VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PLAN for Bidjigal Reserve - Land

Vegetation Management Plan - Bidjigal Reserve7.7.5 Weed Control MethodsWeed control is only one of a number of strategies required to achieve the goals of conserving,rehabilitating and managing native bushland. Weed control is only the first step to the recovery (orrehabilitation) of a more desirable plant community (whether native bushland or a plantation).Of primary importance is the potential for the site to recover after disturbance (‘site resilience’). Insites with low to moderate weed density and/or those surrounded by good quality native bushland,the potential for recovery is good, with natural regeneration of natives species occurring from in situsources (i.e. the soil seed bank) or volunteering from neighbouring bushland.However, for badly degraded sites or sites which have suffered long-term/extensive disturbance, siteresilience will usually be low to absent, so that attempts to achieve rehabilitation to an acceptablevegetation type will usually involve broad-scale and expensive revegetation programs.While Bush Regeneration is generally associated with the restoration of bushland remnants in theurban environment, there is some scope for some use of its low-impact methods in the ruralenvironment, which historically has relied on grazing, slashing, burning, or the broad-scaleapplication of herbicides to control weeds.In areas of bushland or where significant numbers of native plants remain in situ, Bush Regeneration– an approach that includes hand weeding, the careful use of selective herbicides, and planting – hasbecome accepted practice. However, the use of machinery to scalp weedy topsoil, broad-scaleapplication of herbicides (boom or aerial spraying), regular slashing or grazing, or the use of fire ismore appropriate on cleared or badly degraded land, or in rural and semi-rural situations.The most commonly used methods of weed control are:• Hand weeding (or minimal impact);• Herbicide application;• Mowing and slashing;• Mechanical clearing;• Burning;• Weed matting and mulching; and• Biological control….or more realistically, a combination of one or more of the above.Each of the above-listed methods will have some application in the Reserve’s Bushland RestorationProgram. Bushland rehabilitation and weed management is best achieved through ‘integrated weedmanagement’; an approach that incorporates a range of methods and techniques.When planning a weed control program, site-specific factors that must be considered when selectingmanagement strategies include:• The type, extent or degree of weed infestation;• The length of time since weed establishment;• The substrate (fill or natural soils);• Soil stability and the potential for slippage or erosion;UBM Ecological Consultants Pty Ltd 138