Appreciating the biodiversity of remnant bushland: an ‘architectural’ approach

Abstract

Tutor in the Department of Geography at the University of Western Australia. In response to the fragmentation and loss of indigenous vegetation caused by the expansion of metropolitan Perth, all levels of government in Western Australia have made some commitment to the preservation of ‘biodiversity’. A case for seeing and using vegetation structure as a possible surrogate for biodiversity is presented. The concept and a simple methodology which may be applied without any specialist ecological knowledge or expertise is outlined for the urban developer, engineer, planner, decision maker and educator. The notion that the degree of diversity of the vegetation structure of a banksia woodland remnant may indicate and give a substitute or preliminary measure of biodiversity assists the popular understanding of biodiversity. Such a non-technical yet objective appreciation and measure may prove satisfactory for some conservation purposes, until a detailed professional assessment is made of the plant and animal species in a remnant of native vegetation. It is currently being used by state planning staff in Western Australia for the preliminary assessment of native woodland in areas zoned for urban growth at the metropolitan fringe.