樹 洞 之 家

Many creatures that take refuge in tree cavities. But the number of tree hollows is shrinking. Scientists are investigating how the loss of tree hollows affects wildlife — and what to do about it.

There is no single way to make a tree hollow. Woodpeckers are a group of birds found on all continents but Australia and Antarctica. A woodpecker hammering the wood with its beak can gouge a hole in a tree within a few weeks or months. Some cavities form when a tree is damaged by lightning or wind. Fungi, bacteria and termites may eat away at the damaged site, creating a hollow. This process can take hundreds of years.

Once a hole forms, many animals can use it. Bats squeeze into small crevices. Birds nest in the hollows. Some cavities are even big enough for bears to enter and hibernate.

Tree hollows are particularly important in Australia. More than 300 bird, mammal, reptile and frog species need the holes to survive. "They can't live anywhere else," says David Lindenmayer. He is an ecologist at Australian National University. "They use them for everything."

But Australia doesn't have any woodpeckers. All the cavities have to form the slow way. And they're not being created fast enough to replace the homes being lost.

People have tried to replace tree hollows with artificial homes called nest boxes. Typically made of plywood, these can be attached to a pole or the side of a tree. Animals can enter the box through a hole and live inside. But nest boxes are not tree hollows. They may not always work as well as the real thing. They may not protect animals from heat and cold as effectively, and won't last as long as tree's hollow.

許多動物以樹洞作為棲身之所，但是樹洞的數量正在減少。科學家們正在研究樹洞減少對野生動物的影響，以及人們該做些什么。

樹洞形成的方式多種多樣。啄木鳥遍布除澳洲和南極洲之外的所有大洲，一只啄木鳥憑借其鳥嘴的啄擊，能在幾周或幾個月的時間里鑿出一個樹洞。當樹被閃電或大風損壞時會在樹上形成一些洞。真菌、細菌和白蟻可以在損壞部位進行侵蝕，形成樹洞。這一過程往往需要上百年時間。

一旦樹洞形成，許多動物就可以使用它。蝙蝠會擠進小小的樹縫，鳥兒會來洞中筑巢，有些足夠大的樹洞甚至給熊提供了冬眠的場所。

在澳大利亞，樹洞顯得尤為重要。鳥類、哺乳動物、爬行動物以及青蛙等300多種物種為了生存都需要樹洞。“除了樹洞它們無處生存。”澳大利亞國立大學的生態學家戴維·林登邁爾說。

但澳大利亞沒有啄木鳥，所有樹洞都是在漫長過程中形成的，而現在樹洞的形成速度遠低于樹洞被毀滅的速度。

人們已經嘗試使用稱為“巢盒”的人造住所來代替樹洞。這些巢盒通常由膠合板制作而成，且可以掛在桿子上或者樹的一側。動物們可以通過盒子上的孔洞進入盒子里面棲息。但巢盒不是樹洞，它們不會總是與真正的樹洞同樣有效。它們可能不會同樣有效地庇護動物免于嚴寒和酷暑，而且不會像樹洞那樣長久。