Alien attack on Table Mountain - 09:20 am

09 May 2009

So, we couldn’t get up to the top of the mountain...but we could get to other, more sheltered parts. I wasn’t allowed to sit back and do nothing. A perfect day to attack aliens I was told. Alien vegetation that is. There are a few Australian species that feel more than at home in this fire-driven environment and without natural predators they get out of hand rather fast and form dense stands. Working for Water is doing a pretty good job in clearing alien vegetation but it’s a large job indeed.

As alien invasive species are the second largest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss, it’s not really something I can say no to.

We attacked a stand of two particularly bad invasives - Port Jackson and black wattle (Acacia cyclops and Acacia mearnsii). They do especially well here as the soils are very nutrient poor. Fynbos species are all adapted to living in a nutrient-poor environment. However, the alien Acacias are nitrogen fixers so increase the nitrate levels in the soil. Most fynbos species can’t survive in these conditions so get ousted from the soils around the Acacias leading to the dense stands.

It’s a tough job but really rather satisfying.

These do tend to resprout quite happily so they’ll need to be checked and attacked again no doubt. Luckily it seems there are quite a number of people willing to weed on a grand scale.

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Comments

1 posted at 12:05am on 15 May, 2009 by David Allardice

surely you can do better than this. poor pics and poor coverage of a massive problem and debate! Come on guys, if you not doing it properly please do not post!

2 posted at 03:07pm on 20 May, 2009 by RiaanP

The problem with black wattles, especially when they are older, is that there where they fall when you cut them down 50 more sprout up. I guess that’s why it’s so hard to remove them! Hope you guys raked afterward… wink

3 posted at 01:19pm on 21 May, 2009 by Admin

Agreed. The problem with alien invasives is massive and is not something to be ignored. This was posted as a testament to the problem. It was an afternoon spent when we were not filming. Sorry you did not find it well covered. The blog postings are meant to be a brief overview of the day. I try to include information but just how much is included depends on our time and ability to access it in the field. Was there something in particular you were hoping to find?

4 posted at 01:20pm on 21 May, 2009 by Admin

...and no raking but all stumps were painted with a herbacide. There will be return follow up visits.

5 posted at 01:07am on 26 May, 2009 by cj

Keep posting! What you are doing matters and those who have done backbreaking work against incredible and often depressing odds understand and appreciate the notes. I’ve done some “EXTREEM Gardening” against some of Hawaii’s invasives and guess I should have taken pics but shoot; I was just too “Bushed!” It really opened up my eyes to the problems. Now I can’t walk down the sidewalk without seeing something to pull up.
I believe that any mention beats silence. Only through awareness can there be change. Cary on with the excellent work.

6 posted at 02:54pm on 03 July, 2009 by Grant Miller

I was aware of a Cane Toad problem in Australia. I was aware of many invasive plants threatening Hawaii. I was not aware of invasive plant species threatening Australia. The fact that I am now, speaks to the excellent job you are doing. Please don’t let negative comments alter your posts, even the slightest. If I want in-depth coverage of these stories, I will search for them further. In northern Canada, one of the problems is with an invasive plant species called “Purple Loosestrife” that is threatening our wetlands and marshes.  Maybe someone from Australia didn’t know that and now does....  Thank You for your work.

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