Recreating the Country blog |
For all the closet grassland lovers out there – it’s time to come out and declare your passion Have you ever walked over your backyard grass/lawn and been enchanted by its beauty, colour and diversity? Most of you would say something like ‘You’ve got to be joking’! If you answered yes, then you either love a perfect lawn, regularly mowed to within an inch of its life, or you’re one of the few fortunate Australians that have a remnant native grassland on your property. What a rare treasure trove you have! It’s confronting to consider that not very long ago all of our back and front yard lawns, as well as our grassy nature strips, were part of a rich and beautiful native grassland or grassy woodland/forest. Each unique to its location and each supporting an interconnected ecosystem of insects, birds and small mammals. I get super excited when I discover a remnant clump of native grass or a wildflower on a farm visit, during a wander along a creek or even walking along a country street glancing at the nature strip. For me it’s like stepping through a time warp or looking through a window into the past. It’s a powerful reminder of the richness that was once there. I can’t help but wonder what Australia would be like today, if 250 years ago when we foreigners first stepped on shore;
Here is a glimpse into a past, before grassy monocultures displaced our diverse national heritage; It's October. The Milkmaids and Bulbine-lilies have begun to speckle the open areas with white and yellow. Beard Orchids are flowering with a scattering of Donkey Orchids and forests of spectacular Spider Orchids. Austral Bugle opens purple trumpet-like flowers, tiny Sweet Hound's-tongue perfumes the air and Trigger-plants grow tall from grassy tufts. Late in the month the Salmon and Slender Sun Orchids, always sensitive about the weather, will open delicately coloured blooms only if the day is warm enough. Where to look for surviving native grassland plants You're more likely to find surviving native grassland plants in places that are difficult to access. These are out of the way corners that have been less disturbed by people, stock or machinery and they are likely to be treasure troves. These places are usually steep, have rocky outcrops, haven't had any fertiliser added or perhaps sheltered under the canopy of old native trees. In both urban and rural areas, undisturbed parts of cemeteries are often wonderful refuges for native plants. Also check out roadside reserves and rail reserves near you. In rural areas, steep creek banks and hillsides with rocky outcrops usually don't disappoint. Paying a visit to old paddock trees (give them a hug while you're there - see Connecting with nature - a journey into mindfulness) will often reveal a few species of hardy remnant grasses, hardy lilies and some of the more resilient native herbs. A slow wander in spring when plants are flowering can reveal remnant native grasses, herbs, lilies and orchids. Taking the time to explore and make these discoveries is a very rewarding experience! Often the grassland plants that you will discover are remnant native grasses Getting to know the grasses Identifying native grasses is quite easy. Here are some 'tips' to get you started;
Useful references on native grasses; The Victorian Volcanic Plains Biosphere July 2021 newsletter (scroll down and click 'here' to download the pdf) - a great read, very useful articles on grasslands and beautifully presented. Corangamite CMA have just put out a long awaited new edition of 'Plains Facts'. There is a lovely article by Trevor Pescott on the Owlet Nightjar and important information on the Stewardship program that is presently on offer, plus lots more. It is a well produced six-monthly newsletter Surf Coast Nature search - helpful pictures of wildflowers and grasses found in coastal areas Friends of Grasslands: Grasses : Habits and Habitats - lists and descriptions of native grasses Books: Australian Grasses - a gardener's guide to native grasses, sedges, rushes and grass trees by Nick Romanowski Native Grasses. Identification Handbook for Temperate Australia. Ed 3 by Meredith Mitchell. Pub CSIRO. The most commonly seen native grasses; Kangaroo Grass (once covered 70% of Australia), Weeping Grass, Windmill Grass, Wallaby Grasses, Spear Grasses and tussock grasses).
Picture gallery of the more common native grasses Please hover over the images for descriptions. They must be bonkers! Native grasslands or native 'artlands' If you heard a rumour about someone who painted over a priceless Sidney Nolan artwork what would you think? Maybe you’d wonder if they’d gone bonkers. Of course something like that would never happen. No doubt Nolan would have skillfully worked his magic on a canvass for a week or two. Carefully crafting a story through his images of very harsh almost apocalyptic Australian landscapes. In my view planting a lawn, a crop or trees over a priceless remnant grassland is just as bonkers, but sadly this does happen very often. A grassland is crafted by nature over tens of thousands of years and each grassland is a unique ‘canvas’. The many species of small flowering plants combine in a balance of colour and texture that only a master artist could conceive. The intricate ecosystem that is woven into the fabric of each plant community is truly remarkable. A walk through a grassland on a dewy morning will reveal thousands of small sparkling lace-like spider webs adorning the small plants. Each web a masterpiece in itself and each web built only to last one night. There begins the web of life. The larger insects, skinks and small birds feasting on both the spiders and their catch. These grasslands and grassy woodlands that once covered about one third of Victoria are now almost gone. These priceless and unique works of art have been 'painted' over with new ideas and dreams that promised profit and progress. With the benefit of hindsight these goals now look short sighted as well as being very shallow and tawdry As extremely rare surviving works of art, what value is a native grassland today? Stop for a minute and think about what we have lost. Unlike a Sidney Nolan painting that’s been painted over, a grassland can’t be restored to its original intricacy. Any grassland we plant is unlikely to reach the complexity and diversity of an original that has evolved over millennia. May be you have a priceless work of art in your back paddock - what a magnificent asset! Looking after what is left of these irreplaceable natural assets has to become a top priority for our generation. Otherwise the next generation will only know them as myths and legends, like Ned Kelly in one of Sidney Nolan’s famous paintings. You could be paid for protecting your grassland A current Corangamite CMA project aiming to fund the protection and maintenance of grasslands and grassy woodlands has struggled to find enough sites in healthy condition. This program which is called ‘Grassy Eucalypt Woodlands Stewardship Program’ is offering to pay land-owners to look after and improve their remnant grasslands and grassy woodlands. It offers great support and cultural burning undertaken by the Wadawurrung People, the Traditional Owners. For more information contact Jess Lill at the CCMA at jess.lill@ccma.vic.gov.au Get up close to wonderful grasslands near you (John Delpratt and Helen Scott added details of beautiful grasslands to visit as 'comments' below. If you have a beautiful grassland that you want to share, please let us know in the 'comments') Learning about grassland plants takes you on an adventure into plants as well as to amazing places. September and October are good months to see grassland plants flowering. If you take a magnifying glass or a camera with a good macro-lens you will be 'blown away' by their extraordinary beauty. Contact Parks Victoria (or similar in your state), your local Council or Landcare Australia to discover a local 'Friends of ' group and join them for a spring walk in a grassland near you For more ideas on managing grasslands. The articles below are recommended; John Delpratt, an honorary fellow at Melbourne University, discusses restoring Kangaroo Grass communities on disturbed roadsides at Woorndoo, Victoria, in two excellent articles. Part 1 & Part 2 Grassland management - Grazing as an important management tool This article draws on my experience and research, and explains the benefits of grazing techniques to improve the diversity and health of grasslands
In my August blog Kangaroo Grass will be put under the spotlight. This tough adaptable long-lived perennial returns between $1,000 & $2,000/ha for its seed alone. It has many other economic benefits, plus it has a very low fire risk. I'll also discuss seed collecting and propagation for all the DIY readers.
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Eastern Bettong, Bettongia gaimardi - we're missing them big time The ‘truffle junkies’ of Australia were once an integral part of our forest and woodland ecologies. They are the small digging kangaroos known as bettongs and potoroos that have a penchant for eating the fruit of fungi. It surprised me to learn that bettongs and potoroos were the most common kangaroos found in Australia before Europeans arrived? They were so prolific at digging that most woodland trees over 120 years old would have germinated in soils that they turned over. They are called 'ecosystem engineers’ because of the diversity of environmental services that they provided. These include aerating, fertilising and inoculating the soil, mixing leaf litter with soil (reducing bushfire risk) and then creating the perfect preparations that enhance seed germination. Over the breadth of our diverse continent we had six species of bettong and four species of potoroo. The Eastern Bettong supported ecosystems in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. It's average body length is 32 cm with a tail length of 34 cm and an overall weight of around 1.5 kg Here is a short story about two Eastern Bettongs to help you appreciate and connect with these beautiful small kangaroos. In 'A fight for survival' our two main characters are Spit, a young male and Yirn (Wathaurong for moon) a young female. (Its a 7 minute read so make a tea/coffee, sit back and enjoy). A fight for survival Spit Spit was sitting on his favourite boulder, warmed by the late afternoon's sunshine. He had remarkable night sight even for a bettong. From his elevated seat he could watch the other animals waking up. He could see a quoll's pale nose sniffing the air before it climbed down from its tree hollow. He could see a wallaby cautiously lumbering from its shelter amongst the trees. He could see an antechinus scurrying past with young precariously clinging to its back. It was a night with long shadows cast by a full moon and the wet tree trunks were glistening from the day’s late shower. For Spit this was a very familiar scene. Everything was where he expected it to be and was doing what it should be doing. Though Spit felt more alert than usual. An unfamiliar smell was tugging at his cautious marsupial brain as he sniffed the night air. It seemed to be saying “be ready to run”, as running was his only defense. Then from his side he caught a glimpse of a sinister shadow as it launched toward him. In an instant his strong back legs propelled him into the air. His eyes watched the shadow pivot and reach up. His long tail felt a painful nick from the shadow's sharp claws as it instinctively twitched and coiled. The shadow leaped toward him and they fell to the ground thrashing in a treacherous embrace. Spits strong back legs kicked-out freeing him from his attacker. In a blink of an eye he had rolled clear and his powerful hind legs launched him forward. Hopping across the open paddock with his head held low, he zig zagged to confuse the shadow at his heals. He heard its sounds of rage behind him as he extended his leaps forward with his tail trailing low, he made his escape. Park rangers Jill and Kevin were two worried rangers. They had noticed patches of feathers on the ground, so they knew they had a serious problem. Something was killing birds. “It must have been that fallen branch the storm blew against the fence”. There's no other way it could have got through our wiz-bang defenses. ‘Yeah, I think your right. Those strange paw prints we saw yesterday did look like a cats”. “We haven’t had a cat in the sanctuary for fifteen years and it could be anywhere!. They’re smart animals, so it’ll take some catching. It’s sure to kill a lot of wildlife if we don't catch it soon”. “Yeah, we’d better set some cage-traps and put up the motion sensor cameras today” Yirn The nights were getting darker and Spit had almost forgotten about his recent scare. He’d moved to another nest amongst the clumps of lomandra and had found another warm rock to sit on. He had different places on his patch of land where he liked to stay. He know that moving from nest to nest kept him safe from night predators like owls. The rain of a week ago had made the ground soft to dig and there were lots of delicious native truffles, his favourite food. Sometimes he would move closer to Yirn and they would munch on fungi together. Yirn had lived here as long as he had, on a patch of land close by. He liked being beside her and the smell of her truffley breath as they dug and ate together. They were both much more alert than usual because of the dangerous shadow. A shadow is all they ever saw, though they had got to know its fetid smell. It was a dead animal smell and they knew to move well away if they got a scent. The other small animals and birds were nervous too. Only the night before there was a half-eaten potoroo beside the track and scattered bird feathers were now a common site. The night was becoming windy and there was movement in the trees overhead. Spit could hear gum leaves slapping and the sheoak’s whispering mournfully. It was quite dark so he felt confident to move into a more open area where he could smell ripe truffles. Yirn hadn’t moved away with him because they kept mostly to themselves. When Spit glanced back he noticed a shape in the shadows. Its peculiar restless eyes occasionally reflecting the dim moonlight. He coughed-out a warning to Yirn, but it was too late, the growling shadow was over her. Spit was terrified. He felt like hopping as fast as he could toward the protection of the tussock grasses, but he didn’t. He turned toward Yirn, hopping at full speed into the frightening spectacle. With his head low he charged toward the yowling shadow. When he reached Yirn he stopped and propped on his prehensile tail, kicking-out with all the the power of his hind legs, striking the shadow on the side. The shadow screamed with rage and fear as it was knocked clear, releasing the shaken Yirn. Spit and Yirn did what they did best and hopped at full speed, zig zagging across the open field until they found shelter in the tussock grasses beyond. A perplexing discovery “Jill take a look at this! I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years as a park ranger”. “Wow, me neither. We’d better ask the vet for her opinion”. The two rangers sat down with the vet to get her view on their perplexing discovery. “I can only put it down to misadventure” commented the vet. “Though there is extensive bruising under its rib-cage which suggest it was hit with a lot of force. Hard enough to impale it against the broken branch of a tree. Its death would have been instantaneous. This discovery must be a relief for you rangers”. “Yeah said Kevin. This cat has evaded us for weeks. We were about to organise a walk through to try and flush it out, and there it is this morning hanging from a small tree. A grisly sight but for us a huge relief! Who or what did it I can’t imagine, but we’re so thankful. Five potoroos dead and countless birds last week”. The vet added “Lucky this happened when it did, because this cat was pregnant. You would have had five times the trouble in a few months”. "Holy crap! Five cats in this reserve would have set our wildlife recovery program back years, if not decades". New life Spit always kept an eye on Yirn, particularly now that she had a joey in her pouch. The dangerous shadow was gone, but there were always owls to watch out for. Two sets of eyes were better than one and soon there would be three. He felt safe on his patch and he instinctively knew how to look after it. As long as there were truffles and bushes with seeds and berries, he’d happily keep digging and spitting. Spit and Yirn could hear human voices and saw their moonlights coming along the track. They didn’t feel threatened by these humans because they came every night at this time and they always went away. Sometimes they'd leave some tasty seeds. One voice was always louder than the others. Enjoy the twilight spotlighting tour “Over beside the track you can see two Eastern Bettongs. They’re two full size adults with a body length about two thirds of a domestic cat and about half a cat’s body weight. They’re long tail is used for carrying nesting materials like grass and small sticks. We call them our ecosystem engineers because they aerate the soil as they dig for fungi and fallen wattle seeds. Importantly they do something vital to the soil besides digging and they do something special to the wattle seeds before they spit them back into the freshly dug soil. Would anyone like to guess what they’re doing to the wattle seeds”? “Are they mixing them with their saliva”? “That’s a pretty good answer but it’s only half the story. The fallen wattle seeds are too hard for them to eat, so they discard them. Though in the process of chewing fungi and fruit, the wattle seeds become scratched and pitted. This simple process botanists call scarifying and it changes everything. It starts the wattle seeds growing”. “The bettongs seem to have learnt this because within a week or a fortnight they’re back digging in the same spot. By this time some of the wattle seeds are soft, plump and are starting to grow roots. As ‘bean shoots’ they’re now edible, more nutritious and I guess to a bettong, much tastier. The great news is that they don't find all of the germinating wattle seeds, so some are overlooked and grow into strong, healthy trees and shrubs". “But there is more magic that these little ecosystem engineers are working. You suggested before that they are mixing the seeds with saliva. Well that is a very important observation". “A bettong's saliva contains thousands of fungal spores and so does their droppings. This shandy of soil, spores and seeds is literally spat or pooped back onto their diggings before they move on. So they’re digging, planting seeds and inoculating the soil with fungi throughout this woodland every night. Remarkably each bettong moves about 3 tonnes of soil each year, that’s three trailer loads”. “Nearly every plant in this woodland depends on soil fungi to stay healthy? "From the box and ironbark trees overhead to the orchids at our feet, the soil fungi are helping them retrieve important nutrients they can't access on their own. Sadly from being common in the eastern states they are now extinct on the mainland. Though they’re still doing fine in Tasmania where there are no foxes. “Because plants are dependent on soil fungi, can everyone see that the extinction of bettongs is a huge loss for our ecosystems”? Some of the group nod their heads. “Who amongst you has a pet cat? Mm. Well I hope you keep your pets locked inside at night. We’ve had a feral cat in this reserve recently and we lost countless birds and five potoroos in just two weeks. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but your cuddly pet is a super-dangerous predator. Oh just one more important thing that we can thank these little digging kangaroos for. They mix leaf litter with soil, significantly reducing the risk of bushfires. We’re missing these little animals on our bush landscapes big time. Are there any questions"? “How can we get bettongs back into our parks and reserves”? “The short answer is, I wish I knew. There is some evidence that they can survive and breed where cat and fox numbers are kept low. The long answer is there are lots of clever people working on this question, because its so critical to the future health of our nation’s ecosystems. But you can play your part by keeping your cat inside at night". Bettongs deserve a happy ending Spit and Yirn watched the group move away. It was a dark still night with a clear starlit sky. They had picked up some enticing smells of their favourite truffles. And with the soil so soft and moist, truffles were plentiful and easy to dig. Life was good and Spit was relaxed. He was looking forward to enjoying a midnight feast with Yirn and her joey at his side. Click here to read a good news story about how Brush-tail Bettongs have been reintroduced to the Yorke Peninsula (ABC, 18 Sep 2021). Helen Scott is guest blogger & photographer for May Autumn in southern Australia couches memories of cosy nights by an open fire, cool crisp sunny days and deciduous trees displaying colourful autumn leaves. For some of us it may also provide the opportunity to explore our alpine regions and all that they have to offer. This month guest blogger Helen Scott takes a close look at the world of Snow Gums. Some of her photographs were taken in the Kosciuszko National Park. I came across Helen’s photo essay in an edition of the Newham & District Landcare Group’s newsletter, which I highly recommend for its great articles on a diverse range of topics. Helen is the group’s secretary and she has a passion for Snow Gums. I know you will enjoy her writing and beautiful photography in her photo essay. For the love of Snow Gums, Eucalyptus pauciflora The Snow Gum is amongst the hardiest of all Eucalypt species, most commonly thought of as high country trees and often pictured in snow in Alpine regions, like this at Ramshead in Kosciuszko National Park (KNP). Snow Gums are quite wide spread Sometimes called White Sallees, Snow Gums are in fact spread throughout Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania, NSW to just over the Queensland border, and a few in South Australia near Mt Gambier. In Victoria they occur mainly in sub-alpine woodlands. There are 6 subspecies of Snow Gum, all present in Victoria, but the most widespread is Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. pauciflora. Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp pauciflora (Latin, 'pauci', meaning 'few' and 'florus' meaning 'flowered') This usually has a somewhat crooked trunk and many twisted branches, and can grow to 30 metres. It is distinguished by the smooth bark which can be green, grey and cream often with ‘scribbles’. The leathery leaves are long with a curving shape, are glossy green and glisten in the sun, with distinctive longitudinal veins. A distinctive feature is that the veins run parallel to the mid-rib, the only local eucalypt that has this feature. The fruit is thick-rimmed and pear-shaped after lovely and profuse white flowers. Locally it is a mallee or open tree growing to 15-20 metres. E. pauciflora subsp niphophilla This photo was taken in summer walking at our favourite spot in the KNP on Currango/Gurrangorambla plain where we have holidayed for over 40 years. It is most likely Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila. (niphophila is Greek for 'snow lover') Eucalyptus lacrimans On the same plain as above is most likely Eucalyptus lacrimans - Weeping Snow Gum, which some call Whipsticks. (Lacrimans is Latin for weeping) A small tree with a sparse crown, it is restricted to the high plains in the Adaminaby-Kiandra-Rules Point district in the KNP where Currango is located. It differs from E. pauciflora by its relatively slender trunks, open crowns and often pendulous branches. It tends to grow in small pure stands. The other subspecies of E. pauciflora are acerina (Baw Baw plateau), debeuzevillei (KNP-ACT), hedraia (Falls Creek), niphophila (highest ranges), and parvifructa (Grampians). Some Snow Gums are magnificent specimens Snow Gums are among my favourite trees so I get excited when I see magnificent specimens close to home like these pictured below on the Campaspe River in Ashbourne and at a property in Hennebergs Road, Macedon Ranges. There are relict sites in the Macedon Ranges – on the tops of Mt Macedon, Hanging Rock, the Jim, along Bolgers and Hennebergs roads and scattered specimens on other properties and roadsides between Woodend and Kyneton. A relic of the last ice age Ecologist Karl Just pointed out to me that the presence of widely scattered, small and isolated populations of Snow Gum across parts of lowland Victoria such as Newham, which suggests that these are remnants from the colder period during the last Ice Age, when Snow Gum would have been much more widespread. As the species contracted with the warming of the climate, it remained in scattered cooler pockets. These remnants are now obviously at threat from climate change. It is also interesting that in Tasmania, Snow Gum is only found in the warmer eastern half of the State. It is another cold climate specialists such as E. coccifera that occupy the alpine zone. Karl assumes that this is because Tasmania is even colder and was largely covered in glaciers during the Ice Age. Further adaptation and speciation was required to occupy the colder highlands. As per the threat from climate change, I noted Snow Gums dying on Henneberg Road. In the years after the 2009 drought some have died but I have replanted many. The species does regenerate from seed, by epicormic shoots below the bark and from big storage organs called lignotubers at its base. Plant a Snow Gum in your garden Snow Gums can be great in medium to large gardens with bark being a major feature. The growth habit is usually determined by the location in which it is grown. According to Gardening Australia; “...in the home garden, they can be trained, manipulated and even espaliered to recreate some of these forms seen in nature. They will also respond strongly to a heavy prune once established, meaning the magnificent multi-trunks can be replicated.” Click here to watch (1.5min) Snow Gum hybrids are available from specialist nurseries. You may have noticed E. pauciflora ‘Edna Walling Little Snowman’ planted as a street tree in Woodend in Ballymower Mews - it is smaller and semi-weeping with patches of grey, white and reddish-pink bark in older growth on small trunks. (I don’t know what Edna would make of all the varieties of plants that have taken her name) According to Austraflora “Eucalyptus Little Snowman is an elegant choice of tree for your garden. Small and semi-weeping, with a clean creamy-white trunk and branches, a canopy of glossy grey-green leaves, and massed spring-to-summer bird-attracting creamy white flowers". "Eucalyptus Little Snowman has a presence in any landscape large or small. It provides screening and summer shade, and will deal with the coldest conditions (frost and snow) as well as sub tropical, in well drained clay loam. It’s great in near-coastal sites too. If you’ve got some space, Eucalyptus Little Snowman loves company, so a copse of them would be spectacular.” To read more about Snow Gums click on these sites to explore: Extra note: The Snow Gums on the Gippsland Plains are related to those of the high country in Victoria, however ecologists suspect the Gippsland Plains form could be a new sub-species. This is because the populations have been separated for millennia and opportunities for gene flow have been very limited. A note from Helen Scott. This does not purport to be a scientific article, but is written to share my fascination with an iconic species. Stephen has adapted it and added some additional comments.
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Stephen Murphy is an author, an ecologist and a nurseryman. He has been a designer of natural landscapes for over 30 years. He loves the bush, supports Landcare and is a volunteer helping to conserve local reserves. |