Lessons from the land - Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association

March 2011 Volume 22 One
A garden for learning and teaching Page 2
INDIGENOTES VOLUME 22 NUMBER 1
Photo: Brian Bainbridge

Lessons from the land
Gidja Walker tends a beautiful garden that
is a laboratory and classroom; a garden for
learning and teaching.
ON 28 February 2010, members of IFFA joined
with SPIFFA (the Southern Peninsula Indigenous
Flora and Fauna Association) at the home garden
of SPIFFA President Gidja Walker, who also teaches
in the Conservation and Land Management Course at
Chisholm TAFE.
Eventually over twenty IFFA and SPIFFA members were
circumnavigating Gidja’s house. This took approximately two
hours as each metre held a story or lesson about the wider
Peninsula environment. Over a hundred species of indigenous
plants can be found there, including remnants and cultivated
plants collected from across the Peninsula. Tiny dunes and
wetlands allow Gidja to grow species from a wide range of
vegetation types and closely observe germination, pollination,
predation and other ecological processes.
One verandah had pots that contained botanical refugees
from coastal developments. These are providing clues on how
to save their wild cousins in remnant bushland. A small looper
caterpillar (family Geometridae) was eating the leaves of the
locally rare species of Phyllanthes which has many highly toxic
relatives in the Spurge family. Instead of removing the insect,
Gidja pondered whether it is a common species, or perhaps a
specialised insect, and therefore as threatened as its food plant.
Some observations were interesting but of unknown
significance. We were shown how Mentha diemenica growing
in the garden had white flowers, but when grown in a pot,
the same plant has blue flowers. Gidja suggests this is a soil
chemistry effect, like the well-known one in Hydrangea. Her
observation of teeming nocturnal insect-life while driving past
thickets of summer-flowering Moonah, Melaleuca lanceolata,
has implications for the conservation of insectivorous bats.
The problems caused by habitat fragmentation have made
it crucial to identify vegetation patterns and the processes
that influence plant germination and survival. The Ecological
Vegetation Classes (EVC’s) of the Southern Peninsula were
once lumped in a basket called ‘Dune Scrub’. These have
since diversified into a medley of EVC’s based on work such
Gidja’s beautifully painted cross sections and landscapes visualise the fine
structure of vegetation communities, some of them vanished or relictual.
On a tiny artifical dune grows Native Tobacco. Its presence in
some areas of the peninsula suggest locations of significance
for Bunurong men who used the plant and are likely to have
played a role in its distribution.
as Gidja’s. We were shown a patch of reddish earth where
Argentine ants were bringing underlying heavier ‘terra-rossa’
soils to the surface. These are a part of Gidja’s emerging picture
of the Peninsula’s plant communities where Coast Banksia,
Banksia integrifolia, dominated grassy woodland in low lying
parts of the landscape. The strands of evidence used to try to
reconstruct this all but vanished plant community include old
place names, anomalous plant associations and observations of
plant succession and revegetation performance.
Beautiful watercolour diagrams support Gidja’s theoretical
work. It is apparent the artistic response stimulates insights
into patterns of geological and climatic influences, ecological
processes and cultural practices.
At nearby Rye Back beach Gidja pointed to middens
and grey layers of sand marking ancient fire-pits infiltrating
the dunes. Among petrified remains of stumps and trees
on the beach, we were invited to tour deep time, when the
Peninsula’s hills overlooked grassy plains of Port Phillip Bay
and the Bunurong people traded with the peoples of northern
Tasmania. The many links between the cultures
of these people were discussed. Again, Gidja’s
experience of tending plants known to be used
by the Bunurong is providing clues for theories
on Bunurong land management practices that
may hold keys for living with and restoring the
landscapes of the present day.
Almost a year later, I still rejoice at the
memory of a day where SPIFFA and IFFA folk
came together to be so generously and gently
educated in Gidja’s garden.
Thanks to Gidja and her family and to
SPIFFA for inviting us to their ‘patch’.
Brian Bainbridge
Gidga shows how the proportions of
leaves are an important feature for
distinguishing the native Karkalla,
Carpobrotus rossii from exotic
species and the hybrids they form
with Karkalla.
Gidga fears that the South African
and South American relatives of
this species are causing genetic
‘pollution’. An insidious effect. A
taste test confirmed the luscious
texture of the native species.
Unfortunately, some hybrids appear
to have entered the revegetation
supply stream.
Below: Karkalla, Carpobrotus rossii.
IFFA OUTING
Guided tour of Royal Botanic Garden Cranbourne
Sunday 10 April 10:30 am - 1:30 pm
Join Alex Smart (a member of the Friends of the RBG
Cranbourne) for a special tour of the indigenous garden area
and the main constructed garden.
There is a small charge to enter the main gardens.
Meet at Stringybark Picnic area at 10.30 am
Sunday 10 April.
Please bring a picnic lunch. We hope to get to see the Southern
Brown Bandicoots, who are often visitors to the garden.
Registrations essential –please contact Linda Bradburn
(9416 7184 or activities@iffa.org.au).
Directions to RBG Cranbourne
http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/rbg-cranbourne/directions
By car. The best way to travel to Royal Botanic Gardens
Cranbourne is by car or private coach.
From Melbourne, drive down the Monash Freeway (M1) and then
turn off at the South Gippsland Freeway (M420). Signs will be
for Cranbourne and Phillip Island.
The next turn-off with signs to Cranbourne and Phillip Island
takes you onto the South Gippsland Highway (still the M420).
Take this exit and follow the South Gippsland Highway, through
the town of Cranbourne.
On the southern side you will see signs pointing to the turn-off
for the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne and the Australian
Garden. The turn-off is located approximately 500 m past the
Cranbourne Racecourse.
This trip will take approximately 50 minutes from the Melbourne
CBD.
Access address
Cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive Cranbourne
(off South Gippsland Highway)
Melway Ref: 133 K10
2 INDIGENOUS FLORA AND FAUNA ASSOCIATION INC INDIGENOTES VOLUME 22 NUMBER 1
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Book Review. What’s ‘Natural’? SPIFFA 20 years on . . .
The Victorian Bush
Its ‘original and natural’ condition
By Ron Hateley
Polybractea Press, South Melbourne 2010
209 pp softback
This book is a caution for those trying to make
decisions on native vegetation management or
restoration based on concepts of what the ‘original
and natural’ state of the vegetation was. The earliest
accounts from the historical records are brought together
to argue that many assumptions of forest managers and
ecological restorationists may be false.
Hately is a Forestry lecturer, who has taken a
sabbatical to investgate his nagging doubts about some
of his teachings. Primary targets of the book are the
assumptions that prior to settlement, forests were in some
kind of pristine state, and that Aboriginal burning practices in
forests (as opposed to woodlands or grasslands) reduced fuel
loads and kept them open and ‘park like’.
Through quotes from early settlers and explorers Hateley
demonstrates that Victoria’s native vegetation was in a state
of flux, that forests were subject to disturbance from extreme
weather events (including tornadoes, extreme snowfalls, hail
and other storm damage) occasional fires probably caused by
lightning, and at least in parts supported extensive populations
of parasitic plants like dodder laurels and mistletoe. In many
areas the forest floor was littered with dead wood and densely
shrubby.
Unfortunately for a book discussing Aboriginal burning
practices, it seems there was no consultation with local
indigenous communities to find out what they knew about
these issues, and so the evidence is entirely based on European
settlers accounts.
“I conclude that [the burning practices of]
Victorian Aboriginals did not have such a
major effect on our forests, compared with
the plains and woodlands . . . the mountain
forests of Victoria seem to me to have mainly
been shaped by drought, fires caused by
lighting, winds, hailstorms, snowstorms . . .
and by medium term climatic cycles.”
The historical accounts Hately quotes do seem to indicate
that forests were infrequently used by the Aboriginal people,
and that Aboriginal burning practices should not be used
to justify fuel reduction burning of forests. Accounts of
Aboriginal burning in forests all end up reling on interstate,
mostly northern Australian accounts, whereas Victorian
accounts suggest little evidence of regular and widespread
Aboriginal burning in forests.
A strong theme emerging from the accounts of Aboriginal
burning is how they used fire to harass and discourage
explorers and early settlers. Also signal fires were lit to
communicate
over long
distances the
presence of
the foreigners.
Early accounts
of Aboriginal fire
need therefore to
be interpreted very
carefully because the
observers were probably
reporting higher than
normal fire frequencies.
Hately does not doubt
that fire was used by
the indigenous people to
manage smaller areas of
woodland and grassland.
Early destruction of pests (top predators such as dingoes,
eagles and quolls as well as wombats) and many other species
for food, skins or the ‘joy’ of hunting mean that unpredictable
changes to vegetation may have resulted. Hately argues that
some of these changes may have been mistaken for changes as
a result of changed fire regimes.
The bulk of the book is comprised of quotes with
some narrative to tie them together. The conclusions are
understated — one of the book’s main conclusions is made
in one paragraph: “I conclude that Victorian Aboriginals did
not have such a major effect on our forests, compared with
the plains and woodlands, which undoubtedly bore deeply
numerous signs of their traditions, hunting and gathering,
arts and craft and general land management. In contrast the
mountain forests of Victoria seem to me to have mainly been
shaped by drought, fires caused by lighting, winds, hailstorms,
snowstorms — in other words extreme weather events -— and
by medium term climatic cycles.”
These are important conclusions. More
discussion on the implications of these
conclusions would have been welcome.
Hateley also brings together quotes
which demonstrate how early in the
settlement process selective changes to
the vegetation were made — intensive
harvesting of Black Wattle and Golden
Wattle for tan bark — and conversely the
direct seeding of these species into rail
reserves and other public land. Drooping
Sheoke was targeted in the first years of
settlement as it made excellent shingles,
firewood and drought fodder. These species
were manipulated so early that it is quite possible that even the
earliest descriptions of the vegetation may not represent what
was ‘originally’ there.
The collection of quotes in this book from a diverse range
of sources does make the book a valuable resource for those
wanting to understand Victoria’s vegetation. It does a good
job of casting doubt on some important assumptions, and
although it doesn’t give the answers, we have no excuses now
for continuing to rely on them.
Reviewed by Tony Faithfull
In October, the Southern Peninsula IFFA
celebrated 20 years with a lunch with many of the
original founding members present.
Going into their 21st year, the group is more dynamic
than ever, particularly in organising and offering
community educational programs and helping to fill some
of the holes in environmental education provision and
availability.
In 2010 SPIFFA contributed in the following areas:
SITE MANAGEMENT
• Ongoing hands-on management of the Cook Street block
on the flank of Arthurs Seat.
Environmental advocacy
• Monitoring shire planning issues and commenting where
appropriate;
• Commenting on various shire and DSE public land
management, fire and other plans;
• Supporting community attempts to hold public project
authorities to account for lack of process, cursory
ecological considerations and remediation failings;
• Providing advice to members (and others through the
SPIFFA website, which averages around 35 visitors a
day);
• Informational networking on local and regional
environmental issues through the mailing list.
Education
• SPIFFA provided around 110 contact teaching hours of
environmental education and training, much of it free
and all on a non-profit basis;
• Won a grant from the Fouress foundation to provide a
series of free workshops;
• Hosted the intensive Habitat Management Course for 25
participants;
• Hosted Dr Graeme Lorimer’s grasses ID workshop free
for 16 participants;
• Gidja Walker guided several free group walk and talks;
• Has arranged to provide local ecological orientation and
information resource training for local school teachers;
• Helped other educational efforts through presentation
equipment loans, projector, screen etc;
• Published SPIFFA newsletters in both hard copy and
on-line versions;
• Continued to add new natural systems links to the
website links resource;
• Circulated and promoted local natural systems printed
information resources.
IFFA congratulates SPIFFA on its very successful 20 years.
(Adapted from the SPIFFA newsletter)
Hoverfly savours Trachymene
composita at the Greenlink
Sandbelt nursery in January
Surf to see
Here’s your chance to put a short summary of
your favourite project on the web for all to see.
The national journal Ecological Management &
Restoration (EMR) (see www.blackwellpublishing.
com/journals/emr/) is calling for very short summaries
(i.e. 300 words, it can be stretched a bit) on any interesting
ecosystem management or restoration project in Australia, i.e.
projects that are already showing good results.
These will be published on a new website which will be part
of the journal’s permanent publication output.
There is no limit to the number of short summaries of case
studies that EMR can publish — and now that they are on the
web — we can include a couple of coloured photo or maps
per summary.
All you need to do is email me something and we can see
whether it will meet the criteria. If it does, I can help edit it
down to 300 words for publication and help you select photos.
(See specifications below.)
If you have a range of projects that qualify, that is even
better. Please send a few if you like and we can group them
together!.
Please submit your drafts or ideas for summaries as
soon as possible so you can catch the launch in April. Later
submissions are also fine, as we will be regularly updating the
website.’
Tein McDonald
teinm@ozemail.com.au
4 INDIGENOUS FLORA AND FAUNA ASSOCIATION INC INDIGENOTES VOLUME 22 NUMBER 1
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School frog pond and
bush tucker garden
Beginnings
The idea for the frog pond and bush tucker
garden came out of the Sustainability Framework
that Brunswick East Primary School (BEPS) is
working through to gain 5-star accreditation as a
Sustainable School.
The site at the bottom of the Colourful Playground on the
north side of the school was chosen as it was closest to Jones
Park pond and the Merri Creek where we hope frogs will
migrate from, and we could use water from the newly installed
rainwater tanks to fill the pond during dry seasons.
Heavy Gardening groups from grades 4, 5 and 6 began
preparing the site in term 2, 2009, clearing posts, pruning
trees and measuring the area for the design.
Parents contributed their skills through surveying the site,
landscape design, construction and grant writing.
BEPS was successful in applying for and receiving two
grants through Landcare, one for the Frog Pond and one for
a Bush Tucker Garden. The grants contributed two thousand
dollars to the cost of construction and materials.
Construction
An excavator came in during Term 2 holidays and dug
the frog pond
and moved
soil and rocks.
Construction
continued through
Term 3 with the
Light and Heavy
Gardening groups
from grades 4, 5
and 6 creating the
paths and pond
surround, putting
up bamboo
fencing, moving
mulch for the
path surfaces,
turning the soil for garden beds,
weeding and digging posts for
the fence.
The frog pond and
habitat link in
February 2011.
Planting
This part of the project involved the whole
school. The frog incursion run by Waterwatch
happened in Week 8 then all classes came out
during the following week to plant the bush tucker
garden around the frog pond.
Preparation for the planting started in Term 2
when a number of classes propagated from seed
the Murnong (Yam Daisy) that used to flourish
in the Merri Creek catchment and was a staple food of the
indigenous peoples. The seeds germinated and the seedlings
were planted along with other plants purchased for the garden
and water plants for the frog pond.
With help from parents, over 400 plants were put in
during our planting week, including Chocolate Lilies,
Kangaroo Grass, Spiny-headed Mat Rush and Nardoo. The
emphasis was on indigenous plants and ones that could be
used for food, tools or materials.
Filling the pond
The frog pond was initially filled from the rain water tanks
attached to the school’s toilet block. The pond will continue
to be filled from this source, as required, as there is no natural
run-off into the pond. During the heavy rain Melbourne
has received recently, the pond has flooded the surrounding
plantings (Centipedia cunninghamii, Isolepis
nodosa, Mentha australis, Triglochin procera
and Microphyllum crispatum).
No frogs have made the pond their
home, as yet, but it is a great talking point
amongst the children about when they will
arrive. There is a very vocal Pobblebonk
population in a nearby pond who may
need to expand their territory due to ideal
breeding conditions.
We are hopeful!
The enthusiasm of
the children has been
wonderful to see. The
addition of a small, safe
body of water in the school
grounds has added an
experience for many of the
children they may not have
regularly.
The school passes on
a very big thank you to
Jane Bevelander from
Waterwatch whose initial
advice and ongoing interest
has been invaluable, also
a very big thank you to
Dave Crawford from
MECCARG for advice on the Murnong, and thank you to
the staff at MCMC and VINC for advice on our indigenous
plants.
IFFA congratulates everyone who contributed to the new
garden and frog pond at the school.
Photos and text by Tania Sloan
Clockwise from top left: Finger flower, Cheiranthera cyanea; Chocolate
Lily, Arthropodium strictum, with a weed Quaking Grass, Briza maxima;
Blue Pincushions, Brunonia australis; Fringe Lily, Thysanotus tuberosus;
Sticky Everlasting, Xerochrysum viscosum.
Observations from the Great Victorian Bike Ride
Each year the GVBR travels through rural Victoria, mostly
on quiet roads. Though most participants view this ride
as an end in itself, it also allows the riders to view the
countryside in some detail (compared to travelling the
same roads by car). In particular the rider gets to see around
600kms of roadside verges, important refuges of Victoria’s
remnant vegetation.
In 2010 the ride started from Yarrawonga and finished at
Marysville. The first overnight stop was at Dookie where the Seed
Bank provided a tour of their facility. It was fascinating to see
their harvesting equipment (for Austrodanthonia and Themeda),
drying racks and bulk bags of grasses packaged for VicRoads
(to be sprayed on road cuttings). The small and dedicated staff
seem to be operating under an extreme funding shortfall, with
their refrigeration equipment broken down and unable to be
repaired. The area was notable for some excellent stands of
Dianella longifolia, Austrostipa, Chrysocephalum, Arthropodium
strictum and Themeda. Possibly the best spots for wildflowers
were between Yea and Eildon where I stopped to photograph
Thysanotus, Chamaescilla and Arthropodium.
Apart from the GVBR, I also rode the Ballarat to Skipton rail
trail and was impressed with the amount of remnant vegetation
along the route. Large patches of Burchardia, Dianella, Craspedia
were present, as well as many orchids such as Thelymitra in flower.
Perhaps cycling will become a mainstream activity among field
naturalists?
Doug Scott
Member of Whitehorse Community Indigenous Plants Project.
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INDIGENOUS FLORA AND FAUNA ASSOCIATION INC INDIGENOTES VOLUME 22 NUMBER 1
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Looking after the bush
Natural regeneration is better than planting
Jeff Yugovic
Well-intended but inappropriate planting
has occurred within native vegetation for many
years. However, planting has become more of
an issue recently due to the Native Vegetation
Management Framework (NRE 2002) which
is Victorian government policy requiring an
‘offset’ for legally permitted clearing of native
vegetation.
Offsets usually include ‘recruitment’ plants which are
in practice mostly planted rather than
obtained by natural regeneration, although
natural regeneration is allowable under the
policy. Where planting occurs within native
vegetation it is referred to as ‘supplementary
planting’.
Inappropriate planting reduces the
ecological integrity of native vegetation. If
it is an offset site this only adds to the total
impact given that the site generating the offset
was cleared in the first place. Consequently,
remnant native vegetation is under significant
threat from poorly conceived or applied offsets
throughout Victoria. Here I give examples of
adverse impacts followed by a discussion on
how to avoid this problem, which is basically
to avoid planting in native vegetation except in
certain circumstances. Native vegetation is best
managed by weeding and facilitating natural
regeneration.
Inappropriate species
Recently I came across a conservation
reserve south-east of Melbourne supporting
grassy woodland, swampy woodland and swamp scrub
vegetation. From the age of some trees, planting appears to
have been going on for some years. As part of an offset for
vegetation cleared elsewhere, plants were also recently planted
within part of the reserve. These plantings were placed within
plastic tree guards, which at least made them easy to recognise.
Unfortunately, few or none of the plantings were
appropriate. In particular, species that do not naturally occur
in the reserve were planted, including Messmate Stringybark
Facilitated natural recruitment
is the preferred means of
obtaining new plants
Eucalyptus obliqua (Figure 1). Some E. obliqua seedlings
were planted below existing mature Silver-leaf Stringybark,
Eucalyptus cephalocarpa, and Swamp Gum, Eucalyptus ovata.
Such plantings below or near existing trees compete with and
stress these trees, or else fail and waste resources. They also
undermine the ecological integrity of the site, turning it into a
plantation rather than authentic self-sown natural vegetation
that has undergone natural selection.
Species that occur within the reserve were also planted
outside their natural habitat within the reserve, such as
Common Tussock-grass, Poa labillardierei, in grassy woodland
where none naturally occurs. Not surprisingly many of the
plantings died, particularly the Poa as it needs more moisture
than is generally available in grassy woodland, especially
during drought. The correct Poa for the site is Soft Tussockgrass,
Poa morrisii, which is already present.
Another reserve in southern Melbourne was identified as
an offset site for clearing elsewhere. In this case the natural
vegetation is plains grassy woodland dominated by River Redgum,
Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The proposal was to extensively
Figure 1. Messmate Stringybark planted where it does not naturally occur.
plant the reserve with shrubs. Firstly some of these shrubs do
not naturally occur in this plant community in this area, and
secondly the vegetation is a grassy woodland not a shrubby
woodland and such plantings may stress the existing trees.
Fortunately the management agency recognised the risk and
prevented the planting. Many more sites are subject to such
disastrous proposals.
Naturally treeless grasslands are often at risk of misguided
tree planting, in both northern and southern Victoria, for
example in a flora reserve near Echuca, where tree planting
has occurred, possibly over endangered Red Swainson-pea,
Swainsona plagiotropis.
Other issues
There are other issues with planting besides introducing
species that are not site-indigenous.
The identity of plants used in planting can be an issue. The
species may not be the one intended due to misidentification
during the collection of propagation material or some other
mistake in the nursery. A classic example is the planting of
South African Angled Pigface, Carpobrotus aequilaterus, instead
of Karkalla (Pigface), Carpobrotus rossii, in coastal revegetation.
Angled Pigface is widely naturalised as a result.
The provenance of species, even if they are the correct
species for the site, can be an issue. Non-Victorian forms of
Spiny-headed Mat-rush, Lomandra longifolia, are often seen
in plantings and they perform poorly in drought conditions,
affecting the reputation of indigenous plants. The provenance
should be from the same or similar geology and climate.
The issue of local versus non local provenance has long
been debated (see Hufford & Mazer (2003) and McKay
et al. (2005)). However, that debate important as it
is, assumes the actual species are correct for the site
(site-indigenous). This article makes the point that the
species themselves can be inappropriate, which is more
fundamental than the provenance question.
Site preparation for planting can be damaging to
existing native vegetation. Spraying and mulching can
kill or smother native plants, native grasses frequently
being affected. This is also likely to promote weeds.
One site in southern Melbourne was heavily mulched,
killing wallaby-grass, and then planted with Manna
Gum, Eucalyptus vimimalis, where only Swamp Gum,
Eucalyptus ovata, naturally occurs. Furthermore, seedlings were
planted below the canopy of the existing trees, where they will
either die or compete with the trees.
Spraying herbicide during the maintenance of plantings
can damage existing indigenous species. For example in one
reserve herbicide was applied around the plantings (Figure 2)
Figure 2. Sprayed, now dead, indigenous Weeping Grass around a planting.
apparently even where one of the plants was dead and the tree
guard had fallen over. This killed areas of indigenous Weeping
Grass, Microlaena stipoides. Weeds such as Panic Veldt-grass,
Ehrharta erecta, subsequently established within the bare areas,
increasing the impact.
In many cases planted tubestock contains nursery weeds
in the tube soil and these can be introduced into native
vegetation. Common nursery weeds often found in tubestock
include Glandular Willow-herb, Epilobium ciliatum, Creeping
Wood-sorrel, Oxalis corniculata, and Annual Meadow-grass,
Poa annua. Good nursery management should prevent this.
The genetic quality of propagated material may be an issue
but it is poorly understood. Eucalypt seed collected from a
single isolated tree is likely to have a high proportion of inbred
seed. If they germinate, inbred seedlings of species with a high
‘genetic load’ of mutations are likely to be weak and would
tend to die out in nature, but in optimal nursery conditions
they may survive and be planted out. Nursery propagation can
therefore bypass the early stages of the plant life cycle which
are an important part of natural selection.
We would not allow unsupervised
people into the art gallery to restore
the collection with polyfilla and dulux,
we should not allow botched attempts
at bushland restoration
Natural recruitment is better than planting
Natural recruitment is preferred to planting because the
result is authentic site-indigenous native vegetation that has
undergone natural selection rather than an anthropogenic
plantation.
Inappropriate planting related to the Native Vegetation
Management Framework could be averted
if the recruitment were to be obtained by
natural regeneration only, which is allowable
under the Framework but not usually
undertaken. This would mean that the plants
are site-indigenous, assuming they are not
the progeny of wrong plantings themselves.
However, some sites do not need additional
plants, such as many grassy woodlands where
there is already too much biomass due to
lack of fire or grazing, and additional plants
may further shade out species diversity. There
are also implications for fauna as the habitat
becomes more woody and overgrown.
Planting is usually undertaken rather than
facilitated natural recruitment, and seedlings
in tree guards are now all too familiar within
bushland. It is simpler and sometimes
cheaper to plant rather than to manage a site
over several years to facilitate recruitment.
This is called ‘tree guard dreaming’ by
botanist Geoff Carr.
When planting is appropriate
Revegetation (planting or direct seeding) on cleared
land with predominantly introduced vegetation does not
affect existing native vegetation, but the species should be
site-indigenous. If a site is next to native vegetation, natural
colonisation is preferred to planting.
Supplementary planting (or direct seeding) within
native vegetation can be appropriate where there is little or
no potential for natural recruitment of the species, either
where (a) the species is site-extinct or (b) appropriate site
management has not resulted in regeneration and the species
is not waiting for a natural episodic event such as flood or fire.
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Alternatively there may be a land protection reason
where vegetation cover is needed in the short term,
for example planting site-indigenous scramblers on
a slope exposed by woody weed removal.
Amenity landscape plantings of locally indigenous species
are fine and appropriate around infrastructure such as
buildings and carparks, but plantings within the core of a
reserve should be strictly site-indigenous. A clear distinction
should be made between locally indigenous species, which
may occur in any plant community in the local area, and siteindigenous
species, which are indigenous to the site itself.
Site-indigenous principle
Where planting is within introduced vegetation, or where
planting within native vegetation is appropriate (as above),
it should be site-indigenous otherwise the result is strictly
horticulture rather than revegetation. Determining what is
site-indigenous has two aspects:
• Firstly it is necessary to determine the natural plant
community of the site. In the terminology of the state
government (DSE) this is the floristic community of the
ecological vegetation class (EVC). The DSE biodiversity
interactive map indicates the EVCs that occur in the local
area, but the mapping, whilst it is a valuable introduction, is
not always accurate. Several more EVCs may be present in a
local area than is indicated, and the EVC boundaries may not
be correct, noting the mapping is only at 1:100,000. A range
of evidence may be required including observations on the
existing vegetation of the site and adjacent sites, interpretation
of geology maps, and review of historical survey plans. It is
important that an expert with local knowledge is consulted.
• Secondly it is necessary to determine the species composition
of the plant community once it is identified. This requires
knowledge of the local vegetation as there is no comprehensive
guide for most of Victoria. The EVC benchmarks provided by
DSE are valuable in understanding EVC vegetation but they
only give a short list of some typical species. Furthermore, not
every species within an EVC occurs on every site, for example
Snow Gum Eucalyptus pauciflora has restricted occurrences
within grassy woodland. Some local governments have fairly
accurate EVC planting guides based on detailed analysis of
vegetation data from their areas, but others have little or no
such information.
Assisting migration due to climate change
Species that would ‘migrate’ across the landscape due to
climate change but are unable to do so because of barriers such
as extensive cleared land could be introduced to new areas.
This has not been undertaken to my knowledge but may be
appropriate in future.
Need for expertise
Consultants who prepare offset management plans and
bushland management contractors who implement these
plans require a high level of training and experience in order to
produce ecologically sound plans and achieve good results on
the ground. Professional development of practitioners in these
areas should be encouraged and supported at all times. We
should also forgive (but not forget) management mistakes, as
we all make them at times.
Native vegetation is too valuable to
be subject to inappropriate planting
Dealing with poor attempts at revegetation
Substantial areas of ‘revegetation’ often occur within and on
the edges of reserves but many of the plantings are not the original
species of the site so strictly speaking these plantings constitute
horticulture and not revegetation. Many reserves are too small
to accommodate horticulture and the emphasis should be on
conservation and natural regeneration of the native vegetation.
In these cases all planting should cease and natural recruitment
should be facilitated to obtain new plants. Conservation reserves
should support authentic self-sown natural vegetation and should
not become gardens or anthropogenic plantations.
Inappropriate plantings and progeny of such plantings
should be removed, while site-indigenous plantings and their
progeny should be retained. This requires a good understanding
of the distribution of each plant community within an area
and species composition of each plant community. In areas
where ‘revegetation’ has taken place a review of the revegetation
should be undertaken. The political sensitivity of this issue is
acknowledged as there may be people who have worked hard with
good intentions but whose work has been counterproductive to
conservation due to limited knowledge of the vegetation. These
people should participate in reviews and in any corrective actions
if possible.
Conclusion
Native vegetation is too valuable to be subject to
inappropriate planting and maintenance of plantings. Every
site is unique in terms of its intrinsic site characteristics
(geology, climate, aspect, slope, drainage etc) and its site
history (disturbance, colonisation events etc) and consequently
in terms of its species composition and should be treated
accordingly.
Facilitated natural recruitment is the preferred means of
obtaining new plants, with planting a last resort that needs
careful consideration. Vegetation management should be based
on good knowledge of local vegetation and its requirements in
order to ensure its ecological integrity.
Patches of remnant native vegetation may be regarded
as local ecological masterpieces of nature. Just as we would
not allow unsupervised people into the art gallery to restore
the collection with polyfilla and dulux, we should not allow
botched attempts at bushland restoration. A scientific and
informed approach to vegetation management is called
for, based on weeding, facilitated natural regeneration and
appropriate supplementary planting.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Steve Sinclair, Matt Dell, Gidja Walker, Jill Anderson and
Sue McIntyre for comments and suggestions.
References
Hufford, K.M. & Mazer, S.J. (2003). Plant ecotypes: genetic
differentiation in the age of ecological restoration. Trends in Ecology
and Evolution 18: 147–155.
McKay, J.K., Christian, C.E., Harrison, S. & Rice K.J. (2005).‘‘How
local is local?’’ — A review of practical and conceptual issues in the
genetics of restoration. Restoration Ecology 13: 432–440.
NRE (2002). Victoria’s Native Vegetation Management: A Framework
for Action. Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Victoria.
Review
Mistletoes of Southern Australia
David Watson
CSIRO Publishing
$49.95
188 pages, colour plates and photographs.
Mistletoes are widely misunderstood. I
frequently have to defend these much maligned
plants so I rejoiced at the arrival of this charming
and intriguing book by David Watson.
The book engages the reader on many levels. The largest
part is a description of each of the 46 species of mistletoe
found in Australia south of the 26th latitude (i.e. a line
running from Fraser
Island in Queensland
to Shark Bay in
W.A. and following
the South Australia/
Northern Territory
border). This is out of
a total of 91 currently
recognised species in
Australia. These are
attractively presented
double-page accounts
with a watercolour
showing details of the
plant and a page of
text with colour photo
and Australia-wide
distribution map.
Chapters on mistletoe
evolution and their
considerable ecological
importance, are
complemented with
fascinating accounts of
their cultural significance
(both Australian and
overseas) medicinal,
Drooping Mistletoe, Amyema
pendula, distinguished from the
similar Box Mistletoe by the way
the central flower is stalkless
in each group of three flowers.
One important ecological aspect
of Mistletoes brought out in the
book is the reliable nectar and
fruit resource that mistletoes
provide. This picture was taken in
Longwood East in September.
culinary and even artistic depictions. The book will have
broader appeal than as simply an identification guide.
The ‘darker’ side of mistletoe is covered in a chapter on
management. The origin and degree of threat that mistletoe
can present to trees in the context of fragmented natural
landscapes is defined. Human aversion to their parasitic ways
has contributed to persecution, often out of all proportion to
specific threat involved. This book will be valuable to those
(in particular in the arborist profession) facing the dilemma
of trying to balance the ecological benefits of retaining
mistletoes and the inevitable toll this may take on individual
trees. Methods of controlling mistletoe are provided with
advice on seeking to understand the root cause of any
perceived over-abundance. But there are also descriptions
of conservation priorities and instructions for planting
mistletoes in patches of restored woodland: an intriguing
avenue of experimentation.
The book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in our
native environment.
Brian Bainbridge
Indigenous Flora and
Fauna Association
Victoria’s biodiversity thriving
and valued by all
http://www.iffa.org.au
Incorporated Association No: A0015723B
Office Bearers
President: Brian Bainbridge, 7 Jukes Rd Fawkner 3060 (03)
9359 0290(ah) email: president@iffa.org.au
Vice-President: Vanessa Craigie, email: vicepres@iffa.org.au,
phone 94973730 (ah).
Secretary: Michele Arundell PO Box 77, Kallista 3791.
(03) 9755 3347 (ah) email: secretary@iffa.org.au
Treasurer: Ranbir Baath, 0423 274 777.
email: treasurer@iffa.org.au
Committee members: Liz Henry, (03) 9890 4542,
and Lawrie Hanson
Public Officer: Peter Wlodarzyck, 0418 317 725
email: publicofficer@iffa.org.au
Events Coordinator: Linda Bradburn, 6 Stephen Street, West
Preston, (03) 9416 7184(ah), email activities@iffa.org.au.
Newsletter Editor: Tony Faithfull, (03) 9386 0264 (ah).
21 Harrison St East Brunswick 3057. editor@iffa.org.au
Webmaster: vacant
Indigenous Nurseries Liaison Officer: vacant
Youth representative: Karen McGregor, email
k.mcgregor3@ugrad.unimelb.edu.au
Fundraising Coordinator: vacant
Ecological Information Coordinator: vacant
Indigenotes is the newsletter of the Indigenous Flora
and Fauna Association.
The views expressed in Indigenotes are not necessarily those
of the Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association.
Call for articles
Indigenotes is a newsletter by IFFA members for IFFA members.
Stories, snippets, photos, reports from members are always
welcome.
If it’s something you’re doing with flora or fauna or habitat, write it
down and send it to IFFA’s editor at editor@iffa.org.au.
Membership
$40 per annum for non-profit organizations,
$50 per annum for corporations,
$25 per annum for individuals, or $20 per annum concession,
$30 per annum for families,
$500 for individual life members or
$700 for family life members.
Membership includes
4 issues of Indigenotes per year,
Occasional freebies or discounts
•
Discount subscription to Ecological Management &
Restoration Journal ($70.40, inc GST)
Membership applications and renewals should be sent to the
Secretary, Post Office Box 77 Kallista 3791.
INDIGENOUS FLORA AND FAUNA ASSOCIATION INC INDIGENOTES VOLUME 22 NUMBER 1
10 11

A Spider Wasp, Turneromyia sp, drags a Huntsman Spider, Isopeda
montana, which it has paralysed into a burrow. The wasp will lay an
egg on the spider before filling the entrance to the burrow. The newly
hatched wasp larva will feed on the spider’s body and eventually
emerge from the burrow as a new adult. All this is happening two
metres from the back door in a suburban back yard in Hughesdale.
29 December 2010. Photos: Mick Connolly
Contents
A garden education 2-3
IFFA excursion details 3
What’s Natural? Book review 4
Snippets5 Looking after the bush 8-10
School’s in INDIGENOUS 6 FLORA Mistletoes AND FAUNA book review; ASSOCIATION INC
Biking spin-off 7 contact us 11