Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Cambooya Landcare's local native plant nursery
Identifying local plant species was the genesis of a Cambooya Landcare Association (CLA) project.
The CLA built a local native plant nursery and realised that to supply local native plants they first needed to identify what species were local to their area.
Funding
CLA officer Jayne Thorpe said the project was a two-stage affair. More than $25,000 has come from the Australian Government.
"To extend the project's effectiveness the group also applied for, and received funding to purchase mapping software, which enabled us to collect data from the Queensland Herbarium about local plant species," she said.
Activities
"The grant helped us survey local remnant vegetation indicated by the Herbarium data and to identify vegetation gaps in the region" she said.
The CLA will now be able to develop a database for nursery orders, providing information on where local seeds can be found and which species will be most suitable for their area.
"We also now have information about the condition of remnant areas, the location of weeds and the gaps in the landscape," Jayne said.
While undertaking this project CLA realised how important grasslands were to the local environment.
"We discovered that, while historically, grasslands covered 17.09 per cent of Cambooya Shire area, they now cover a mere 0.02 per cent," she said. "This prompted us to focus on identifying threatened grassland species.
"For example Austral Cornflower is a species that used to exist throughout Eastern Australia all the way down to Victoria. It now occurs only in small areas, on the Darling Downs.
"We are encouraging landholders to introduce it into revegetation areas.
"Putting native grasslands back into grazing and cropping systems is a positive move which will help an endangered eco-system."
Achievements
The CLA gathered so much data - and so many pictures - that they were able to develop a vegetation management guide for Cambooya Shire. The guide has general information on subjects like including grazing, fire and weeds, as well as more specific local information.
"We have profiled 69 plant species, divided into six broad vegetation types that are linked to the Queensland Herbarium vegetation classifications," Jayne said.
More information
- Jayne Thorpe, Cambooya Landcare Association: (07) 4630 9993
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