Since May 2018 I’ve been photographing species found on my suburban property in South Australia and uploading the observations to the iNaturalist platform.
In January 2020 I created an iNaturalist ‘Traditional Project’ to track these observations, named ‘Backyard Biodiversity’.
As of February 2022 I’ve uploaded over 3,000 observations and found almost 600 species in this small urban area.
During this period the yard has undergone changes with the intent of increasing biodiversity, specifically Invertebrate biodiversity. Much of the yard now consists of local native Plant species.
In addition to uploading observations, Plant-Animal associations and interactions are being recorded to develop an understanding of which Plants provide the most benefit with regard to increasing biodiversity.
The number and variety of species likely to be found are highly dependent on the local climate and the environment surrounding the property. The details below should provide some context.
The property is 750m2 with 372m2 dedicated to garden. The soil is a high pH sandy loam with limestone rubble. Average rainfall is 600mm, but this is supplemented by watering primarily in the hot and dry summers of the Mediterranean climate.
The property is fenced on 3 sides and surrounded by suburban housing established approximately 50 years ago. The nearest patch of treed land is a roadside verge at 150m away. The nearest small creek is 350m away. The nearest body of water is a small pond at 450m away. The nearest patch of (degraded) remnant vegetation is 1.2km away. The nearest protected patch of native vegetation is 6km away. The property is 4km from the coast. Elevation is 110m.
Epistemic Curiosity 