——– Original Message ——– Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] The value of Mistletoe From: brian fleming <flambeau@labyrinth.net.au> To: Jenny Stiles <jstiles@optusnet.com.au> Many years ago I was told that Brushtail Possums eat a great deal of Mistletoe. Certainly i see their droppings under trees carryng Mistletoe. Mistletoes often flower splendidly when there is a shortage of other nectar sources and are therefore very valuable to honeyeaters and othr nectarivores. Anthea Fleming On 14/08/2013 4:30 PM, Jenny Stiles wrote: > Hi List, > I came across a very interesting article about the value of mistletoe in the Australian bush in New Scientist 22/29 December 2012 pages 70-71. The study was investigating whether or not mistletoe’s reputation as a destructive pest was deserved and was carried out by David Watson, an Ecologist at Charles Sturt University in Albury, NSW. Their findings were that mistletoe was immensely beneficial to the entire forest. Mistletoe, as it is always able to get water from its host [unless that dies], isa reliable source of food and shelter for birds and insects, as well as providing cover and shelter for small birds and mammals. The study also found that only minimal harm was done to the host tree. > > To study the benefits [or otherwise of mistletoe] it was removed from entire woodlands after surveys were performed [5500 clumps of mainly Box Mistletoe from 17 large patches of woodland in south-east New South Wales.After three years they surveyed these woodlands again to see the effect of mistletoe removal. More than a third of woodland birds had vanished from these areas & not just the obvious mistletoe users. The biggest declines were in the ground feeding insectivores; the rich leaf litter formed under the mistletoe is richer and deeper than elsewhere [because mistletoedoes not withdraw nutrients from its leaves before dropping them] and contains more soil microbes and invertebrates than non-mistletoe leaf litter. They also found that the variety provided by the Mistletoe itself, itsleaf litter and thinner leaf litter under non-mistletoe bearing trees provided the greatest variety of habitats and therefore more species co-existed in these areas than forests without mistletoe. > > So according to this study, mistletoe should be seen as a saviour rather than a scourge. > > I was unaware of the beneficial results of mistletoe and thought othersmight find the results of this study interesting. > > From Jenny Stiles > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > > —– > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG – www.avg.com > Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 3211/6575 – Release Date: 08/13/13 =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au http://birding-aus.org ===============================
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