Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) impacts on vegetation and soils, and implications for management of wooded rangelands

Summary Rabbit warrens are a distinctive landscape feature in the semi-arid woodlands of eastern Australia. We examined the surface morphology and vegetation composition of ten rabbit warrens in central-western NSW in order to assess their roles as a harbor for weedy plants. In general, mounds were characterised by a degraded soil surface dominated by bare soil and coarse gravel, whilst adjacent non-mound (control) surfaces were characterised by an extensive cover of cryptogams (lichens and mosses). Mounds supported significantly more exotic plants than non-mounds, and there was a clear separation between the two microsites in terms of the cover-abundances of vascular plants. Mound microsites contained significantly more tall (>50 cm) species, and species with burrs compared with non-mound microsites. Germination studies indicated enhanced germination of two common, weedy, mound species ( Marrubium vulgare and Brassica tournefortii ) on the eroded mound surface, and greater germination of the perennial grass Austrodanthonia caespitosa on the cryptogam-dominated non-mound surface. The work suggests that the higher cover-abundance of weedy species is a result of alterations to the soil surface caused by rabbit disturbances, and that destruction of the warren complex, in order to prevent re-invasion and hence re-working of the mound, is required to enable native perennials to colonise. Kaninchenbauten sind ein auffalliges Landschaftsmerkmal des semi-ariden Waldlandes Ostaustraliens. Wir untersuchten die Oberflachenmorphologie und Vegetationszusammensetzung von 10 Kaninchenbauten im zentralen Westen von New South Wales, um ihre Rolle als bevorzugte Standorte fur Unkrautgewachse zu beurteilen. Im Allgemeinen waren die Bautenhugel durch eine degradierte Bodendecke und groben Kies gekennzeichnet, wahrend angrenzende, von Bautenhugeln freie, (Kontroll-) Flachen durch ausgedehnten Kryptogamenbewuchs (Flechten und Moose) charakterisiert waren. Bautenhugel wiesen deutlich mehr exotische Pflanzen als die hugelfreien Flachen auf, und es zeigte sich ein ausgepragter Unterschied zwischen beiden Mikrostandorten bezuglich des Flachenbewuchses durch Gefaspflanzen. Mikrostandorte mit Bautenhugeln wiesen im Vergleich zu denen ohne Bauten deutlich mehr hochwuchsige (>50 cm) Arten und Klettenpflanzen auf. Keimungsstudien zeigten verbessertes Keimen zweier weitverbreiteter, auf Bautenhugeln wachsender Unkrautarten ( Marrubium vulgare und Brassica tournefortii ) auf der erodierten Oberflache der Bauten und verstarktes Keimen des perennierenden Grases Austrodanthonia caespitosa auf der von Kryptogamen dominierten erdhugelfreien Flache. Die Studie deutet darauf hin, dass der dichtere Flachenbewuchs mit Unkrautpflanzen von durch Kaninchenaktivitat hervorgerufenen Veranderungen der Bodendecke verursacht wird. Dies erfordert die Zerstorung der Bautenkomplexe zur Verhinderung einer Neubesiedlung und damit Reaktivierung der Erdhugel durch Kaninchen, um eine Kolonisation durch einheimische perennierde Pflanzen zu ermoglichen.

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