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Habitat Restoration Phase 3 1998 - 2002 Summary Funded by the Natural Heritage Trust, Ku-ring Council and a neighbour Targeted exotic smothering vines & comprehensive bush regeneration Supplemented natural regeneration with planting Other events:
Detailed Description With the security of a multi-year Natural Heritage Trust grant we targeted several vine infestations which were smothering and destroying the roosting trees of the flying-foxes. Also comprehensive bush regeneration of additional areas was undertaken as well as maintenance of previously worked areas by Ku-ring-gai Council's annual maintenance allocation. The grant was matched by the Bushcare volunteers' labour. The project was coordinated by members of the Society in association with Ku-ring-gai Council staff. Area 3ci, a small part of the Reserve (0.5 hectare) occupied by the flying-foxes, had few living canopy trees due to smothering by madeira vine Anredera cordifolia. Beneath it was a carpet of the weed trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) which was also preventing any chance of native plants germinating. If no action were taken, then ultimately the entire habitat would be destroyed. To stimulate regeneration of the native understorey vegetation it was necessary to completely remove all the weeds to allow sunlight to reach the soil. This was accomplished using herbicide spray and hand weeding. Native herbs, rushes, ferns and grasses germinated as well as some trees such turpentines Syncarpia glomulifera, native peach Trema aspera and sandpaper fig Ficus coronata. The original site assessment (Buchanan R 1985) recommended that blue gums would cope with the increase in nutrients from the flying-foxes better than blackbutts and angophoras which die in areas occupied by the flying-foxes. Only two mature blue gums Eucalyptus saligna occur in the Reserve. These grow close to Stoney Creek near the middle of the Reserve. To increase the number of blue gums and turpentine trees, KBCS arranged for Ku-ring-gai Council Nursery to collect and propagate seed from a nearby area. The seedlings were protected with short plastic tubes and bamboo stakes. By March 2000 most bluegums had reached 4 metres and the turpentines 1.5 m tall. Area 3cii on the northern side of the Reserve was also commenced in 1998. Both the Bushcare volunteers and the contractors worked in the sub-catchment, we call Sandpaper Creek. Previously a resident had paid bush regenerators to begin work in the Reserve near her property as part of Council's Bushcare program. The regeneration of the native vegetation and return of small birds encouraged the volunteers to work nearby, gradually connecting the areas with fewer weeds. Near the road, piles of woody weeds were burned by Council resulting in the germination of shrubs Acacia linifolia, A.terminalis, A.floribunda, A. ulicifolia, Bauera rubioides, Acrotriche divaricata, grasses especially Entolasia marginata, E. stricta, Microlaena stipoides, and the tall sedge Gahnia clarkei restoring the diversity of native plants. The contract team targeted another infestation of madeira vine on a cliff on the northern boundary which had spread from adjacent properties. In addition they worked through the bushland on the northern side of Stoney Creek from the western boundary to just east of the confluence of Flying-fox Creek. In the north-west corner another resident, owner of the eco-house ‘Moon View', was tackling weed infestations from the Taylor Street road reserve and adjoining private properties. Yet, another resident made a donation of $10,000 to the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife (FNPW) with the request that it be used for this Habitat Restoration Project. The Ku-ring-gai Bat Conservation Society managed this grant for the FNPW. It was used to target vines such as madeira vine, morning glory Ipomea indica, moth vine Araujia sericiflora and balloon vine Cardiospermum grandiflorum, which was invading the canopies of the trees along Stoney Creek. Madeira vine is the most intractable. Its tubers are transported downstream during floods. By applying herbicide to the stems and leaves this weed can be prevented from producing tubers. With repeated treatments tubers in the soil can be killed but this process may take many years as tubers can be buried in sediments deposited from floods. Last modified by Nancy Pallin on 2009/03/17.
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