The value of saltbush revegetation for biodiversity in a highly fragmented landscape

Abstract Secondary salinization is a significant global issue affecting up to 1 billion hectares of land, impacting biodiversity and particularly vegetation. One form of revegetation that can provide a return to landholders is saltbush ( Atriplex spp.), which provides forage for a wide range of livestock. The effectiveness of saltbush plantings in providing useful habitat for fauna in agricultural landscapes suffering from secondary salinity is poorly understood. We aimed to address this knowledge gap by surveying bird, ant, and spider communities, and quantifying vegetation structure and floristic composition in saltbush and native woodlands in agricultural landscapes affected by secondary salinization in Western Australia. Plot‐based vegetation surveys were related to terrestrial invertebrates surveyed with pitfall traps and birds surveyed in 2 ha 20 min surveys at each of a saltbush revegetation site, natural bushland, and degraded bushland in five replicate treatments in the northern wheatbelt agricultural region of Western Australia. Revegetated sites had lower tree and leaf litter cover, less coarse woody debris, lower structural heterogeneity, higher woody plant density, and lower native species richness than natural sites. Ant and spider communities in revegetated sites did not differ significantly from those in natural woodlands. This contrasts with other studies. Bird species richness and diversity in natural sites was higher than that in revegetated sites, but similar to that in degraded sites. Current revegetation using saltbush is providing very limited benefits for biodiversity in this region, with most species utilizing revegetation being species that persist well in highly fragmented landscapes.