Suchergebnisse

The Governments of Australia, the French Republic, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, (hereinafter referred to as "the participating Governments"),

Trees on leased land provide an important contribution to Canberra's urban forest and consequently the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government introduced legislation to protect urban trees on leased land from unwarranted removal under the Tree Protection (Interim Scheme) Act 2001. This tree protection legislation applies to significant trees, classified using size-based criteria, on leased land for urban and other non-rural purposes. Responsibility resides with the ACT Government to preserve and protect significant trees on leased land in Canberra, until such time as removal is warranted and prudent. On Saturday 18 January 2003, 2 years after the introduction of the tree protection legislation, Canberra experienced a state of emergency when major bushfires swept through the bush-urban interface and penetrated into the western urban area subsequently destroying or damaging over 500 houses. There was a substantial increase in requests lodged under the Act immediately after the fires, but by February 2004 the number of requests returned to February 2002 levels which suggests leaseholder response to the fire declines relatively quickly. The percentage of requests approved (88%) remained relatively constant which indicates that the increased number of applications were for reasons that were considered valid under the Act although it is unlikely that these concerns only became valid during the month proceeding the fire. Dominant genera removed each February from 2002 to 2004 were similar; however, Eucalyptus species have shown a small but significant relative increase although there are insufficient data to conclude this increase indicates an increased aversion to this genus. Future management needs to consider the community perception of trees and temporal reaction to major events.

Trees on leased land provide an important contribution to Canberra's urban forest and consequently the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government introduced legislation to protect urban trees on leased land from unwarranted removal under the Tree Protection (Interim Scheme) Act 2001. This tree protection legislation applies to significant trees, classified using size-based criteria, on leased land for urban and other non-rural purposes. Responsibility resides with the ACT Government to preserve and protect significant trees on leased land in Canberra, until such time as removal is warranted and prudent. On Saturday 18 January 2003, 2 years after the introduction of the tree protection legislation, Canberra experienced a state of emergency when major bushfires swept through the bush-urban interface and penetrated into the western urban area subsequently destroying or damaging over 500 houses. There was a substantial increase in requests lodged under the Act immediately after the fires, but by February 2004 the number of requests returned to February 2002 levels which suggests leaseholder response to the fire declines relatively quickly. The percentage of requests approved (88%) remained relatively constant which indicates that the increased number of applications were for reasons that were considered valid under the Act although it is unlikely that these concerns only became valid during the month proceeding the fire. Dominant genera removed each February from 2002 to 2004 were similar; however, Eucalyptus species have shown a small but significant relative increase although there are insufficient data to conclude this increase indicates an increased aversion to this genus. Future management needs to consider the community perception of trees and temporal reaction to major events.

Studies of predation by house cats in Australia have not attempted to compare
the composition of prey taken by cats with the relative availability of prey.
Information on the composition of vertebrate prey caught by house cats in
Canberra was collected by recording prey deposited at cat owners'
residences over 12 months. A total of 1961 prey representing 67 species were
collected or reported. In all, 64% of prey were introduced mammals,
especially mice and rats, with birds comprising 27% (14% native,
10% introduced, 3% unidentified), reptiles 7%, amphibians
1% and native mammals 1%. Predatory behaviour by house cats
appeared largely opportunistic with respect to spatial (habitat) and temporal
(daily and seasonal) prey availability and accessibility, although there is
mounting evidence from this and other studies that small mammals are the
preferred prey. While this means that introduced mice and rats are common prey
of house cats in urban and suburban environments, it also suggests that in
relatively undisturbed environments adjoining new residential developments,
predation by house cats may have a substantial impact on locally abundant,
patchily distributed populations of native fauna, particularly mammals.
Imposing night-time curfews on cats is likely to lessen predation of mammals
but will probably not greatly reduce predation of birds or reptiles.