Rocky Outcrops in Australia: Ecology, Conservation and Management

Description

Rocky outcrops are landscape features with disproportionately high biodiversity values relative to their size. They support specialised plants and animals, and a wide variety of endemic species. To Indigenous Australians, they are sacred places and provide valuable resources. Despite their ecological and cultural importance, many rocky outcrops and associated biota are threatened by agricultural and recreational activities, forestry and mining operations, invasive weeds, altered fire regimes, and climate change. Rocky Outcrops in Australia: Ecology, Conservation and Management contains chapters on why this habitat is important, the animals that live and depend on these formations, key threatening processes, and how rocky outcrops can be managed to improve biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes, state forests, and protected areas. This book will be an important reference for landholders, Landcare groups, naturalists interested in Australian wildlife, and natural resource managers.

Dr Damian Michael is a Senior Research Officer in Ecology at The Australian National University. He has broad interests in landscape ecology, biodiversity conservation, herpetology and understanding the ecological importance of rocky outcrops in agricultural landscapes. He manages several large-scale biodiversity monitoring programs in NSW and has published 90 scientific papers and six books. Dr David Lindenmayer is a Professor at The Australian National University. He has worked on the conservation of forests and their wildlife for more than 35 years. He has published 45 books and over 1100 scientific papers, and has broad interests in conservation biology, landscape ecology, vertebrate ecology, forest ecology and woodland conservation. He has received numerous awards, is a member of the Australian Academy of Science and an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow.