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Proceedings of the 15th …
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Proceedings of the 17th …
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One Australian definition of a weed: “…a plant, which has, or has the potential to have, a detrimental effect on economic, conservation, or social values in Australia. ” encompasses the negative impacts of a variety of species on Australia’s agriculture, unique environment, biodiversity and society. Most of today’s weed species were initially introduced to Australia at the time of European colonization in 1788 as potentially beneficial plants, often for ornamental purposes, and for various agricultural and environmental benefits: relatively few were accidentally introduced. Weeds in Australia reduce farm and forest productivity, displace native species, and contribute to land and habitat degradation, thereby threatening the sustainability of natural ecosystems and primary production. They may also cause allergies, and some are poisonous plants. Heavy infestations reduce recreational opportunities, and biodiversity values of natural areas. A relatively conservative estimate suggests that the annual economic costs of weeds to Australia’s primary industries exceeds AU $4 billion. On a national level, the National Weed Strategy guides weed management, coordinated across Australia’s States and Territories. It places emphasis on integrating the four approaches: Prevention, Eradication, Containment and Asset protection, which can be thought of as matching the invasion process of a weed species - from pre-entry through to widespread establishment. The approach is flexible, allowing land managers to take action in response to a specific or local situation; or to implement broader weed management, at regional, state or national level. Weed legislation, and protocols for Weed Risk Assessments (WRAs) are an integral part of managing plant introductions, and future weed problems in Australia. Guidelines, tools and techniques to implement weed management across varied landscapes include the use of registered herbicides, integrated with mechanical, cultural and biological weed control options, and others, such as the use of fire, animal grazing and bush regeneration. Emerging weed issues include the impacts of climate change on the distribution of weed species; excessive herbicide use; development of herbicide resistance in major agricultural weeds; and the potential impacts of genetically-modified organisms. Keywords: Australian weeds; Weed Risk Assessments, Weeds of National Significance
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Traditionally, in the rangelands of Western Australia (WA), the pastoral industry has relied on grazing of native vegetation. However, in recent years there has been considerable interest in mosaic agriculture based on irrigated forages. There is also a potential role for improved dryland pastures in medium to high rainfall areas of the Kimberley. Under these conditions there is increased interest in the introduction of non-indigenous species which may improve the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems. However, there is also clear evidence that a number of introduced non-indigenous plant species have become established in non-target areas and some have become environmental weeds. An Environmental Risk Framework and weed risk assessment (WRA) protocol to assess species with agricultural potential in southern Australia was developed for the Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Centre (FFI CRC) (Stone et al. 2012). This protocol has been adapted for use in the.
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