Abstract
The dieback syndrome in the New England district of Australia is considered to be one of the most severe tree declines worldwide (Heatwole and Lowman 1986; Mueller-Dombois 1990/91; Fig. 1). Over the last 100 years, dramatic alterations in land use and agricultural practices have resulted in a landscape devoid of living trees, and also devoid of seedlings. Australian rural holdings in the New England district were initially cleared in the late 1800s for purposes of sheep and cattle grazing. The cool winters and dry, warm summers made it ideal for the production of fine-wool Merino sheep. For obvious economic reasons, land owners aimed to maximize the number of sheep per acre, and the landscape underwent dramatic alterations: extensive tree clearing, application of fertilizers to the soil, plowing, and planting of non-native grasses. These changes led to biological imbalances in the numbers of trees, insects, birds, and subsequently of herbivores in relation to their host plants.
“It’s a Truffula Seed.
It’s the last one of all!
You’re in charge of the last of the Truffula seeds.
And Truffula trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back.”
The Lorax, Dr. Seuss 1971 (Boston, MA: Random House)
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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Lowman, M.D., Heatwole, H. (1993). Rural Dieback in Australia and Subsequent Landscape Amelioration. In: Huettl, R.F., Mueller-Dombois, D. (eds) Forest Decline in the Atlantic and Pacific Region. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76995-5_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76995-5_24
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