PhD Scholar

The influence of land management factors on bird assemblages using riparian land in an agricultural system: a scale analysis

E-mail: Kate.Park@anu.edu.au

Increasingly within Australian agricultural landscapes, the important role of streamside vegetation as habitat for terrestrial wildlife is being recognised. However, maintenance of riparian habitat has focused on land management at the local scale, with little attention being paid to the influence of management practices within adjacent upland ecosystems. This research aims to investigate the influence on bird assemblages of land management factors across multiple spatial scales. Bird species utilising riparian land within farmland on the Southern Tablelands of NSW will be investigated. The influence of a variety of land management practices operating at scales ranging from the riparian vegetation itself, to the entire catchment will be explored. It is anticipated that these results will provide a greater understanding of the relationship between riparian and terrestrial ecosystems, and thus allow recommendations to be made regarding the conservation of riparian habitat for birds within agricultural systems.