Gibbons says ensuring continuity in the hollow resource over time is critical to effective forest wildlife management. For example, the future of the endangered Leadbeater's possum is uncertain because of an impending temporary dearth of hollow-bearing tr ees throughout much of its range. This could be the case in many forests with a long history of even-aged silviculture. He says the retention of suitable hollow-bearing trees deserves greater emphasis in forest management strategies. These should be tailored to each specific site and its fauna, and incorporate a silvicultural system that maintains an uneven-aged forest structure.
Gibbons says an inventory of hollow-dependent fauna and their requirements is needed.
Also, habitat-tree dynamics, decay transition rates and hollow ontogeny need to be modelled. Simple data such as which species return to different configurations of retained trees should be monitored, and trials conducted of various habitat-tree prescriptions. Ecology and sustainability of southern temperate ecosystems is edited by Tony Norton and Steve Dovers of the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University. This site is optimised for Netscape 2.01 or Internet Explorer 2.0. or higher.