Large old trees scattered across paddocks are an iconic image in our rural landscape and can provide significant and potentially irreplaceable benefits. Many landholders appreciate these magnificent trees for maintaining the productive capacity of our land through providing shade and shelter for stock, reducing the risk of salinity and improving soil properties. Fewer people are aware of their value in conserving biodiversity. Scattered paddock trees provide an important role for our wildlife including:
- Hollows for many birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs, insects and spiders. It takes at least 60 years for hollows to develop, therefore we need to conserve mature trees, including those which are dead, to ensure the survival of animals and plants that depend on them.
- A stepping stone for the movement of wildlife through the landscape especially between areas of remnant vegetation.
- Food Sources - honeyeaters, sugar gliders and many other animals depend on nectar and pollen whilst leaf eating animals like koalas, possums and gliders need a range of trees to choose from.
- Nesting sites - paddock tree provide nesting sites for a variety of small to large bird species.
Resources on Paddock Trees from Hovells Creek Landcare Group:
As part of its linking paddock tree project implemented between 2016 and 2019 HCLG produced two notes:
View John Baker's discussion paper Risks Arising from J-Rooting of Eucalyptus Trees which reports that nearly half of a sample of trees from six nurseries failed to meet the relevant Australian Standard.
HCLG Discussion Paper on J-Rooting Risks
HCLG also produced five YouTube videos on different aspects of paddock tree planting:
Paddock Tree Planting at Hovells Creek, NSW (9.20 mins)
Provides an overview of how to plant tube stock paddock trees.
Hints on Using a Power Planter to Plant Paddock Trees (4.42 mins)
Using a Power Planter augur to drill holes for tube stock tree planting, especially in dry or hard ground.
Hints for Making Steel Mesh Tree Guards (8.25 mins)
Cutting up rolls of steel mesh to make tree guards for paddock trees.
Hints for Successful Kurrajong Paddock Trees (2.24 mins)
Growing on tube stock Kurrajongs for a year prior to planting out as paddock trees.
Paddock Trees: Autumn vs Spring Planting
Other Resources on Paddock Trees:
The Riverina Highlands Landcare Network and the Fenner School at the Australian National University with support from Riverina Local Land Services and the NSW Environmental Trust have produced the following two fact sheets:
They also produced the following YouTube video on Scattered Paddock Trees featuring Mason Crane of the Fenner School at the Australian National University: