Stag Retention and Use by Arboreal Marsupials in Eucalypt Forests of Southeast Queensland, Australia: Implications for Management

Dead standing trees (“stags” in Australia) are critical for wildlife in forests throughout the world. Dynamics of stag recruitment and retention are an interaction of tree mortality, size, deterioration rate, human intervention, and variables related to the structure and physiognomy of the forest. Historically in Australia and elsewhere, timber management involved the removal of stags and resulted in additional stags being lost to fire and wind at greater rates than under “natural” conditions. The current status of stags and the relative importance of live versus dead trees to arboreal mammals were investigated on permanent inventory plots throughout southeast Queensland, Australia. Hollow development was correlated with rates of wood decay and time since death. Density of hollow-bearing trees was 10.2 + 0.2 stems per hectare (mean + SE); approximately 50 percent of the hollow-bearing trees were stags. Proportion of standing dead versus live trees was about 1:30. However, dead versus live tree use by arboreals was difficult to determine. Longevity of all stags was estimated to be 50 to 100 years. Although live hollow-bearing trees are more important to hollow-using wildlife in Australia, stags may provide a significant additional hollow resource in managed stands. Adequate densities and distribution of both live hollow-bearing trees and stags are extremely important to forest wildlife communities in both Australia and North America.