With the determined efforts of dozens of volunteers over the past 25 years Mount Rogers is relatively free of woody weeds such as privet, cotoneaster, firethorn, honeysuckle and hawthorn. Woody weeds come into the 65 hectare reserve as berries that birds have feasted on while in suburban gardens or the ACT’s green spaces on public land. Several infestations of Blackberry are constantly monitored. They and Chilean Needlegrass, Serrated Tussock and African Lovegrass attract assistance from TCCS* rangers and employed contractors.
Landcare volunteers at Mount Rogers are dispirited by the extent of weed growth due to the rains and the fact that the seeds of many species have germinated and grown after years of dormancy in the soil’s seedbanks. We are planning to continue the Bradley method of weeding where we work from the centre of each biodiverse section of the reserve cutting or treating any species that are a threat to the biodiversity of the native plants and animals. https://www.aabr.org.au/learn/what-i-bush-regeneration/general-principles/the-bradley-method/ We also weed by concentrating on specific places, track sides and learning identifications by focusing on one weed species at a time.
Where the soil is damp most of these species pull out quite readily with steady but gentle effort with some species and especially Verbascum (also called Mullein) needing attention now. We cut the flowering heads off and bag them leaving the pulled, green stems and leaves to dry and then rot down and fertilise the soil. Later in the season we will dig out many rosettes of Verbascum leaves. The grey-green leaves are quite attractive and soft to touch.
The biodiversity in some sections of the reserve is an extraordinary contrast to the rest of the reserve even though the native wildflowers are often hidden by annual weeds and introduced grasses thriving on the rain events of the last nine months.
Grass
species from other countries were brought to Australia in the days when few
landholders or even “agriculture departments” understood the land and
Australian soils and plants in the way Indigenous peoples did. They expected to
succeed by transferring European farming methods to the very different landscapes
of the ancient continent. The species were often introduced to fix specific
problems such as erosion but without the insects and grazing animals that
controlled plant numbers in their original regions, the new arrivals thrived to
became invasive species that threatened the survival of native grasses and
wildflowers.
The mowing operators have recently reached Mount Rogers again. They have an enormous job trying to keep up with the growth of African Lovegrass resulting from the regular rain events coming through the ACT. I expect it’s possible to find out from the ACT Government’s website how many hectares need mowing in the ACT but it’s many, many thousands. As you’ll have noticed, several different types of mowing machines are required. I doubt if any are manufactured in Australia.
All through Sprummer individual Landcare volunteers have continued their observations, reporting and weeding efforts. St John’s Wort is a prime target because each plant can produce thousands of seeds and the plants also spread with sucker-like roots through the soil.
Ideally SJW, this very invasive
species, needs to go to the tip to be deeply buried.
We have chosen to work on SJW now
because, with the ground being still damp, the plants pull out with a
determined, steady pull. Normally pulling causes the suckering roots to break
off, a signal to the plant to respond by growing new plants from the broken
root pieces.
The plants are more mature than
those in photos with numerous capsules containing seeds maturing but not yet
ready to be dispersed. There are several articles about SJW on ’the web’ one of
which stated that one plant could produce 33,000 seeds.
The seeds remain viable in the
soil for 12 years which is why Mt Rogers has seen a rash of SJW patches through
the reserve this sprummer in spite of the Landcare Group’s consistent action
against the invasive species over a decade or two.
Why work on only one weed? There
are so many invasive species that have gone berserk with all the rain. We are
concentrating on weeding near and outwards from Mt Rogers' best vegetation
areas or on specific species that spread thousands of seeds. (Currently Thistles,
Euphorbia, Fleabane, Verbascum, Mustard.) Ann has posted some photos in the new 'page' (right hand column of the screen) called
'2022 summer weeds gallery', on the blog site, mtrogerslandcare.blogspot.com
Here is mustard, close up,
and below is a view of the effects of mustard's yellow blooms on the Ginninderra Creek landscape beyond West Macgregor in 2020.
During a working bee on Monday 7th
February Phil and I pulled up hundreds of St John’s Wort plants whilst Steve D
returned to Bridget’s to repeat spot-spray an infestation of African Lovegrass
there as we worked north of Jacob Place. The Sunday 23rd session saw
three of us working on isolated plants north of the main carpark in Fraser. Ted
walks daily with a wand to daub specific invasives as he comes across them.
Each of our regular landcarers carries a pair of gloves whilst focussing on
weed species they know as they walk on ’the hill’.
1st
Monday and the 4th Sunday. The meeting places vary according to the
tasks that are prioritised each time.
As
mentioned above our community members contribute numerous landcaring acts each
time they are in the reserve. Observing nature, recording wildlife and plant
species, welcoming newcomers, collecting rubbish when found, monitoring erosion
run-offs, sharing enthusiasm for the reserve and its habitats.
Our group is one of over 25 energised communities determined to make a difference for wildlife, waterways and habitats in the Ngunawal land catchment area of Ginninderra Creek. The creek rises in Mulligans Flat making its way through its floodplain until water reaches the spectacular 40m waterfall in NSW at Parkwood, and the Murrumbidgee River beyond Macgregor. If you’d like a map of Ginninderra Catchment a new one was published in 2021.
The catchment’s Landcare and Parkcare groups come under the ‘umbrella’ of Ginninderra Catchment Group (GCG) based at Kippax. GCG provides ecological and land management advice and networking. We also have considerable operational and liaison support with other government agencies from *TCCS (Transport Canberra & City Services) volunteer co-ordinating staff.
There are
other ways to contribute to nature’s health with volunteering opportunities
through Frogwatch, Turtlewatch and Waterwatch. Their co-ordinators are also
based at Kippax.
Contact
the office by leaving a message on 6278 3309 or by emailing landcare@ginninderralandcare.org.au
Rosemary 10.02.22.
Convenor,
Mt Rogers Landcare Group.
or via the catchment group (as above:
or by emailing landcare@ginninderralandcare.org.au)
