REGENERATION STRATEGIES
When is a plant a weed?
Weeds were the first wild plants to conquer the habitats created by tilling the soil, irrigation and other environmental disturbances. Weeds typically produce large numbers of seeds which assist their spread. Seeds spread into natural environments, including wateways, by wind, humans, vehicles, machinery, birds and other animals. Some also spread quickly from shoots above or below the soil surface.
Weeds rapidly invade disturbed sites. Human activities and introduced animals create good conditions for weed growth. They contribute to soil disturbance, loss of plant cover, soil compaction or changed fire patterns. Weeds thrive where fertilisers, oil and other urban wastes are washed into bushland, leaving extra nutrients in the soil.
Although some weeds have become appalling pests, there can be no denying they are here to stay. Some species have become important in wild ecosystems, as native animals have come to depend upon them for food. A number of Australian bird species feast upon weeds, particularly pigeons and parrots.
Environmental weeds:
* threaten the survival of many native plants and animals
* usually grow faster than endemic plants and successfully compete for the available nutrients, water, space and sunlight
* often survive better than endemic plants as they may not be affected by the pests or diseases that would normally control them in their natural habitats
* reduce natural diversity by smothering native plants or preventing them from growing back after clearing, fire or other disturbance
* replace the native plants that animals and birds use for shelter
Control of environmental weeds:
* Prevention: use native plants instead of introduced plants for pasture, erosion and salinity control and landscaping
* Early treatment: control known or potential environmental weeds before they spread
* Active control: effective weed control often involves a combination of methods
* Land management: in rural areas, weed management techniques, combined with other methods of land management, for example, changes in grazing and burning patterns, help to control the spread of weeds
* Reduce disturbance: Weeds are less likely to invade natural environments if soil and native
vege tation are not disturbed
What you can do to help:
* grow plants that are native to your local area instead of introduced plants. For advice, contact the Society for Growing Australian Plants, Greening Australia or The Big Scrub Environment Centre
* replace introduced plants that are known or potential weeds with native plants.
* contain the plants in your garden and ensure that any known or potential environmental weeds do not spread into nearby native vegetation
* Put garden waste in a compost heap to return nutrients to your garden. Do not dump it in the bush or leave it piled up on your boundary. Any plant that grows and spreads in your garden will do the same in the bush
* Make sure material from your compost heap cannot wash down the drain during storms. Seeds carried by stormwater can start weed invasions downstream
* Do not take native plants or rocks from the bush. Apart from being illegal, such action disturbs wildlife habitat and allows weeds to invade.
The landcare ethic is about giving the land to our children and our children's children in a better condition then we found it.
Landcare is local people finding local solutions to local issues.
Increasingly, Government is realising that the expertise lies not within Government but within the community.
Phyllis Jones from the Dept. of Land and Water Conservation
For a list of local Landcare groups, see the BSEC Northern Rivers Environment Directory