Critics accuse ministers of failing to take control of nature crisis and leaving it to private landowners to act voluntarily
The government’s plan to protect and restore nature in England by 2030 has been condemned as “pathetic” and “completely insufficient” in the face of the spiralling environmental crisis.
The long-awaited plan published on Monday calls for landowners to voluntarily opt to protect and enhance nature, rather than creating legal protections for nature across more of the country’s land, critics say.
With wintry weather underway in many parts of Australia, I’ve been enjoying the seasonal change in my garden and its trees.
Following the busy spring, summer and autumn seasons, things slow down in winter and I can have a really good look at what is going on with plants and soils.
In fact, winter is a really great time to get a few important jobs done in the garden.
1. Making the most of mulch
Start by checking the depth and spread of mulch. Mulch will keep soils moist, acting as an insulating blanket to keep soils warmer and it always makes weeding easier.
Knowing your mulch was perfectly fine in spring can lead to a false sense of security. Mulch can break down rapidly over the warmer months – so check now to ensure a 75-100 mm depth and proper coverage over areas you plan to plant out in spring.
Use any fallen autumn leaves as part of your mulch; never underestimate the value of mulch and leaf litter to keep soils hydrated, healthy and full of nutrients.
2. Tackling disease and pests
Take this time to remove any pest- or disease-affected foliage. Look for clues such as:
coloured spots on leaves
leaves that have already started to rot, and
old leaves sheltering insects.
This is part of general good garden hygiene, but can be particularly important for fruit trees and roses, which are prone to seasonal attack. For example, old leaves and fruit can harbour the insect pest codling moth, while black spot, rose rust and mildews are common in old rose leaves.
Ensure tools such as secateurs are kept clean and disease-free by using a disinfectant. Methylated spirits or a diluted (10%) household bleach gets the job done.
3. Checking trees and branches
Winter gives you a chance to see through deciduous trees. Examine the branching structure in detail and try to spot any branches that look dead, cracked, or as though they are only just hanging on.
Dead branches are more likely to fall in strong winds, so make sure you remove them before any big winter winds hit.
More generally, healthy and well-maintained trees are great at reducing the impact of winds.
One Canadian study found that even leafless trees effectively buffer wind. In fact, removal of all of the trees around a building resulted in massive increases in wind speed and building energy costs.
Winter is an ideal time for checking how stable any large trees are.
If you are worried about a large tree falling over in a storm (also known as “windthrow”), go out on a couple of windy days when the wind is blowing from different directions. Check for any movement of the tree or the soil around the its base.
Place your hand on or lean your back against the trunk; you should feel a gentle swaying in the wind but nothing jerky.
Lichen grows on trees as an epiphyte (meaning a plant that grows on another plant). It does no harm and tells you the air quality in the tree’s vicinity is generally good.
Lichens are very sensitive to airborne pollutants and it is a delight to see them growing well, especially if you live near a busy road. So winter – when branches may be bare and easier to see – is a great time to check your local air quality by looking for lichen.
Many parts of Australia this year experienced very mild, warm autumn conditions.
If you planted in autumn, make sure the plants’ root systems don’t dry out between winter showers. You may have to protect plants from frosts until they reach a height that escapes the frost zone. Because cold air is denser and heavier than warm air, it sinks to the ground surface and so the frost zone tends to be to a height of about 1.5-2.0 metres above ground level.
You can protect plants from frosts by keeping soils moist; wet soil stores more heat during the day than dry soil.
You can also cover plants with a light wet cloth or spray them with water, which will keep temperatures at around zero degrees rather than in the negative frosty range.
Winter is a good time to check for wet and dry spots in your garden and take care of irrigation maintenance. Look for places that are consistently drier than other parts of your garden. These may be ideal for growing plants that need less water, but they may also be places where your irrigation regime or system is not working as well as you had hoped.
You can also use this time to check irrigation lines for damage, cracks or tears. Ensuring they work well will help save water now and in the warmer growing months ahead.
A time for taking stock
Growth in the garden slows in winter, giving you time to take stock of what’s going well and what you want to improve.
Time will flash by, as it always does, but you can make the most of winter by planning for spring.
Gregory Moore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Climbing Victoria says proposed changes to the Mount Arapiles Dyurrite management plan will be a compromise between climbers and traditional owners built on “trust”.
Pollinators – including bees, flies, wasps, moths, butterflies and some nectar-loving birds – are a cornerstone of our natural environment.
By helping plants reproduce, they keep our ecosystems healthy and ensure we can grow vital food crops.
But climate change threatens the very survival of these hard-working animals.
Previous research has focused on how temperature changes affect bees, finding that certain groups are more vulnerable to hotter temperatures.
But our new study shows rising carbon dioxide (CO?) levels may also be putting pollinators – such as bees and hoverflies – at risk.
Larger bees are the most vulnerable. We found populations of big bees – including Bombus asiaticus and Xylocopa pubescens – were smaller and less genetically diverse in areas with high CO?. Small-bodied pollinators, however, may actually do better in higher-CO? environments.
A dire situation
In Australia and around the world, we are facing a pollinator crisis. There are several reasons for this, including the loss and degradation of wild pollinator habitat, the introduction of the European honey bee and other invasive species, and the use of broad-spectrum pesticides.
But climate change – driven by human-made greenhouse gases including CO? emissions – is another key factor. Australia contributes to higher CO? levels as the second-largest fossil fuel exporter in the world.
Elevated CO? levels can affect pollinators by reducing how much protein is in flower pollen. Having more CO? in our atmosphere may also change the chemical make-up of nectar, for example reducing how much sugar it contains. Both factors influence how pollinators develop and survive.
Other research suggests higher CO? concentrations could impact how pollinators’ bodies function, for example by accelerating how quickly they break down fats.
In our latest study, we examined how bees and hoverflies coped with different levels of CO? across 25 sites. This is the first time researchers have investigated how natural changes in CO? levels affect pollinators.
While our study was conducted in Pakistan, it is relevant to pollinator networks in Australia and around the world, given that CO? levels are rising globally. Importantly, we controlled for other factors that may affect the number and distribution of bees and hoverflies, including altitude, temperature, humidity and rainfall.
Our results suggest pollinators respond to variations in CO? in different ways. Specifically, smaller pollinators may actually do better in higher-CO? environments. In contrast, larger-bodied pollinators were less abundant in areas with more CO?.
We identified Xylocopa and Amegilla bees, two genera found in Australia, as being particularly vulnerable to increased CO? levels. Ceratina and Lasioglossum bees are two examples of smaller-bodied Australian genera that did well in higher-CO? environments.
The pubescent carpenter bee is a larger-bodied species that is vulnerable to rising CO? levels.Waseem Akram
Why big bees matter
These findings are concerning for several reasons.
Existing evidence shows larger-bodied bees such as Bombus are already more vulnerable to climate change. This is because they tend to retain more heat and don’t cope as well in dry conditions. Big bees also have higher metabolic demands than smaller pollinators, meaning they need more resources to keep their bodies functioning.
Large bees are among our most effective pollinators. They typically carry and deposit more pollen than smaller-bodied pollinator species. They also fly longer distances, meaning they can transport seeds and pollen to help plants reproduce and spread their genes to new places.
Other research suggests flowers have even evolved to match pollinators with particular body sizes. We see this in Australia with Melastoma. This plant’s impressive flowers are most effectively pollinated by large pollinators such as Xylocopa bees, which use vibrations to release pollen from flowers.
Here are four practical ways we can help our larger pollinators thrive in a warming world.
protect their habitat by preventing further land clearing, for example to make room for more livestock farms
ensure pollinators have access to wildlife corridors to help them move to areas that are naturally lower in CO?, such as dense forests
plant more bee-friendly trees, with some Australian examples being Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Angophora, Melaleuca, Banksia and Brachychiton
maintain populations of larger-bodied bees by reducing other threats such as competition from introduced honey bees, to ensure they have the genetic diversity to adapt to rising CO? levels.
To protect our pollinators in a rapidly changing climate, we must act now. Ensuring their habitat remains intact and curbing our greenhouse gas emissions are vital first steps.
Kit Prendergast is affiliated with the University of Southern Queensland. She is the Vice-Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Wild Bee Specialist Group, and a member of the Australian Entomological Society.
