Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Repelling weed invasions on Kangaroo Island
Keith Hodder (Authorised Officer) shows matted roots of bridal Creeper infestation
Dean Overton spraying Bridal Creeper with rust fungal spores
Bridal creeper after spraying by rust fungus
Introduced as garden plants in the early 1900s, the invasive weeds bridal veil and bridal creeper have slowly been choking out Kangaroo Island's native vegetation for the past 100 years.
But a control and eradication program is now seeing the invaders effectively managed.
“The entire eastern half of Kangaroo Island was under threat from dense infestations of bridal creeper, and bridal veil was invading threatened plant habitat,” Marion Winkler, former Project Officer with the Repel the Invaders – Bridal Creeper Control program said.
With help from the Australian Government, and the community-based Kangaroo Island Weeds Group, the program set out to map weed infestations and develop strategies to bring them under control.
Funding
The Australian Government funded the Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Board Inc with $63,000 to eradicate these highly invasive weeds, while the State Government has also provided in-kind support.
Activities
“We surveyed the eastern end of the island, mapping density and distribution of bridal creeper, as well as infestations of bridal veil on private land,” Marion said. “The landholders showed a lot of interest, wanting to know more about using biological controls.”
Initial mapping found bridal veil over an area of about 240 square kilometres. Bridal creeper covered a much larger area, leaving only the western half of the island weed-free.
“Where it was well established, bridal creeper tubers had complete coverage below ground, so little else could grow,” Marion said.
“Bridal veil was also growing on top of old bridal creeper tubers that had been treated with herbicide in the 1990s.”
The solution was to prioritise actions, and attack the weed strategically, which is exactly what a weeds officer and a group of volunteers did.
“In priority areas, the populations were controlled using herbicide sprays,” Marion said. “But at the same time, volunteers undertook biological control by mixing rusted leaves with rainwater (a mixture known as Sporewater) and spraying it onto the weeds across the eastern half of Kangaroo Island.”
Achievements
Having already achieved significant results using biological controls on the island, the project is looking to future requirements.
"We have been able to demonstrate some success using a herbicide mixture to control bridal veil, and this is proving effective in the short-term, although we are yet to see whether there will be regrowth in the long-term," Marion said.
More information
- Colin Wilson, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Kangaroo Island Natural Resource Management Board: (08) 8553 0488 or wilson.colin@bigpond.com.au
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