Biodiversity on Farms
An increasing number of studies are showing the benefits of wildlife and remnant vegetation.
These are examples of some of the findings from these studies:
- Between 40-60% of crows and ravens diet consists of insects including pasture cockchafers.
- Sugar gliders eat massive amounts of insects. Where enough winter food (mainly from wattles) is available, they will eat up to 18 000 scarab beetles per hectare per season. These insects may be tree defoliators, and their larvae pasture root eaters.
- Owls, hawks and eagles help control animal pests such as mice, rats, hares and rabbits.
- A study suggests that in healthy eucalypt woodlands, birds eat about half of the insects produced annually.
- Sheltered pastures lose 12 mm of water less than open pastures during the spring growing season.
- Sheltered areas have increases up to 17% (estimated) in dairy milk production and 20% (estimated) in average annual pasture growth for meat producers.
- On a day of 27C, unsheltered cows will produce 26% less dairy milk than shaded stock.
- Planting local trees, shrubs and groundcovers, rather than exotics or plants from other regions, provides food, shelter and nesting material for local wildlife. Using local plants also maximises the chance of restoring plant-animal interactions such as pollination and seed dispersal.
- Insectivorous birds including honeyeaters, consume about 24-38 kg of insects per hectare per year in Eucalypt woodlands.
© The State of Victoria, 1996 - 2009.
This document was last reviewed on 27/10/2008