Habitat reconstruction: the revegetation imperative

If we examine Australia's agricultural areas where the most severe threats to biological diversity currently occur, and where the most pressing needs for habitat reconstruction exist, much of the current approach to conservation will fail unless we integrate nature conservation with agricultural production. Habitat reconstruction models must be developed within the total productive landscape. These models must address revegetation (the primary tool for habitat reconstruction) to provide habitat for a range of species, as well as addresing problems generated by agricultural production being carried out in the landscape (minimizing wind erosion, lowering water tables, etc). If we develop reconstruction strategies for single species in small areas like conservation reserves they will inevitably fail unless we also address problems in the surrounding landscape and develop management strategies designed to minimize the adverse effects arising from those landscapes. We need to approach reconstruction at a scale which has ecological relevance. -from Authors