Bushland management

The most efficient way to manage bushland is by encouraging natural restorative processes; helping nature to help itself. Bush regeneration aims to restore and maintain ecosystem health by facilitating the natural regeneration of indigenous flora. This is usually achieved by selectively reducing the competitive interaction with invasive species, or mitigation of negative influences such as weeds or erosion.

This can be best achieved by adhering to one of the key principles of bushland management; to prioritise areas with the highest biodiversity before moving into less diverse areas. Generally, plant communities which approach ‘ideal’ levels of biodiversity require less effort to maintain than more degraded vegetation. This is because there is little or no room or resources for weeds to gain a foothold - thus they are resilient to weed invasion and other disturbance. By managing these areas first, we protect the most biodiversity with the least effort. We then move to adjacent, more degraded areas and by controlling weeds there, make opportunities for native species to colonise from higher diversity areas. In this way we gradually improve the condition of degraded areas by using natural regenerative processes.

Environmental weeds are considered the most immediate threat to bushland areas. Bushland Management use several techniques to control environment weeds including manual removal, herbicide application and gas burning.

Biomass reduction involves techniques such as mow and catch and slash and rake to remove excessive or dominating species. This remove excessive nutrients, reduce competition and makes more resources available for the ground layer vegetation which promotes biodiversity by creating space for lilies, orchids and smaller forbs to flourish. These works normally take place over the summer months.

The collection of seeds and propagation material from remnant indigenous species can be used to enhance species and genetic diversity across Maroondah’s bushland reserves. Benefits can include:

• enhancing the diversity and ecological values of degraded areas
• improving the robustness of the gene pool of isolated floral species populations
• providing stock for indigenous nursery production, to be used for revegetation projects.

For more information read Seed farming in Maroondah.

Revegetation is used to improve species diversity and vegetation structure, promote declining species populations, create habitat and combat weed invasion. Every year Council plants tens of thousands of indigenous plants across Maroondah’s bushland reserves.

You can help restore and enhance the natural environment by becoming an environmental volunteer. View the Environmental events calendar for details of upcoming working bees.

Council installs exclusion fencing to protect sensitive reserves and areas. Fences are a great way to:

• minimise disturbances
• reduce grazing pressure
• keep pest animals out
• reduce compaction
• prevent trampling of sensitive vegetation
• allow natural regenerative processes to recover, restore and reinstate the natural environment.

Council collaborates with local fire authorities to prepare bushland reserves for the fire season each year. Require works include:

• complete designated firebreak slashing work
• elevated fuel load reduction
• monitoring conditions over this period.

Where required, Council collaborates with the CFA to undertake ecological burns that promote the regeneration of fire-adapted species.