Excellent spring reading

In case you’re not already in the loop: the September edition of the Wombat Forestcare newsletter is now online. You can find it here.  Among many excellent articles is one by Tanya Loos on echidnas, with much useful info on this ‘ecosystem engineer,’ very common in our region–this, for example:

‘Australia’s most widespread mammal’: you can see it–and signs of its diggings–all over our region.

‘The characteristic digging pits of echidnas (often with a little round snout-hole impression at the deepest point) create microclimates and diversity in the soilscape. A study in the arid and semi-arid areas replicated the size and shape of echidna diggings and found that these pits had greater rates of seed germination and leaf litter decomposition than in soil without diggings.

‘Echidnas are Australia’s most widespread mammal, ranging from alpine areas to deserts, and even beach habitats. As long as there is food to eat, and sites to shelter in, the echidna can survive. They are absent from cleared
farmland, upland rainforest, and the deepest fern gullies.’

Also out now is the North Central Catchment newsletter North Central Chat, containing among other material a very informative article by Ivan Carter about the Eltham Copper butterfly.

Look them up!