Hi List,
I came across a very interesting article about the value of mistletoe in the
Australian bush in New Scientist 22/29 December 2012 pages 70-71. The study was
investigating whether or not mistletoe’s reputation as a destructive pest was
deserved and was carried out by David Watson, an Ecologist at Charles Sturt
University in Albury, NSW. Their findings were that mistletoe was immensely
beneficial to the entire forest. Mistletoe, as it is always able to get water
from its host [unless that dies], is a reliable source of food and shelter for
birds and insects, as well as providing cover and shelter for small birds and
mammals. The study also found that only minimal harm was done to the host tree.
To study the benefits [or otherwise of mistletoe] it was removed from entire
woodlands after surveys were performed [5500 clumps of mainly Box Mistletoe
from 17 large patches of woodland in south-east New South Wales. After three
years they surveyed these woodlands again to see the effect of mistletoe
removal. More than a third of woodland birds had vanished from these areas &
not just the obvious mistletoe users. The biggest declines were in the ground
feeding insectivores; the rich leaf litter formed under the mistletoe is richer
and deeper than elsewhere [because mistletoe does not withdraw nutrients from
its leaves before dropping them] and contains more soil microbes and
invertebrates than non-mistletoe leaf litter. They also found that the variety
provided by the Mistletoe itself, its leaf litter and thinner leaf litter under
non-mistletoe bearing trees provided the greatest variety of habitats and
therefore more species co-existed in these areas than forests without mistletoe.
So according to this study, mistletoe should be seen as a saviour rather than a
scourge.
I was unaware of the beneficial results of mistletoe and thought others might
find the results of this study interesting.
From Jenny Stiles
===============================
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
http://birding-aus.org
===============================
|
