Novel ecosystems resulting from landscape transformation create dilemmas for modern conservation practice

  1. David B. Lindenmayer1,
  2. Joern Fischer1,
  3. Adam Felton1,
  4. Mason Crane1,
  5. Damian Michael1,
  6. Christopher Macgregor1,
  7. Rebecca Montague-Drake1,
  8. Adrian Manning1,
  9. Richard J. Hobbs2

Article first published online: 4 JUL 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00021.x

Issue

Conservation Letters

Conservation Letters

Volume 1, Issue 3, pages 129–135, August 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Lindenmayer, D. B., Fischer, J., Felton, A., Crane, M., Michael, D., Macgregor, C., Montague-Drake, R., Manning, A. and Hobbs, R. J. (2008), Novel ecosystems resulting from landscape transformation create dilemmas for modern conservation practice. Conservation Letters, 1: 129–135. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00021.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Fenner School for the Environment and Society, W.K. Hancock Building West [43], The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.

  2. 2

    School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia.

*Correspondence David Lindenmayer, Fenner School for the Environment and Society, W.K. Hancock Building West [43], The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200. Tel: +61 2 6125 0654; fax: +61 2 6125 0757. E-mail: david.lindenmayer@anu.edu.au

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 22 AUG 2008
  2. Article first published online: 4 JUL 2008
  3. Received: 24 March 2008; accepted 12 June 2008

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (218K)

Keywords:

  • Birds;
  • community composition;
  • landscape change;
  • longitudinal study;
  • novel ecosystem;
  • plantation expansion;
  • woodland remnants

Abstract

Introduction: Novel ecosystems occur when new combinations of species appear within a particular biome due to human activity, environmental change, or impacts of introduced species. Background: Managing the trajectory of ecosystems toward desired outcomes requires an understanding of the means by which they developed. To facilitate this understanding, we present evidence for the development of a novel ecosystem from a natural experiment focusing on 52 woodland remnants surrounded by maturing stands of exotic radiata pine. Results: Bird community composition changed through time resulting in a unique blend of tall closed forest and open-woodland birds that previously did not occur in the study area, nor in the region's tall closed forest or open-woodland biomes. Conclusion: Novel ecosystems will become increasingly common due to climate change, raising complex management and ethical dilemmas for policy makers and resource managers.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (218K)