Re: Non local native plants.

["Peter Ormay" <>]

Martin,

 

When we were doing vegetation surveys in the Wildlife Research and Monitoring Unit we differentiated between local natives and non-local. The data gathered in these surveys was used in determining which areas were suitable for conservation and resulted in the declaration of some areas as reserves such as Goorooyarroo Woodland Reserve and Mulanggari Grassland Reserve.

 

One only has to drive up the Red Hill road and out along the Cotter Rd (between the Mt Stromlo access road and Bibaringa horse stud) to see how invasive and dense A baileyana and A decurrens respectively can get. Before the 2003 fire there were about 5 Acacia decurrens at the latter site. Now there are several hectares of it.

 

Nobody worried about non local native plants untill A baileyana was found to be crowding out a rare and threatened daisy (who's name has escapes me at present) on Red Hill.

 

Peter