Nursery practices influence comparative damage to juvenile blue gum by wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) and European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Anecdotal reports suggest that some provenances of juvenile blue gum are br owsed less frequently by wallabies and rabbits in plantations. Trials were conducted as randomised free-choice experiments using single species enclos ures of wallabies and rabbits to investigate differential selection of juve nile blue gum. In the first experiment, nine morphometrically similar prove nances of blue gum and a single provenance of Monterey pine were randomly s elected from nursery stock Variability in the provenances damaged by both w allabies and rabbits was highly significant (P<0.001) and this appeared to substantiate field observations of differential damage. In a second experim ent, six provenances of blue gum, including four which in the previous expe riment had showed extremes of damage by rabbits and wallabies, were propaga ted and maintained using homogenous conditions and nursery treatments. Vari ation in seedling damage caused by wallabies and rabbits was eliminated. Th e contrasting results of both experiments suggest that, while the mechanism responsible for causing differential damage is unknown, in general, nurser y practices may greatly influence the selection of juvenile blue gum by bot h wallabies and rabbits and account for field observations of differential rates of damage to blue gum provenances. The authors suggest that, identifi cation of the mechanisms responsible will have practical application in the management of browsing damage. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.