Society for Conservation Biology

Habitat Variegation, An Alternative to Fragmentation

Author(s): S. McIntyre and G. W. Barrett
Source: Conservation Biology, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Mar., 1992), pp. 146-147
Published by: Wiley for Society for Conservation Biology
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 AnAlternative
HabitatVariegation, to Fragmentation
S. McINTYRE
Departmentof EcosystemManagement
Universityof New England
Armidale,NSW, 2351
Australia
G. W. BARRETT
Departmentof EcosystemManagement
Universityof New England
Armidale,NSW, 2351
Australia
A recentreviewin ConservationBiology bySaunderset
al. ( 1991 ) examinedtheeffectsofhabitatfragmentation
on plantand animalcommunitiesand the implications
offragmentation forbiologicalconservation.Thispaper
comprehensively summarizedresearchon a topic that
has been a majorfocusforresearchersin recentyears.
There are few countriesin the world thathave not ex-
perienced extensive and major modificationsto their
landscapesas a resultofagriculture.However,theform
of the modification can varyfromregionto region,and
our experience suggeststhatthe fragmentation model
maynot be applicable in all areas.
The concept of fragmentation implies that habitat
remnantsare isolated by areas thatfunctionas hostile
environmentsto the organismswithin the remnants.
Biota mustrelyeitheron connectingcorridorsof habi-
tator on long-distancedispersalto move betweenfrag-
mentsor theyremainstrandedin them.There are many
instanceswhere this is the case, forexample,remnant
forestssurroundedby wheatpaddocks in WesternAus-
traliaand vegetationreservesin urban areas. This con-
cept of habitatdistribution, however,is not applicable
to all examples of agriculturaldevelopment.On the
northerntablelandsofNew SouthWales,agriculture has
modifiedmost of the native vegetation,leaving only
small areas in close to originalcondition.Nonetheless,
grassyvegetationstilldominatesthelandscapematrixin
variousstatesofmodification. Thisrequiresa modelthat
differs fromthe examples just cited,because the inter-
146
Conservation Biology
Volume 6, No. 1, March 1992
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veningareas are modifiedversionsof the originaleco-
systemsand do not presentbarriersto mostnativespe-
cies, as theydo in a fragmented landscape.
The originalvegetationofthe tablelandsbeforeEuro-
pean settlement was predominantly eucalyptwoodlands
and forestswitha grassyunderstory(Curtis 1989). Ag-
riculturaldevelopmenthas been pastorallybased with
extensivefertilizationand some pasture"improvement"
involvingthesowingofintroducedgrassesand legumes.
While some areas have lost virtuallyall theirtree pop-
ulations and most of their native understoryspecies,
naturalpasturesare stillwidespreadand eucalyptsare
presentin varyingdensitiesacross the landscape. The
most intactgrasslandvegetationtends to be concen-
tratedin naturereservesand along roadsides.These ar-
eas are also subjectedto varyingdegreesofmodification
fromsheep and cattlegrazing,earthworks, loss ofnative
herbivores,etc.
In termsof these human-inducedchanges,the varie-
gatednatureof the grassyecosystemson the tablelands
mustbe [utilized]differently by differenttaxa. At one
extreme,thereare nativeplantsthatgrow successfully
over thewhole rangeofmodifications and can be found
at the majorityof sites sampled (S. McIntyre,unpub-
lisheddata). For thesespecies,potentialhabitatformsa
continuumacross the landscape.The otherextremere-
sults fromintoleranceto most formsof interference;
these species exist in a trulyfragmented landscape,re-
strictedto remnantsin bettercondition.The majorityof
McIntyre
& Barrett
species appear to fallin between these tolerances.For
them,the landscape is a constantlyshiftingmosaic of
habitatsof varyingsuitability.
For the conservationof these grassyecosystems,the
patterndescribedhere calls fordifferent strategiesthan
those suggested by the fragmentation model. Rather
than attemptto manage the species assemblage as a
whole,groupsofspecies thatsharehabitatrequirements
(e.g., intolerance of particulartypes of disturbance)
need to be identified.This would be an appropriate
compromise between the single-speciesapproach to
plantconservation, whichtendsto be impractical, and a
whole-community approach, which failsto takeintoac-
count the varyingrequirementsof the componentspe-
cies. While the need to preservethe most intactrem-
nantsremains,we mustlook beyond these to the large
numberof plantswithintermediatetolerancesto habi-
tat modification.These species are still vulnerableto
land-usechanges,and forthem,managementof the en-
tire landscape will be the most profitablestrategy.By
maintaining thelandscapeas a matrix,ratherthanallow-
ing furtherloss of range of taxa with intermediatetol-
erances,manyof the managementproblemsassociated
withconservationof remnantscould be avoided.
The effectof pastoral developmenton the distribu-
tionofforestbirdson the northerntablelandsis similar
to thatdescribedforthe grassyvegetationin theregion.
Most bird species occur in a rangeof habitattypesand
show a degree of toleranceto modifications of the nat-
uralecosystem,such as grazingby domesticanimalsand
partialclearingof trees.
A preliminary analysisof census data from250 forest
sites (G. W. Barrettand R. H. Howe, unpublished)sug-
geststhatbirdspecies richnessis greaterat sitesin small
to mediumforestpatches (5-100 ha) than at sites in
largerpatches. Patch isolationhad no significant effect
on species richness,but the numberof long-distance
flights (>50m) is significantlygreaterat sitesin narrow
stripsof forest,suggestingthat birds will, if possible,
remainin treed areas when movingbetween patches.
Withina patch,the distanceof the census site fromthe
forestedge had no significant effecton species richness.
A smallgroupofforestbirds(approx. 10 spp.) occursin
almost all census sites and are seeminglyfavoredby
currentmanagementpractices.An even smallernumber
(perhaps only 5 spp.) is restrictedto largerpatches
(>200ha) of relativelyundisturbedforest.Only the lat-
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HabitatVariegation 147
terspecies existin a trulyfragmented habitat,a situation
similarto thatdescribedforthe grasslandflora.By far
themajorityofforestbirds(approx. 40 spp.) utilizesthe
entirelandscape,which is a diffusemosaic of open for-
est and scatteredtrees.There is reason to expect that
withoutactivemanagementofthe entirelandscape mo-
saic,the majorityofforestbirdswill become threatened
on a regionalscale.
As in the case of plants,it would be appropriateto
classifyforestbirdspecies into groupsthathave shared
habitatrequirements.By relatingcurrentagricultural
managementpracticesto habitattypes,we can identify
whichgroupscan be mosteffectively conservedwithin
thecontextofcurrentland use. A conservationstrategy
thatemphasizesthe managementof fragments is likely
to concentrateon the five or so species that are re-
strictedto large areas of relativelyundisturbedforest.
However,recognizingtheimportanceofintervening ar-
eas to themajorityofbirdspecies is a vitalstep towards
effective, pro-activeconservation.
Currentmanagementpracticeson thenortherntable-
lands point towardfurtherthinningof tree cover and
reductionin forestedareas. Activemanagementof the
variegatedlandscapemaybe able to maintainthequality
ofhabitatsforthe majorityofforestspecies. Otherwise,
it is likelythat a numberof previouslycommon bird
species will themselvesbecome restrictedto fragments
of once widespread habitats. Under these circum-
stances, and given the scarcity of management re-
sources,conservationprioritiesmightbest be directed
towardspecies thatare vulnerable,yet show tolerance
to modification of the environmentratherthantoward
thefewerspecies thatare highlysensitiveto such mod-
ificationsand require extensive, costly management
programs.In the case of the habitatsunder study,very
fewoftheplantspecies and none ofthebirdspecies are
endangeredexcept at a regionallevel. Howeverthe loss
of these communitiesregionallywould be of national
significance.
LiteratureCited
Curtis,D. 1989. Eucalyptre-establishmenton the northern
tablelandsof New South Wales. Universityof New England,
Armidale,New SouthWales,Australia.M. Sc. Thesis.
Saunders,D. A., R.J.Hobbs, and C. R. Margules.1991. Biolog-
ical consequences of ecosystemfragmentation:a review.Con-
servationBiology5:18-32.
Conservation Biology
Volume 6, No. 1, March 1992