Boneseed in Australia

Last updated

Boneseed and closely related Bitou Bush are two subspecies of Chrysanthemoides monilifera , an invasive species in Australia

Contents

Boneseed was introduced to Australia as an ornamental garden plant from the mid-nineteenth century, with examples first recorded in gardens in Sydney in 1852 and Melbourne in 1858. [1] It is thought that Boneseed had become naturalised in Australia, with self-sustaining populations, from around 1910. [1] Bitou Bush arrived slightly later in around 1908, most likely in the ballast of a South African ship docked off New South Wales. [2] Thereafter both subspecies were planted extensively to stabilise coastal sand dunes and control erosion, particularly from the mid-1940s to the 1960s, with Boneseed more commonly planted in Victoria and Bitou Bush more commonly planted in NSW and Southern Queensland. [2] Boneseed was introduced to the You Yangs, south west of Melbourne, Victoria, to control soil erosion. [1]

By the late-1960s both species of C. monilifera had come to be recognised as significant weeds. Boneseed was proclaimed a noxious weed in Victoria in 1969. [3] Not long thereafter, the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science (AIAS) suggested that Boneseed could potentially be "the most important weed on public land in southern Victoria" [4] due to its ability to colonise areas of bushland without the level of significant disturbance often required by other weedy species. [4] In fact, the AIAS estimated that by 1976 Boneseed had colonised around 405 hectares in the You Yangs, with an even larger area affected on the Mornington Peninsula. [4] Since then the population's expansion has been dramatic, and in the You Yangs, by 2003 it was estimated that Boneseed had extended its presence to around 1300 hectares of the 2000-hectare park. [5]

It was listed on the Weeds of National Significance in 2000 and is one of the 20 most significant weeds in Australia because of its invasiveness, potential for spread, and environmental and economic impacts. [6]

C. monilifera has a particularly wide potential range. [1] It is predicted that over time C. monilifera could significantly expand its current distribution to almost all of South Eastern Australia apart from the Alps. [1]

Impact

C. monilifera has been particularly successful in invading natural bushland. In part, this is due to the species' ability to establish on relatively nutrient-poor soils [3] and in areas exposed to salt such as coastlines, as well as the ability of the seeds to germinate readily. [5] Disturbances such as fire can assist C. monilifera to spread as the plant produces a large amount of seed that can persist in the soil seed bank for 10 years or more, and this reserve in turn enables the species to quickly recolonize a burnt area. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Ben Boyd National Park Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

Ben Boyd National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 578 km (359 mi) south of Sydney.

Booti Booti National Park Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

Booti Booti National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 282 kilometres (175 mi), by road, north-north-east of Sydney. The holiday town of Forster-Tuncurry lies immediately to the north.

Yuraygir National Park Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

Yuraygir is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, located 482 km (300 mi) northeast of Sydney. It was created in 1980, a result of the merger and enlargement of two national parks, Angourie and Red Rock National Parks, both of which had been established in 1975. At the time of its establishment in 1980, the park was fragmented, and parcels of land were bought over the following two decades to unite segments into a more contiguous protected area. Sometimes these acquisitions required protracted negotiations with land owners.

Yarra Ranges National Park Protected area in Victoria, Australia

Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern state Victoria, 107 km northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the park features a carbon-rich, temperate rainforest and a subalpine eucalypt forest on its northern plateau. It is home to large stands of mountain ash, the tallest tree species in Australia and among the tallest in the world. A wide diversity of fauna make their home across the park's 76,003 hectares, including kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, platypi and 120 species of native birds. Among the conservation challenges facing Yarra Ranges National Park are climate change and invasive species of weeds.

Weed control The botanical component of pest control; pest control for plants

Weed control is a type of pest control, which attempts to stop or reduce growth of weeds, especially noxious weeds, with the aim of reducing their competition with desired flora and fauna including domesticated plants and livestock, and in natural settings preventing non native species competing with native species.

Bush regeneration, a form of natural area restoration, is the term used in Australia for the ecological restoration of remnant vegetation areas, such as through the minimisation of negative disturbances, both exogenous such as exotic weeds and endogenous such as erosion. It may also attempt to recreate conditions of pre-European arrival, for example by simulating endogenous disturbances such as fire. Bush regeneration attempts to protect and enhance the floral biodiversity in an area by providing conditions conducive to the recruitment and survival of native plants.

<i>Chrysanthemoides monilifera</i> Species of plant

Osteospermum moniliferum(Chrysanthemoides monilifera) is an evergreen flowering shrub or small tree of the Asteraceae (daisy) family that is native to South Africa, such as the Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat. Most subspecies have woolly, dull, serrate, oval leaves, but the subspecies rotundata has glossy round leaves. Subspecies are known as boneseed and bitou bush in Australasia, or bietou, tick berry, bosluisbessie, or weskusbietou in South Africa. The plant has become a major environmental weed and invasive species in Australia and New Zealand.

Hardys Bay, New South Wales Suburb of Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia

Hardys Bay is a south-eastern suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia on the Bouddi Peninsula. It is part of the Central Coast Council local government area.

Noxious weed Harmful or invasive weed

A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or livestock. Most noxious weeds have been introduced into an ecosystem by ignorance, mismanagement, or accident. Some noxious weeds are native. Typically they are plants that grow aggressively, multiply quickly without natural controls, and display adverse effects through contact or ingestion. Noxious weeds are a large problem in many parts of the world, greatly affecting areas of agriculture, forest management, nature reserves, parks and other open space.

<i>Pimelea spicata</i> Species of flowering plant

Pimelea spicata, commonly known as the spiked rice flower, is a flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a slender plant with white flowers and elliptic leaves.

<i>Chrysanthemoides</i> Genus of flowering plants

Chrysanthemoides is one of eight genera of the Calenduleae, with a centre of diversity in South Africa. The genus contains only two species, but is known for the invasive "Bitou Bush" Chrysanthemoides monilifera. Studies of this genus have determined that there is a large amount of genetic variation between populations, suggesting an extreme adaptive capability in the plants. Some of these variations are recognised, such as Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata.

<i>Ageratina adenophora</i> Weedy species of flowering plant

Ageratina adenophora, commonly known as Crofton weed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Mexico and Central America. Originally grown as an ornamental plant, it has become invasive into farmland and bushland worldwide. It is toxic to horses, who develop a respiratory disease known as Numinbah Horse Sickness after eating it.

Glenbrook Lagoon Body of water

Glenbrook Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon located in Glenbrook, New South Wales at the foot of the Blue Mountains. It is heritage-listed.

Organ Pipes National Park Protected area in Victoria, Australia

The Organ Pipes National Park, abbreviated as OPNP, is a national park located in the Central region of Victoria, Australia. The 121-hectare (300-acre) protected area was established with the focus on conservation of the native flora and fauna, and preservation of the geological features in the Jacksons Creek, a part of the Maribyrnong valley, north-west of Melbourne. It is situated in a deep gorge in the grassy, basalt Keilor Plains.

<i>Pterostylis truncata</i> Species of orchid

Pterostylis truncata, commonly known as the brittle greenhood or little dumpies, is a species of orchid endemic to eastern Australia. It is easily distinguished from other greenhood orchids by its short habit and relatively large, "dumpy", green, white and brown flowers. It is widespread and common in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory but is classed as "endangered" in Victoria due to habitat loss as a result of urbanisation.

<i>Melaleuca groveana</i> Species of flowering plant

Melaleuca groveana, commonly known as Grove's paperbark is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is an uncommon species with relatively large heads of white flowers in spring, the styles of which are significantly longer than the stamens.

Glenrock State Conservation Area

Glenrock State Conservation Area is a protected conservation area located eight kilometres south of the central business district of Newcastle in the state of New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia. The park borders the coast and encompasses 534 hectares stretching from the residential suburbs of Merewether to Dudley within the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas.

Limeburners Creek National Park Protected area in New South Wales, Australia

Limeburners Creek National Park is a protected national park on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The 91.2 km national park is located 5 km (3.1 mi) to the north of Port Macquarie and exists across both the Kempsey Shire and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council local government areas, but is chiefly managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service. The area was originally erected as a nature reserve but this reservation was revoked when it became formally recognised as a national park in 2010 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act (1974). Many threatened ecological habitats and species of fauna and flora are found within this park, alongside several heritage sites of cultural significance, particularly to the local Birpai and Dunghutti people upon whose land the park exists. The protected status of this national park is largely owing to the ecological and cultural value of the area, in addition to the value of the ecosystems to further scientific research.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Brougham, KJ; Cherry, H; Downey, PO (2006), Boneseed management manual: current management and control options for boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. monilifera) in Australia (PDF), Sydney, NSW, Australia: Department of Environment and Conservation NSW, pp. 2–5, archived from the original on 2008-01-13, retrieved 2008-08-04(Archived by the Wayback Machine: Introduction, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, , )
  2. 1 2 Burgman, MA; Lindenmayer, DB (1998), Conservation Biology for the Australian Environment, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia: Surrey Beatty & Sons, p. 141, ISBN   0-949324-78-7, OCLC   44708810
  3. 1 2 Parsons, WT (1973), Noxious weeds of Victoria, Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Inkata Press, pp. 100–101, ISBN   0-909605-00-9, OCLC   874633
  4. 1 2 3 Australian Institute of Agricultural Science (1976), The threat of weeds to bushland: A Victorian study, Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Inkata Press, pp. 21–23
  5. 1 2 CRC for Australian Weed Management (2003), Weed Management Guide – Boneseed - Chrysanthemoidesmonilifera ssp. monilifera. (PDF), pp. 1–2, archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-24, retrieved 2008-08-04 (Archived by the Wayback Machine)
  6. ↑ Thorp, JR; Lynch, R (2000), The Determination of Weeds of National Significance, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia: National Weeds Strategy Executive Committee, archived from the original on 2008-07-30, retrieved 2008-08-04(Archived by )
  7. ↑ Blood, K (2001), Environmental weeds: a field guide for SE Australia, Melbourne, Vic., Australia: CH Jerram & Associates, pp. 46–47, 86, ISBN   0-9579086-0-1, OCLC   156877920
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.