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Weed control in the Restoring Riparian Resilience project
(MRCCC Biodiversity Fund project)
Dr Tanzi SmithPresentation to the MRCCC General Meeting 3
February 2015
Goals of the project
• Project ends in June 2017• Now working in 20 demonstration reaches• Targets for the project are: – Revegetation: 48 ha– Restoration: 41 ha– Management for invasive species – 480 ha• Physical and chemical weed control• Surveillance for presence of weeds• Biological control
Overview of weed control• Weeds controlled: – Cats Claw, madeira vine, camphor laurel, chinese
elm, privet• Biological controls released for – Cats Claw – both jewel beetles and tingids– Madeira vine • Biological controls supplied by Greater Mary Association
(jewel beetles and tingids) and Gympie and District Landcare (tingids and Plectonycha correntia)
• Our goal is to establish populations in the wild
Cats Claw biological control releases
• Biodiversity Fund – 42 releases on 25 sites (since Jan 2014)– 3000 jewel beetles – 1300 loose tingids – At least 128 pots of tingids infected
plants• Building wild populations in the
lower Mary– GMA has released another 4000
jewel beetles, 3500 loose tingids and hundreds of jewel beetle discs
Stages of Jewel beetle breeding – larvae developmentCourtesy of Ross Smith at Greater Mary Association Inc.
Observations and comments• Evidence that populations are
becoming established – both jewel beetles and tingids
• More to learn about circumstances under which they become established
• More to learn about conditions for breeding them
• Supply is dependent upon community groups - Greater Mary Association & Gympie Landcare
• Working together and sharing knowledge is essential for future success
Tingid damage one month after release at Widgee School
Latest resources and developments
• GMA report on releases up until October 2014
• Gympie Landcare’s new brochure• Gympie Landcare’s cross pollination
day on 5 March• Gympie Landcare monitoring
program • MRCCC has modified biocondition
assessment method to encompass presence of vine weeds and biological controls
Jewel beetles at Three Mile Creek Reserve, The Palms
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