Native grasslands provide an economical grazing alternative to improved pastures. They can provide a diverse and nutritious feed for stock with less input required to maintain plant growth and field health. High yielding improved pastures, on the other hand, require a time and financial cost to create and maintain.
In addition to their agricultural value, native grasslands are recognised as culturally and ecologically important systems. Management solutions are being developed and adapted to satisfy these multiple objectives. Efforts are being made to re-introduce perennial native grass cover to improve pasture productivity and reduce the environmental impacts of human activities. Restoration of grassy landscapes is occurring through independent
initiatives, uptake of Catchment Management Authority incentives and through government regulation.
Section 24 of the Native Vegetation Act, 2003, provides regulatory control of grazing of native grasslands. While existing grazing activities are permitted to continue, the Act only permits new grazing practices that are not likely to result in the substantial long-term decline in the structure and composition of native vegetation. Advice on the need for approval for new grazing practices and clearing of native grasslands can be sought from CMA offices and through the Native Vegetation Information Sheets (http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/ vegetation/infosheets.htm).
Best Practice Grazing Management
Better Planning and Partnering:
From Properties to Catchments
Effective management of native grasslands requires planning at both property and catchment scales. Knowledge of individual plant species, the plant communities and their requirements for maintenance or improvement is essential.
An increasing number of land managers prepare property plans and seek to
enhance the value of native grasslands on their property. Some land managers have delineated their property into productivity zones. Once the farm is mapped into productivity or management zones, the spatial arrangement of land-use intensity can be optimised to maintain or increase diversity across the property. Low intensity pastoral use (i.e. negligible fertilisers, no cultivation, intermittent or light grazing, and minimal earthworks) can be continued on appropriate parts of the landscape to maintain native species richness at a local scale.
If best practice management is adopted across whole catchments or landscapes, linked networks of native grassland can improve grassland function, enable grassland organisms to move through the landscape for breeding and dispersal (including dispersal of seeds and cross-pollination of plants), and assist weed management.
The most efficient means to integrate catchment and property planning is to first establish the catchment or regional plan. A regional plan can identify areas of high, moderate and low conservation significance and areas in need of restoration. This will provide a framework for the objectives of individual property plans, allowing land managers to see the contribution of their proposed actions to the common goal. Awareness of the integrated values of native
grasslands has increased over recent decades. A key aim of best practice management is to maintain a diversity of native species. Non- continuous grazing, when properly applied and with knowledge of species behaviour, can be used to maintain and enhance grassland composition by resting paddocks when desirable species are recovering from a major stress event such as fire or drought, or when they are flowering and dispersing seed. Some general best practice concepts for native grassland management include:
●
● maintain appropriate stocking rates, that
is, matching available feed with livestock requirements;
●
● employ non-continuous grazing (e.g.
rotational or tactical grazing) rather than continuous grazing;
●
● ensure fertiliser use does not
disadvantage native species; and
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● avoid immediate and dramatic changes to
existing management at high quality sites.
Grazing to Increase Diversity
Research has shown that grasslands require some form of disturbance to maintain species richness and health. Prior to
European settlement, use of fire by Aboriginal people was the disturbance mechanism that stimulated diversity in grasslands. Fire is not often a practical modern day management tool, particularly on actively grazed land. Research has demonstrated that stock grazing can achieve similar diversity, but sometimes a different species mix, if undertaken appropriately. Mowing and slashing can occasionally be effective. Spelling grazed paddocks to allow plants to germinate, grow, flower and set seed assists maintenance of species diversity, especially
Case Study:
CMAs Partnering with Land Managers to Protect Native Grasslands
Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority
The Monaro Plains in the SnowyMountains appear to be a barren landscape. However, the wet and dry tussock grasslands and alpine grasslands contain a diversity of flora and fauna adapted to the region. The Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA) is working with private landowners to develop a network of members to highlight and protect the biological significance of these areas.
On the Monaro Plains, high and
medium conservation grasslands occur on private land in areas of higher productivity. The project aims to assist and promote grassland conservation through sustainable farm management.
Landowners who have signed management agreements with the CMA have access to: technical advice from specialised staff; a network of like-minded landowners who want to sustainably manage grasslands on their property for conservation and production; and incentive funding to protect significant sites.
With 250,000 hectares of grasslands in the region, significant conservation outcomes are anticipated from the improved
management.
More information on this work can be found at: http://www.nrm.gov.au/projects/ nsw/sriv/2006-08.html
Case Study:
A Community Group Makes a Difference
D. Costello and West Hume Landcare Group
The burning of vegetation in rail corridors was a regular management practice until many of the rail lines closed in the early 1980s.The West Hume Landcare group re- discovered five hectares of native grassland along the Culcairn to Corowa railway line in 1992. A botanical survey by the group identified more than 50 groundcover species including native grasses, lilies and orchids. The group had concerns that the thick swards of native Kangaroo Grass were smothering much of the diversity found within the site. It was
Rural Fire Service, implemented a prescribed burn of the site with the aim of reducing the Kangaroo Grass cover and opening the inter-tussock space to allow regeneration of the smaller native herbs and grasses. After three months the burn was deemed a success, with an impressive show of wild flowers emerging, despite ongoing drought. This action increased the biodiversity of this site and offered valuable education for the local community who could see more value in the site when the grassland was flowering. The group continues to manage the site
Restoration of Native Grasslands and Native Grasses
Harvesting seed from Red Grass (Bothriochloa decipiens) for sowing (Image: Mary Goodacre)
Addressing Climate Change
Native grasslands play a role in the storage of carbon in the environment. The vast extent of grasslands in Australia means they have the potential to store huge amounts of carbon. The agricultural industries contribute approximately 16%
of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, mainly through production of methane by livestock. Restoration and maintenance of native grasslands can achieve sequestration of carbon to help offset agricultural
contributions to greenhouse gases. where plants have been locally sourced. For example, native grasses such as couch varieties have been used successfully to revegetate and restore areas suffering from dryland salinity, and the Land, Water and Wool project (http://lwa.gov.au/programs/ land-water-and-wool ) has demonstrated that in south-east Australia sheep grazing can make it profitable to rehabilitate degraded landscapes such as saline scalds.
The results of restoration have been promising. However, much remains to be learned about restoration and management methods for different native grasslands, in particular their outcomes for farm production, profitability and for nature. Because most native grasslands are located
on private land, their conservation will depend largely on the implementation of conservation management and restoration techniques by private land managers. The strategic use of grazing and fire, sowing of native grass species, mulching practices, and weed control measures all have an important role to play in improving grassland management and thus condition and productivity. Grassland restoration also provides opportunities to learn. Simple trials and monitoring over time can provide feedback for management.
Grassland restoration benefits for farm productivity and the natural environment have been demonstrated in NSW, particularly
Case Study:
Research Improves Management of Grazed Grasslands
for Threatened Species
At Morundah, in the Riverina, a high frequency communications tower operated by the Department of Defence is surrounded by native grassland grazed by cattle. Aware of the environmental significance of the grasslands and the presence of threatened species on the 13,000 ha site, the Department of Defence commissioned a study to research and monitor threatened flora and fauna, with particular focus on the impact of grazing. The objectives of the study were:
●
● to validate historical records of
threatened flora and determine the extent of these species on the site;
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● to undertake annual monitoring of
threatened flora;
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● to establish a monitoring program
for the threatened Plains-wanderer that includes systematic surveys and habitat condition assessment; and
●
● to use the data to inform grazing
management.
Five threatened flora species were identified on the site and monitoring points were established for each. The condition of Plains-wanderer habitat was monitored monthly on each of five 1 km x 500 m grids. Habitat quality was assessed at each quadrat and the amount of vegetation cover, leaf litter and bare ground was estimated. These monthly assessments allowed changes in grassland structure induced by grazing and weather to be detected.
The research showed that the abundance of the Plains-wanderer was influenced by weather and grazing. Adaptive grazing management has been a key factor in assuring its persistence on the site. These rotational grazing regimes also assisted the survival of the threatened flora species. The research has culminated in
the development of a Biodiversity
Conservation and Landscape Management Plan for the site that identifies its values and makes recommendations for its continued conservation management.
Useful Sources of Information on Native Grasslands
Barlow, T., Grassy Guidelines: How to ManageNative Grasslands and Grassy Woodlands on Your Property, 1998; download at http://www.
environment.gov.au/land/publications/pubs/ grassguide.pdf
Catchment Management Authorities: http://www.cma.nsw.gov.au/
Eddy, D. Managing Native Grassland: A Guide
to Management for Conservation, Production and Landscape Protection, World Wildlife Fund
Australia, 2002; download at http://www.wwf. org.au/publications/managing _grasslands.pdf Eddy, D., Mallinson, D., Rehwinkel, R. and Sharp, S. Grassland Flora: A Field Guide
for the Southern Tablelands (NSW & ACT).
Environment ACT, Canberra, 1998
Keith, D., Ocean Shores to Desert Dunes: The
Native Vegetation of New South Wales and the ACT. Department of Environment and
Conservation, NSW, 2004
Land and Water Australia, Shaping the
Future: Managing for Sustainable Profit, 2007;
download at http://images.wool.com/pub/ lww_Intro_Managing-Sustainable-Profit.pdf
McIntyre, S., McIvor, FJ.G. and Heard, K.M. (Eds) Managing and Conserving Grassy
Woodlands. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood,
2002. (www.publish.csiro.au) Native Grasses Association Inc: http://www.stipa.com.au/
Native Pastures & Native Grasses
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/field/ pastures-and-rangelands/native-pastures New South Wales Vegetation Classification & Assessment Database Project (NSWVCA); http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/science/ Evolutionary_Ecology_Research/vegetation_ of_nsw
NSW Vegetation Information System: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/research/ vegetationinformationsystem.htm
Sharp, S., Dorrough, R., Rehwinkel, R., Eddy, D. and Breckwoldt, A., Grassy Ecosystems
Management Kit: A Guide to Developing
Conservation Management Plans, Environment
ACT, Canberra, 2005 (www.tams.act.gov.au)