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Victoria tackles native orchid decline
An award-winning orchid recovery project has saved many unique and beautiful species in southwest Victoria from extinction.
Victoria is home to more than a quarter of Australia's 1,500 orchid species, nearly half of which occur nowhere else. The state's 380 orchid varieties represent one of the richest concentrations of orchids in a temperate environment in the world.
But more than half these wild orchids are threatened, with some very close to extinction and others marginalised as a result of habitat loss, animal grazing, drought and global warming.
Funding
Victoria's Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) has received funding from the Australian Government and support from the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority (CMA) to save the most highly threatened orchids in the Glenelg Hopkins region.
Activities
The project has kick-started recovery plans for 22 orchid species, including the Mellblom's Spider-Orchid, the Basalt Greenhood, the Limestone Spider-orchid and the Late Helmet-orchid.
More than 50 organisations have supported the project, half of them community groups. Contributors include Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens, Parks Victoria, Melbourne University, the Australasian Native Orchid Society, industry groups and private landholders.
DSE's Threatened Species Project Officer Andrew Pritchard said about six years ago there was only one population left of the Mellblom's Spider-orchid and it contained just six plants.
"While once widespread this spectacular orchid was eyeing oblivion. Today we've significantly raised its survival prospects by boosting numbers to 800 plants in six populations," Andrew said.
Recovery of threatened orchids involves protecting them from threats including some activities associated with agriculture, weeds, site disturbance, inappropriate fire regimes and urban and industrial development.
Protection measures may include fencing to restrict access and prevent disturbance, signposting road entrances to alert landholders to no droving bans, controlling pests such as rabbits and burning the habitat of fire-dependent species to encourage regeneration.
If threats to a population are controlled but plants don't naturally regenerate - orchids are complex organisms that can often only reproduce with the help of a single insect such as a wasp - intervention is needed.
"If pollination isn't occurring then a flowering plant can't produce seed. So we hand-pollinate these orchids to encourage seed production and the establishment of new seedlings," Andrew said.
About 60 landholders are currently involved in orchid recovery in the region, many of whom are actively managing sites with orchids.
The partnership responsible for saving threatened orchids in Glenelg Hopkins and across Victoria recently won a prestigious 2006 Banksia Award in the category of Land and Biodiversity.
More information
- Andrew Pritchard, DSE Threatened Species Project Officer (Warrnambool): (03) 5561 9965 or andrew.pritchard@dse.vic.gov.au
- Department of Sustainability and Environment
- Glenelg Hopkins CMA
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