By u6048209

Biodiversity Conservation efforts aim to protect and manage flora and fauna. Engagement by local stakeholders is a central feature of conservation projects globally. For my work experience I joined the Mount Majura and Mount Ainslie landcare groups to understand conservation activities at a local scale.

Mount Majura and Mechanical deep soil ripping

On the lower critically endangered grassland slopes of Mount Majura, I helped volunteers plant indigenous herbaceous flowers. We planted Bulbine bulbosa (Bulbine Lily) and the endangered Rutidosis Leptorrhynchoides (Button Wrinklewort) within a plot which had been deep-soil ripped. Coordinator Waltrud explained that deep soil ripping was something she had advocated for because without ripping the flowers had minimal chance of survival.

Waltrud explained that native plant species have diminished on Mount Majura due to degradation of habitat through intensification of grazing regimes, car racing and invasion by weeds. In the lower slope area we were working on, the soil was too compact and void of necessary nutrients and moisture that reintroduced flowers would need to survive. Literature suggests that there is an inherent risk of loss of small populations despite conservation efforts so soil reworking was essential to increase chance of survival. At Majura soil ripping to maximise water infiltration to the subsoil involved inserting a tine 30cm deep to break up the soil. Once the soil ripping was complete, the plot was fenced off (to stop trampling from kangaroos or rabbits) and ready for us to plant. It was important to not plant the same batch of species right next to each other to maximise seed dispersal and increase native populations. The fenced area will therefore act as a seeding node to eventually repopulate the area through natural seed dispersal.

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Sticking it to the Weeds on Mount Ainslie

Mount Ainslie is right next to Mount Majura and has a similar compact land problem. Jeanette, the coordinator of Ainslie weeders explained that the lower slope site we were working on – the ‘middle tip’ was named as such because this area was once a rubbish tip. When the tip was abandoned in the 70s, soil was simply dumped on top and no regenerative work to re-establish native plants was done. As such, introduced species from neighbouring residential gardens and the wider mountain area has become a huge problem.

Every year, a different weed grows and flourishes. This year it was the Fumaria Officinalis (Fumitory) and the Galium aparine L (Sticky Weed). While the fumitory came out easily with a soft pull at the roots, the sticky weed was a nuisance because the root system was extremely thin but if even a small root was left, it could propogate. Here, it was evident that weed management is not a one and done activity but must be continued. Weed infestations have the capacity to destroy native habitats by completely transforming natural ecological systems so ongoing weed management alongside planting is necessary to give the plant a higher chance of survival.