Breathing life back into the bushland

Scientists at CSIRO Plant Industry are breathing life back into degraded patches of native bushland by identifying ways to improve its health, as well as survival and re-establishment rates.

Recent dust storms over Canberra have focused public attention on land degradation issues facing rural areas. Land clearing contributes to problems like these dust storms, as well as salinity and loss of biodiversity.

Australia has one of the highest rates of land clearing in the world, and in rural areas much of our native vegetation now only remains in small, isolated patches.

"Plants within these patches are at risk of inbreeding," Dr Linda Broadhurst of CSIRO Plant Industry says. "Inbred plants, tend to be more unhealthy and so reduce the viability of a plant population, putting the patch at risk of further deterioration."

"We are identifying the minimum number of plants required in plant populations to avoid problems associated with inbreeding and we can then make recommendations as to how to restore the genetic viability of a plant population," she says.

Another important component of conservation that complements this restoration of existing native vegetation is to re-establish new areas of native vegetation.

Trials undertaken by Dr Peter Thrall and his team at CSIRO Plant Industry have found that the survival and growth rate of certain native plants is significantly increased when they are grown in association with specific naturally occurring soil bacteria.

"We will be able to provide recommendations on which tree species to grow with which bacteria to provide the maximum benefit," Dr Thrall says.

"This could help landholders achieve better success in their tree planting projects, which in turn will help reduce the problems brought about by land clearing in the first place."

Item provided courtesy of CSIRO