In their published research, scientists have documented how veteranization techniques can accelerate the aging process of trees. This method increases wildlife habitats and achieves it all without a single chainsaw. This creative technique is just one way to help address the critical shortage of nesting hollows and microhabitats. These places are critical for hundreds of species, particularly birds, in Australia.
Veteranization is a set of techniques that includes ways to replicate the effects of natural aging on trees. Methods such as topping trees and lopping branches have been essential to this practice. Very important is the contribution of frying surfaces with flame. To replicate beetle damage, researchers ringbark limbs and make so-called “coronet” cuts. These methods retain moisture inside the tree, increase rot in healthy trees, and produce lush microhabitats.
Techniques of Veteranization
The ultimate goal of veteranization is to create a more favorable habitat for wildlife by speeding up rotting processes in trees. This involves several specific methods. In addition, although drilling holes visibly reveals internal decay, bruising stems actually increases the rate of woody material breakdown. 4
Swedish researchers Vitae and Håkan recently published studies that demonstrated how veteranization techniques result in increased rates of decay. The resulting decomposition opens up additional microhabitats across the trees. These techniques significantly enhanced habitat structures. They didn’t prove to be very effective at producing large dead branches, an important habitat feature for some wildlife species.
Veteranization of these animals is much more than just the natural processes of decay. It introduces man-made structures that replicate tree hollows or cavities. This innovative approach is helping to fill the growing critical shortage of habitats, which more than 1,300 species of plants and animals rely on to thrive.
Wildlife Benefits and Observations
And the need for appropriate habitats has never been greater. Thousands of wildlife species rely on older trees for nesting, roosting and shelter. In Australia alone, over 300 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians depend on habitat structures typically found in aged trees. Yet these features oftentimes develop organically over a long period of time. Black cockatoos require hollows and these can take over 200 years to form.
Recent trials held in Australia documented dozens of species using structures developed through veteranization methods. Observations noted the presence of feathertail gliders, sugar gliders, brown antechinuses, long-eared bats, and white-throated treecreepers utilizing these newly formed habitats. These findings reveal the malleability of veteranization’s power. It can provide instant gains to wildlife populations in desperate need of assistance instead of taking hundreds of years for natural hollows to develop.
On the ground in Tasmania, anecdotal evidence indicates hollows created by trained arborists were immediately inhabited by critically endangered swift parrots. These examples show how these practices can create critical nesting habitat for imperiled species like the black-capped chickadee.
International Applications of Veteranization
Veteranization has effects that extend well beyond the Australian continent. In the United Kingdom, land managers have adopted these techniques to produce more suitable nesting hollows for several bird species. This international attention reflects a global realization that veteranization is essential to the success of wildlife conservation initiatives.
Some more traditional techniques including chainsaws and modified drills have been experimented with for carving hollows into living wood. Yet these techniques frequently yield muddled outcomes. Much of the hollows close soon after they initial create. In contrast, approaches like inoculating trees with tree-rotting fungi have not produced permanent features.
Even with these challenges in place, the positive results seen from veteranization techniques point to a potentially fruitful avenue for habitat improvement. The capacity to create microhabitats quickly may have real consequences on conservation efforts focused on helping at-risk wildlife populations.