Bush regeneration

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Hood Orchid (right) regenerating next to the stump of a removed Boneseed (left) on a Trees For Life bushcare site in the Barossa Valley

Bush regeneration, also known as Bushcare, is the ecological restoration of remnant vegetation in Australia, such as through the removal of exotic weeds and the minimisation of deleterious disturbances such as erosion. This process attempts to protect and enhance the floral biodiversity in an area by providing conditions conducive to the recruitment of native plants.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Bradley method

In the early 1960's Joan and Eileen Bradley developed a series of weed control techniques through a process of trial and error. Their work was the beginning of minimal disturbance bush regeneration in New South Wales.[1]. The Bradley method urges a naturalistic approach by encouraging the native vegetation to self-reestablish. The Bradleys used their method to successfully clear weeds from a 16 hectare (40 acres) woodland reserve near Ashton Park. The process demonstrated that subsequent maintenance was needed only once or twice a year, mainly in vulnerable spots such as creek banks, roadsides, and clearings, to be maintained weed-free.

The aim of their work was to clear small niches adjacent to healthy native vegetation such that the each area will be re-colonised and stabilized by the regeneration of native plants, replacing an area previously occupied by weeds. The Bradley method follows three main principles,

  1. secure the best areas first
  2. minimise disturbance to the natural conditions (e.g. minimise soil disturbance and off-target dammage).
  3. don't overclear, let the regenerative ability of the bush set the pace of clearance (Bradley 1988).

The priority securing of the best quality vegetation aids in preserving areas of top biodiversity which provide regeneration potential to expand these areas and reclaim areas as bushland.

[edit] Modern bush regeneration

The adoption of minimal disturbance bush regeneration increased in the decades that followed the work of the Bradleys. Their principles have guided bushcare programs in Australia, though the inclusion of herbicide in modern bush regeneration is a notable deviation from the ideals of the Bradley sisters. [2] The increased awareness and consideration of Australia's biodiversity by citizens has incrementally increased pressure on local governments to adopt conservation programs for remnant vegetation on council land. Most peri urban councils now have some involvement in bush regeneration, either through planning, land management, volunteer support or through employment of bush regeneration practitioners. [2] At present a lack of coordination is a serious concern in bush regeneration on public land, with only 40% of councils liasing with other councils. [2] There is therefore a need for strategic management at a regional scale through Natural Resource Management Boards or non government organisations such as Trees For Life, which are involved in bushcare programs across wider areas.

[edit] Aims of Bush regeneration

The aim of bush regeneration, also known as 'bushcare', is to restore and maintain ecosystem health by facilitating the natural regeneration of indigenous flora, this is usually achieved by selectively reducing the competitive interaction with invasive species,[3] or mitigation of negative influences such as weeds or erosion.[1]

Invasive plant species are often the greatest threat to remnant vegetation,[2] and therefore bush regeneration is closely associated with weed abatement activities. Weed management is not the aim of bush regeneration however, but one of the tools used to increase native plant recruitment. The management of factors such as fire and herbivory can be just as important, depending on the ecosystem being restored. In recent years research and on ground management has begun to recognize the importance of ecosystem processes rather ecosystem composition and structure [4] and research into other ways of facilitating native plant recruitment is increasing.

[edit] Bush regeneration technique

The original Bradley method of bush regeneration focuses on facilitating native plant recruitment from the seedbank, rather than planting seelings or sowing seeds, as follows:

"Weeding a little at a time from the bush towards the weeds takes the pressure off the natives under favourable conditions. Native seeds and spores are ready in the ground and the natural environement favours plants that have evolved in it. The balance is tipped back towards regeneration. Keep it that way, by always working where the strongest area of bush meets the weakest weeds" [5]

. Two key principles of bush regeneration are the minimisation of soil disturbance (because this favours invasive species), and the elimination of off-target dammage (the 'do no harm' concept).

Currently the term includes activities other than weed removal such as replanting and introducing species into an area where soil, water, or fire regimes have shifted the type of plant appropriate to the area (i.e. - a stormwater drain.[1]

Weed species can be important habitat for native fauna (e.g. Blackberry is important habitat for [Wrens|Maluridae] and the [Southern Brown Bandicoot][6]) and this should be taken into consideration with bush regeneration, for example by not clearing invasive species until adequate habitat alternatives have been established nearby with native vegetation.

Another problem that can occur when weeds are overcleared or when insufficient follow-up is conducted. The success of bush regeneration is dependent on keeping soil disturbance low and allowing the native vegetation to regenerate in the area where weeds have been removed. If too much weed cover is removed then native vegetation can not respond quickly enough to fill the vacated niche and invasive species are likely to establish instead, perhaps species that are a bigger problem than those originally cleared Article text.[7]

[edit] List of bushcare groups

[edit] Organisations offering community training in bush regeneration

[edit] Reserves where volunteer groups undertake bush regeneration

[edit] Contract bush regeneration practitioners

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Buchanan, Robin A. (1989). Bush Regeneration: Recovering Australian Landscapes. Redfern: The Open Training and Education Network. 
  2. ^ a b c d Stenhouse (2004). "Local government conservation and management of native bushland in Australia". Environmental Management (Springer Scientific) 34 (2): 209-222. 
  3. ^ Conservation of Urban Bushland. National Trust of Australia (NSW). 1986. 
  4. ^ Prober; Thiele (2005). "Restoring Australia’s temperate grasslands and grassy woodlands:integrating function and diversity". Ecologial Management and Restoration (Ecological Society of Australia) 6 (1): 16-27. 
  5. ^ Bradley, J; (eds) Larking, J. Lenning, A. Walker J. (1988). Bringing back the bush. Sydney: Lansdowne Press. 
  6. ^ Haby, Nerisa (2005). Recovery Plan for the Southern Brown Bandicoot in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia,. Adelaide: Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/biodiversity/pdfs/sbb_reg_recovery_plan_2004-09.pdf. 
  7. ^ Bradley, Joan (1971). Bush Regeneration. Sydney: Mosman Parklands and Ashton Park Association. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_regeneration"