The importance of Travelling Stock Reserves for maintaining high-quality threatened temperate woodlands

Travelling Stock Reserves are thought to represent some of the highest-quality and least degraded remnants of threatened temperate woodland in south-eastern Australia. These public reserves have not had the same high levels of grazing pressure and other disturbances as woodland remnants on private land. Thus, Travelling Stock Reserves are expected to be important for the protection of biodiversity in heavily cleared and modified landscapes. We tested the hypothesis that land tenure had significant effects on the quality of woodlands by comparing vegetation structural attributes between Travelling Stock Reserves and remnant vegetation used for primary production purposes. Vegetation attributes were monitored in 155 permanent plots over five years in remnant temperate woodland sites in the Riverina bioregion of New South Wales. Overall, Travelling Stock Reserves supported higher native plant species richness and were characterized by higher ground cover of native shrubs and less cover of exotic plant species when compared to agricultural production areas. We found land tenure had significant effects on some vegetation attributes demonstrated to be important for threatened fauna. We attribute these results to Travelling Stock Reserves having a history of lower grazing pressure compared to remnants managed for agricultural production. Our study provides empirical evidence to support the high conservation value of Travelling Stock Reserves in formerly woodland-dominated, but now extensively cleared, agricultural landscapes

Effects of cattle grazing on the biodiversity of cracking-clay gibber-gilgai systems in the arid South Australian rangelands

I measured T and relative humidity (RH) regulating properties of randomly-selected soil cracks in comparison to matched away points, over two summers and two winters. Fat-tailed (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) and stripe-faced (S. macroura) dunnarts were radio-tracked to examine their use of cracks. Cracks consistently moderated T and RH in all seasons, providing more stable conditions than those of away and ambient points. Both dunnart species used cracks almost exclusively. Surveys of 51 SPR lessees and/or managers showed that respondents were generally unaware of the small native vertebrates on their properties. Overall, they agreed with land management strategies, but did not necessarily implement them. Pastoralists’ evaluations of plant palatability and indicators largely matched published reports. Diverse indicators of land condition (all perennial plants) were listed by respondents, suggesting that indicators are highly location specific. Cracking-clay habitats of the SPR are dynamic systems, supporting high biodiversity during La Niña years. Maintaining the integrity of cracks and vegetation is fundamental for ecosystem function in these systems.

The importance of travelling stock reserves for maintaining high-quality threatened temperate woodlands

Travelling stock reserves (TSRs) are thought to represent some of the highest-quality and least degraded remnants of threatened temperate woodland in south-eastern Australia. These public reserves have not had the same high levels of grazing pressure and other disturbances as woodland remnants on private land. Thus, TSRs are expected to be important for the protection of biodiversity in heavily cleared and modified landscapes. We tested the hypothesis that land tenure had significant effects on the quality of woodlands by comparing vegetation structural attributes between TSRs and remnant vegetation used for primary production purposes. Vegetation attributes were monitored in 155 permanent plots over 5 years in remnant temperate woodland sites in the Riverina bioregion of New South Wales. Overall, TSRs supported higher native plant species richness and were characterised by higher ground cover of native shrubs and less cover of exotic plant species than agricultural production areas. We found land tenure had significant effects on some vegetation attributes demonstrated to be important for threatened fauna. We attribute these results to TSRs having a history of lower grazing pressure compared with remnants managed for agricultural production. Our study provides empirical evidence to support the high conservation value of TSRs in formerly woodland-dominated, but now extensively cleared agricultural landscapes

Applying a social-ecological system framework to diagnose drivers of dingo management practices

Social-ecological system (SES) frameworks offer a way of diagnosing the economic, environmental, and social issues driving human-canid conflict, and can assist in the development and testing of management interventions. SES-based approaches to carnivore management in the context of conflicts with humans are limited and highlight a growing need to develop new initiatives involving a broad spectrum of interested parties. To help identify management opportunities provided by using a SES applied to human-canid conflict, we apply the principles of Elinor Ostrom’s multi-tiered framework and develop a SES relating to dingo management in the Australian rangelands. This SES posits variables influencing management practices for dingoes and identifies key management opportunities. We use the framework to categorise first-tier sub-components of the SES, propose second-tier variables specific to the SES (referring to past history or experiences of relevant actors and government resource policies), and identify pathways or interactions for testing (e.g., the influence of scientific evidence on policy, development of educational packages, uptake of new knowledge, and impact of socio-economic status). The proposed SES demonstrates the potential for such approaches to help resolve human-dingo conflict, highlights variables that may influence dingo management practices, and presents opportunities for testing these variables empirically