drouin's bush patches.

Many new housing developments are almost devoid of any indigenous vegetation and invariably they have negligible bird life for the residents to enjoy.

Alex Goudie Reserve - a good example of exotic species and natural bushland.

Drouin’s patches of remnant bush are definitely worth keeping and looking after. We residents will rue the day we let them disappear, degrade or fragment further.

Further reading …

Perth’s Urban Bushland Council – Bushlandvalues.

Willoughby City Council Urban Bushland Management Plan – Bushland management plan.

Office of Environment and Heritage NSW – The Western Sydney urban bushland survey.

Friends of Lane Cove National Park – The value of urban bushland.