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Welcome to our 6th eBulletin - 'Still valuable the second time around!'
Edition 6: Friday, 22nd September 2017
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It gets better with age
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Typical research area, Atherton Tableland
Photographer: Campbell Clarke
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Secondary forests are extensive in the tropics, accounting for 40% of the total forest area and their rates of formation are about nine million hectares per year. A recent paper by Goosem et al asks the following questions: Does age and isolation affect the rate of recovery of plant diversity and community composition in secondary rainforests? As secondary rainforests get older do they attain the diversity and composition found in a primary rainforest?
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Rainforest seeds do not fall far from the tree!
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Compared to tree planting schemes natural regeneration is a viable, low cost restoration option in areas where soils have not been highly degraded, diverse natural seed sources grow nearby, and seed-dispersing fauna are present.
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Rehabilitated rainforest and secondary regrowth
Photographer: Campbell Clarke
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Alien invasion of the inner space
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Natural secondary succession of rainforest is a slow process and is frequently suppressed by woody weed competition. Tng et al describe the invasive attributes of shade tolerant strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum) in an age sequence of secondary rainforest on the Atherton Tableland. Their conclusion is that its dense thickets both exclude native vegetation and reduce native species regeneration.
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Monoculture of strawberry guava, Atherton Tableland
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What will happen if we leave the wattle?
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Secondary rainforests regenerating on abandoned pasture are widespread and represent an opportunity to restore rainforest at minimal management cost, but can become arrested for long periods; possibly indefinitely. In the Wet Tropics secondary rainforests are frequently dominated by long-lived acacia species. A recent study asks the question: Will acacia secondary forest become rainforest in Australia's Wet Tropics?
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Acacia secondary regrowth
Photographer: Campbell Clarke
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The Wet Tropics Researcher Directory 2016
The new fully revised Wet tropics Researcher Directory is now available online.
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Postgrad Profile
Each year the Wet Tropics Management Authority invites proposals from postgraduate students from across Australia to support environmental, social and cultural research which will benefit Wet Tropics World Heritage Area management, policy development and operational decision making. Here are this years lucky recipients.
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Policy Snapshot July 2016
 Recent government policy developments relevant to the Wet Tropics.
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In the News July 2016
Recent news about research issues of relevance to the Wet Tropics.
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Research Updates July 2016
 National and global rainforest research of relevance to the Wet Tropics.
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