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To Weed or not to weed, that is the Question.
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Home & Living
A year ago, on the Blackall Range we were treated to the sight of big flocks of Topknot Pigeons Lopholaimus antarcticus cruising around the skies. To witness these big groups of birds can be an inspiring sight for many. However when I mentioned that the large number of Topknot’s also coincided with a particularly good fruiting of the exotic camphor laurel’s Cinnamomum camphora the joy tends to evaporate and is replaced with a look of concern.
What a confusing situation! On one hand an inspiring, immense and beautiful flock of native birds. On the other hand we have an insidious, noxious and invasive weed tree. Unfortunately the two are quite firmly entwined in their lifecycles.
General consensus is we should be getting rid of all weeds, right? However, if we get rid o...
To Mow or not to mow, that is the question!
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Home & Living
The year is 100,000 B.P., a cave man by the name of Ug McUg walks forth from his cave in the early morning light and ponders the day ahead of him. He notes with his still rudimentary thought processes that the grass surrounding the cave entrance is long. For the first time in history a curious thought enters his mind – “the grass out there is getting a bit too long, there could be snakes or other wild beasts hiding in it? I know I’ll cut it!” He fashions a rustic scythe from a branch and makes the worlds first lawn, and so begins the fall of man!
One of the greatest causes of the ecological disruption we are wreaking in Australia is our obsession with a so-called neat and tidy environment. Our local ecosystems are complex and diverse and can start to fall apart a...
The Maleny Strangler Strikes Again
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Environment
Deep in the forests of Maleny is lurking a silent killer. The victims are often taken by surprise and their death is slow and drawn out.
But don’t worry too much, unless you do a Rip van Winkle and fall asleep for a few decades in the forest, these guys won’t be able to get a grip on you because these stranglers are Figs.
The main ‘strangler figs’ include Ficus watkinsiana Watkins fig, F. macrophylla Morteon bay fig, Ficus obliqua Small-leafed fig and also to a lesser extent Ficus virens White fig, Ficus superba Deciduous fig and Ficus platypoda Rock fig.
What a superb evolutionary step these guys have taken in the competition for life in the forest. Whilst all other trees start their life on the forest floor this particular group of trees has figured out...
Sweet Dreams
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Environment
When the sun goes down at the end of the day, what happens in the forest?
Many of us may think as we settle in for the evening that plants will also be taking it easy during the night – the hard day’s work of photosynthesis is over and surely it’s time for them to stand tall and relax! But this often isn’t the case. In the forest things are often just getting started - life for the trees is one big around the clock party!
So what is really happening out in the forest at night? Are the animals really the stars of the show? Or are they just bit-players in a much bigger drama? Are the animal’s mere pawns in a game that is being played out by higher life forms- that is to say the Trees (if you’ll pardon the pun)?
We know that fruit and nectar eating bir...
RAINFOREST 'SUCCESSION'
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Environment
The beginning of the long process of succession commences with bare soil, as a result of landslip, fire, storm damage or tree fall.
As the forest regenerates the bare soil is quickly covered with young plants, then the process of succession begins as one stage in the vegetation gives way to another. Together, these stages form a succession.
PIONEERS - THE FIRST COLONISERS
On bare soil and in hot bright sunshine, the seeds which will germinate belong to species of the first stage of succession, the pioneers. In the shade of the surrounding forest, these species do not survive, and their nearest location may be kilometres away. Yet the seeds are there. Either they were already present in the soil, or they have travelled far. A full-grown pioneer plant produces large quantities of small ...
Clean Up Australia – Not in My forest Mate! or “Don’t mess with the mulch”
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Environment
I’m writing this article to you as I hide away in a far-flung corner of one of the Blackall Ranges precious rainforest remnants. My expose on the evils of too much lawn (see previous newsletter) has brought the full force of the turf barons down upon me. As I write you this, the CLPA (Central Lawn Protection Agency) and FBT (Federal Bureau of Turf) are combing the forest searching for the ‘rebel without a mower’.
Any way, keeping my head down and laying low in this little forest patch is giving me good chance to re-aquaint myself with the life of the forest floor. I can tell you - the sooner the tree house is finished the better! There’s a Black Possum or Bobuck Trichosurus caninus who thinks my dried Paw-paw sticks are just irresistible; Common Leaches Chtonobde...
Sweet Dreams
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Posted by admin
853 days ago
under Seeds
When the sun goes down at the end of the day, what happens in the forest? Many of us may think as we settle in for the evening that plants will also be taking it easy during the night – the hard day’s work of photosynthesis is over and surely it’s time for them to stand tall and relax!
Water dispersed seeds
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Posted by admin
15377 days ago
under Seeds
Rain, rain and more rain please! Well that’s what we where all saying just a month or so back and gee its good to have the old ‘gravity challenged’ H2O doing its stuff again.While on the subject of water have you ever pondered its ability to spread seed?Many stream and riverside plants use not only wildlife or wind but also flowing water to disperse their seed. Waterways have many advantages as agents of seed dispersal, the most obvious of course being that they are permanently moist! However we can also add relatively high levels of available nutrients to assist seedling growth, regular disturbance of floods creating ideal germination conditions i.e. River sheoak Casuarina cunnighamiana, leaching of chemicals that inhibit germination i.e. Water Gum Waterhousea floribunda...