Your View: On-farm ecosystems

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REGARDING the approval process for quarries on farmland, I believe we must consider the possibility actively-farmed paddocks could be a viable habitat for native species.

A century or more of intensive agriculture on Yorke Peninsula has destroyed most of the native habitat. We have to accept the original ecosystem that existed for thousands of years has gone.

However, a new ecosystem has evolved around agricultural activity. Fauna and flora can be adaptable — some will have developed strategies to survive in the new habitat. Within and along the edges of the paddocks native species exist and some may be vulnerable or endangered.

If we consider specific examples such as local skinks we need to be careful about assuming agricultural practices extinguish conservation value in and around farming paddocks. Many species of reptile and amphibians are nomadic and as such I believe can coexist with agricultural activities. Skinks and frogs burrow and I believe can survive invasive agricultural activities. The existence of skinks and frogs within the agricultural ecosystem provide sustenance to native animals further up the food chain. Native birds rely, in part, on small reptiles to survive in the agricultural landscape.

Disrupting this new ecosystem by indiscriminately allowing large areas of land to be disturbed by quarry activities can destroy unique habitats native species may be utilising. Without looking closely at paddocks it is difficult to assess whether a paddock and its surrounds have diminished value for fauna and flora conservation.

I take exception to quarry assessments which appear to ignore the possible conservation issues which may exist within the agricultural environment. Anecdotal evidence should not be used to drive assessment criteria that could ultimately lead to the destruction of a habitat hosting vulnerable or endangered species.

Dr David Miller, Wallaroo

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