Losses of forests and their insect inhabitants are a major global
conservation concern, spanning tropical and temperate forest regions
throughout the world. This broad overview of Australian forest insect
conservation draws on studies from many places to demonstrate the
diversity and vulnerability of forest insects and how their conservation
may be pursued through combinations of increased understanding, forest
protection and silvicultural management in both natural and plantation
forests. The relatively recent history of severe human disturbance to
Australian forests ensures that reasonably natural forest patches remain
and serve as 'models' for many forest categories. They are also refuges
for many forest biota extirpated from the wider landscapes as forests
are lost, and merit strenuous protection from further changes, and wider
efforts to promote connectivity between otherwise isolated remnant
patches. In parallel, the recent attention to improving forest insect
conservation in harmony with insect pest management continues to benefit
from perspectives generated from better-documented faunas elsewhere.
Lessons from the northern hemisphere, in particular, have led to
revelations of the ecological importance and vulnerability of many
insect taxa in forests, together with clear evidence that 'conservation
can work' in concert with wider forest uses. A brief outline of the
variety of Australian tropical and temperate forests and woodlands, and
of the multitude of endemic and, often, highly localised insects that
depend on them highlights needs for conservation (both of single focal
species and wider forest-dependent radiations and assemblages). The ways
in which insects contribute to sustained ecological integrity of these
complex ecosystems provide numerous opportunities for practical
conservation.
