Indicator: Controlling pest plants
| Indicator description | Complete list of Indicators |
What the results tell us for Tumut
See also: | Pest plant species |
Ecoinvestment |
Tumut Shire Council controls seven species of plants (Table 1) under the Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines that it developed in March 1997. A management strategy has been developed for the control of each of the weeds under the Guidelines.
Objectives for individual species include to:
- reduce the spread of St. John's Wort on Council-controlled and private land
- suppress Blackberry along Shire roads and other public land by 2004 to a point where new infestations occur only from seed from neighbouring State controlled land.
- reduce the spread of Paterson's Curse on Council-controlled land
- completely eradicate Illyrium Thistle
- stop the spread of Scotch Broom around Batlow and Laurel Hill and eradicate it from the Batlow area; and
- stop the spread of both Sweet Briar and Bathurst Burr.
No information is available on the areas affected, densities of weed infestation and whether infestations are increasing or decreasing over time.
Table 1. Control of pest plant species in Tumut Shire
| Common name | Area Infested, location and density of infestations |
|---|
St. John's Wort
Hypericum perforatum | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals. |
Blackberry
Rufus fruticosus | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals. |
Paterson's Curse
Echium spp | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals and biological means. |
Illyrium Thistle
Onopordum illyricum | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals. |
Scotch Broom
Cytisus scoparius | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals. |
Sweet Briar
Rosa rubiginosa | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals. |
Bathurst Burr
Xanthium spinosum | Controlled under the Tumut Shire Roadside Vegetation Survey and Management Guidelines March 1997.Methods of control have included use of chemicals. |
About the data
Information was obtained from Tumut Shire Council records.
Description: What does 'controlling pest plants' measure?
Which data are collected?
- proportion of total affected area actually treated by community groups, individuals and government
- change in relative abundance and area infested as a result of implementation of controls/plans
Why do we report this indicator?
There are a number of mechanisms for controlling pest plants and their impacts on the environment - including agricultural areas (agricultural weeds), and native ecosystems (environmental weeds). These include:
- legislative (e.g. controls on the importing, keeping, selling and release of non-native plants, and legal requirements for landholders to eradicate declared noxious species)
- management and control programs
- direct treatment by community groups
- education.
Strategies that can be used to reduce the populations of environmental and agricultural weeds in an area include: biological control, chemical control (herbicides), fire, ringbarking, and physical removal of the plant. The most suitable strategy is determined by the species being controlled, the extent of infestation and its accessibility.
The total proportion of the infested area treated is an indicator of the response by the community to need to protect our native ecosystems and species from the pressure of pest plants. In many instances, it also reflects the community's desire to reduce losses that are inflicted on primary production by these pest species.
There is a consensus that any control programs designed for conservation of threatened and endangered species are best undertaken within the framework of a recovery plan.
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