Biodiversity and status of butterflies in the Ballarat Region, Victoria
- Authors: Ambrose, Graeme
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian Naturalist Vol. 122, no. 1 (2005), p. 21-34
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- Description: The butterfly fauna of the Ballarat Vic region is not well known, reflecting a lack of comprehensive surveys. The characteristics of the Ballarat region are described and butterfly species found locally are documented. Some 45 species from five families and 31 genera are now known for the region, including one introduced species. Management issues include habitat fragmentation and degradation. Some species are insufficiently known in the region to permit the development of management strategies (A).
- Description: 2003001059
Detection, quantification and management of the dispersal of Nassella neesiana (Chilean Needle Grass) seeds in hay bales
- Authors: Weller, Sandra , Florentine, Singarayer , Ambrose, Graeme , Grech, Charles , McLaren, David
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Paper presented at 17th Australasian Weeds Conference: New Frontiers in New Zealand, Together we can beat the weeds p. 428-430
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Summary This paper outlines a project that intends to investigate the link between the occurrences of weeds in pasture hay crops and weed seeds in bales. Noxious weed in particular pose a threat to the livelihoods of primary producers in this manner. As an example of a noxious weed, this project will investigate Nassella neesiana, Chilean needle grass. This species is a restricted (noxious) weed that infests roadsides, native grasslands and pastures that may be baled for hay. In Victoria it has the potential to cause significant economic harm to agricultural areas and the trade in fodder and hay. This project aims to develop methods for the detection of weed seeds in hay bales and provide more information about the role of hay machinery in their spread. Later, we will investigate the extent of seed shedding from hay bales during transportation by road. This project will attempt to correlate the percentage cover of N. neesiana prior to harvest with the seed content of bales. Trial core samples from bales indicate that seeds of N. neesiana and other grass species were present. However, a correlation has not yet been established between weed biomass and the seed content of bales.
Ecology of the endangered Southern Shepherd's Purse Ballantinia antipoda (Brassicaceae) and the associated moss mat community on Mount Alexander, Victoria
- Authors: Ambrose, Graeme , Florentine, Singarayer , Seidel, Jessica , Wilson, Michael
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian Naturalist Vol. 122, no. (2005), p. 179-188
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- Description: Despite its rarity, conservation status and location within the regional park, there is only limited information on the ecology of B. antipoda. The significance of the micorhabitat provided by the associated moss mat community is unclear.
- Description: 2003001088
Finding needles in a haystack: an investigation of non-destructive method to detect the seeds of Chilean needle grass (Nassella Neesiana (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth) in round hay bales
- Authors: Weller, Sandra , Florentine, Singarayer , Ambrose, Graeme , Grech, Charles , McLaren, David
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 18th Australasian Weeds Conference p. 222-240
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Preserved fodder is a key component in modern agricultural practice. Hay bales are commonly provisioned for livestock. Unfortunately this is also a significant source of new weed infestations, including those of noxious species. Because hay bales may be of a low absolute value the usual approaches for weed control, for example herbicide treatment, may be expensive to apply and therefore not justified by the expected economic returns for this commodity. The methods of detecting weed seeds in bales that have been employed to date suffer from several deficiencies. These include the inefficiently long time needed for testing, loss of the commodity by overly destructive sampling methods and a serious potential for a lack of ecological representation for the presence of weeds. It is proposed that an alternative method, which is both potentially more rapid and more ecologically representative for detecting the presence of the seeds of noxious weeds in hay bales should be devised.
The arid land invasive weed Nicotiana glauca R. Graham (Solanaceae) : Population and soil seed bank dynamics, seed germination patterns and seedling response to flood and drought
- Authors: Florentine, Singarayer , Westbrooke, Martin , Gosney, Kathleen , Ambrose, Graeme , O’Keefe, M.
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Arid Environments Vol. 66, no. (2006), p. 218-230
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- Description: Disturbances in plant communities provide opportunities for weed germination, propagation, spread, and invasion. When the population density of a weed increases, fast-tracked and appropriate control management strategies are required. The objectives of this study were to: (i) examine the population and soil seed bank dynamics of Nicotiana glauca; (ii) compare the germination patterns of invasive N. glauca seeds collected from two states in Australia, and (iii) investigate the impact of a flood in September 1997 and subsequent drought on N. glauca seedlings. The density of N. glauca followed a steep positive increment during the sampling time (September 1999 to October 2004). The increment pattern was similar in flooded fenced and unfenced plots. Plant density increased over much of the observation period, but had declined to 80 and 432 stems ha−1, respectively, by October 2004. Stem density recorded in October 2004 along two transects radiating from the central point of the newly created lake demonstrated that a significant number of stems appeared to be dead. A soil seed bank study revealed that seed density varied significantly (p=0.0001) between flooded fenced (598.75±71) and flooded unfenced (327.5±66) plots. In contrast, no N. glauca seedlings were recruited from the soil collected from the control plots. Germination trials were undertaken on N. glauca seed collected from New South Wales. There was no significance difference detected between treatments light and temperature. Similarly, no interaction was found between light and temperature. A comparative study on seed germination patterns of N. glauca seeds collected from Ivanhoe, New South Wales, and the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, showed that temperature had a significant effect on N. glauca seed germination. The effect varied significantly with main variables (state, length and time) and also with different interactions, except state×light (p=0.3840). N. glauca seedlings exposed to flood were found to withstand partial flooding for at least 58 days. Under waterlogged conditions, the seedlings showed stem hypertrophy and produced adventitious roots. Only one seedling was found dead in the drought treatment. In conclusion, it is clear that N. glauca invaded the area after a rare flood event and began to function as a casual weed. Established seedlings in the field can withstand extreme ecological events such as flood and drought. Understanding the plants’ ecological characteristics through a study such as this at an early rather than late stage in the invasion will help us to take appropriate control measures for this species.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001616
The Current Status Of Different Age, Direct-Seeded Revegetation Sites In An Agricultural Landscape In The Burrumbeet Region, Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Florentine, Singarayer , Graz, Patrick , Ambrose, Graeme , O'Brien, L.
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Land Degradation and Development Vol. 24, no. 1 (2013), p. 81-89
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Many vegetation restoration works have been undertaken in Australia but only a few of those projects have been assessed for effectiveness. Revisiting earlier restoration attempts and analysing data from them is fundamental to the development of evidence-based prescriptions for future restoration work. Therefore, this study's objectives were to (I) compare plant species composition of different age direct-seeded revegetated sites and (II) determine the effect, if any, of different ages of revegetated sites on the natural recruitment of native plants. The study investigated four fenced restoration sites, dating from 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Results showed that the density of plants surviving varied widely between plots of different ages. The highest density was found in the 2001 plot (2195·.7 stemsha-1), followed by 2000 (1877·8 stemsha-1), 2004 (197·6 stemsha-1) and 2005 (195·4 stemsha-1). An ANOVA showed that the overall amount of seed broadcast does not play a significant (p=0·437) role in the establishment rate. Overall, Eucalyptus ovata was found to be dominant in the 2000 (794·4ha-1) and 2001 (971ha-1) sites. In contrast, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus viminalis densities were highest in the 2004 (41ha-1) and 2005 (60·4ha-1) sites, respectively. PERMANOVA showed highly significant differences in the present plant composition between plots (p<0·0001), despite similar species mixes used in sowing. Recruitment was not found in any of the sites. The least weed cover and the highest litter cover were found in the 2001 plot. A similar trend was found in the 2000 plot. In contrast, high weed cover and low litter cover were found in the 2004 and 2005 plots. Since one of the major impediments to developing better restoration strategies is the inadequate documentation of past practices, studies such as these may shed some light on how the direct-seeded technique operates in a farm situation. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.