Little is known about the relationship between fire regimes and plant diversity in Australia's temperate grassy woodlands. The effect of fire frequency on shrubs in grassy woodland remnants across Western Sydney's Cumberland Plain was examined. Shrub species richness and composition were compared in sites that had experienced a high, moderate or low frequency of fire over the previous 20 years. Nine sites were surveyed, three in each fire frequency category; most sites, including all low-fire-frequency sites, had burnt 9-36 months prior to sampling.

1. Tropical rainforests are a global conservation priority. Robust arguments supporting rainforest conservation can attract funding and shape land-use management. However, some popular assertions regarding the value of tropical forests remain largely untested. 2. This study tests the validity of two arguments in support of mature tropical rainforest conservation: first, that these forests should be conserved based on their value as potential sources of medicine.

1. Modern farmed landscapes have witnessed substantial losses in biodiversity principally driven by the ecological changes associated with agricultural intensification. The causes of declines are often well described, but current management practices seem unlikely to deliver the EU-wide policy objective of halting biodiversity losses. 2. Available evidence suggests that property-scale factors can be influential in shaping patterns of biodiversity; however, they are rarely included in studies.