Vulnerability of Tasmanian giant trees

Tasmania's giant trees are among the world's tallest flowering plants and Australia's greatest eucalypts. However, they are not well protected in National Parks or extensive reserves.

Of the 69 known trees that meet the official criteria for protection as giants, almost 90% are in State forests managed for wood harvesting. Several of the giants are within coupes that were scheduled for clearfelling under the Tasmanian 2004–2007 three-year wood production plan, and recent harvesting operations have threatened or killed several others.

Fifty-five per cent (38) of the known Tasmanian giants, including the tallest trees, the tallest stand, the tallest stringybark, and the second most massive stringybark, exist in the middle of the Styx Valley. Harvesting and regeneration burning operations indirectly threaten most of these trees, because they stand close to scheduled or recently clearfelled coupes. More importantly, increasing the proportion of young, dense, highly flammable eucalypt regrowth forest, at the expense and fragmentation of less flammable old—growth forest, seriously exacerbates the risk of wildfire, and invites annihilation of all the Styx Valley giants.

Nominal protection of individual giant trees in small (100-m radius) management decision classification zones, or stands of trees in reserves of a few hundred hectares surrounded by production forest, does not provide effective protection in the long term. Numerous historic and recent examples in Tasmania and Victoria show the failures of these well-intentioned small-scale conservation efforts. Giant tree conservation requires very long-term preservation of large areas of forest in which the frequency of wildfire is very low; it is incompatible with current Tasmanian forest harvesting and regeneration practices.

The Styx Valley contains the greatest number of, and many of the finest, giants existing in Tasmania. It also has high potential to produce another generation of great trees to stimulate wonder and admiration for the next half millennium. The best plan to ensure their long-term survival is to desist from forest harvesting and regeneration by fire, and to transform the entire valley into Australia's first large reserve dedicated to giant tree conservation.     

Thirteen year results from a Spotted Gum provenance trial in the Wellington catchment of Western Australia

The response of invertebrates to silvicultural treatments (including timber harvesting and post-harvest burning) was examined as part of the FORESTCHECK monitoring project in the jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest of south-west Western Australia. Invertebrates were collected twice yearly (spring and autumn) at 48 sample grids in four jarrah forest ecosystems, which included two different vegetation complexes within the same ecosystem. Grids represented examples of unharvested forest (reference) and forest subject to gap release and shelterwood/selective cut treatments. Collection methods included light trapping, pitfall trapping and hand sampling. A total of 56 705 invertebrate specimens comprising 1497 morphospecies were collected. Within each forest ecosystem, species richness did not differ significantly between gap release, shelterwood/selective cut and reference forest. Estimated total richness of macro-invertebrates varied with silvicultural treatment and collection method: 630 species for pitfall trapping and 1095 for light trapping. Estimated richness from light trapping of grids in unharvested forest was 892 species, compared with 780 species in shelterwood/selective cut and 665 species in gap release treatments. Collection method influenced the direction and magnitude of changes in estimated richness following timber harvesting and post-harvest burning, indicating that multiple collection methods are needed to assess invertebrate response to disturbance. Based on combined capture methods, estimated whole bioregional richness of macro-invertebrate morphospecies was highest in reference forest (1783), intermediate in forest subject to shelterwood/selective cut treatment (1652) and lowest in forest subject to gap release (1527 morphospecies). Greater richness estimates in reference forest are attributable to a greater proportion of macro-invertebrate species that occurred in only one grid. However, the robustness of comparisons between treatments of these bioregional estimates of richness is compromised by inadequate sampling. In contrast, for equivalent sampling effort, species accumulation was slightly greater in silviculturally treated forest than in reference forest, implying that silviculturally treated grids had a more homogenous species composition. Data were analysed using non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination and canonical analysis of principal co-ordinates (CAP) analysis. Invertebrate assemblage composition and abundance were strongly influenced by biogeographic pattern, as represented by forest ecosystem/year of collection (these factors were confounded in the design of the monitoring project). No significant effects of silvicultural treatments on morphospecies composition were detected using CAP analysis of morphospecies abundance. Retention of patches of unharvested forest adjacent to harvested forest will assist in maintaining invertebrate biodiversity at the landscape scale. The data suggest that indicator species may be of limited value for monitoring recovery after disturbance in the jarrah forest bioregion because of substantial species turnover between different forest ecosystems and years of sampling. Monitoring of invertebrates should be continued to demonstrate whether harvested coupes are sufficiently heterogeneous, so that their contribution to bioregion species diversity is equivalent to that of unharvested areas.     

Trends in silvicultural practices in the native forests of Western Australia

This paper is one of a series that have been prepared to summarise the evolution of silvicultural practices in the native forests of Australia. It describes changes in silvicultural practices in the context of ecological characteristics of the species and changing perceptions of forest values and land use. This paper focuses on the semi-arid eucalypt woodlands, and the dry and wet sclerophyll forests of Western Australia. Data are presented which illustrate the impact of these practices on the forest in terms of intensity of disturbance.     

Linking a decade of forest decline in the south-west of Western Australia to bioclimatic change

The south-west of Western Australia has experienced severe and prolonged drought over the last three decades. This has coincided with forest declines and more recently (following the summer of 2010–2011) sudden stand mortality in the Northern jarrah forest. Over the same period the Southern jarrah and Southern karri forests remained unaffected. The bioclimatic linkage between these localised climatic events and forest responses is key to developing a predictive capability that permits timely interventionist management strategies. We looked at the temporal dynamics of three accessible bioclimatic parameters (monthly mean diurnal temperature range, monthly mean precipitation and an aridity index derived from evaporation data) that were spatially registered with forested areas known to have been affected by this shift towards dryer and hotter conditions. Changes in forest condition were determined by accessing the vegetation fractional-cover data set, freely available from the high temporal resolution satellite MODIS. This data set provided estimates of three vegetation-related indices, namely photosynthetic vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation and bare soil cover. Both the climatic variables and the vegetative response variables were spatially co-registered over each of the three selected forest areas and a time series analysis undertaken for each variable. From the observed trends, we identify a set of threshold values for each bioclimatic metric and the approximate time lag associated with observed notable deterioration in the vegetation cover metrics.     

Wood properties of Eucalyptus globulus at three sites in Western Australia: effects of fertiliser and plantation stocking

Wood properties of 10-year-old trees in Eucalyptus globulus plantations at three sites in Western Australia were examined. Silvicultural treatments applied at age two years were stocking (unthinned, 1250 stems ha^–1; thinned to 600 stems ha^–1 or 300 stems ha^–1) and nitrogen fertiliser application (0 or 250 kg ha^–1 elemental nitrogen) in factorial combination. The three sites differed markedly in their annual rainfall (620–1100 mm), open-pan evaporation and soil water-holding capacity. Wood cores were collected at breast height from a total of 263 trees (~15 trees for each site-by-treatment combination), and radial samples prepared for analysis by SilviScan to produce radial profiles of air-dry density and microfibril angle (MFA) and modulus of elasticity (MOE), and by radial near infrared (NIR) surface scanning to produce radial profiles of NIR-predicted Kraft pulp yield (KPY) and cellulose content (CC). Sampling interval was 0.025 mm for density and 5 mm for the other properties. For wood property mean values (i.e. wood property averages of each pith-to-cambium sample), sites differed significantly only in air-dry density. The Boyup Brook site, which had low annual rainfall, the lowest climate wetness index and soil water-storage capacity and the slowest diameter growth, had the highest mean wood density (648 kg m^–3), while Scott River, with the highest rainfall, had mean density that was 10% lower. The Wellstead site (low rainfall but highest soil water-storage capacity) was intermediate for density. The only other significant differences for mean wood properties were caused by fertiliser addition, which reduced NIR-predicted KPY from 54.6% (without fertiliser) to 54.1% and predicted CC from 43.7% to 43.1%. Clear radial trends were evident for all wood properties. Density, MOE, KPY and CC all increased from pith to the cambium, while MFA declined. From the innermost (pith) 10% to the outermost (cambial) 10% of the radius, density increased on average by 21%, MOE by 103%, KPY by 9% and cellulose by 11%, while MFA declined by 47%. NIR calibrations developed using the SilviScan and NIR spectral data explained 71% of variance in MOE for an independent set of radial wood samples of E. globulus from Victoria, but less than 50% of variance for density and MFA. Implications for paper pulp and veneer manufacture are briefly considered.     

Adaptive silviculture in regrowth eucalypt forests in Victoria and the implications for water,wood, wildlife and wildfire

Two decades ago, the Young Eucalypt Report explored management options for young regrowth forests. South-eastern Australia has considerable areas of regrowth forest due to large-scale wildfire and previous timber harvesting. In the past decade alone, mega fires, in 2003, 2006–2007 and 2009, have burnt around 2.8 million ha of forest and converted hundreds of thousands of hectares to young regrowth. This is having, and will have, considerable biodiversity, water, timber production and possibly fire management implications for future forest managers. It is timely to explore some of the consequences of active forest management, in particular, adaptive thinning, within regrowth forest.     

Response of bird populations in jarrah and yarri forest in Western Australia following removal of half the canopy of the jarrah forest

Counts of birds present in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest on ridges and in yarri (E. patens) forest along streams were made during spring in three consecutive years, 1981–83. Thirty-eight species were recorded in set transects during the study. Six species were restricted to yarri, nine occurred only in jarrah, and eleven tended to be more abundant in yarri. The number of birds of all species was greater in the yarri forest.

Early in 1983, part of the jarrah forest was thinned, reducing canopy cover by about one-half, including removal of all Banksia grandis. The bird community showed few immediate changes. Two species were recorded as significantly more frequent after treatment and no species was recorded as significantly less frequent after treatment. The number of bird species present was similar in unlogged and logged jarrah forest. Two species became significantly more abundant in the yarri forest after the jarrah forest was logged. These findings suggest that most bird species in the jarrah forest may be adaptable to gross disturbance of the forest.     

Mental health emergency presentations across the Barwon South West region in Victoria,Australia: An epidemiological investigation

Objective

To examine mental health emergency presentations across the Barwon South West, Victoria, Australia – an area comprising a range of urban and rural localities.

Methods

This is a retrospective synthesis of mental health emergency presentations across the Barwon South West (1 February 2017–31 December 2019). De-identified data were obtained from individuals who presented to EDs and urgent care centres (UCCs) within the study region, who had a principal diagnosis of a Mental and Behavioural Disorder (codes F00-F99). Data were sourced from the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset and Rural Acute Hospital Database Register (RAHDaR). Age-standardised incident rates for mental health emergency presentations were calculated for the whole sample and for local government areas. Data on usual accommodation, arrival transport mode, referral source, patient disposition and length of ED/UCC stay were also obtained.

Results

We identified 11 613 mental health emergency presentations, with neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders (n = 3139, 27.0%) and mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use (n = 3487, 30.0%) being the most frequent types of presentations recorded. The highest age-standardised incidence rates (mental health diagnosis per 1000 population/year) were in Glenelg (13.95), whereas Queenscliffe had the lowest incident rates (3.76). Most presentations (n = 3851, 33.2%) tended to occur for individuals aged between 15 and 29 years.

Conclusions

Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders and mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use were the most frequent types of presentations recorded across the sample. RAHDaR represented a small but meaningful contribution to the data.     

Hydrological Investigations of Soil and Vegetation Types in the Lower Cotter Catchment

Surface run-off and soil losses in one year from natural rainfall on 41 permanent plots were measured. Infiltration rates on the permanent plots and on 25 additional roving plots were determined with an artificial rainfall simulator.

Non-capillary porosity and weight of ground cover were found to be the most important factors controlling surface run-off and soil loss. In soils with low non-capillary porosity in the subsoil, the non-capillary porosity of the surface soil varied with the amount of ground cover present. Decreases in weight of ground cover below 4,000 g/60 sq ft (2.9 tons per acre) were associated with marked increases in surface run-off and soil loss.

In soils with high non-capillary porosity in the subsoil, the non-capillary porosity of the surface soil also was high and was unaffected by the amount of ground cover present. Surface run-off was low and soil loss was negligible at all times.

For a given amount of ground cover, soil loss increased exponentially with rainfall intensity, and most of the soil loss resulted from a small number of intense rainfalls. There were substantial nutrient losses.

Native eucalypt forests and well established pine plantations provided excellent catchment protection on all soil types. Young pine plantations on soil types with low subsoil non-capillary porosity provided insufficient protection. Most of the soil loss originated on bare areas such as firebreaks.     

Factors predicting community participation in patients living with stroke,in the Western Cape,South Africa

Abstract

Purpose: An important focus of poststroke rehabilitation is the attainment of community participation. However, several factors may influence participation some of which vary from setting to setting. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors influencing community participation among community-dwelling stroke survivors in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Materials and methods: The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) and the Social Support Questionnaire 6 (SSQ6) were the instruments used to collect data. Participant demographics, clinical features and domain-specific scores of the WHODAS 2.0 were used as potential predictors. Correlation analysis and multiple regression models were used to examine determinants of community participation. All assessments were conducted using face-to-face interviews.

Results: One hundred and six stroke survivors enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Risk factors, cognition, mobility, self-care, getting along with people, household activities and total WHODAS 2.0 score were associated with participation. Four predictors of community participation were identified from multiple regression, namely mobility (38%), cognition (11%), life activities (4%) and stroke risk factors (1%). Determinants varied by gender and age group. Mobility predominated in males and younger adults, while cognition was more pronounced in females and the elderly. Lastly, the influence of social support on community participation was largely defined by the gender and age of stroke survivors.

Conclusion: The findings suggest focusing stroke rehabilitation on important factors such as mobility, cognition, life activities and risk factors to advance patients’ participation. It also emphasizes giving specific consideration to key factors specific for gender and age of stroke survivors.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• Community participation in the general population of stroke survivors’ is largely determined by their mobility function.

• Determinants of community participation among stroke survivors essentially vary according to age and gender.

• Clinically, this study suggests that focusing on specific determinants of improved community participation according to stroke patients’ demographic categories (gender and age) may be an important impetus to enhance rehabilitation outcome.

     

Ecology of the pest insect jarrah leaf miner (Lepidoptera) in relation to fire and timber harvesting in jarrah forest in Western Australia

During a period of 7 years we undertook 25 investigations of the ecology of jarrah leafminer Perthida glyphopa Common in relation to fire and logging of jarrah Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm. forest. Prescribed low intensity fires in spring or timber harvesting did not consistently favour jarrah leafminer or disfavour parasitization of its mines. Moderate intensity fire in autumn reduced the density of jarrah leafminer for 18 months.

We integrate these findings with other relevant ecological and historical knowledge and theorize that scarcity of extensive scorching of codominant crowns in jarrah forest from the mid 1950s may have facilitated the spread of the outbreak. We recommend that more extensive autumn burning should be operationally introduced to both test the theory and subdue outbreaks of jarrah leafminer.     

A review of the outcomes of a decade of forest health surveillance of state forests in Tasmania

Forest health surveillance, involving annual inspection of pine and eucalypt plantations by trained health observers, commenced in Tasmania in 1997. In the ten years since its introduction, forest health surveillance has become fully integrated into Forestry Tasmania's plantation management program. Importantly, forest health surveillance has provided value extending beyond the detection of pest and disease problems and has become a key element of the solutions for the management of health problems. The use of forest health surveillance to assist in the management of health problems at strategic, tactical and operational levels is discussed and illustrated with examples including establishing priorities for research, informing deployment strategies for managing pests or diseases, incursion responses and management in direct response to detection of pests or diseases.     

Psychiatric comorbidity in a cohort of heroin and amphetamine users in Perth,Western Australia

Aims To determine if amphetamine and opioid users attending a drug treatment service were more likely to be admitted to psychiatric services than users not receiving treatment.

Method Client records from Next Step Specialist Drug and Alcohol Services (Next Step) and the Community Based Methadone Program (CBMP) were linked to mental health and hospital morbidity data files using probabilistic matching.

Participants The sample comprised 4280 drug users (2887 opioid users, 1393 amphetamine users). Of these, 928 received methadone at either Next Step or the CBMP, 541 attended counselling or a support group at Next Step, and 2811 did not receive any treatment from Next Step or the CBMP during the study.

Findings Irrespective of treatment received, clients who had recently withdrawn from treatment were at the highest risk of a psychiatric admission, experiencing seven times the hazard of admission compared with those who did not access drug treatment. Amphetamine users had at least three times the hazard of psychiatric admission compared with opioid users. Clients with a history of psychiatric admissions had twice the hazard of subsequent admission compared with those with no psychiatric history.

Conclusions Clients presenting at a drug treatment service should be screened for mental health diagnoses at their initial assessment so that appropriate treatment strategies can be offered to these dually diagnosed clients.     

The lived experience of clinical development unit (nursing) leadership in Western Sydney, Australia

BACKGROUND: A network of nine Clinical Development Units (Nursing) (CDU(N)) were recently created in the Western Sydney Area Health Service. These units are designed to develop patient-focused nursing practice through group process and action research, based on principles of transformational leadership. AIMS OF THE STUDY: Although there is documented evidence from Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) that CDUs and Nursing Development Units (NDUs) are very successful in improving both patient and staff satisfaction, there is also growing evidence that the stressors experienced by nurse leaders are threatening the survival of some of these units. This study set out to develop an understanding of the phenomena of Clinical Development Unit (Nursing) leadership when these stressors were likely to impinge. STUDY DESIGN: Hermeneutic phenomenology was employed in order to identify how these experiences changed over time. Two rounds of interviews were conducted: approximately 4--6 months after the launch and, again, 12 months later. FINDINGS: The Clinical Development Unit (Nursing) philosophy provided a framework on which these very motivated leaders began to enhance nursing accountability in their units through reflective practice and participatory governance. While reinforcing many previously published positive and negative aspects of Clinical Development Units and Nursing Development Units, this paper also highlights how the expectations and experiences of these leaders changed over time with unanticipated pressures of work, a high turnover of clinical leaders, a perceived diminution of management support and unrealistic self-expectations. A significant theme that emerged as these stressors began to impinge was the leaders' own need for leadership in order to sustain their confidence and motivation. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Insights harvested from this study have since been incorporated into a revised leadership preparation programme and support mechanisms for the leaders of eight new Clinical Development Units (Nursing) in the Western Sydney Area Health Service.     

Long-term estimates of live above-ground tree carbon stocks and net change in managed uneven-aged mixed species forests of sub-tropical Queensland,Australia

Estimates of carbon stocks and their annual change for extensive Australian sub-tropical forests are based on indirect estimates or on data derived from temperate forests. We estimated live above-ground tree carbon (LAC) stocks at landscape level from 355?000 measurements of 94?127 tree stems from 604 permanently monitored plots representing 2.6 million ha of managed uneven-aged mixed-species native forests in sub-tropical Queensland. These plots were established between 1936 and 1998 and re-measured every 2 to 10 years up to 2011. Landscapes were represented by 16 broad vegetation groups growing across a mean annual rainfall range of 500 to 2000 mm. Landscape-mean LAC stocks varied from 20.8 ± 4.3 t C ha^?1 in inland eucalypt woodlands to 146.4 ± 11.1 t C ha^?1 in coastal wet tall open forests. Landscape maximum LAC stock, defined as the mean of maximum LAC stocks over the entire measurement history for a specified landscape under prevailing environmental conditions and disturbance regimes, including sustainable forest management, ranged from 34.0 ± 7.2 t C ha^?1 in inland eucalypt woodlands to 154.9 ± 19.4 t C ha^?1 in coastal wet tall open forests. Annual live above-ground net carbon flux (C-flux) across all forests types ranged from 0.46 to 2.92 t C ha^?1 y^?1 with an overall mean of 0.95 t C ha^?1 y^?1 (n = 2067). Comparison of our results with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates shows that in all cases, except for the sub-tropical steppe, the IPCC over-estimated stocks by between 13% and 34%. Conversely, the IPCC estimated C-fluxes were between 14% and 40% less than the Queensland estimates. These results extend statistically valid estimates of landscape LAC stocks and fluxes to the sub-tropical regions of Australia.     

Silvicultural impacts in jarrah forest of Western Australia: synthesis,evaluation, and policy implications of the Forestcheck monitoring project of 2001–2006

This paper, the final in a series of ten papers that report the impact of silvicultural treatments (harvesting and associated burning) in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest, reviews these papers and explores similarities and disparities. More than 2500 species were processed, dominated by macro-invertebrates, vascular flora and macrofungi. Few significant impacts were evident, and most species groups were resilient to the disturbances imposed. Regeneration stocking did not meet specified standards on two gap release and seven shelterwood grids subjected to silvicultural treatment in the period 1988–2002. Six treated grids had a retained basal area of more than 18 m² ha^?1, which obviated the need for further regeneration. More than 50 y may be needed for biological processes to reverse the increase in bulk density of soil caused during harvesting. Cryptogams (especially lichens) were the species group most sensitive to disturbance, although recovery of species richness was nearly complete 10 y after disturbance. For cryptogams and vascular flora, species recorded in only one grid (singletons) were more likely to occur on reference grids than on silviculturally treated grids. For all species groups studied, the imprint of harvesting 40 or more years earlier on species composition had become indistinguishable from that on grids never harvested. Soil nutrient status correlated with species richness for fungi on wood (negatively), light-trapped invertebrates (positively), birds (positively) and terrestrial vertebrates (frogs, reptiles and mammals, negatively). Silvicultural disturbance (timber harvesting and associated burning) correlated with species richness for fungi on wood (positively), terrestrial vertebrates (positively) and cryptogams (negatively). Time since the last (prescribed) fire did not correlate with any species group. Plant disease decreased species richness of light-trapped invertebrates by about 35%. Very few taxa were sufficiently widespread or sufficiently responsive to silvicultural disturbance to be of value as bio-indicators, demonstrating the superiority of biodiversity monitoring over bio-indicator monitoring. It is recommended that FORESTCHECK be expanded into a biological survey of the lower south-west of Western Australia.     

Selectivity of lynx proteins on insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brown planthopper,Nilaparvata lugens

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are major excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Two lynx proteins (Nl‐lynx1 and Nl‐lynx2) have been identified in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, which act as modulators on insect nAChRs. In the present study, two lynx proteins were found to act on the triplet receptor Nlα1/Nlα2/β2 expressed in Xenopus oocytes, increasing agonist‐evoked macroscopic currents, but not changing agonist sensitivity and desensitization properties. Nl‐lynx1 and Nl‐lynx2 increased I_max (maximum responses) of acetylcholine to 4.85‐fold and 2.40‐fold of that of Nlα1/Nlα2/β2 alone, and they also increased I_max of imidacloprid to 2.57‐fold and 1.25‐fold. Although, on another triplet nAChRs Nlα3/Nlα8/β2, Nl‐lynx2 increased I_max of acetylcholine and imidacloprid to 3.63‐fold and 2.16‐fold, Nl‐lynx1 had no effects on I_max of either acetylcholine or imidacloprid. The results demonstrate the selectivity of lynx proteins for different insect nAChR subtypes. This selectivity was also identified in native N. Lugens. Co‐immunoprecipitation was found between Nlα1/Nlα2‐containing receptors and both Nl‐lynx1 and Nl‐lynx2, but was only found between Nlα3/Nlα8‐containing receptors and Nl‐lynx2. When the previously identified Nlα1^Y151S and Nlα3^Y151S mutations were included (Nlα1^Y151S/Nlα2/β2 and Nlα3^Y151S/Nlα8/β2), the increase in I_max of imidacloprid, but not acetylcholine, caused by co‐expression of Nl‐lynx1 and Nl‐lynx2 was more noticeable than that of their wildtype counterparts. Taken together, these data suggest that two modulators, Nl‐lynx1 and Nl‐lynx2, might serve as an influencing factor in target site insensitivity in N. lugens, such as Y151S mutation.     

Pharmacological characterization of cis-nitromethylene neonicotinoids in relation to imidacloprid binding sites in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens

Neonicotinoid insecticides, such as imidacloprid, are selective agonists of the insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and extensively used in areas of crop protection and animal health to control a variety of insect pest species. Here we describe that two cis‐nitromethylene neonicotinoids (IPPA152002 and IPPA152004), recently synthesized in our laboratory, discriminated between the high and low affinity imidacloprid binding sites in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, a major insect pest of rice crops in many parts of Asia. [³H]imidacloprid has two binding sites with different affinities (Kd value of 0.0035 ± 0.0006 nM for the high‐affinity site and 1.47 ± 0.22 nM for the low‐affinity site). Although the cis‐nitromethylene neonicotinoids showed low displacement ability (Ki values of 0.15 ± 0.03 µM and 0.42 ± 0.07 µM for IPPA152002 and IPPA152004, respectively) against [³H]imidacloprid binding, low concentrations (0.01 µM) of IPPA152002 completely inhibited [³H]imidacloprid binding at its high‐affinity site. In Xenopus oocytes co‐injected with cRNA encoding Nlα1 and rat β2 subunits, obvious inward currents were detected in response to applications of IPPA152002 and IPPA152004, although the agonist potency is reduced to that of imidacloprid. The previously identified Y151S mutation in Nlα1 showed significant effects on the agonist potency of IPPA152002 and IPPA152004, such as a 75.8% and 70.6% reduction in Imax, and a 2.4‐ and 2.1‐fold increase in EC₅₀. This data clearly shows that the two newly described cis‐nitromethylene neonicotinoids act on insect nAChRs and like imidacloprid, discriminated between high and low affinity binding sites in N. lugens native nAChRs. These compounds may be useful tools to further elucidate the pharmacology and nature of neonicotinoid binding sites.