Fire maintains an Acacia aneura shrubland—Triodia grassland mosaic in central Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M.J.S. Bowman ◽  
G.S. Boggs ◽  
L.D. Prior
Keyword(s):  
Central Australia ◽  
Acacia Aneura

The effects of grazing on topfeed in central Australia

1963 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Chippendale
Keyword(s):  
Common Species ◽  
Grazing Effects ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Acacia Aneura

A system of recording grazing effects on edible trees and shrub is described. Results of observations using this method are recorded. Acacia aneura and Atalaya hemiglauca are the topfeed species most grazed in Central Australia, but several less common species, Ventilago viminalis, Eremophila longifolia and Santalum lanceolatum are more palatable. A pat soft leaf is preferred by graying cattle, but spines and viscid or oily leaves are deterrents.

Pattern and Change in an Acacia aneura Shrubland and Triodia Hummock Grassland Mosaic on Rolling Hills in Central Australia

1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
DMJS Bowman ◽  
PK Latz ◽  
WJ Panton
Keyword(s):  
Gradient Analysis ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Current Pattern ◽  
Environmental Correlates ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Acacia Aneura

The environmental correlates of a mosaic of Acacia aneura F.Muell. ex Benth. shrublands and Triodia hummock grasslands on rolling conglomerate hills in central Australia were explored by indirect gradient analysis. A non-metric multidimension scaling ordination, based on the presence or absence of plant species, clearly separated the A. aneura shrubland from the Triodia hummock grassland; there were few intermediate quadrats. The A. aneura shrublands occurred on relatively deeper skeletal soils than the Triodia hummock grasslands. Unlike unidirection successional gradients from frequently burnt, treeless vegetation to very infrequently burnt forest vegetation, the ordination presented here is unusual because the quadrats with the greatest cover of A. aneura and Triodia occur on the poles, and quadrats from the most recently burnt vegetation and with the least cover of A. aneura and Triodia occur in the centre of the ordination. Interpretation of aerial photography taken in 1950 and 1987 showed that there has been no statistically significant change in the coverage of these two communities over that time period. Some quadrats that contained Triodia on the boundary of A. aneura shrublands had numerous charred A. aneura stumps which was interpreted as indicating some retreat of the shrublands. Experimental studies are required to determine the stability of the current pattern. Biogeographic evidence, however, shows that the spatial distribution of both communities has fluctuated at a continental scale through geological time.

The effect of fire on birds of mulga woodland in arid central Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Leavesley ◽  
Geoffrey J. Cary ◽  
Glenn P. Edwards ◽  
A. Malcolm Gill
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
National Park ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Time Since Fire ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Acacia Aneura

The principal ecosystem driver in arid Australia is unpredictable rainfall, but it is hypothesised that fire also plays an important role in determining the distribution of animals. We investigated the effect of fire on birds in mulga (Acacia aneura) woodland in the central Australian arid zone. The study was conducted at Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park using 63 sites classified into one of three time-since-fire classes: burnt 2002; burnt 1976; and long-unburnt. Birds were sampled in the winter and spring of 2005 and 2006 and vegetation structure was measured at all sites. Vegetation structure varied with time-since-fire. The burnt 2002 treatment was an early seral stage of mulga woodland and effectively a grassland. The burnt 1976 and long-unburnt treatments were both woodland, but the long-unburnt treatment had greater canopy cover and height. The bird community in the burnt 2002 treatment was characterised by granivores, whereas that in the burnt 1976 and long-unburnt treatments was characterised by foliar insectivores. All species showed monotonic responses to time-since-fire (i.e. none were at significantly highest density in the burnt 1976 treatment). Fire in mulga woodland changed the vegetation structure and consequently also changed the composition of the bird communities.

Does vegetation cover affect the rate of capture of ground-active lizards in pitfall traps?

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine A. Schlesinger
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Acacia Aneura ◽  
Different Levels

Pitfall traps are commonly used to capture terrestrial vertebrates, but it is not known whether differences in vegetation structure affect the efficiency of these traps. Studies that investigate the effects of fire, grazing or vegetation rehabilitation on faunal populations usually compare sites that differ in vegetation structure and the validity of using pitfall traps to sample populations under these circumstances is open to question. This study tests whether vegetation structure affects the rate at which lizards are captured in pitfall traps by cutting ground vegetation in a controlled experiment conducted in field enclosures. The study was undertaken in an area of mulga (Acacia aneura) shrubland in central Australia. Ground cover, consisting of grasses and forbs, was reduced from ~27% to 10% in treatment enclosures. These levels of cover correspond broadly to the range of ground covers encountered in this habitat, including areas with high and low levels of grazing. No difference was detected in the rate at which lizards were captured in enclosures where grass was cut compared with the control enclosures or rates of capture before grass was cut. These results indicate that pitfall trapping is a valid technique for comparing lizard populations in arid mulga shrublands within the range of vegetation covers used in this study, including areas that are subject to different levels of grazing.

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