The theory is one derived from a team of researchers, with the findings published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

The research set out to determine a rather unorthodox hypothesis, specifically asking is Restoring flora the same as restoring fauna? Lessons learned from koalas and mining rehabilitation.

The research focused on restored areas in former sand mining sites on Queensland’s Stradbroke Island.

Jonathon Rhodes of the National Environmental Research Program’s environmental decisions hub and the University of Queensland said the findings concluded that koalas could provide a better indicator than vegetation in terms of judging the success of a revegetation program.

As part of the study, the researchers identified areas that were best restored, according to the vegetation criteria used by the rehab managers.

They then fitted koalas in the surrounding area with radio collars, enabling the researchers to see whether the koalas used and settled in the restored area or moved away in search of greener pastures.

“When we compared the areas that were best rehabilitated according to vegetation criteria with the areas being used by koalas, it quickly become apparent that they seldom matched,” lead author Dr Romane Cristescu said.

“In fact, what we thought were the best-rehabilitated areas, based on vegetation mix, did not attract them. Instead, koalas were happily recolonising other parts of the rehabilitated areas that ranked lower in terms of vegetation success.

“This is a strong signal that the current policies being used to guide mine site rehabilitation do not necessarily ensure successful rehabilitation for all plants and animals.”

While the goal of rehabilitation is to restore the ecosystem to something as close to its original form as possible, Cristescu said the point at which the restoration could be deemed successful was difficult to judge and could be a bit subjective.

“So we decided to focus on an Australian animal that the mining company, the government and the local community all agreed should benefit from the rehabilitation on North Stradbroke Island – the koala,” Cristescu said.

The findings may not just be relevant for mine rehabilitation, but also the broader industrial sector.

“As with mining, urban and industrial developers are increasingly being required to offset their environmental impacts- often through rehab programs,” Rhodes said.

“Our work puts a serious question mark on whether vegetation characteristics alone are sufficient to judge the value of these rehab programs.”