Well, I'll be writing to the relevant Territory and Commonwealth Ministers when
I get home and I urge others to write too.
Ministers take letters from ordinary punters quite seriously and it will be
interesting to see how they respond about Gamba grass.
Cheers
David
Sent from my iPhone
On 08/07/2013, at 5:00 PM, Denise Goodfellow <> wrote:
> The problem is also the grass itself. It grows to 4 m. high and 70 cm. in
> diameter. So it can easily smother other vegetation. Plus it changes
> soil-nutrient cycles and water cycles. Rossiter et. Al found that:
>
> "compared with sites dominated by native grasses, sites invaded by gamba
> grass had (1) increased fire intensities by more than threetimes; (2)
> reduced available soil nitrate levels by 70%; (3) trebled grass water use;
> and (4) more than halved deep drainage of water. Gamba grass therefore has
> the ability to out-compete native species, and alter catchment hydrology to
> the detriment of wetlands and streams".
>
> Rossiter, N.A., Setterfield, S.A., Douglas, M.M., Hutley, L.B. & Cook, G.D.
> Exotic grass invasion in the tropical savannas of northern Australia:
> Ecosystem consequences. 14th Australian Weeds Conference 168 - 171 (2004).at
> <http://espace.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:1598>Google Scholar BibTex RTF Tagged XML
> RIS
>
> Denise
>
> On 8/7/13 11:40 AM, "Peter Shute" <> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for that, Denise. Those articles indicate that the problem with this
>> grass is not its presence, but what happens to other vegetation when it
>> burns.
>> Is that correct, or does the grass itself cause problems too?
>>
>> Peter Shute
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Denise Goodfellow
>>> Sent: Monday, 8 July 2013 8:18 AM
>>> To: Peter Shute; 'David Clark'; Birding Aus
>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Cats
>>>
>>> Yes, certainly, and thank you, Peter, for asking. The second
>>> title says it all.
>>>
>>> Africanising the tropical woodlands: Canopy loss and tree
>>> death following gamba grass Andropogon gayanus invasion
>>> Ferdinands, K, Douglas, MM, Setterfield, S and Barratt, JL (2006).
>>> Africanising the tropical woodlands: Canopy loss and tree
>>> death following gamba grass Andropogon gayanus invasion. In:
>>> Sindel, BM and Johnson, SB 15th Australian Weeds Conference:
>>> Managing Weeds in a Changing Climate, Adelaide,
>>> 24-28 September 2006.
>>> http://espace.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:6670
>>>
>>> "Field of nightmares: gamba grass in the Top End", Aaron Petty (2013).
>>>
>>> http://theconversation.com/field-of-nightmares-gamba-grass-in-
>>> the-top-end-
>>> 12178
>>>
>>> I'm awaiting more articles from Dr. Petty.
>>>
>>> As I think I mentioned in an earlier email the NT Government
>>> has declared that Gamba grass is out of control from Darwin
>>> to Katherine. They are fighting a rear guard action trying
>>> to prevent it moving further south. The situation may have
>>> been made worse by the loss of Indigenous rangers from key
>>> parks - they tell me that weeds were under control before
>>> they resigned, but not now.
>>>
>>> Denise
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 8/7/13 7:33 AM, "Peter Shute" <> wrote:
>>>
>>>> You often mention Gamba Grass here, Denise, but there's rarely any
>>>> response. I know nothing about it, do you have any online
>>> references about the problem?
>>>>
>>>> Peter Shute
>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From:
>>>>> On Behalf
>>> Of Denise
>>>>> Goodfellow
>>>>> Sent: Monday, 8 July 2013 7:11 AM
>>>>> To: David Clark; Birding Aus
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Cats
>>>>>
>>>>> I suspect that the impact on wildlife of cats or cane
>>> toads will pale
>>>>> into insignificance against that of Gamba Grass, and I
>>> can't see any
>>>>> body, Government or otherwise, investing much money in
>>> fighting that
>>>>> weed!
>>>>>
>>>>> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
>>>>> PO Box 71, Darwin River,
>>>>> NT 0841
>>>>> 043 8650 835
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 7/7/13 9:48 PM, "David Clark" <> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I am currently travelling through northwestern Queensland
>>>>> and I have
>>>>>> been surprised at the number of feral cats scavenging around
>>>>>> campsites, crossing roads in broad daylight and feeding
>>> on roadkill.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My first response was to bemoan the increase in the population of
>>>>>> feral cats and to wonder about what damage they are doing
>>>>> to native fauna.
>>>>>> However, the situation is not that simple.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There has been no wet season for the past two years and the seed
>>>>>> bearing plants haven't produced seeds. This has had a
>>>>> dramatic impact
>>>>>> on the numbers of seed eaters, particularly finches and
>>>>> small rodents.
>>>>>> The latter are the main prey of feral cats and, in their
>>>>> absence, the
>>>>>> cats are starving. There is not an increase in the feral cat
>>>>>> population; the starving survivors are congregating where
>>> they may
>>>>>> find food and are more visible to the casual observer than
>>>>> they are in normal conditions.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm not saying that feral cats aren't a problem but, in terms of
>>>>>> impact on native animals, they come in well behind the Cane Toad.
>>>>>> Goannas used to be common in the area through which I am
>>> travelling
>>>>>> but not anymore. Olive Pythons are absent from most of
>>>>> their range.
>>>>>> A dead Freshwater Crocodile floating down the creek two
>>>>> days ago was
>>>>>> most likely a victim of Cane Toad poison. The Kites are
>>> back, and
>>>>>> have presumably learned to avoid Cane Toads.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There is a lot of local concern about feral cats and many
>>>>> of the north
>>>>>> Queensland shires offer a bounty on cats' tails. While
>>>>> that may put
>>>>>> some money into the pockets of local people, it won't
>>>>> really address
>>>>>> the problem and I'm not sure that Governments are prepared
>>>>> to invest
>>>>>> the money necessary to control feral cats, Cane Toads,
>>> feral pigs,
>>>>>> feral camels, feral goats, feral dogs, Common Mynas, etc, etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>>
>>>>>> David
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Jul 6, 2013 at 6:21 PM, Peter Morgan
>>>>> <> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We felt sickened when we found a large ginger tabby curled
>>>>> up in what
>>>>>>> we presume is a Letter-wing Kite nest in the tree where
>>> we found a
>>>>>>> family of 2 adults and 2 young last year in SA. Bev got
>>> one poor
>>>>>>> photo, but the cat scooted down and out of the tree as she
>>>>> approached to get better shots.
>>>>>>> We have seen more cats on this trip through NSW, Qld,
>>> and SA than
>>>>>>> ever before. Today, we watched a large grey cat stalking
>>>>> a huge mob
>>>>>>> of Little Corella feeding on the ground just after we
>>> came out of
>>>>>>> Sturt NP on our way to Tibboburra.
>>>>>>> Throughout the trip, we have had many locals, some from
>>>>> the grazing
>>>>>>> industry, bemoaning the number of cats and the damage they
>>>>> are doing.
>>>>>>> One suggested that explosion of bush rats in western Qld
>>>>> in 2011 led
>>>>>>> to an increase in cats that lives on to this day.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Peter and Bev Morgan
>>>>>>> ===============================
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>> to:
>>>>>>>
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