Transcript:
During wildfires, many animals survive by escaping the area. Afterwards, restoring the landscape can help lay the foundation for wildlife to recover.
Znidersic: “We can plant trees, we can put nest boxes in…but it's like building a concert hall, but you don't have musicians there. So how do we get that species back?”
Elizabeth Znidersic of Charles Sturt University in Australia said one strategy is to attract animals by playing songs, phone calls and chi records they expect to hear in the forest.
Znidersic: “They might go, 'Well, there's some good stuff over there. There's some healthy habitat, “or,” prey.'”
This approach has already worked in other ecosystems. For example, in the restored coral reef, the researchers played a recording of a healthy seascape.
Znidersic: “And the oyster larvae went to the place where they played with healthy sea views, not the control site, what happened there.”
Even briefly visiting forest attracts species can help initiate ecosystem recovery, Znidersic said. For example, bird drops disperse plant seeds and fertilize the soil.
So, playing the sound of healthy forests after a disaster can help create one.
Report Credit: Sarah Kennedy/Chavobart Digital Media
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