The Value of Countryside Elements in the Conservation of the Threatened Arboreal Marsupial Squirrel Glider Petaurus norfolcensis in Agricultural Landscapes of South-eastern Australia - the Disproportional Value of Scattered Trees dataset, 2005

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Abstract: Human activities, particularly agriculture, have transformed much of the world’s terrestrial environment. Within these anthropogenic landscapes, a variety of relictual and semi-natural habitats exist, which we term countryside elements. The habitat value of countryside elements (‘elements’) is increasingly recognised. In association with the Nanangroe Plot network in the South-West Slopes of New South Wales, we quantify the relative value of four kinds of such ‘elements’ (linear roadside remnants, native vegetation patches, scattered trees and tree plantings) used by a threatened Australian arboreal marsupial, the squirrel glider Petaurus norfolcensis. We examined relationships between home range size and the availability of each ‘element’ and whether the actual usage was relative to predicted levels of usage. The usage of ‘elements’ by gliders was largely explained by their availability, however there was a preference for native vegetation patches and scattered trees. We found home range size was significantly smaller with increasing area of scattered trees and a contrasting effect with increasing area of linear roadside remnants or native vegetation patches. Our work showed that each ‘element’ was used and as such had a role in the conservation of the squirrel glider, but their relative value varied. We illustrate the need to assess the conservation value of countryside elements so they can be incorporated into the holistic management of agricultural landscapes. This work demonstrates the disproportional value of scattered trees, underscoring the need to specifically incorporate and /or enhance the protection and recruitment of scattered trees in biodiversity conservation policy and management. (Crane, M.J., Lindenmayer, D.B., Cunningham, R.B., 2014. The Value of Countryside Elements in the Conservation of a Threatened Arboreal Marsupial Petaurus norfolcensis in Agricultural Landscapes of South-Eastern Australia—The Disproportional Value of Scattered Trees. PLOS One. 9(9): e107178 http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107178). Sampling method: Radio tracking data was collected between March and July 2005, mapping was developed in 2013 from 2005 SPOT5 imagery. Study extent: Our investigation encompassed five study areas within the south-west slopes of New South Wales, Australia (Fig. 1). The region is the most extensively and intensively disturbed of the 13 botanical regions of NSW, with an estimated 85% of the original cover of native vegetation removed in the past 200 years (Benson, 2008). The five study areas were located in heavily modified agricultural landscapes, used predominantly for livestock grazing and dryland cropping. Study areas were approximately 3km x 3km. Woody vegetation occurred primarily as relictual scattered paddock trees, native vegetation plantings and remnant temperate Eucalyptus woodlands on private lands, road reserves and travelling stock reserves.