Ecological principles

AABR National Forum 2024 – The R's of Restoration Using the SER Standards to improve restoration project design - Lincoln Kern Lincoln is an ecologist with a keen interest in indigenous biodiversity conservation and environmental issues. He trained in botany and environmental science in the USA, before studying environmental management at Deakin University in Melbourne. After [...]

AABR National Forum 2024 - The Rs of Restoration Applying the 18 elements from the National Standards to contract specifications -Craig McGrath, City Of Yarra Craig is the Biodiversity Officer from the City of Yarra. The principles of the SERA National Standards pretty much underwrite the City of Yarra’s contracts. Back in 2016, I thought [...]

Renewal in the desert. The Barrier Field Naturalists’ Club And The Broken Hill Regeneration Reserves. Celebrating the restoration vision Of Albert Morris. Filmed in and around Broken Hill in 2017. Script: Virginia Bear and Tein McDonald. Thanks to everyone who assisted during filming in 2017 and editing in 2021. Particular thanks to the following people: [...]

A key to successful post-fire bush regeneration is knowing which plants are weeds and which are natives - particularly as seedlings. But it can seem overwhelming. Do you pull it and risk removing a native, or do you leave it and risk letting a weed grow? It’s almost always better to miss a few weeds [...]

Many plants have evolved with disturbances such as fire –It’s what triggers the resilience response within fire-adapted ecosystems, what prompts the plants to resprout and germinate. But immediately after a large disturbance like fire, the ecosystem is vulnerable, and further disturbance can easily destroy regenerating plants. Read More - Links First Aid for [...]

Weed affected bushland will need help to recover after fire, but resources are usually limited, and it's difficult to predict exactly what will happen over time. How can you make the most of your time and effort? This is an overview of post-fire site assessment. It’s a complex topic, particularly considering the extreme drought [...]

How can we help the bush to recover after fire? The native plants usually have the capacity to regenerate (unless the damage is particularly severe), but where weeds are involved, they probably need assistance. With the right approach, we can make a big difference. Here is an intro to post fire weed control, with [...]

Does size matter? Victoria Park Nature Reserve is a small fragment of the once mighty Big Scrub sub-tropical rainforest. Reflecting on 40 years of monitoring, Tein McDonald highlights the significant contributions to the understanding of rainforest succession that this reserve has made. Monitoring of Camphor laurel removal using species composition surveys and photopoints, clearly demonstrates [...]

Comprehensive strategic planning and site assessments, coupled with thinking creatively around landscape connections are some of the ingredients required to scale up projects. By understanding the capacity of assisted regeneration, a spectrum of bush regenerator skill levels and resources can be utilised to maximise outcomes.  Jen Ford provides two examples that explore how the planning [...]

Tein McDonald provides a detailed explanation of the concept of ecological restoration as intended by the National Standards for Ecological Restoration. Tein outlines the restorative activities continuum and provides examples of where various restoration projects may reside along that spectrum. Ideologies such as ‘restorative thinking’ and ‘ecological civilization’ are considered within the context of the [...]