Seed nurseries for Rangelands Rehydration
Seed nurseries for Rangelands Rehydration
Building seed nurseries with Far west Rangeland Rehydration Alliance members so landholders can collect, spread & potentially propagate locally endemic seed.
Collaborations -
LP045-19
The issue
There were no accessible seed collection sites in the rangelands area of far western NSW to support local conservation work. Plant succession can only involve the species that survived many decades of historic overgrazing. Local provenance seed is important biologically for native species in local landscape rehabilitation. Seed nurseries needed to be built so landholders could collect locally endemic seed to spread in areas where rehabilitation works such as ponding and ripping had been undertaken or to use them as a dispersal centre
The solution
In many landscapes in which restorative rehydration is being implemented, soil moisture balances are being successfully restored. Funding from the NSW environmental Trust was received to trial "nurseries" of areas in strategic locations to encourage the revegetation through seedlings and seeding of a mixture of plant types and species that once thrived in the adjacent landscapes. This project established 20 seed nurseries measuring 1ha each, exclusion fenced to protect them from predation, on properties in the Western Region incorporating a number of different landscapes. Some Alliance members have also built nurseries near a suitable water source.
The impact
A couple of above average seasons of rain since they were established and the second year of monitoring completed has shown great results. an important part of Rangeland Rehydration and 'RAIN READY' techniques is the availability of local native seed. The construction of strategically placed seed nurseries provides a stable ecological habitat for the collection and dispersal of native seed, these will complement and accelerate recovery time.
Key facts
- in comparison to the size of the properties they're established on these nurseries would be considered small. Then again from little things big things grow.
- This project has been assisted by the NSW Government through the Environmental Trust.