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Practical wisdom for restoring the land
Australia has a growing army of hands-on environmentalists, keen to get their hands dirty restoring local habitat and encouraging the return of native plant and animal species. Whether they are farmers transforming barren dams into thriving wetland communities, Landcare groups, or employees of government agencies, their job is made easier with practical advice from experts who have been there before.
Two of CSIRO Publishing’s (www.publish.csiro.au) most recent books provide such advice on restoring two habitat types regarded as particularly vulnerable: rainforests and wetlands.
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Rainforest Restoration Manual for South-Eastern Australia Bill Peel CSIRO Publishing 2010, Paperback & CD ISBN: 9780643094710 – AU$120.00 |
Rainforest Restoration Manual for South-Eastern Australia, the more detailed and comprehensive of the two, is targeted at government and natural resource management agencies, Landcare groups, ecologists, botanists, and lecturers and students undertaking natural resource management courses.
This illustrated manual covers all rainforest types – subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate, gallery, dry, and littoral – from south-east Queensland to Tasmania. Its detailed restoration methods, based on more than two decades of research and trials, are distilled into 10 easy-to-follow steps.
The manual has an accompanying CD that includes resources for teachers, a propagation manual for 735 rainforest plants, and specific planting guides for the 57 rainforest community types that occur from the coast to the mountains between Durras Mountain in NSW and the Otways in Victoria.
Author Bill Peel is an ecologist and survey botanist with 30 years’ experience working in community organisations, state and federal natural resource management agencies and local government.
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Wetland Habitats A Practical Guide to Restoration and Management Nick Romanowski CSIRO Publishing 2010, Paperback ISBN: 9780643096462 – AU$49.95 (eBook version available from eBooks.com) |
Wetland Habitats, by aquatic biologist Nick Romanowski, is aimed at a broader readership. It offers a clear, no-fuss guide to creating and restoring wetland habitat around dams; reversing the effects of drainage, grazing, weirs, deteriorating water quality and algae; reintroducing native aquatic fauna and flora; and controlling weeds and vermin. This title is also available as an e-book.
‘If you choose to take up restoration,’ writes Bill Peel, ‘you will embark upon an exciting and challenging endeavour that has its own very special rewards, such as knowing that you are responsible for the creation of new habitat and the renewal of life.’ A satisfying day’s work indeed.
