The Black Summer bushfires devastated greater glider habitat across south-eastern Australia but researchers hope a new nesting box will help aid their recovery.
There are hopes that a modified nesting option will help boost the number of greater gliders in Gippsland as the forest begins to regenerate some 18 months on.
Australian National University research fellow Kara Youngentob said about one-third of the southern glider habitat was severely burned by the fires.
"But in some cases, it will be so extreme that the drought and heat wave and previous fires will keep them from coming back."
A more sophisticated solution
A more sophisticated nesting box has been developed as part of a study being conducted by World Wildlife Fund - Australia, Greening Australia and Australian National University.
It will provide alternative shelter to natural hollows found in old-growth trees.
"It can take between 50 and 100 years for trees to form those hollows and we are losing those trees and landscapes."
The boxes are fully insulated, which will protect the gliders against extreme temperatures.
WWF threatened species ecologist Kita Ashman said greater gliders needed special nest boxes because they had thermal requirements.
"Basically they can't get too hot or too cold," Dr Ashman said.
"So I've affectionately been calling these nest boxes 'Goldilocks boxes' because they will keep the gliders at the perfect temperature to become more resilient to the changing climate."
Boxes ready for nesting
There are 120 boxes mounted in fire-affected forests in Tallaganda National Park and state forest in New South Wales, and a further 120 near Bendoc in East Gippsland.
Greater gliders are listed as vulnerable by the Australian Conservation Foundation, with the population declining by 80 per cent in just 20 years.
Drought, extreme heat and logging have had an impact on population numbers in East Gippsland.
Dr Yougentob said while the nesting boxes may be a useful temporary measure, more would need to be done to ensure the preservation of the species.
"But I see this as a temporary measure to get those populations back up while the forests regrow.
"If we can hopefully have a few years of a break, then the forests have a chance of recovering."
