Twenty months ago we were visited by an SA government ecologist who enlisted our cooperation in his research on woodland birds on the eastern side of the Mt Lofty Ranges. During his research the ecologist made the comment that in our revegetation work our plantings were too close & that it would have been more authentic had we planted a more open woodland. Food for thought, I thought, in case we undertake a similar project in the future.
Twenty months later we seem to be well on the way to achieving a more open woodland by doing absolutely nothing. Drought has killed or hugely stressed a number of the exotic native & non-native species planted by the previous owners. These include Tasmanian Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus, Athel Pine Tamarix aphylla & Coastal Tea Tree Leptospermum laevigatum. As well, a number of closely regenerated Drooping She-oaks Allocasuarina verticillata a local tree, have died leaving more open populations of this species. Strong winds have also played their part in bringing down a number of both local & exotic species.
Nature, with perhaps help from climate change, seems to be correcting our mistakes.
Sounds like the ecologist should come back to see the final result. Nature wins out.
I'm sitting here listening to the lovely sound of rain on our roof. Hoping you get some your way. Must be disheartening to see your plantings struggling.
Interestingly, Alex, at this stage of the drought it's the non-indigenous species that are struggling or even dying while the indigenous species seem to be surviving quite well. And with no watering, I might add. Meanwhile our local council continues to pour thousands of liters of valuable water onto its exotic plantings in order to keep them alive.
I'm quite pleased with what's happening as the bush land Ms Woko & I have been restoring is becoming more open. Even the fallen trees helped promote an irruption of native swamp rats last year by providing shelter for their burrowing. As well, I'm hoping that uprooted trees & dropped branches will provide habitat for Brown Treecreepers which are favored by fallen timber. The Brown Treecreeper has been absent from this area for many decades & is now a threatened species in the Mt Lofty Ranges where I live. I think also that there are bird species I've seen recently (e.g., Masked Woodswallow) which are advantaged by the more natural structure of the bush land. They may also be advantaged by the presence of certain insect species which thrive amongs the fallen timber on our property.
You are clearly getting a deep and detailed understanding of your part of the world through your efforts and observations. Sounds like you've put in a lot of hard work - also sounds very rewarding.