A CELEBRATION OF THE HISTORY, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF RECHERCHE BAY
CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Auditorium Hobart, Tasmania
26–28 February 2007

The science underpinning the conservation and management of ecological communities
Professor David Lindenmayer

David Lindenmayer is a Professor of Ecology at Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, The Australian National University. He has broad interests in conservation biology, wildlife ecology, landscape ecology and habitat fragmentation. Professor Lindenmayer has established six large-scale, long-term studies and 'natural experiments' in south-eastern Australia spanning research on native forests, plantations, woodlands and heathlands. He has written 18 books and over 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles, primarily based on extensive empirical data gathered from these large-scale investigations.

Much of the focus of modern conservation has been on identifying and establishing national parks and nature reserves. Indeed, there is a well developed science underpinning reserve selection, much of it originating in Australia. Reserves are a core part of any credible conservation strategy. However, conservation efforts based on reserves alone will invariably be inadequate for a wide range of reasons. Off-reserve strategies are essential for biodiversity conservation, not only in forests but in all broad types of vegetation (eg. woodlands, heathlands, grasslands). In the case of forests, a multi-scaled hierarchy of conservation approaches is required. At the regional scale, management should ensure the establishment of large ecological reserves. At the landscape scale, off-reserve conservation measures should include:

1. meso-scale protected areas within wood production forests;
2. buffers for aquatic ecosystems;
3. appropriately designed and located road networks;
4. the careful spatial and temporal arrangement of harvest units; and
5. appropriate fire management practices.

1. the retention of key elements of stand structural complexity (eg. large living and dead trees with hollows, understorey thickets, and large fallen logs);
2. long rotation times (coupled with structural retention at harvest);
3. silvicultural systems alternative to traditional high impact ones (eg. clearfelling in some forest types); and
4. appropriate fire management practices and practices for the management of other kinds of disturbances.

1. better identify the impacts of logging operations and other kinds of management activities on biodiversity;
2. quantify the effectiveness of impact mitigation strategies; and
3. identify ways to improve management practices.