Bush For LifeAutumn 2010Number 4

The Bushcarer

You are one of over 700 bushcarers actively managing more than 300 Bush For Life sites encompassing more

than 3400ha of bushland in South Australia

Autumn Edition

Welcome to the fourth edition of the Bush For

Life newsletter. In this edition we will discuss different treatment methods for soursob; Sue Bradstreet shares the results of broom eradication trials she has conducted on her Heritage Agreement Bush For Life site; we offer a refresher in tool cleaning for Phytophthora prevention and present an opportunity for volunteers to enjoy a Yorke Peninsula bushcare getaway. Happy reading (and bushcaring!)

Thanks A Million!

Most of you will have returned your Bush For

Life 2009 End of Year Questionnaire by now. This time we asked you to record the hours worked during 2009 straight onto the questionnaire. The results were extremely positive and have been reported in the latest issue of Releaf. However, the most exciting finding was that in 2009 Bush For Life site and group activity volunteers contributed an in-kind equivalent of over a million dollars worth of on-ground works! Congratulations to all volunteers for working hard to improve the condition of the native vegetation on their site. We look forward to another successful year in 2010.

Managing Hazards

Trees For Life is responsible for the safety of all

volunteers and as part of this responsibility we provide a booklet called “Hazard Management Advice for Bush For Life”. This covers the hazards commonly encountered whilst participating in Bush For Life activities and advises how to minimise or avoid your risk. We ask that all volunteers follow this advice at all times. All bushcarers will have received this booklet during the Introductory Workshop, however there have been a few changes. The most up to date version is available on the Bush For Life pages of our website, or by calling the BFL Volunteer Coordinator on 8406 0542.

New Hot Weather Policy

The Trees For Life “Working in Hot/Sunny Conditions”

Hazard Management Advice has changed and this affects all Bush For Life volunteers. The main issues to be aware of are:

• When a total fire ban is imposed, no field work activities of any kind are to be carried out in the fire ban area.

• When the local forecast maximum is for 33C or above, all Bush For Life volunteer activities must be cancelled or rescheduled.

If you are unsure of whether you are able to go and work on your Bush For Life site due to hot conditions, please contact your Regional Coordinator.

Bush For Life News

Contact usThe Bushcarer is a production of Trees For Life.

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Trees For Life

5 May Tce

Brooklyn Park 5032

Ph: 8406 0500

Fax: 8406 0599

bfl@treesforlife.org.au

www.treesforlife.org.au

Cover photos from top to bottom: Xerochrysum bracteatum; Eucalyptus baxteri; Daviesia leptophylla

Bush Condition Monitoring

Trees For Life in conjunction with Nature Conservation

Society of SA has trained a number of Bush For Life volunteers in the techniques of Bushland Condition Monitoring. If you have attended this training and would like to put your skills to use, please register your details with the Bush For Life Volunteer Coordinator on 8406 0542 .

Weed Control - Soursobs

Hand pulling is inefficient, does not destroy the bulbs and can encourage proliferation by spreading bulbils. Volunteers have used this technique on small areas in Folland Park but it’s taken up to ten years to get it under control.

It is often better to create areas that are free of tenacious weeds such as soursob, replacing them with more “benign” weeds such as annual grasses that allow some scope for regeneration of natives and succumb to succession as the regeneration process advances.

Soursob Control: Proceed With Caution

It is very important to consider what the likely results of soursob control will be. Don’t treat too large an area before you understand the consequences, feral grasses that replace the soursob may become a fire hazard. Take into consideration the other weeds present and likelihood of

By MARK ELLIS

BFL Manager

Folland Park in Enfield is a 3.5ha remnant of the

original mallee and native pine woodland that once covered much of the Adelaide Plains. It was set aside for conservation by the original settler Charles Folland in the 1840’s, but was used for grazing in the 1940’s and ‘50s and for recreation after that. By the time the area was established as a Heritage Agreement by the Enfield Council in 1989 and later became a Bush For Life site in 1995 much of the original understorey had been lost and replaced with feral weeds. However after more than two decades of protection and bushcare a number of native species have reappeared from the seed bank, taking the number of indigenous species to 60.

One of the biggest issues on the reserve, and one that is limiting recruitment of indigenous understorey species is the high prevalence of soursob (Oxalis pes-caprae).

About SoursobSoursob is well known to

gardeners as a tenacious and hard to eradicate weed. It forms a dense cover of leaves when soil moisture is available thus preventing regeneration of natives, then disappears completely in summer leaving suspicious looking “scalds” of bare soil. Reproduction is both by underground bulbs and bulbils produced on the rhizome and in the axils of the leaves. Feral soursob populations exhibit several different “chromosome races” (i.e. differing numbers of chromosome sets or ploidy levels) which results in most populations in SA being unable to form viable seed.

native regeneration.When approaching soursob

on a site such as Folland Park consider the following:• Target isolated clumps whether or not they are in the good bush. Controlling these smaller areas will prevent infestation of large areas later that will soon be the target of bush regeneration works. This can be done most simply with glyphosate if no natives are present.• Target areas of native grass (devoid of native broadleaf and bulbs) using a selective broadleaf herbicide to establish “clean” areas.

Each site is unique therefore you should discuss your strategy with your Regional Coordinator who can also give you specific advice for your site.

To learn more register for the Grassy Ecosystems Workshop on Wednesday 30th June by phoning the Trees For Life office on 8406 0500.

When Broadleaf Weeds Leave A Sour Taste…

Soursob spreads to new sites either slowly underground by division of bulbs, or more rapidly through movement of bulbils produced above ground transported through movement of soil, mulch or water. Much rarer is colonisation by seed from fertile populations. New plants produced from bulbils will flower in their second year.

Once established on a site, whether as a monoculture or scattered throughout other grassy or broadleaf vegetation soursob is basically there to stay. For this reason we need to come up with some strategies for tackling it on Bush For Life sites, to provide the best conditions for natural regeneration of the indigenous flora.

Soursob Treatment MethodsThere are two main

treatment methods for soursob. A broad spectrum, systemic herbicide (glyphosate) can be applied during active growth. We recommend it be done whenever enough leaf area is available for uptake of the spray, and the plant is in active growth. Don’t wait till just before flowering as some guides recommend, as you may miss the opportunity resulting in proliferation of bulbils. This technique is non-specific and off target damage can occur if spraying. However, soursob foliage can be “gently parted” away from natives and swabbed to treat infestations amongst natives. Shielding natives to enable spot spraying is also a good idea, ask your Regional Coordinator for a demonstration.

The second treatment method is to apply a selective broadleaf herbicide such as brush-off (metsulfuron methyl) early in the season while in active growth. This can be done amongst grasses and sedges but may cause off target damage to native broadleaf species and bulbs such as chocolate lily, orchids or garland lilies.

Soursob weed front. Dense “canopy” prevents regeneration of natives.

Soursob and native grasses. Potential broadleaf selective herbicide treatment area.

Site Case Study - Bradstreet’s Bushland

By SUE BRADSTREET

BFL Field Officer

In 1999 a dedicated Bush For Life volunteer wrote an

article about the dilemma of removing Genista monspessulana (Montpellier broom) from bushland on my Heritage Agreement property in Macclesfield. She observed that many small seedlings germinating after primary clearance did not survive the hot summers, therefore time was better spent removing mature, seeding plants.

These observations formed a strategy where John, Jenny (my very dedicated volunteers) and I allowed for natural die back in primary clearance areas, restricting follow up control to plants likely to flower and seed that season. The time this takes each year is decreasing enormously which leaves a lot more time for primary clearance of mature plant weed fronts in new areas.

One difficulty in treating

Genista is that many are tucked in and under Acacia paradoxa. This left me wondering if it was really necessary to get to the base of the stem to apply herbicide. During discussions with Jill Stone (BFL volunteer) and Harry Chambis (BFL workshop presenter) both agreed that if a plant is cut below any growing points then it should not require herbicide treatment.

Treatment TrialsWith this information in

mind I decided to undertake some trials on Genista treatment methods. With the help of TFL staff a series of 4 quadrats divided in halves were set up on a south-east facing slope under open, dappled eucalypt shade. There were some annual weed grasses present with very sparse native ground cover. The sunniest area had the least dense infestation of Genista while the shadiest area close to the eucalypt had the most dense infestation. In each quadrat Genista plants were counted and cut at different heights as follows: • Quad. 1 - Approx. 10cm high• Quad. 2 - Ground level• Quad. 3 - Approx. 40cm high

• Quad. 4 - Just below flowers or seeds On one half of each quadrat the plants were treated with the cut and swab method using Glyphosate at a rate of 1:5 with a few drops of blue dye. On the other half of each quadrat NO herbicide was applied. Any plants outside the quadrats were removed so they did not impact on the trial.

ResultsAfter the very hot summer

of 2008-09 and also after a reasonably wet spring in 2009, reshooting and flowering plants were again counted. The results are shown in the table below.

From the trials the most effective treatments (100 per cent effective) were:• Plants cut just below flowers or seeds and swabbed.• Plants cut approx. 10cm high and swabbed. • Plants cut at ground level and NOT swabbed.

Treatments more than 70 per cent effective were:• Plants cut approx. 10cm high and NOT swabbed (88 per cent effective)• Plants cut approx. 40cm high and swabbed (84 per cent effective)• Plants cut just below flowers

and seeds and NOT swabbed (74 per cent effective)

Least effective treatment methods were:• Plants cut approx. 40cm high and NOT swabbed (31 per cent effective)

ConclusionEven though there may be

other factors affecting the results of these trials e.g. excessive hot dry spells, loss of soil moisture, competition, age of plants, differences in shade and even animal predation; they do still provide evidence that all treatment methods, including the least successful will dramatically reduce the number of plants producing seed in the next season. At this stage it seems that the volunteers and I can work more effectively by cutting higher and swabbing or by cutting very low with long handled loppers without swabbing. This will allow more time to treat plants along the weed front reducing seed production.

I will continue to monitor these quadrats in future seasons to come to a more definite conclusion, however I will certainly NOT be crawling under Acacia paradoxa to cut and swab Genista at the base of the stem anymore!

Removing Genista monspessulana

The Bushcarer is printed on CyclusPrint 115gsm, 100% post-consumer recycled paper

Genista monspessulana treatment trial results

BFL Volunteering

Escape To The Coast

By JENNA CURRIE

BFL Field Officer

How often, if ever do you clean your bushcare

tools? Tools that are not maintained can make your vital bushcare work far less effective. There are 2 important reasons for keeping your tools clean:

• preventing the spread of Phytophthora; and • keeping your herbicide mix effective.

Phytophthora Prevention Just like the soil on the

soles of your boots, the soil or plant material that comes into contact with your secateurs, loppers or swabber has the potential to harbour the Phytophthora Root Rot Fungus (Phytophthora cinnamoni). You might think your site isn’t infected with Phytophthora, however most Bush For Life sites are publicly accessible and we never know whether a site has been infected by other members of the public.

Phytophthora is a serious threat to our native flora and fauna. Once an area is infected it cannot be eradicated. Appropriate management practices can assist in containing the disease and minimising the likelihood of spread. Bush For Life recommendations for hygiene procedures can be

found in your Introductory Workshop booklet. If you have not been issued with a Phytophthora prevention kit please contact your Regional Coordinator.

Herbicide EffectivenessIt is a myth that soil on

your swabber sponge can contaminate the entire contents of the bottle. However, if your sponge is covered in soil and you attempt to apply herbicide it can potentially bind to the soil left on your sponge. As a result the herbicide application will not be as effective. If your clean sponge becomes dirty while you’re working, clean it by gently tapping the side of the bottle on the inside of your bucket. Alternatively, use fallen bark or hand pulled weeds to wipe off excess dirt.

Tool CleaningCleaning your cutting tools

is a 5 minutes process that should be completed after every site visit. Simply scrub your tools with soapy water, rinse and allow excess water to drip off. Apply a light spray of Methylated spirits and leave to dry (also a good time to apply lubricant). Swabber sponges do not need to be washed after every use. Scrub with a soft bristled brush to remove dirt or plant material from the sponge and wash off dirt or herbicide from the bottle and lid. Please wear gloves and eye protection when handling herbicide and remember, clean tools = clean bush land.

Adelaide & Mt. Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board

South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board

The Bush For Life program is sup-ported by the South Australian Government through the Adelaide & Mt. Lofty NRM Board, the Murray Darling Basin NRM Board, the Native Vegetation Council; participating local governments & corporate landholders, Trees For Life members and donors, and the federal government’s Caring For Our Country program.

Supporters:

By ALEX COOMBE

BFL Operations Manager (North)

Wouldn’t you like to escape the smog, traffic

lights and car horns for a while? To recharge among dunes, with the feel of a gentle sea breeze, the smell of salty ocean air and the sound of waves breaking? If you are saying “yes” then come and join a four day extended Bush Action Team on the Yorke Peninsula.

Bush For Life helps private landholders on the Yorke Peninsula manage their precious native vegetation with a variety of volunteer activities. If you join a Bush Action Team you’ll have the opportunity to visit several different parts of the Peninsula and make a positive impact on its natural beauty (check the Group Activities Schedule enclosed with this newsletter for dates and booking process).

If camping out on-site or staying at a seaside caravan park sounds like something you would enjoy, then you may be interested in our forthcoming mini-BAT program for the Yorke Peninsula. These smaller groups are not scheduled in advance, allowing flexibility to fit in with your schedule and make the most of perfect

How Clean Are Your Tools?

weather for your getaway. To register your interest in these mini-BATs call Sam, the BFL Volunteer Coordinator on 08 8406 0542 or email samanthab@treesforlife.org.au.

Comparison of a dirty and clean swabber head

Bush For Life volunteer working on a Yorke Peninsula beach front site