<
https://theconversation.com/making-younger-trees-age-faster-could-create-more-homes-for-wildlife-and-it-can-be-done-without-chainsaws-262522>
"For wildlife, not all trees are equal. Large old trees have many horizontal
and dead limbs for perching, and many fissures or hollows for sheltering. By
contrast, younger trees have far fewer such features or lack them entirely.
More than 300 species of Australian mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians
rely on on habitat structures in older trees.
Pygmy possums use small hollows that take around 100 years to form. Black
cockatoos need larger hollows that might take 200 years, and bigger birds such
as powerful owls need still older hollows. Many species also need dead
branches, peeling bark and other features found only in older trees.
But these large old trees are getting rarer around the world. Australia has
already lost many of its giants and they’re still falling due to farming,
logging and urbanisation.
Birds and animals can’t wait centuries for new hollows to form. In response,
land managers are experimenting with veteranisation, where younger trees are
artificially given the features of older trees. If done carefully,
veteranisation may have promise."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
