A group of researchers look up from the forest floor in Victoria.

Victorian Forest Biodiversity and Conservation

In Victoria, Australia, Fenner researchers undertake a range of studies to examine at the environmental impacts of fire, logging, and other factors affecting biodiversity and forest habitats.

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In Victoria, Australia, Fenner researchers undertake a range of studies to examine at the environmental impacts of fire, logging, and other factors affecting biodiversity and forest habitats. This includes researching how Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) and Alpine Ash (E. delegatensis) tall forests function, and what the needs are of the many animals that live in them, especially following wildfires and logging.

The work in the Central Highlands of Victoria includes a suite of major projects such as:

  • Long-term study of the Mountain Brushtail Possum
  • Long-term monitoring of arboreal marsupials
  • The Variable Retention Harvesting Experiment
  • The Salvage Logging Experiment
  • The ecology and habitat requirements of Leadbeater’s Possum
  • The response of mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates to wildfire
  • The long-term population dynamics of hollow-bearing trees
  • The location and importance of post-fire unburned refugia for biodiversity
  • The impacts of fire and logging on carbon stocks and soil nutrients and composition
  • The response of plants to fire and logging
  • The long-term persistence of the Greater Glider
  • The Plant Germination experiment
 

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News

An aerial image of a logged forest area in Victoria.

Fenner researchers, Maldwyn John Evans, Chris Taylor and Prof David Lindenmayer explain what needs to be done to restore Victoria’s forest after logging.

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A birds eye view of a Victorian Mountain Ash forest. Mist cloaks tall trees and and the ground cover is dense with ferns.

What does the evidence say about what tall, wet forests actually looked like 250 years ago? The answer matters because it influences how these forests are managed.

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A greater glider perched in a tree at night.

Ecologists were shocked by a recent announcement by New South Wales environment authorities that they believe loosens protections for southern greater gliders in logging areas.

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