http://www.brushturkey.com.au Brush Turkey Enterprises : Blog http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2012/4/18/to_weed_or_not_to_weed_that_is_the_question/ YOU MAY not know this, but when not writing plays, Shakespeare himself was a dedicated bush regenerator, and that his most famous phrase was in fact inspired by the title of this article, a statement he was often heard to utter when approaching a new site he was working on, maybe...  Pardon my liberties with the Immortal Bard, but that's the question I'm putting forward today. Are weeds all bad, all the time, in all situations? Take for instance the Broad-leaf Privet (Ligustrum lucidum); anecdotally I hear that this tree was introduced to the Blackall Range in the 1950s. They were planted as a windbreak for paddocks. They were tough, fast, provided useful fodder and they also spread! This for me is where it starts to get interesting. They didn't spread by themselves; they were spread by local native birds that were desperate for a feed.  Broad-leaf Privet in a very short period of time (if the 1950s arrival is correct) has colonised a lot of land that was cleared of it original rainforest, but was marginal for grazing. This spread had been assisted by native birds that have adapted to moving through open country. Our local fauna doesn't differentiate between native and exotic plants; they are simply keen to fill their bellies (regardless of an Australian made label). They eat the fruit and then politely pass them out, throughout the landscape. The Broad-leaf Privet if conditions are right then grows into a tree. The spread of Broad-leaf Privet along roadsides, creeks, gullies, steep hillsides has also created valuable linkages between our scattered rainforest fragments. The deep shade of the Broadleaf Privet forests creates habitat for shade loving animals that can only inhabit forests. The movement of the shade loving fauna in turn leads to them spreading seed of local rainforest trees by these animals. The seed of rainforest trees in turn grow well under the shade of Broad-leaf Privet... Ok it's usually about this time in my story when people start throwing things at me, "How can I possibly defend a horrendous environmental weed such as Broad-leaf Privet?" This is by no means a defence, just the observations of two decades of working with weeds and restoring rainforests. Put simply we can often turn Broad-leaf Privet back into rainforest far quicker and more cost effectively than starting a forest from scratch by revegetation. Broad-leaf Privet can be managed to make good rainforest and maintain positive habitat vales.  .... Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:21:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2012/3/21/myrtle_rust/ Well, it's a year since Myrtle Rust (a fungus that affects plants in the Myrtle or Myrtaceae Family such as Gum Trees, Lillypilly's, Bottle brushes etc. arrived on the Blackall Range. What have we learnt this time - a) Australia is still vulnerable to the introduction of organisms that can have enormous economic & ecological impacts, b) that introduced organisms don't respect state borders (even if our Bio-Security Officers hope that they do) & c) that ecological diversity, connectivity & resilience is the only defence against introduced organisms & the ecological change that they represent. You'll note that I am using the word introduced rather than invading. Invading implies that an organism has arrived on our shores all by itself and promptly set about ravaging our innocent native flora & fauna. Even though this word may be used by the media in general, Myrtle rust has very much been introduced by gaps in the quarantine on the import of timber, cut-flowers, exotic flora or even someone's dirty shoes? We must take responsibility. Local impacts from the introduction of Myrtle Rust appear at present to be limited to our rainforest Myrtaceae such the Silky Myrtle Decaspermum humille, Scrub Ironwood Rhodamnia rubescens, Native Guava Rhodomyrtus psidioides and Thread-bark Myrtle Gossia inophloia. This is by no means a comprehensive list & damage appears to vary from species to species & for individuals within a species depending of time of year, soil type, altitude & susceptibility or resilience of individuals etc... Cultivated & isolated plants appear to be more susceptible than plants in a forest, which is bad news or gardeners & revegetation, but a sigh of relief for some of our very rare Myrtaceae such as The Blackall Range Velvet Myrtle Lenwebbia sp. blackall range, & The Small-leaf Myrtle Gossia fragrantissima that are tenuously holding onto survival in only a few rainforest fragments. It's plants in the garden & early phases of revegetation, that appear to be suffering the most. Extra watering & fertiliser might well make for a more lush, bushier & attractive looking plant, but this also appears to be perfect conditions for Myrtle Rust to move in and do some damage. This could have long term impacts on the survival & spread of many rainforest Myrtaceae in revegetation & throughout the landscape. How can we help our natives survive the onslaught of introduced diseases, for the long term we need to select seed from plants that show signs of resilience and immunity and that will help produce the next generations of plants that can survive introduced disease such as Myrtle Rust. That's where we at Brush Turkey come in. We can help    .... Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:08:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2012/1/25/seasons_wishes_/ WELL, HERE we all are at the start of another year (as our calendars tell us) and I'd like to say congratulations to everybody out there doing their bit to restore habitat and ecological connections, on the Hinterland, on the Sunshine Coast and throughout South East Queensland. First up, thanks to the first Australians, the Traditional owners of this land who shaped the land we now live in, over the millennia to be a land of diversity and wealth. Their song is written in the landscape, a song that we must listen to if we are to join them as true Australians.  Second up, thanks to all the landholders who are revegetating and regenerating the bush on their blocks. It amazes me that you are all willing to spend so much of your own time, energy and capital on restoring, that for which we all benefit - thank you! Your passion is your land and although it could be seen to be an addiction by some - I've got the condition too!  Next, thanks to all the small businesses out there that are now making a living restoring habitat, again for which we all benefit. We are fortunate in the Hinterland to have seen a culture of small business habitat restoration develop over the last 20 years. The Sunshine Coast and Hinterland Ecobusinesses lead the way, whether it is in Nest boxes, Wildlife Rescue, Fauna Management and Monitoring, Seed Collection, Consultancy, Education, Nurseries, Revegetation and Regeneration - hopefully you all know who you are, and you are amazing! Congratulations for making ecological restoration your living and taking it to a whole new level! Then we also have some of the most successful Landcare, Catchment Care and Waterwatch groups who have helped guide millions of volunteer hours and grant funds into ecological restoration works on the Coast and Hinterland. These organisations are a great way for volunteers with a range of skills to come together and make a difference.  Let's not forget the amazing team who work for the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and deliver the best "Land for Wildlife" Program in SE QLD, "Voluntary Conservation Agreement" Program, Bushland and Conservation Management Programs, community Partnerships etc...etc... We are very lucky on the coast to have such an amazing group of people in the one government organisation. Last but not least thanks to the amazing Brush Turkey Enterprises team, an amazing group of people, who inspire me and educate me every day, thank you! But let's not rest on our laurels... there is so much more to be done to stem the critical loss of habitat and ecological connectivity on the Coast and Hinterland. In 2012 we need to be active more than ever to save the amazing ecological diversity that we are all, the present caretakers of.  .... Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:31:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/12/8/the_fun_of_discovery_/ AFTER MORE than two decades of walking through the Rainforests of the Blackall Range it's still possible for me to come across a plant I haven't seen before, which is such a buzz! On a bushwalk recently I was lucky enough to see two plants I hadn't seen before, Hairy Helicia (Helicia ferruginea) and Milk Bush (Neisosperma poweri). Also we found a new location for the rare Blackall Range Velvet Myrtle (Lenwebbia spp. Blackall Range). All three of these plants are either listed as Rare or are at least uncommon, with their ability to spread and establish new populations already under threat, these guys need our help if they are going to have a future. In my last column I discussed the establishment of pioneers in revegetation to provide rapid habitat cover;Pioneers as discussed are short term lasting only a decade or two. As well as the Pioneers we need to be planting those trees and shrubs that are going to establish long term and live for centuries (Secondary and Climax species). Plantings of Secondary and Climax species can also be placed as every second plant at the 1 plant per 4 m2 (1 plant every 2 metres) spacing. The species list for Secondary and Climax can become be very long, we have very high tree diversity in our subtropical rainforests with up to 60 different canopy tree species per ha. Classic Rainforest trees of the Blackall Range include:Red Cedar (Toona ciliata), Red Bean (Dysoxylum mollissimum), Black Bean (Castanospermum australe), Bumpy Ash (Flindersia schottiana), Blue Quandong (Elaeocarpus grandis), Brown Booyong (Argyrodendron trifoliatum), Brown Bollygum (Litsea australis), White Beech (Gmelina leichhardtii), Blush Walnut (Beilschmedia obtusifolia), Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii), Moreton Bays Fig (Ficus macrophylla), Small Leaf Fig (Ficus obliqua), Watkins Fig (Ficus watkinsiana), Red Apple (Acmena ingens) and Sour Cherry (Syzygium corynanthum) - to name just a few (this whole article could be nothing but plant names for our local species and I'd still not have enough room!) What's really interesting about our rainforests is that there is not just one type of rainforest, but different individuals and groups of plants dominating different areas due to a variety of environmental conditions such as moisture, soil type, altitude, aspect and climate. The best guide to what might be best suited to your area is to look at remnant vegetation (if there is any nearby) and planting those species. However sometimes you might need a hand working out what is best to plant where. Re-establishing Rainforest is a very rewarding activity, you can set in place the processes that will establish habitat for centuries to come, ensuring the survival of our rare and vulnerable flora and fauna.    .... Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:10:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/10/19/guarding_your_stock_and_the_contentious_flying_f/ YOU CAN plant without tree guards but when it comes to revegetation and planting large areas they can be a valuable aid in protecting the time and money you have invested. Tree guards protect your trees from several threats including weeds (why can't our trees grow as fast!), Weeding (oops, did I just spray my tree too!), frost (cold enough to freeze your leaves off!) and last but not least grazing animals (always up for a free feed!). There are many tree guards available on the market from polyurethane bags, cardboard guards and Coreflute guards. At Brush Turkey we've been experimenting with many over the years but have settled on two types of guards that we are very happy with. At the bottom end of the scale we use a 2 Ltr juice/milk carton. These guards are quick to install, cheap and provide short term protection for fast growing trees. We use these with a bamboo stake and this combination can provide good visibility for your planted stock if the weeds get away over the summer and you have to brushcut or spray. They only last about 6 months and are only 300mm high, so they don't provide much protection from grazing animals. For plants that we really want to look after and make sure they get off to a good start we use the Plant Pink Tree GuardsTM. These guards cost more initially but can be re-used several times because of their rigid construction and provide many years of protection. These guards come in a range of sizes and you may see them on several revegetation projects around the Range including Mary Cairncross, Maleny Precinct and Woodford Folk Festival site. "Why pink?" I hear you ask. Visible light can be split into a spectrum of colours. Green leaves absorb light from the red fraction to drive photosynthesis. Research has shown that the colour pink reflects and focuses the red fraction, concentrating this photosynthetic energy to enhance plant growth - well you did ask! I also like the pink colour of these guards for their high visibility. We often maintain some weed cover on our sites to provide soil protection and improvement. These guards stand out and provide great protection during weed maintenance runs. Tree guards are great for protecting stock in the summer months when the ground really heats up and some plants can get cooked at the base. The two guards listed above are now available through Brush Turkey Enterprises and we have recently become the distributor for Plant Pink Tree GuardsTM in SE Queensland. Check out our guards and other products at our website www.brushturkey.com.au or give us a call. The Contentious Flying Fox Workshop Come and learn about these important members of our ecosystemsand discuss their futurewith local Bat expert, Dr. Les Hall. Friday 28th October10am till 3pmBrush Turkey Ent. Office $66/person-incl. Morning tea and lunchPlaces are limited, bookings are essential. Download here    .... Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:20:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/9/14/inspirational/ LAST Saturday, Karen and I went for a walk in a great patch of rainforest at Flaxton. The amazing thingabout this rainforest is that most of it was planted or regenerated over the last 5-15 years!Surprisingly, this isn't a national park or undertaken by a large organisation or community group. This is the work of a passionate and dedicated couple and the skilled bush regenerators they have assembled to help them with their project. Truly inspirational! So in this article I'd like to pay tribute to all those great landholders out there who are revegetating the landscape and the great benefits these dedicated people bring to us all. The hills and valleys of the Blackall Range have been fertile ground (pardon the pun) for a developing culture that appreciates the diversity and richness of our local ecosystems. Many local people now make a living in the bush regeneration & revegetation industry and work far afield using skills developed and honed on the Blackall Range. For example, Brush Turkey Enterprises has grown from a team of two dreamers 13 years ago, to a skilled team of 14 making a living and saving our local biodiversity! But I digress...for the real heroes are all those folk out there who call the range home and who put theirtime and resources into revegetating their land in a selfless act of generosity from which we will all benefit. Corridors have been planted that will link isolated remnants and help the animals and plants that call those remnants home to survive. Creek banks have been planted that will reduce erosion and improve water quality - a shared resource to us all. Forests have been planted that will absorb carbon from the atmosphere, stabilise landscape, improve soil quality. Habitat has also been increased to provide homes for wildlife through the installing of nest boxes, snags in creeks (dead trees, not sausages - just in case you were wondering!) and revegetation. We are all fortunate to be part of this community, but there's so much more to be done. Many of us are concerned with the loss of Rainforests in South America or South East Asia, but what we often forget is that a little closer to home we are fortunate to live with one of the most diverse subtropical rainforest ecosystems on earth and the fate of these ecosystems and their diversity is in our hands. So thank you to all those local heroes out there who are busy restoring these ecosystems and remember, the rainforest needs you!.... Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:25:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/8/17/the_humble_gum_tree/   Gum Trees (Eucalypt spp.) are the iconic Australian tree. Hum trees occur in almost all Australian ecosystems from deserts, to the edge of Rainforests, from beach sides to mountain tops, from the tropics to the Australian Alps. Gum Trees literally frame the Australian character.   There are a few Gums that are small such as the Plunkett Mallee (Eucalyptus curtisii), but the vast majority of Gum's are big, some very big. The Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) - tallest flower plant in the world, from Victoria & Tasmania is recorded historically at over 120 metres. Closer to home we have Flooded Gums (Eucalyptus grandis) & Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) which can grow to over 60m. Where am I going with this I here you ask, well Gum trees as discussed are often big. They are Big trees for a "Big Country". However most of us don't live in the "Big Country", most of us live in small backyards and although Gum trees are a national institution, they might just be too big, for your average backyard. Too often Gum trees are planted as a fast growing, windbreak or privacy barrier, close to houses and fences. Within a few years the privacy barrier is quickly gone, as the trees race upwards leaving a bare trunk. Also within a decade or so, there starts a rain of branches, with the associated hazard of heavy sharp bits of timber plummeting earthward in your backyard! Then there's the gum leaves clogging gutters if planted within 20-40 metres of yours (or your neighbour's house). On the Blackall Range two non-local gum trees have also been extensively planted and they are Gympie Messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana) & White Gum (Eucalyptus dunnii), they grow ridiculously quickly and ridiculously big, due to the higher than average rainfall of the range. So where am I going with this I hear you say? Am I challenging the iconic status of the great Aussie Gum trees - Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi! No, far from it, just trying to save you a lot of money when it comes to tree management, through not planting gum trees in small backyards and too near infrastructure.However, all the attributes that make gum trees bad for the backyard are their greatest assets in the bush and for growing timber. They are fast growing, hardy trees and great habitat for wildlife. They can live for hundreds of years and the hollows that form in the trunk and branches are the ultimate in high rise accommodation for so many of our unique Australian wildlife. They produce some of the finest durable timbers in the world. Just don't plant them next your hills hoist!.... Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:01:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/6/15/war_on_weeds_-_the_winter_campaign/ It's that time of year when the thermometer takes a dive and the cool winds the Blackall Range is famous(or infamous) for can howl across the hinterland. In spite of, or perhaps because of this, I reckon now is the best time of year for getting stuck into the weeds any weed control on your block, because once they are down, they tend to stay down (for at least the cooler months...). The key to winter weed control is, don't bite off more than you can handle. That said, now is the perfect time for controlling lantana, because the native pioneers that the lantana has been suppressing will pop up in spring and quickly takeover - given half a chance. The most important facet to weed control is to make sure you won't have to control the same weeds year after year. Good bush regeneration is all about having an exit strategy. You don't want to be fighting the same weeds year after year. Poor weed control often leads to the growth of more weeds and you find yourself fighting the same battle year after year, actually creating the conditions for more weed growth. Time your weed control well and hopefully you'll be facilitating the regeneration of native flora, native flora that within a few years will capture the site and outcompete all those weeds that are suppressing the growth of native vegetation.  Knowledge and good planning are crucial in making this difference.  Join Land for Wildlife if you can (for great free advice) or contact Brush Turkey to help you plan ecological rehabilitation works. Working with the seasons is great, and winter is definitely the time to get on top of weeds. What's more, after a long hard session of weed bashing (which is good for the body and soul), there nothing better than warming up by the fire and partaking a well earned warming beverage of your preference.  There's also that great feeling of doing something good for the world. Planting is also still an option with soil moisture being so good (you can have too much of a good thing!), that conditions are still great for establishing plants. The main concern you may have is frost, but this can also be beaten by using frost hardy stock, and there's still plenty of variety to choose from there! Wattles, Silky Oaks, Native Frangipani, Celery Wood, White Cedar and Hoop or Bunya Pine are very frost hardy and even Lillypilly's are moderately frost hardy. If you are undertaking a winter revegetation project, check out our wholesale tubestock at www.brushturkey.com.au Enjoy the winter, it's what makes the hinterland special, and remember wood fires are sustainable heating -just plant more trees! Dragons and Turtles Workshop We've got a fantastic workshop this month.Martin Fingland, from Gecko Wildlife, will be presenting a workshop onturtles, dragons and other water associated reptiles (like crocodiles!!!).He will have some amazing live animals to show us, including the Mary RiverTurtle.The workshop is a half day one - starting with a buffet lunch. Afternoon teais also included.We will also have some posters and reference books for sale and prizes.As this is the beginning of the school holidays, I have included a price forfamilies to attend. All family bookings will receive a poster. Cost: $66/person, $150 / family (2 adults, 2 kids U12)Bookings are essential as places are limited. I have included a flyer -feel free to share with others.Hope to see you there! .... Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:11:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/5/4/exotic_disease_strikes_the_hinterland/ In late 2010 a highly contagious, debilitating and potentially deadly disease spread rapidly across the Blackall Range.  Now that I've got your attention... and just to reassure you - this is a plant disease. The disease is known as Myrtle Rust (Uredo rangelii) and its potential victims include plants within the Myrtle Family (Myrtaceae). This family includes all of our Gum trees, Bottle Brushes, Paperbarks, Ti-tree, Lillypilly's and many other rainforest shrubs. Plants in the Myrtle Family dominate the Australian landscape and so the potential for this disease to wreak ecological havoc is quite scary! Myrtle Rust evolved in South America. From some of the articles I have read it leapt from their native myrtles, such as Guava, onto the many Eucalypt plantations that have been established there, evolving as it made this leap. This new "Frankenfungus" has then spread rapidly across the world, through movement of infected plant materials - yet another good reason for growing local native plants wherever you live on the planet!  Myrtle Rust was imported into New South Wales on infected plant material early last year. Unfortunately this has coincided with a record breaking wet humid summer, just perfect for the rapid spread of a fungal disease. The disease appears to have spread rapidly through the Sunshine coast over the last few months. Due to this rapid spread of the disease control of the disease has moved from" Containment" i.e. infected properties were quarantined, through to "Management" of the disease. The first visible rust symptoms are the red or brown spots that appear on the leaves in varying densities. The spots go all the way through the leaf. Mature spots produce masses of bright yellow or yellow-orange spores (powder) on their surface - this is the contagious bit that can spread the disease - don't touch them! The spores have a bright yellow colour, and generally form on the underside of the leaf first. Older infections can be dull yellow/brown, and although the majority of the spore masses may have disappeared, close examination will usually reveal a few spores. Death of new growth may occur and, at the very least, plant vigour and health will be affected. Now what to do? How can you help stop the spread of this disease? Is it too late and has the horse already bolted! Myrtle Rust is spread by spores carried by wind, water, insects, birds and other animals! We can also spread Myrtle Rust by coming into contact with the spores, moving infected plant material such as prunings or obtaining infected stock from nurseries. We can't do much about natural processes moving Myrtle Rust, but we can reduce our continued spread of the disease. Be sure to check that any nursery stock you are buying is clear of the disease and is from an accredited nursery that a) still free of the disease or b) is are aware of Myrtle Rust and are managing accordingly. If you prune diseased material don't dump it: bag it or burn it! Be especially careful of buying stock from markets. So far the plants that are being affected dramatically on the Blackall Range include the Thready-bark Myrtle (Gossia inophloia) and its cultivars: Aurora & Blushing Beauty; Scrub Ironbark (Gossia acmenoides; Scrub Ironbark (Rhodamnia rubescens); Silky Myrtle (Decaspermum humille) and Scrub Cherry (Syzygium australe). The potential ecological impacts of Myrtle Rust are many and varied. Infected plants, at the very least, will lose health and vigour. This will affect their ability to fruit, reproduce and compete within nature. Severe infections of some vulnerable species will result in death, either immediately or through their loss of ability to compete with surrounding vegetation. There are many rare native plants in the Myrtle family in our area that have very limited populations. This disease could tip them over the edge. This unfortunately is a story without a happy ending, and to some degree we have to sit back and watch the spread of yet another exotic pest. We may not be able to stop the spread of this disease but let's make sure we don't assist it. As this ecological drama unfolds we may need to intervene and save some of our rare plants, but cross-fingers Myrtle Rust is not as devastating within Australia as it has been with our Eucalypts overseas. Keep your eyes out for this new disease and make sure you don't help it spread. What do you do if you see Myrtle Rust? Do not move the infected plant material, to avoid spreading the disease, and report all suspected plants immediately to Biosecurity Queensland or by calling the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline. Biosecurity Queensland - Ph: 13 25 23, Exotic Plant Pest Hotline - Ph: 1800 084 881   Myrtle Rust Update In last month's Hinterland Times, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to raise awareness of the rapid spread of Myrtle Rust (Uredo rangelii) across the Blackall Range. This plant disease had only been officially recorded for the first time in central coast New South Wales in April 2010, but had spread rapidly up the east coast, in what has been a perfect wet summer for this fungus. It had been officially recorded in Maleny in late February 2011, and from there has spread quickly across the range. At first there was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth as it appeared the end of the world was upon us, with a potential plague to be released upon all of the plants in the Myrtaceae Family (all of our Gum Trees, Paperbark's, Bottle Brushes, Lillypillys etc.) ... but like so many threats of imminent apocalypse, the story so far isn't too bad. That said however, we still could have done without this problem, but that is perhaps another story. (Do you know we even buy Australian Eucalypt timber from South America? Talk about selling snow to the Eskimos! And of course Eucalypt timber imports have been found to contain Myrtle Rust spore...thanks to unrestricted international trade!) Our personal experience is that Myrtle Rust arrived with a grand flourish, appearing on a wide range of rainforest type myrtles, including Decaspermum humille, Rhodamnia spp. and Gossia spp.  In the first wave it affected and killed all the new growth of some plants.  Subsequently we began a treatment regime as dictated by Biosecurity Queensland, to prevent infection of stock in our nursery, which has been very successful. In our revegetation areas however we haven't treated all infected plants, as I believe the use of fungicides is a stop gap measure and that we need to look toward assisting the development of resilience to Myrtle Rust. The good news is after the initial infection many of our untreated plants do appear to be bouncing back with lots of healthy new growth. I expect there will be a re-infection, but I'd also suggest that many of the plants affected so far appear to be showing some resilience to the disease now. The important message is that this disease is now widespread in our area and has become an environmental factor that our local plants in the Myrtaceae Family are going to have to adapt to. Most importantly when dealing with Myrtle Rust (at least now) is don't panic. This is yet another invader that Australia could have certainly done without, and we can only cross our fingers and hope that if we look after the bush, it will be able to look after itself.      .... Wed, 04 May 2011 10:41:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/4/4/the_right_plant_in_the_right_place/ ONE OF THE services we provide to local councils is the assessment of native bushland parks for their "resilience". That is the bushland's ability to recover from disturbance and to regenerate itself (basically provide a safe home for the next generation of flora, fauna & fungi).We assess the resilience on what threats are present (such as weeds) and the general health of the native bushland. One of the unusual situations I often come across are revegetation areas that have been planted, often 10 or more years old, that are showing little or no signs of native seedlings popping up. For all intensive purposes they may as well be timber plantations or landscaping, because they are certainly not, on so many levels, helping to restore native ecosystem function (basically provide a safe home for the next generation of flora, fauna & fungi). There are three reasons that I can think of for the lack of recruitment and spread of native seedlings in these revegetation areas. One is their management, often revegetation areas are managed with a weed spray regime that eliminates everything, including native seedlings, herbs, grasses etc... The second is that all too often inappropriate species are planted that don'tcreate the conditions suitable for seeds from nearby native rain forest to grow or encourage native animals to move through and "deposit" (being polite) seed. Thirdly, in some cases the native animals that spread seed may no longer be present. We can assist native animals to move through and access our revegetation areas and start spreading seed etc. by planting the right stock in the right place and, you guessed it, in the right way. Crucial to kick starting rainforest recruitment is shade, leaf litter, humidity and habitat including fruiting plants to attract birds such as the rainforest pigeons and flying foxes that will then spread the seed of mature phase rainforest plants. Rainforest revegetation plantings should be ideally planted densely, that is approximately 1.5 to 3 metres between each plant. This helps to out compete weeds, provide rapid shade and plenty of leaf litter. Plantings should include plenty of pioneers that grow fast, provide lots of leaf litter and can be providing fruit for birds within 18 months. Their foliage is also are often very edible to a range of insects, providing food for insect eating birds. Through planting the right stock in the right place, we can assist native ecosystems restore themselves..... Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:23:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/3/2/the_big_wet/ The recent floods have had a massive impact on the people of South East Queensland. The flooding along the mighty Brisbane, Lockyer and Mary Rivers, has had a huge impact on those communities within the flood zone. There has been widespread loss of infrastructure, homes, crops and sadly, lives. Those prolonged wet periods when it rains hour after hour, and day after day, can also impact severely on the local wildlife. Just like we need shelter from the storm, so too does our local fauna. I'm guessing most of us think animals can survive all that nature throws at them, even the weather, but habitat loss combined with extreme weather can have major impacts on local fauna populations. You as landholders can help restore habitat for fauna to help get them through extremes in the weather and ensure their survival and ecosystem health. Many animals such as possums, gliders and a large number of birds need hollow trees to nest, but also to shelter during extreme weather events. Unfortunately for them, the old growth trees that provide habitat hollows have largely been cleared from our landscape and many trees are too young to provide hollows. However nest boxes are a great solution. We have installed many nest boxes from Hollow Log Homes over the years, and they are often immediately inspected by Lorikeets at the very least! Many animals such as bandicoots, snakes, echidna and skinks live their lives on the ground and also need somewhere to hide from the heat of the sun, predators, fire or storms. Ground habitat is often lacking in young revegetation or regrowth areas, but can be developed and maintained by stacking fallen branches or killed woody weeds into piles, installing rock piles or logs. Too often felled trees are burnt when they could be used to create great habitat, for ground dwelling fauna. Habitat connectivity is also lacking throughout the landscape. Habitat connectivity can simply be described as the ability of fauna and flora to move through the landscape to ensure the viability of their populations. We often retain or establish habitat along rivers and creeks, which is great to allow for habitat connectivity along creeks and rivers, however these areas are often completely inundated by floods, which can be disastrous for some fauna, unless they can move to higher ground. We can ensure this habitat connectivity by making sure we plant and create habitat outside the flood zone. Just like we need to build resilient communities ourselves that can adapt and survive in this land of extremes, we also need to ensure that our local ecosystems that have evolved over millions of years can continue to survive, by assisting the natural processes rather that disrupting them.    .... Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:15:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2011/1/28/successional_weed_management/ SUCCESSIONAL WEED MANAGEMENTDISCUSSION PAPER, By Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises, August 2010. “We must remember that good bush regeneration is not weed control, but that it is the restoration of native ecosystem function. This may seem like semantics and somewhat philosophical, because weed control is all that we seem to be doing in bush regeneration – but our focus is on ecological management and the restoration of native ecosystem function. What we should focus on is not so much control of all weeds, but restoring ecological function through control of weeds if and as required. Some weeds may assist or be able to participate in ecological function and ecological succession for the purpose of restoring native ecosystem function – some weed may have negative and positive functions - for example ourselves!” DEFINITIONS Ecological succession, a fundamental concept in ecology, refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community. Succession may be initiated either by formation of new, unoccupied habitat (e.g., a lava flow or a severe landslide) or by some form of disturbance (e.g. fire, severe storms, logging) of an existing community. Weed: A plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one growing where it is not wanted. Invasive / Environmental Weed: Applies to non-indigenous species, or "non-native", plants that adversely affect the habitats and bioregions they invade economically, environmentally, and/or ecologically. THE CHALLENGE In reality “weeds” can often be an emotive term for something we don’t like, something that is out of control. To undertake weeding is to remove something unnecessary. We can get angry at weeds for just being there. Our challenge is to familiarise ourselves with the life cycles and needs of the plants we call weeds and then use this knowledge to better manage our ecological restoration works. Do some weeds even need to be controlled? Our challenge is to remember that ecological restoration isn’t gardening. Weeds in the garden are considered a sign of neglect. We must look past the weeds and the perception of mess and look to the ecological processes that we can stimulate to deliver short term and long term ecological rehabilitation outcomes.   SO THE QUESTIONS WE SHOULD BE ASKING OURSELVES ARE??? What if Weeds aren’t good plants gone bad? What if Weeds are just making a living? What if some weeds are providing a positive ecological function in our natural area management goals? WHAT IS SUCCESSIONAL WEED MANAGEMENT? Successional Weed Management is a term that defines the practice that we have evolved that acknowledges that: 1. Some weeds do not inhibit the successional development of some ecosystems and can be either neutral or even positive to native ecological function and succession. 2.  That these weeds will drop out of/be out competed by the ecological succession of a site. CAN SOME WEEDS HAVE A POSITIVE ECOLOGICAL ROLE? 1. Some weeds can create conditions suitable for migratory resilience, i.e. Create habitat for seed dispersing birds and fauna. 2. Create conditions suitable for germination of native plants. 3. Provide food resources for fauna that might prevent population decline. 4. Create improved microclimate suitable for the native ecosystem you wish to restore. 5. Provide soil improvement and host beneficial mycorrhizal communities 6. Create habitat for ground dwelling fauna       SUMMARY OF SUCCESSIONAL WEED MANAGEMENT WHAT SORT OF WEEDS ARE SUITABLE  1. Weeds that are not invasive of undisturbed native ecosystems 2. Weeds whose reproduction will be limited or cease as ecological succession progresses. 3. Short lived herbaceous annuals 4. Weeds that provide a positive ecological input to native ecosystems that are already under pressure. NEGATIVES 1. Reduced accessibility for managers 2. Invasive environmental weeds may spread and hinder ecological succession if already established on the site. 3. Can look a bit messy! POSITIVES 1. Larger area covered for cost 2. Rapid provision of habitat 3. Manages existing systems or conditions rather than trying to establish from scratch. 4. Can reduce off target damage from weed management activities WHY DOES THIS METHOD WORK SO WELL WITH RAINFOREST COMMUNITIES? Rainforests are highly competitive ecosystems, with successional processes that may take hundreds if not thousands of years. Apart from the vine weeds such as Madeira vine and Cats Claw creeper, most weeds will be outcompeted rapidly by the growth of native rainforest trees and shrubs. Annual herbs such as Cobblers Pegs, Thick Head, Milk Thistle, Fleabane will be rapidly outcompeted by these ecosystems even when they look dominant in the first two to three years..... Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:24:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/12/4/bush_tucker/ .... Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/10/6/hope_for_habitat/ .... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:39:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/9/saving_the_creek_banks/ Saving the Creek banks.... Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:23:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/8/18/climate_change/ Brush turkey's August blog, featuring climate change.... Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:52:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/7/7/things_that_go_bump_in_the_night/ .... Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:25:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/6/9/pest_management_plans/ .... Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:55:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/5/13/rainforest_pioneers/ When it comes to re-establishing rainforest on the range don’t forget the fast growing but short lived pioneers. Pioneers are the “live fast, die young” members of the plant world. They quickly pop up in areas of disturbance, such as when a large tree has fallen and provide the rapid cover and shade.Using pioneers in your revegetation plantings helps you to quickly “capture” a site (i.e. reduce competition from weeds, improve humidity, wind protection and soil improvement). The protection and microclimate created by the pioneers then dramatically improves the growth of your mature phase trees and shrubs, that although slow to start off with, will eventually provide the long term forest cover for your site with some trees living in excess of a thousand years. The pioneers however will be lucky to make it to fifty years with many lasting between five and ten years.Our local rainforest pioneers include species such as the Bleeding Heart (Homalanthus nutans), Macaranga (Macaranga tanarius), Native Mulberry (Pipturus argenteus), Poison Peach (Trema tomentosa) and Celery wood (Polyscias elegans). Not only are these fast growing species that can achieve at least a metre (if not two) of growth per year, they are also prolific fruit bearing trees that not only provide quick physical habitat for wildlife but also lots of food! This is of course not a purelyaltruistic offering from the pioneers, as the more their fruit is eaten, the more chance they have of spreading their seed across the landscape and reproducing themselves, which is very important when you have such a short lifespan. Also many pioneers are readily gobbled up by a range of insects, which again kicks the food chain along nicely by providing a host of food for insectivorous birds.Pioneers can be planted at relatively tight spacing of 1.5 to 2 metre centre’s to provide rapid cover on your revegetation site, but basically any spacing upto 4 metres is better than none. Closer spacing will provide quicker cover and save you time when it comes to weeding your revegetation site.One much maligned pioneer of our rainforests is the Black Wattle (Acacia melanoxylon). These are fast growing, hardy and can provide good firewood and beautiful timber. An example of how hardy they are is that they are the only trees that have popped up by themselves in our old paddocks, when we have removed cattle and provide quick cover without any work needed.Pioneers are great for kick starting ecosystems, planting pioneers means more food for the birds, more shade, less carbon in the atmosphere, cooler temperatures and most importantly, more time for you to enjoy life – preferably on a verandah with a cool beverage overlooking your planting!.... Thu, 13 May 2010 12:34:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/5/2/bird_attracting_plants/ In the past, when I’ve worked in retail nurseries, on an almost daily basis we would get a customer request for plants that were good for attracting birds. Unfortunately most people’s exposure to native plants that are good for bringing in our feathered friends is from mainstream Australian native gardening books or TV shows which push the same small list of cultivar grevilleas, bottlebrushes and banksias. These plants are recommended whether you live in Hobart or Darwin, Sydney or Perth - which may be great in making a book marketable nation-wide, but takes little account of the diversity of our big country and its innumerable unique ecosystems – and let’s face it, can get a little boring after a while!Up here on the Range, from Bellthorpe to Maleny and then north to Mapleton, we are in what was mainly rainforest and tall eucalypt country. Many of the birds of the Blackall Range are fruit eaters. Fleshy fruit being a major means of dispersal by many of our rainforest plants. We can help these often uncommon birds to be able to move through the landscape again by using local native plants in our gardens to recreate habitat and food sources.Fortunately for the gardener and plant lover in general, many of these local fruit bearing plants also look great in the garden, so not only do the local wildlife get a good feed and are able to move through the landscape – but you get to choose from a great diversity of beautiful local native plants. For example Silky Myrtle (Decaspermum humille), Rose Myrtle (Archirhodomyrtus beckleri), Native Guava (Rhodomyrtus psidioides) Ironwood (Gossia acmenoides) Blue Lillypilly (Syzygium oleosum) are all fantastic shrubby hedge plants with beautiful foliage and flowers and fruit for the birds. They are all naturally bushy and need very little in the way of pruning to shape.Quick growing, guaranteed bird attracters include the Koda (Ehretia acuminata), Native Elderberry (Sambucus australasica), Celerywood (Polyscias elegans) and Native Mulberry (Pipturus argenteus).The few plants listed above are but a small sample of the hundreds of local beauties that could be listed if we had space and time…Some of the birds you can expect to see in your garden with the addition of local natives include Catbirds, Bower Birds, Lewin’s Honeyeaters, Brown Cuckoo Doves, Emerald Doves, Wonga Pidgeons, Silvereyes and if you plant a few figs maybe even the rare Coxens Fig parrot! Unfortunately the Coxens Fig Parrot appears to be on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss. So get busy planting local natives in your gardens and creating habitat corridors on your properties so we don’t lose any more local birds.Ph 0428 130 769 spencer.shaw@brushturkey.com.au www.brushturkey.com.au.... Sun, 02 May 2010 12:42:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/2/7/bird_attracting_plants/ In the past, when I’ve worked in retail nurseries, on an almost daily basis we would get a customer request for plants that were good for attracting birds. Unfortunately most people’s exposure to native plants that are good for bringing in our feathered friends is from mainstream Australian native gardening books or TV shows which push the same small list of cultivar grevilleas, bottlebrushes and banksias. These plants are recommended whether you live in Hobart or Darwin, Sydney or Perth - which may be great in making a book marketable nation-wide, but takes little account of the diversity of our big country and its innumerable unique ecosystems – and let’s face it, can get a little boring after a while!Up here on the Range, from Bellthorpe to Maleny and then north to Mapleton, we are in what was mainly rainforest and tall eucalypt country. Many of the birds of the Blackall Range are fruit eaters. Fleshy fruit being a major means of dispersal by many of our rainforest plants. We can help these often uncommon birds to be able to move through the landscape again by using local native plants in our gardens to recreate habitat and food sources.Fortunately for the gardener and plant lover in general, many of these local fruit bearing plants also look great in the garden, so not only do the local wildlife get a good feed and are able to move through the landscape – but you get to choose from a great diversity of beautiful local native plants. For example Silky Myrtle (Decaspermum humille), Rose Myrtle (Archirhodomyrtus beckleri), Native Guava (Rhodomyrtus psidioides) Ironwood (Gossia acmenoides) Blue Lillypilly (Syzygium oleosum) are all fantastic shrubby hedge plants with beautiful foliage and flowers and fruit for the birds. They are all naturally bushy and need very little in the way of pruning to shape.Quick growing, guaranteed bird attracters include the Koda (Ehretia acuminata), Native Elderberry (Sambucus australasica), Celerywood (Polyscias elegans) and Native Mulberry (Pipturus argenteus).The few plants listed above are but a small sample of the hundreds of local beauties that could be listed if we had space and time…Some of the birds you can expect to see in your garden with the addition of local natives include Catbirds, Bower Birds, Lewin’s Honeyeaters, Brown Cuckoo Doves, Emerald Doves, Wonga Pidgeons, Silvereyes and if you plant a few figs maybe even the rare Coxens Fig parrot! Unfortunately the Coxens Fig Parrot appears to be on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss. So get busy planting local natives in your gardens and creating habitat corridors on your properties so we don’t lose any more local birds.Ph 0428 130 769 spencer.shaw@brushturkey.com.au www.brushturkey.com.au.... Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:32:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2010/1/10/the_long_dry_is_over/ Well as you read this, hopefully the rain has continued beyond the Christmas – New Year break and is filling the creeks and dams again. This may seem rather selfish and rather miserable of me to wish a wet start on 2010, but after the long dry that we ended 2009 on we desperately need a good top up.Its quite likely we could even be in the midst of some severe flooding by the time you read this which would certainly be a contrast to the drought we were suffering a mere few weeks back – but that is Australia, a land of extremes!It’s the extremes of our climate that make the ecosystems of Australia unique. The pattern of life is focused on the conservation of energy. For example the Dingo a recent arrival to the Australian continent of only a few thousand years has already reduced its breeding cycle to once per year, as opposed to the Asian wolf ancestor and recent feral dogs which can breed several times per year. Next is the Antechinus. Although mouse like in appearance, it is a fearsome, if somewhat diminutive carnivore, whose whole male population dies after mating (what a way to go!), so that there is less competition for limited food resources.Many Australian animals also have adapted to limited food resources by co-operatively rearing young. That is, older brothers and sisters assisting their parents in rearing their parent’s offspring rather than their own - so as to increase the chances of survival for another generation. Did you know that kangaroos are always pregnant? But that the foetus growth can be arrested until there is sufficient food available for the mother to rear young.It’s not just the fauna that have made these conservative adaptations to life in Australia. Icons of the Australian bush are the Wattle and Gum tree. Most wattles have adapted to our harsh climate by not producing leaves at all and instead have a leaf like structure which is infact a flattened stem, known as a phyllode. Well if it looks like a leaf, what’s the big deal I hear you ask? Again the adoption of the phyllode is an example of conservancy as they lose less water than true leaves. The gum tree is another great utiliser of minimal resources and has been shaped by and inturn shaped Australian ecosystems.Australian ecosystems are dominated by examples of life adapting to the limited and or variable resources available. In your garden, in your paddock and in your orchard its worthwhile remembering the variability of the Australian environment so that we too can better adapt to the resources available, be it drought or flood!Brush Turkey EnterprisesPh 0428 130 769spencer.shaw@brushturkey.com.auwww.brushturkey.com.au.... Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:30:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/water_and_seeds/ Fruits, Nuts, Seeds and other things By Spencer Shaw 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 and weathering of hard seed cases i.e. Blue quandong Elaeocarpus grandis. Last but not least we can add the ability of waterways to carry seed far from the parent tree to assist the colonization of new areas ‘to boldly go where no seed has gone before’.Creek Lillypilly-Syzygium smithii  (syn. Acmena) – fine leaf, is a classic example of plant that produces many more seed when close to water and the closer the better. Even on the same plant branches overhanging water are often dripping with fruit while those over dry land carry few. This can provide the seed collector with an uncomfortable challenge as the seed are produced in the depths of winter and standing up to your unmentionables in the chilly waters of the Obi on a winter’s morning makes even the deepest of baritones utter notes that could shatter glass! This form of Syzygium Smithii is very common in our wider, sunnier, and rocky stretches of rivers. It is amazingly flood resistant due to its small multi branched form and clings to the riverbank with roots of steel, while other plants are torn and washed away. And after the severe floods of summer have left the river banks scoured and bare, the Lillypilly seedlings spread by the river in winter and established during spring resprout from rocky crevices to make their mark in the riparian zone.Weeping Lillypilly -Syzygium floribunda takes over from the creek lillypilly downstream on the Blackall Range at altitudes of about 250 metres and below. An unusual feature of this tree is that it is one of the few native trees in our area that forms monocultures, although regular flooding make this habitat extremely hostile and only riverbank specialists like the Waterhousea can survive these extreme conditions. Riverbanks dominated Waterhousea can be extremely stable environments, their deep roots anchor them and their surface roots form a mat over the riverbank which in shallow streams can even cover the stream bed, the ultimate in erosion control. These guardians of our riverbanks are often bruised and battered and their trunks thick with suckers and regrowth and yet they require the river for their very survival. The fruit of Waterhousea need to fall into the river and require the flowing water of the river to leach chemicals out of the fruit that prevent germination. One way of simulating these conditions for the home propagator I’ve heard is to suspend a mesh bag of fruit in a toilet cistern and the regular change of water in the cistern leaches the chemicals away. I imagine however that those who prefer their porcelain to retain its pearly gleam shouldn’t try this.Giant water gum-Syzygium francisii is another member of the lillypilly group that thrives along our watercourses. It has developed a fruit that like styrofoam is as much air as solid matter. These fruit can float for at least a day and be carried far away from the parent tree by a flowing steam or river. The lucky ones may eventually be washed up on to the riverbank and given a chance to grow. This floatability of Syg. francisii can make them very easy to collect by the opportunistic seed collector with a small net, all you need to do is scoop the floating fruit from the waters surface. This can be a rather civilized occupation on a hot summer’s day, unlike the situation with the Acmena smithii. Next time you’re strolling along the riverbank give some thought to how the vegetation has helped to shape the river and how the plants themselves have in turn have been shaped by the river..... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:32:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/when_is_a_rat_not_a_rat/ When is a rat not a rat? Small furry creatures with sharp teeth and claws and evil beady little eyes get a lot of bad press in our culture thanks to the feral rats that have followed the spread of humans across the planet. However, we also have many native rodents and other small furry creatures that are important part of our local ecosystems that are unfortunately tarnished with the bad publicity generated by their jet setting rodent cousins.The local Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes can be found in our local forests and heathlands and is quite cute and timid compared to the imports, although they can still give you a nip when cornered. They feed on native fruits and seeds but are also important spreaders of seed through our local forests. Also found in our area are the amazing Antechinus.  Antechinus are not rodents at all but miniature versions of the “Tassie Tiger”, they are in the family of unique native carnivorous marsupials, known as the Dasyurid’s. They are high energy predators that have short life spans, especially the poor males, who only live for about 9 months before going out in a blaze of glory after exhausting all their energy in the mating season. Both Bush Rat and Antechinus are vital players in our local ecosystems and are doing their best to survive in the changed landscape around human settlements, unfortunately having to compete for food with introduced rats. Which brings me to the delicate issue of rodent control, please consider carefully when deciding how to control those annoying little critters that are scratching in your ceiling. Many rat poisons, particularly the Warfarin based ones are systemic poisons (these rodent poisons don’t just kill the rats but also the animals that eat the poisoned rats). Owls, Tawny Frog Mouths, Carpet Snakes and Quolls are just some of the many native predators that can die as a result of eating rats or mice that have consumed these poisons. Always enquire about non-systemic rat poisons that will kill the target species only (and make sure you don’t leave them somewhere that possums can get them). If you think you might have Antechinus instead of introduced mice, consider using a trap that will catch animals live, so that you can release them outside. If however, you do have an Antechinus in your house and can tolerate them (they can stretch the friendship at times), you will never have a mouse or cockroach problem again!So remember, next time you are jumping onto the table as a small furry creature scurries by, it may just be a friendly local and not necessarily a “dirty rat”!  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:32:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/winter_seeders_-_the_patient_ones/ Winter Seeders – The Patient OnesBy Spencer Shaw In summer many seed hit the ground and are putting down roots within a matter of days. Those warm balmy tropical days and nights are perfect for vegetative growth and seeds tend to establish themselves very quickly. Conditions for growth are at their best in spring and summer with the rainforest seed that fall then wasting no time in their race for survival………….. Sorry drifted off for a second there thinking about warm balmy tropical days and nights as I huddle over my keyboard on a cool autumn night!!!.Species like Guioa semiglauca, Harpullia pendula, Pennantia cunninghamii are classic summer seeders, germinating extroverts so to speak. They are the sorts of seed that can’t wait to get out of their skins the moment they hit the ground and race for the sky!!! Their winter cousins can be somewhat on the shy side however, and remain introverts until the warmth of spring tempts them to poke out a root node and make their break for the light.In winter temperatures drop and growth conditions for seedlings become less than favourable. Many seedlings that have sprouted during the warmer months and that haven’t become sufficiently established may die off and if these seedlings are struggling, how could seed falling in winter survive if they where to germinate?The answer is often to postpone germination for the winter seeders. Many have growth inhibitors either chemical (i.e. the fruit on Acmena) or mechanical (i.e. seed coats as in Melia) that allow them to lie dormant in the soil until warmer conditions return when growth is possible. This is when the investment of developing a seed that can survive the winter pays of, because they are often the first to germinate when warm conditions return and because they have little competition they have the field (or at least the forest) to themselves.Two winter seeders to keep an eye out for, (but don’t expect them to germinate overnight) are:Syzygium ingens – Red apple; these beautiful fast growing trees are dropping their large red fruit at the moment and they are well worth the trouble of growing as they are a truly outstanding and as I said fast growing tree. The fruit are about 20-30mm in diameter, so easy to spot just and collect from below the tree where they fall. They can be sown fruit and all in a good potting compost but benefit from soaking in water for at least a fortnight to drown any grubs that may be present. Personally I allow the fruit to sit in a bucket until they have gone a bit mushy (some people just never grow up) and the give them a good stir and rinse until the fruit is removed and then sow. Whilst collecting fruit out along Stanley river road two years back I was fortunate enough to see several of the very rare Coxens fig parrot feeding on the fruit. Unfortunately this tree was cut down during road widening so all the more reason to plant these beautiful trees if they are a source of winter food for a bird on the verge of extinction.Melia azederach – White Cedar; these are a much underrated tree from our local forests. Incredibly quick to establish and grow, providing a beautiful timber (for those in it for the long run), with small but very attractive flowers and a bird attracting fruit, but wait there’s more…..One thing that puts many people of the white cedar is their deciduous nature and the fact that they often are stripped by caterpillars just before they loose their leaves in autumn. The fact that they are deciduous I can see to be of benefit i.e. perfect for the north side of a house by providing summer shade and yet allowing winter sun in. Also they are great on a reveg site providing quick cover (upto 4m in their first year) in the heat of summer and yet allowing light onto their neighbours during winter. White cedar is in fruit at the moment and the masses of yellow fruit are easy to see on the bare branches. The yellow fruit consist of a fleshy layer surrounding a hard stone that contains several small seeds. The hard stone protects the seed until warmer conditions return and they are often one of the first locals to sprout on a disturbed site in spring.  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:32:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/the_much_maligned_brush_turkey/ The Much Maligned Brush Turkey By Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises Before you ask… No, we do not breed Brush Turkeys, we do not remove them from your property and we certainly do not provide them steaming hot and crispy with your choice of salad or steamed vegetables! Our link to the brush turkey name, goes back to my early days as a seed collector when I felt like a brush turkey scratching around in the leaf litter of the rainforest looking for seed! You may say that I could do better than taking the name of one of the most unpopular animals on the range as a business name… but I’ve always been a backer of the underdog (under-turkey in this case perhaps!). Brush Turkeys are one of those local species that have adapted rather well, to the changes that we have wrought on the landscape and yet they are unfortunately referred to by many as somewhat of a nuisance. But they are not the only successful wildlife that cops a lot of bad press… Our cultural fear and loathing of snakes is astonishing. The car is far more dangerous and we realistically have far more of a chance of dying when in the vicinity of an automobile than from a dreaded snake. Native raspberries are often seen as a nuisance because of all their prickles and yet they are crucial wildlife habitat (because of the prickles!). If that’s not good enough in their fruit are also tasty to nibble on too. The list of successful and yet unpopular native species goes on and on, unfortunately and can include possums, bush rats, stinging trees, wattles, etc…, etc…, – but for now lets get back to the turkeys. When I read of some of the many horror stories about brush turkeys devastating the revegetation sites that some intrepid revegetators have been planting up - I can’t help but think that the said writers are under the impression that the turkeys are purposefully targeting them or that these feathered little vandals should be more grateful for all the trees being planted. Well that’s where we might be wrong. The brush turkey is just doing what brush turkeys do (nature is very Zen!). They certainly do not think to themselves, “Oh how wonderful, those pale humans are creating a habitat that my descendants may enjoy and frolic in. Its so good of them to see the error of their ways and plant one tree for every 10,000 they cut down when they came here. What I should do is demonstrate how grateful I am by scratching up the weeds growing around those trees they have planted and rake the mulch into neat and orderly piles around each plant”. To be fair, I’m not sure wether turkeys are prone to this level of sarcasm. The brush turkey like the rest of nature is living very much in the here and now and seizes opportunity as it arises. The onus is very much on us to think of how we can better undertake our reveg’ and gardening in a manner that is better suited to our local environment and the turkeys! So remember, give a brush turkey a hug today (metaphorically speaking – lots of scratches otherwise!), and revel in our good fortune at having these ancient megapodes as neighbours. Cheers to all the wildlife and plants that are taking advantage of us for a change!.... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:31:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/a_view_to_kill_for/ “A View to Kill For”by Spencer Shaw, of Brush Turkey EnterprisesA few millions years ago on the African plains our early hominid ancestors knew the importance of keeping a look out for the big toothy predators that saw them as a potential breakfast, lunch or tea. Later still, our more recent ancestors knew the importance of a clear view of the surrounding country side when it came to shoring up the fortifications of their village against the marauding bunch of blokes from down the valley. Wether we realise it or not, our appreciation of a good “view” is a deeply ingrained part of our psyche and very much a part of who we are. However there is a dark side to this love of the “view” and it is becoming more and more evident as a cause of environmental degradation particularly on the coast and closer to home here in the hills. The last 50 years or so has seen a boom in real-estate with a “view” and a clear view of the ocean or a clear view from a hill is worth serious dollars. A culture has evolved that is so busy trying to get away from itself that for some people the need to own a view of somewhere else becomes pathological and it’s our local native vegetation that becomes the victim.If your wondering if I’m being a touch dramatic and wondering about my point of view (sorry, couldn’t resist slipping that one in!) consider this tale. A friend of mine and fellow tree-planter was engaged to plant some trees on a client’s property. As soon as these trees became established they where poisoned, by what one can only assume to be one of those pathological view seekers mentioned before. Trees were replanted and re-poisoned and eventually security cameras fitted to try and catch the perpetrator. This may seem to be an extreme example but I could unfortunately list many a story like this. The view psychosis reaches its pinnacle on the coast and all too often the frontal dune vegetation such as Coastal She-Oak (Casuarina equisetifolia) and Coastal Banksia – (Banksia integrifolia) are either: removed, poisoned or butchered – to improve “the view”. The other insidious impact of the view psychosis is its effect on revegetation efforts. All too often with coastal plantings the “views” of local residents prove far more influential in the implementation of revegetation projects than the needs of local ecosystems and wildlife. What some view obsessed coastal residents don’t often realize is that, the very thin and fragile strip of vegetation that is in the way of their inspirational viewing and serious real-estate dollars is also literally the only thing holding back that beautiful ocean from washing their valuable real-estate away. The same applies to our hill top views. If trees aren’t recognised for their importance in the geological stability of the landscape, then your ridge top view could quickly, and I’d imagine rather terrifyingly, become riverside real-estate in a landscape that is infamous for its landslip potential.Do we personally need to own a view? That’s the big question here. “The view” has become a commodity, an asset, even a status symbol. Reality dictates however that we can’t possibly make use of this view all day long and that the majority of the day is either spent at work or asleep and actual time spent enjoying “the view” is quite small. So investing in a view is often quite poor use of your resources because it’s something that you’re going to get little actual use of. The other strange aspect of “the view” being a commodity is that there is so much view out there for free; all you have to do is go for a walk. The wonderful thing about the free view is that it’s all over the place and is wonderfully different with every step you take. The free view of the ocean is even better than the commodity view, because you can actually feel the sand between your toes (although with the way some coastal residents have obliterated vegetation from the dunes in the way of their views, they too may soon have the pleasure of feeling the sand between their toes in their very own living room!)Do I consider myself above the need for a view – of course not. I appreciate a good view as much as the next person and as mentioned at the beginning of this article consider the need for a view to be very much a part of who we are. However, I have reconciled myself to the fact that the view from my kitchen window will not be of the distant hills in the years to come but of the trees we’ve planted and the wildlife that will make use of them. A view full of life, a view that is - priceless.   .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:31:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/the_wilderness_garden/ Turkey Tangential By Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises,   The Wilderness Garden   After 12 years in down town Maleny the Shaw’s are about to pull up roots, go rural and move a few kilometres west to Reesville. Surprisingly in moving from town to the country, what we will miss most (for a year or so - until our plantings develop) is the abundant wildlife we share our lives with.   In those 12 years we have packed our small 800m² block with as many native plants as physically possible and reduced the lawn to a few metres square. We have reached a stage where we share our little piece of paradise with an awesome variety of local wildlife.     In the shed tucked up on the rafters on a cool day is our friendly Carpet Python Morelia spilota variegata and a Common Bearded Dragon Pogona barbarata affectionately known as “Billy” has shared his life with us in our front yard for almost 2 years. Yellow Faced Whip Snakes Demansia psammophis hunt for a variety skinks amongst the rock walls. A family of Pale-headed Rosellas Platycercus adscitus call here “home”; the nest boxes a mere 5 metres from our kitchen window. Black Possums Trichosurus caninus and Ringtail Possums Pseudocheirus peregrinus bounce across the roof on moonlit nights, Grey Headed Flying Foxes Pteropus poliocephalus raid the bananas and of course there’s always the Brush Turkeys Alectura lathami, magnificent megapodes that are around every corner. There are Red-brow Finches Neochmia temporalis raiding our bamboo grass for their nests in the Davidson Plums and there are Spangled Drongos Dicurus bracteatus clearing Citrus Bugs off the Finger Limes and so many more….   Our garden has been proof that you can live in town and still be surrounded by wildlife. If diversity is the spice of life, I guess you could say our garden is a curry, and it’s very tasty.   When we moved into our place in Maleny 12 years ago the front garden struggled to grow grass and had a spindly assortment of azaleas and exotic bulbs. Now our front garden is totally wild, with a complex range of native plants from groundcovers, ferns and grasses to shrubs, vines and small trees. One spectacular wildlife attracter has been our Native Elderberry Sambucus australasica. This plant fruits most of the year attracting a range of small fruit eating birds – but the Lewins Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii just can’t stay away. Muttonwood Rapanea variabilis is also another great bird feeder even though it only fruits for 4-6 weeks in summer and the Cat Birds Ailuroedus crassirostris and Bower Birds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus can’t resist them if they’re in the area.   However, too many people will panic when they see a wild garden. That sense of order that we impose on the landscape around us (so as to override the inadequacies of the modern human psyche)  is rampant. It is evident in the vast expanses of lawn and the waves of exotic plants that we flood the landscape with. It is also evident in the fear of all things making their own living in our territory, whether they have feathers, scales or fur. Cats, dogs and birds in cages are just fine but a possum raiding your fruit tree, a brushturkey scratching up your mulch, or a carpet python keeping down the rat population are just too much for the many of us. This is ‘our’ space and we think we must remain in control and tolerate no free loaders. The extremes to which some individuals will go to, to maintain this sense of order and dominance over ‘their’ backyard would make your average fascist grimace with inadequacy. Recently in our area, maimed Brush Turkeys have been appearing, with partial or complete beaks missing. After pondering the situation and speculating some disease of the beak, it appears now that someone in our neighbourhood, driven to distraction by the Brush Turkeys propensity to scratch up mulch, decided to take the law into their own hands and set steel jaw traps with food as bait! Steel jaw traps may result in a quick death if all goes right (but rarely does), but what if a possum, bandicoot, dog, cat or a child steps on one – the consequences don’t bear thinking about ! Two things the individual who set these traps had some problems with - a) thinking and b) understanding consequences. Nature is abundant - when given half a chance. Diverse ecosystems are crucial to our very survival. Our lives can be enriched by sharing ‘our’ territory with our local wildlife. Plant local grasses in your garden and think before spreading the Rat poison, plant local shrubs in your garden and think before you spray insecticide over your favourite exotic, plant local trees in your garden and calmly rake that mulch back onto the garden that the bl...dy Brush Turkey scratched up! Human life and nature’s abundance are not mutually exclusive, we can work together..... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/dont_mess_with_the_mulch/ Clean Up Australia – Not in My forest Mate!or “Don’t mess with the mulch” By Spencer ShawI’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 blogs) 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 Chtonobdella whitmani must think my O+ blood type is the nectar of the gods and I’m hosting a tick convention of Ixodes holocyclus behind my left ear. It was dark when I fled to the forest last night and my nerves got the better of me and, you guessed it, the call of nature led to a rather extremely painful encounter with the leaves of the Giant-leaf Stinging Tree Dendrocnide excelsa. The leaf litter of the forest floor is amazing stuff (if sometimes a little bumpy and prickly). At this time of year as temperatures increase, the leaf litter thickens as trees drop old leaves to reduce their water-loss and also to conserve soil moisture by the thicker mulch layer. Thick layers of Leaf litter are more commonly seen in our drier rainforest patches, where the canopy is lower at 10 –15 metres and on poorer well-drained soils. A range of seeds  also add to the leaf litter at this time of year. These include the Brown Tulip Oak Argyrodendron trifoliolatum, whose bronze winged fruit gently whirl to earth like little helicopters when the breeze picks up. An amazing adaptation that the Argyrodendron genus has made is the development of moisture-conserving gels that surround their seeds. The Black Booyong Argyrodendron actinophyllum produces an enormous quantity of gel around its seed when wetted. This is great for protecting the seedling from drying out in the harder soils of the range where it naturally grows. Conversely this moisture-holding gel can be a bit tricky to cope with when propagating them in nurseries, as they may be kept too moist and rot.The forest’s leaf litter and the soil below it, is home to a myriad of life forms such as millipedes, mites, snails, spiders, worms, beetles, ticks, fungi and so much more. The leaf litter is the powerhouse of nutrient recycling that maintains the ongoing health of the trees, shrubs and vines that make up the forest. This leaf litter and all the tiny creatures that make it their home, are also the start of the food chain for all the larger creatures that call the forest home. Take the amazing Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii of our local forests. These little guys are often confused with rodents but are serious carnivores and are distant relatives of the Tassie tiger.  I imagine Antechinus with the “Jaws” sound track playing in the background. To see them in action is fantastic! The sight of two furry little ears protruding through the leaf litter doing circles around a bush cockroach before it leaps up and takes its prey in one foul swoop and ducks back below the leaf litter is awesome.And where would the infamous Brush Turkey Alectura lathami  be without a good pile of leaf litter to rake up. The compost heaps they make from the forest floor are not only crucial to the incubation of their own young, but also the concentrated goodness of these piles makes a perfect home for all sorts of little critters and fungi. Perfect germination sites for some species of plants that need that extra bit of moisture can be found around these piles and sometimes even the composting effects of the pile can help break seed dormancy. The Brush Turkey unfortunately cops a lot of bad press due to its activities in some perfect gardens. But where else in the world do humans have the good fortune of living side by side in the suburbs with such a large wild animal a creature whose greatest crime is building compost heaps and occasionally getting a bit too friendly with one’s domestic poultry.In closing, next time you’re hiding out in the forest  from whatever dominant paradigm you have challenged, don’t forget to appreciate the leaf litter that you are snuggled down in and wonder at all those marvellous little fungi on the log you’re using as a pillow. And as the Clash sang back in the 80’s “I fought the law-n and the law-n won, I fought the law-n and the law-n won” - well for now anyway.... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:29:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/wonderful_weeds/ Wonderful Weedsby Spencer Shaw – Brush Turkey Enterprises Our phobia of weeds is something quite extraordinary. If visitors from another planet were to land on our door step tomorrow and study the average garden I’m sure the questions would run something like this: a) Why do you waste so much time cultivating plants that are so inbred that they can survive only with your assistance? b) Why are plants native to anywhere else on the planet other than where you actually live so attractive to you? And finally c) Why do we spend so much time at war with plants that are very successful at proliferating in spite of our attempts to wipe them out.I’ve mentioned in previous articles the possible benefits of the tree weeds such as Camphor to our local wildlife, but today I’d like to bring to your attention another much maligned group of weeds that in reality have very few down sides and offer great benefits - they are the “Annual Herbs” or “Herbaceous Weeds”  and I’m not talking parsley here! This brings us back to question, “Why do we spend so much time at war with plants that are very successful at proliferating in spite of our attempts to wipe them out?” As a profesional and recreational ( just can’t help myself! ) native vegetation worker  my particular answer would run something along the lines of, “to protect the diversity of our native flora and fauna and their ongoing ability to reproduce themselves and the ecologies they are part of, we must control the exotic plants that threaten their survival ”. However are all weeds a threat?Cobbler’s pegs, Fleabane, Inkweed, Thickhead, Cats Tongue, Thistles, Milkweed, Blue Top and Amaranth are some names you may be familiar with of a group that we classify as annual herbs or herbaceous weeds. They are in general, short lived non-woody plants that produce large numbers of seeds, are mainly wind dispersed but also in some cases, dispersed by small birds. All the plants listed above are exotic and thrive in disturbed ground – they just love revegetation and bush regeneration sites. At best we are dismissive of them and at worst we hate them. However, how valid is the case against them? In the case of rainforest restoration, I’m going to offer myself as devil’s advocate (as usual) and argue the benefits of these weeds, but I’ll try and also argue against myself to remain somewhat impartial and either end up schizophrenic, or at least run a 50/50 chance of being correct. Often in the early phases of revegetation sites herbaceous weeds grow exceedingly well. We create a situation that is perfect for them. The availability of nutrients in the soil rises as grasses are killed off, fertilisers are added to improve tubestock growth and the very act of planting cultivates the soil and releases latent fertility within the soil. Herbaceous weeds (exotic or native) are the true pioneer plants, in that they are the first step in the floral succession to colonise bare ground. Also these plants are some of the main plants you will spend the next 3 – 5 years waging war against if you follow the conventional wisdom of revegetating rainforest in our local area and have the inbuilt weed-phobia that most of us are born with.Are these plants actually detrimental to the growth of planted stock? In most cases I would offer a definitive, No. They are often genuinely beneficial, particularly the lush herbs such as milk thistle, fleabane, thistles, thickhead and inkweed. These guys improve soil quality, act as living mulch, provide frost protection and create a humid microclimate that our planted stock can often thrive in. The main reason most of these weeds are cleared from revegetation sites is cosmetic. In clearing these weeds it could be argued that we over-use herbicides and brushcutters and that this in itself causes unnecessary damage to our planted stock. Now I’m not suggesting for a moment that we let our revegetation patches become a mass of weeds and say “bye, bye its time to look after yourself now” to our tubestock as we plant them. On the down side herbaceous weeds can hide a lot of nasties, such as Glycine, Silver Leaf Desmodium and worst of all ……. the running grasses such as Kikuyu and Couch! All these plants are real and serious threats to the ongoing health of a revegetation site and need controlling and so will the herbaceous weeds that hide them. Also the herbaceous weeds can make it very hard to even find, let alone check on your planted tubestock, but staking can over come this.As with all weeds we should look at this group of plants and start asking questions of ourselves about how we manage them. What are the positives and negatives? Can we improve growth of our plantings by selective management? Can we use them as a resource, rather than seeing them purely in terms of being a pest? Perhaps we need to be tapping into their ability to thrive in spite of what we throw at them..... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:29:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/lazy/ “Lazy”Turkey TangentialBy Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises Being a naturally lazy person I don’t like complicated solutions to what should be theoretically the relatively simple process of restoring our native ecosystems. My idea of perfect regeneration is sitting back on the verandah sipping a cup of tea, reading a book and occasionally lifting my gaze from the page to watch native fauna undertake all the work that is necessary to restore the native vegetation on our new block. That’s the dream…..However it’s worth remembering, that when we undertake ecosystem restoration we don’t, shouldn’t and simply can’t act alone – quite humbling for your average egocentric Homo sapien.In late January this year the Brush Turkey clan moved to beautiful Reesville, just 5 minutes west of Maleny, to start work on (and enjoy!) 14 acres of land & 1 acre of water. More than 12 of the 14 acres of land are pasture, a substantial proportion of which we plan to either restore to native vegetation or plant up in some form or another. So unless we are happy to say farewell to the relaxed weekend forever and only catch up with the kids some time around their 21st’s - its time to get lazy and work with nature.Ok, so let’s break the processes down and work out what is stopping native ecosystems looking after themselves and eliminate those hurdles. If you have native vegetation on your property, that’s a great start. We have several patches of remnant and planted vegetation, so from there we at least have a seed source and, often more importantly, habitat for native fauna to move through the landscape spreading seed from our remnants and nearby native vegetation. So given that we have these few remnants on our property, what processes are stopping native vegetation spreading all by itself? Competition from an exotic grassland/pasture ecosystem is the primary limitation to the regeneration of native ecosystems on our property. Intensive grazing of cattle contributes to the maintenance of these pastures and the removal of any native seedlings that do pop up. Herbicide use over the last 50 years or so has helped suppress the growth of native weeds such as raspberry and even the exotic blackberry that would protect young saplings and allow them to grow. So as a lazy revegetator, how first would I tackle the revegetation of some of the pasture areas? Well, if I was really as lazy as I aspire to be, I would simply exclude cattle from a paddock and then wait for the grass to grow so thick and rank that it started to break down on itself and allow blackberry or raspberry to establish, a few wattles pop up etc… privet would move in and then a few 100 years later, a full blown rainforest would have re-established. But even my impatience gets the better of me here and even I want some results a bit quicker than a few centuries allows for…As we were lucky to start with a very clean pasture of carpet grass, kikuyu and couch, I simply removed cattle from the paddock to be planted and then spot sprayed planting circles of 0.75 metre diameter at 2-3 metre spacings, then walked away for at least 6-8 weeks. In that time the grass that was sprayed dies off nicely and makes for easy digging. The grass that wasn’t sprayed is then cut prior to a planting and used as mulch, saving a lot of labour costs (and allowing the wallet to stay closed) as mulch is produced on site, right where it is needed. Then it’s a simple matter of planting a variety of local natives, from shrubs to trees and keeping the grass well away from them long enough for them to grow and in turn shade out the remaining grass, all being well in 2-4 years.  That’s how we will tackle some of the pasture areas and set up a forest framework - but a few planted trees does not a forest make! When we stop the processes that are interfering with native ecosystem restoration - in this case the sward of exotic grasses that suppress the germination and spread of native seedlings, that’s when the fun really begins. Finally I get to sit back on the verandah with the book, cup of tea etc… Forest birds such as pigeons and doves, bowerbirds, catbirds and of course brush turkeys, will start to move in and spread the seed of other local natives. Bandicoots and echidnas will roam about digging holes, spreading spore of important mycorrhizal fungi and creating the disturbance that allows the germination of some seeds hidden in the soil. Possum and wallabies will carry on their legs the sticky seed of the native creeping beard grass and spread this native groundcover. A host of invertebrates and a swag of fungi will then find homes in the new litter layer that establishes under our growing trees and shrubs and this in turn will build soil and cycle nutrients.So next time you are out there saving the planet and it all seems like too much hard work, think lazy, find yourself a hammock and think about how you can assist the wildlife to help themselves by interrupting whatever processes are inhibiting the ability of local ecosystems to regenerate themselves.  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:28:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/the_cost_of_convenience/ “The Cost of Convenience”Turkey Tangential by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises, November 2006. Recently I have been fortunate to reacquaint myself with Bribie Island, through a holiday and work BTE is undertaking in that area. Bribie was my home for my teenage years. Being the ratbag greenie that I was, I found it very easy to leave behind a place that I could see going backward environmentally and rejoiced in arriving in  a place like Maleny, where it could be argued that the damage was already done and that we could only make things better! Almost twenty years away from a place can give one a bit of perspective from which to observe change, but if I can observe environmental degradation over a mere 20 years what hope do the local ecosystems have over much greater timeframes?For millions of years sand has drifted northward along the coast of Northern New South Wales and into South East Queensland. This sand has given rise to the beautiful beaches of this region, the islands of Moreton Bay and Fraser Island - the largest sand island in the world. Long before these islands and these beaches existed or the rivers that eroded the sand were formed, turtles roamed the oceans. These beautiful creatures have survived and evolved over 100’s of millions of years. They have been around long enough to see land masses form and again disappear under the timeless forces of the ocean. But in the blink of an eye in geological time a threat appears in the oceans that closely resembles one of their food sources – the jelly fish, and lo and behold before me lies the carcass of a recently dead green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The magnificent beast was over 1.5metres in length – its bowel blocked by a valueless item of convenience to the fisherman or consumer - the plastic bag. Modern white society in Australia may cringe at the thought of hunting and eating the poor turtle as barbaric by the indigenous landholders, and yet at least 40,000 years of hunting could not reduce the turtle population like 50 years (or less) of carelessly discarded plastic bags and the diseases that fester in the now polluted waters of the bay.Out on the mud flats and sand bars of Moreton Bay, birds who have travelled half way across the world on a 12,000km trip from Siberia or Alaska to enjoy a seasonal harvest of the bounty of our bay and have done so for millions of years. A trip to Toorbul on the mainland side of the Pumicestone Passage or Buckley’s Hole on Bribie Island are great vantage points from which to view such migratory visitors as the Bar Tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), the Common Green Shank (Tringa nebularia) and a host of other migratory birds. Hundreds, if not thousands, of birds can been seen at times, but due to humans now competing for their food resources (to bait the hook of the recreational fisherman) and the pollution of the mud flats that are the homes of their food sources, their migratory trips must become just that little bit harder. Look out into the flocks of birds on the mud flats and you will also see at least one in ten birds hopping on one leg, not to give the other leg a rest but because a foot or leg is missing. They are victims of the convenience of nylon fishing line. Nylon fishing line is cheap, durable and should be either banned or at least cost so much that you wouldn’t consider throwing it away. How could I suggest such a thing, I hear you say. Why would I deprive the children of the bay the opportunity to cast a line and enjoy catching a fish? No recreational activity should cost that much. It’s a true reflection of the lack of empathy that many Australians have for their country that 99.9% of the population don’t even know the names of the animals whose lives the impact of their  plastic bags or fishing lines have such dramatic impact upon, let alone consider it an issue worthy of addressing!Then there’s the issue of all of the bore pumps keeping the lush lawns of Bribie green. Meanwhile the water table of the island drops, water holes and lagoons dry up, flora and fauna suffers as their access to water is reduced – just so very bored Homo sapiens can indulge that peculiar psychosis of turfophelia.Well, you might say, what a cheery picture you have painted there Spencer, thrown the happy pills out the window again have you? Maybe. We must reduce our ecological imprint, we must come to terms with the country that we now live in. If we continue to insist on a lifestyle that causes harm to ecosystems that we are supposedly protecting, the future is neither bright for ourselves, or our local flora and fauna. When will the worthless plastic bag choke the last turtle in Moreton Bay? When will the migratory birds no longer make their great journey through lack of food or injury? When will the water run out? When will we value this beautiful land?  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:28:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/playing_with_poison/ Turkey TangentialPlaying with Poison Spencer Shaw – Brush Turkey EnterprisesI’m sure that from the beginning of time man, in his more deluded moments, has dreamt of controlling the beast that is nature. Our fear of the silent green monster, beyond our tamed backyards, that waits to swallow you up in its verdant leafy arms, if we were to lose control, is a psychosis that many suffer from.  First there was the blade and flame to tame the wild forest and these tools gave man power to shape the landscape. Then in the 20th century herbicides were developed and became widely available. Herbicides are a group of manufactured, synthetic chemicals that either control or kill vegetation. Weeds are plants that humans deem unsuitable for growing in a particular area and are prime targets for the use of herbicides. For the purposes of this discussion the main weeds that we will cover are environmental weeds. Used wisely and as a component of a management plan, herbicides can be an effective tool in the control of environmental weeds that pose serious threats to our natural areas. However, when weed management issues are based purely around the elimination of particular plants without any understanding of the ecology that those plants are thriving in, all sorts of problems can occur.Surely removing weeds from a natural area is as simple as killing the targeted weeds by either mechanical or chemical means? Then nature will take over and fill the gaps? Well not quite. Any management technique of weeds has the potential to create more weeds if not undertaken with a level knowledge of the ecosystem you are working in. Simply put, weeds most often thrive in disturbed ecosystems. When we undertake weed management work, we create disturbance. Removal of environmental weeds has to be based around tipping the balance in favour of the growth of native vegetation, not purely based around the removal of the weed. One recent example I came across of weed control gone mad, is in river system our team have recently commenced bush regeneration works on. Salvinia (Salvinia molesta) a noxious weed of still water had become established in a series of billabongs and feeder streams adjoining a major river. When I first inspected the site I was struck by the absence of any vegetation other than the Salvinia, either in the water or on the banks up to a height of several metres. What had previously been an area with a diverse range of wetland plants, was now completely dominated by Salvinia. This monoculture was not just a result of this weed being present, but also surprisingly due to the “management” techniques undertaken. A contact herbicide had recently been sprayed on the Salvinia and everything else even remotely close to it and up to several metres on the banks. This, I would say, is the management technique that has been undertaken in this area for many years and has resulted in the elimination of all the wetland vegetation from the waters edge and eliminated everything in the water except for the Salvinia. The Salvinia was burnt by the herbicide but because of its rapid vegetative growth is able to recover and spread again. The absence of any vegetation on the waters edge, even exotic, was leading to collapse of the banks, erosion and poor water quality. The site of a fish flailing about on it’s side on the water’s surface due to the deoxygenation of the water from rotting vegetation  and the thick blanket of Salvinia, brought home to me just how far we have to go in educating some vegetation managers. Weed management through the use of herbicides is not a solution. Re-establishment of stable native vegetation communities is our objective and herbicides are but one tool we may choose to use to reach that objective.In the case of the Salvinia on this site a combination of physical removal, herbicides and most crucially, regular follow up work is required to remove this weed. The water’s edge will need replanting with suitable water plants, because the regular application of herbicides will have exhausted any natural seed bank. These edge plants will be crucial in stabilising the waters edge and provide habitat for a wide range of fauna. This site can be become a thriving healthy ecosystem not through elimination of the Salvinia, but through the management of the area as a whole, and control of Salvinia being a component of that management. This may seem like a play on words, but it’s at the heart of what Bush Regeneration is all about. A bush regenerator’s main onground practice is the control of weeds in natural areas, quite often with herbicides, but it’s so much more than the control of weeds. You must see the site’s potential, its resilience to bounce back when you step in to control the weeds.  Herbicides can be a vital component of this work, but they are not a means to an end in themselves. It’s that wonderful little bit of pink matter atop our shoulders that is our greatest tool. Like all good vegetation management tools, it must be sharp and well oiled. Unfortunately there are some very blunt, rusty models being used out there.  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:28:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/rainforest_gardeners/ Rainforest GardenersThe Brush Turkey - Alectura lathami, belongs to an ancient family of birds known as the Megapodes (meaning: “Large feet”). Instead of building a nest like most other birds, the male Brush Turkey builds a giant compost heap by raking a large mound of leaf litter with it’s large feet. These compost mounds create the heat that is necessary to incubate the eggs of these amazing birds. Brush Turkey chicks hatch deep within the mound and may take several days to dig their way to the surface. Once the chicks hatch they are self sufficient and must find their own food and seek shelter from predators like Carpet Pythons, Cats and Birds of Prey. The Brush Turkey is the largest bird of our local rainforests and plays an important role in the spreading of rainforest seed. Their large size allows them to eat larger fruit, and in some cases, they are the only way for some plants to spread their seed. They are also highly adaptable birds and forage throughout gardens in areas near to rainforest - much to the annoyance of some gardeners! Brush Turkeys are the gardeners and guardians of the rainforest. Their constant scratching and turning of the soil and leaf litter cultivates the forest floor. Their nests are compost heaps that increase soil fertility and enhance plant growth and they sow large quantities of seed throughout the forest from the fruit that they eat. Although common on the Blackall Range, these ancient birds have faced many threats including loss of habitat. Fortunately the replanting of rainforests will allow these rainforest gardeners to sow the seeds of a brighter future..... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:27:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/the_latest_fad_-_climate_change/ The Latest Fad – Climate ChangeTales from a confused revegetator After attending both the Qld Landcare Weeks “Biodiversity Forum” in Brisbane and the Big Scrub Day near Lismore, one could easily be left with the feeling from some of the speakers that everything we have undertaken so far in the field of ecological restoration is pointless. After all the seas will rise/or fall, temperatures will rise at least that’s what we think, but variables may cause an ice age? And that it will get drier if present trends continue but that it may also get wetter in the long term!Without a doubt climate change is inevitable due to human induced change to the atmosphere, however if this fact causes us to be uncertain about our work in ecological restoration or to even question the point of ecological restoration work given the variable future scenarios we are faced with, then this discussion bodes ill for our work and the survival of many ecosystems.What can we do in the face of climate change then, I hear you say? Well when it comes to ecological restoration work I’d suggest that the fundamental principles we have developed so far are more important than ever.Survival of ecosystems and all the species and processes that call them home will depend on the genetic variability of those ecosystems and their ability to move throughout and across the landscape as circumstance and conditions arise. The  greatest threat to ecosystems is not so much climate change, that is a reality that has been dealt with previously over the 100,000’s or even millions of years that ecosystems have evolved. The real threat to the survival of ecosystems regardless of climate change (or perhaps more importantly) is human induced ecosystem fragmentation.If we are to draw any inspiration from the threat of climate change let it be that our work is more important and urgent than ever.That the scale of work undertaken needs to increase massively. That the skills, knowledge and guidelines developed thus far be used to rehabilitate existing ecosystems under threat.That the protection of remaining uncleared ecosystems be enshrined in law and that the importance of links across the landscape be planned and undertaken not in a piecemeal manner and become a fundamental reality of our culture. One of the discussions in circulation at present relates to the movement of endangered fauna and flora to ecosystems that may have similar conditions to what they may require in the future ie. The movement of possums and tree kangaroos from high altitude environments in north queensland, that may warm too much for their survival, to the border ranges between seq and nth nsw. Its only a few years ago we where still deriding the work of the acclimitisation societies of the 1800’s and early 1900’s for their efforts to “improve” and “diversify” ecosystems by moving species around the globe. If  human induced climate change causes sufficient change within ecosytems that species will become  extinct, then let that remain as a black mark on our record.  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:27:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/eating_skippy/ Eating Skippy… by Spencer Shaw The memory of when I stepped off the boat in Fremantle in 1977 as a naïve eight year old Pommy immigrant, and placed my feet for the first time on Australian soil (well concrete anyway) is a strong one for me. The brightness of the sunshine, the dryness of the air are all ingrained in my memory as my first impressions of Australia. Fremantle was a quick stop, before the final leg of our trip on the ship (we were some of the last pom’s to be lucky enough to arrive by boat) to Melbourne. Melbourne was a brief stop of an hour or two (very cold even in November - who’s not surprised?) before we hopped on a train for Adelaide, which was to be our new home. Guess what? We’d been lied to (or were at least seriously gullible) because we seriously expected to see Kangaroos hopping down the streets of all these capital cities we visited, and didn’t see one! I remember pigeons, sparrows and rabbits – lots of rabbits on the trip from Melbourne to Adelaide, but it wasn’t till we went to the Adelaide Zoo that I saw my first Kangaroo. It wasn’t until we moved to Bribie Island in the early eighties that I was able to see wildlife up close and personal. I remember being accosted by curious Emus while delivering news papers in the coastal town of Woorim, seeing Kangaroos hopping about the place, dolphins jumping in the waves - it was great! For a kid who’d been a fanatical fan of David Belamy, Jacques Cousteau, Harry Butler - any wildlife show, I was finally there! Then in my teens came the dawning awareness of change and loss. Bribie was fast developing and large wild areas of forest, wallum and mangrove disappeared for canal developments. One day while looking over the carnage of recently cleared bush I also became aware of the greater loss of what had happened in this place, when I held for the first time a stone axe, made by a people now gone from my island home that was once their island home. Most of the people who I shared this island home with would have struggled with the idea that this place had once been home to Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. The Aboriginal people of this place had fallen victim to disease, battle and removal – in an undeclared war that was soon to be forgotten by successive waves of immigrants. Like many wars of settlement, dispossession of the original inhabitants and replacement with the culture (including agriculture) of the invaders is the norm. What I was slow to realize was that the war was/is still in progress. Our lack of understanding of the land we now live in still sees a war of attrition drag on that the wildlife and flora of our region are still losing. Well that was, a heavy paragraph or two, with references to war and genocide and after such a cheery start to my little tale! Where am I going with this lot I hear you ask? Well this particular rant was inspired by a local tale I have heard of a craft person being asked to leave a well know art and craft establishment because of their use of kangaroo leather in their product, its because of the pressure placed on local butchers to not stock kangaroo or emu meat, its because of the fundamentalists who say we shouldn’t eat or use the animals that stand on Australia’s coat of arms. Sure, its ok to destroy our native habitat and displace our native flora with the introduced livestock from the old country (and eat animals that are native to somewhere else!). Unless of course you are a vegetarian and in that case we still see the destruction of native habitat and displacement of native fauna with vegetable and cereal crops from the elsewhere. Back to Bribie in the 80’s, I was fortunate to see a view of one of SE Queensland’s wonderful ecosystems, while it was still diverse, but even then fading. The last 25 years have seen the picture fade even more. Why is their so much loss in our local ecosystems still? Unfortunately we, as a wider culture, have no understanding and place no value, on these ecosystems. We displace them with gardens full of exotic plants, farms full of exotic plants and animals, plantations full of exotic timber trees. Those who would advocate sustainable use and harvest of our natural and native resources such as kangaroo leather and meat, those who wish to tread a different path, a way to be more Australian, by living within Australian ecosystems, are too often persecuted by the small minds who – in placing some lucky Australian animals on a pedestal , will as a result of their blind prejudice cause the destruction of the very habitat that sustains many, many, many more unique Australian animals, that they don’t even know the names of..... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:26:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/invasion_of_the_mcpines/ Turkey Tangential, by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises INVASION of the McPINES! My weedy story for today is about a group of trees that are the McDonalds of the weed world. They are big, all look the same, represent large commercial interests, are American in origin and of course have little or no nutritional value! They are a group of weeds that dominate our roadsides, invade heathlands and woodlands, change soil fertility and produce clouds of pollen with potential health risks. They are a group of weeds that I’m ashamed to admit I’d stopped even noticing, because they are so prolific. The trees are, of course, the exotic Pines, primarily Slash Pine (Pinus elliotii) and Pine (Pinus carrabea). The McPines!Their introduction around the middle of the last century by the Forestry Department saw massive areas of previously untouched native coastal vegetation cleared to establish plantations for timber and for pulp. Exotic pine trees were selected for their standard uniform growth and for the speed with which they grow and seen as the ideal plantation tree by the Queensland Forestry Department. Unfortunately they are so well adapted to growing in South East Queensland that they have since become weeds, and leapt out of their plantations and have invaded the remaining native vegetation.  These American Pines thrive in our sclerophyll ecosystems and are rated very highly in my list of dangerous weeds, as they can establish in relatively undisturbed natural ecosystems. Surprisingly however Pinus are rarely mentioned for the damage they are causing to our local native ecosystems. Unlike the Camphor Laurel (a high profile weed that mainly invades country that has already been cleared of its native vegetation) Pinus trees invade undisturbed native vegetation and yet are rarely mentioned. Pinus elliotii comes in at only 44 on the QLD herbariums top 200 most invasive naturalized plants in SEQ, in spite of the fact that it has escaped enmasse from the large plantation estates throughout SEQ. Whether it be complacency (from the fact that several generations of Sunshine Coast residents have grown up with pine plantations being part of their landscape) or from the State Governments “head in the sand” attitude and unwillingness to accept responsibility when it come to the issue of escapee pines, little action is taking place with this major weed problem. I have no argument with the commercial reality of pine plantations; however the cost of growing these trees should include the cost of controlling their wayward offspring. That old Aussie saying about the American soldiers present in Australia during WWII, of them being “Over paid, Over sexed and Over here!” could certainly apply to these American Pines. The full costs of growing Pinus trees, including their management as a weed in the coastal areas of SEQ has to be recognised or in 200 years Pinus forests will dominate from just north of Brisbane to Hervey Bay. A monocultural, monopoly of monstrous magnitude! On a slightly more positive note I’ve recently been fortunate to work with my team at a small National Park in Beerwah on a Pinus control project initiated by our local National Parks Office. Pinus trees are a very rewarding weed to work with as they are easy to cut and fell and require no herbicides to kill them. They only require cutting below their lowest branches. The main tools we use to control them are brushcutters fitted with chainsaw tooth blades. If the Pinus are growing amongst existing native vegetation a few hours work can see a weed dominated landscape quickly transformed by revealing and liberating the native vegetation. However, the eye opening part of this work for me has been the drive home. Pinus are everywhere!  And the problem is just getting worse.Pinus species produce heavy shade and masses of pine needle mulch that suppresses the growth of existing native vegetation; they also change soil fertility and increase the acidity of the soil. Pinus seed are mainly wind dispersed but some wildlife dispersal occurs with Cockatoos carrying cones to extract their seed. In the areas we were clearing of the Pinus recently, they appeared to be wind dispersed into the heathland areas as they occurred in a fairly standard band of up to 40 metres from the edge within these areas. However in the woodland areas where there are perching opportunities for large birds, the occurrence of Pinus saplings was of a more random nature and scattered up to several hundred metres from the nearest seed sources. This significantly increases their ability to invade native forest and requires us to be vigilant, thorough and persistent in their control.  The most effective way can treat and control these weeds is through awareness. We have to remind the managers of the Pinus plantations of their responsibility with this weedy issue. Just like we accept the cost of controlling pollution as a cost to be absorbed by industry, we must include the costs of controlling and managing the detrimental effects of exotic plants and animals as part of their cost of production.... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:25:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/going_going_gone/ Going, Going, Gone?By Spencer ShawCan it be possible to have too many plants and animals cluttering up our local environment? South East Queensland is full to the brim with plants and animals (with over three and a half thousand plant species alone). Surely it wouldn’t be too bad to lose just a few of them!Just think plant I.D books would be shorter for starters, the ‘bush’ would look more uniform and less cluttered and we’d need less Botanists because there would be fewer plants to argue about. Also seed collectors would find life a lot easier - without having to chase this or that, rare, endangered or vulnerable plant. After all isn’t evolution about survival of the fittest and if some of these plants can’t cut it in the game of life then why should we waste any time on them?OK now I’ve got your attention!Over the last decade we have seen a growing awareness of local environmental issues and the ‘environment’ isn’t somewhere else, hidden in the middle of some distant rainforest. The ‘environment’ starts here folks and your garden is the front line. Every local plant that goes back in your garden is a step in the right direction. Plant life is a fundamental building block in any ecological system and if we are to ensure the survival of the fragments of forest dotted around the range we must cultivate the same species in our gardens. The habitat value of these local plantings will bring back the birds, butterflies and frogs to our gardens where we can appreciate them, and even more importantly allow them to move between forest fragments and thus ensure their survival.A few years ago I was fortunate enough to collect some Galbulimima baccata fruit from a spectacular remnant at Reesville. This amazing tree (one of the oldest flowering plants) is very uncommon in our local forests, but we were fortunate enough to collect and germinate a few plants. This tree was probably uncommon before the clearing of our forests took place but now that it is isolated in small fragments its survival could be in doubt. Even though the trees may produce a few thousand fruit every 2-3 years, most of these fruit unfortunately contain no viable seed (perhaps an insect that took care of pollination is no longer common due to habitat fragmentation). My estimate would be that the tree I collected from would only produce a few hundred viable seed every few years and being isolated within this forest fragment also reduces the capacity of those seed to germinate and continue the species.The future existence for so many species like Galbulimima is in our hands. The forest fragments that we currently are fortunate enough to live with such as Mary Cairncross are but a shadow of their former splendor and even that shadow may fade if we all, as a community, do not act to ensure not only the survival but also expansion of our local plant communities.Keep your eyes out for these aromatic red fruits on the forest floor during May to July.  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:25:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/poison_in_paradise_or_fruits_of_death/ Poison in Paradise or Fruits of Death!Turkey Tangential By Spencer Shaw What a dramatic headline and attention grabbing headline! There’s nothing quite like a bit of fear, to bring out the voyeur within. Given the recent removal of a White Cedar from a park in Maleny, I think however that may be timely to again look at some of our poisonous plants.Over the millennia, plants have evolved various means to stop us greedy herbivores and omnivores getting too carried away and eating them all into oblivion. Some are prickly – such as the tendrils of Lawyer cane Calamus muelleri, some are hairy – such as the fruit of Foam bark Jagera pseudorhus, some are tough – such as the leaves of Wilkea macrophylla and some are … poisonous! Well actually most if not all plants have developed some form of chemical defence systems. Take many of the leafy vegetables we eat such as spinach or silverbeet. Their leaves are laced with oxalic acid an irritant that is removed when we dispose of the water we cook them in. Quite often survival comes down to the tolerance and adaptation that animals develop to the range of chemicals that plants defend themselves with. For example 1080 or Sodium fluoroacetate  is a chemical commonly used for poisoning feral animals in Australia. It also occurs naturally as a defence chemical in some Australian plants and consequently many of our native herbivores have developed varying degrees of tolerance to it. Another interesting example of a specialist plant animal relationship is that of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly and its host plant. The Richmond Birdwing Ornithoptera richmondia has evolved with its local food plant Pararistolochia praevenosa the Richmond Birdwing Vine. The vine P. praevenosa has a powerful chemical arsenal that keeps most other herbivores away, however the Richmond Birdwing has developed a high level of tolerance to these chemicals and its caterpillars can feed on the new growth. This degree of specialisation by plant and animal has many advantages. For the plant its toxicity allows only specialist herbivores to feed upon it and for the animal if you can adapt and specialise to the consumption of highly toxic plants you often have very little competition. The specialist adaptations of the Richmond Birdwing however have left it very vulnerable. The loss of its specific food plant to habitat clearance has been a major blow, but on a more sinister level the introduction of a South American vine species Aristolochia elegans the Dutchman’s pipe has been its greatest threat. A. elegans is related to our local Birdwing food plants but contains much higher levels of toxins – ironically, the same toxins that attract the Richmond Birdwing  in the first place! The butterflies lay their eggs on this vine but the caterpillars soon succumb to the higher levels of toxins.So far we have mainly discussed (very briefly) the chemical defences of plants against herbivores. The protection of their leaves and stems from the greedy herbivores is understandable, but what about fruit - surely they wouldn’t be poisonous when they need to be eaten, to be dispersed? Or would they?Birds and mammals are the main seed dispersers and both groups of animals have quite different digestive systems. Birds are often better seed dispersers because their digestive systems allow seeds to pass through quickly and unharmed. Many birds also appear to have developed greater tolerances or immunity to fruit toxins as opposed to many mammals that are a better guide to us as to what is and isn’t edible.Generally we can taste what is all right to eat in regard to fruit, but this is not always the case. Fruits such as those of White Cedar Melia azederach, Chain Fruit Alyxia ruscifolia or Tie Bush Wikstroemia indica don’t taste too bad at all from personal experience, but apparently are listed as poisonous. Even more insidious is the Finger cherry Rhodomyrtus macrocarpa of Nth QLD. Its tasty fruit are documented as causing blindness when consumed, however it is possible a fungus present on the skin of the fruit may cause this injury. To add more confusion to the issue many fruit that are apparently edible, taste – well let’s be honest, awful! The Native Grapes Cissus sp. are extremely astringent and to my mind are far from edible but it is quite likely that birds do not even detect this discomfort and the astringency merely acts to speed the travel of the seed through the birds gut preventing digestion of the seed.In finishing I hope I haven’t left you all feeling that our native forests are full of ‘poisonous potential’. With toxic fruit ready to jump down your throat at every bend in the trail, or stinging tree leaves waiting in ambush! After all your average domestic exotic garden can be a far more dangerous place with a whole suite of garden plants that you take for granted, being extremely  toxic! Plant poisons are in fact a part of life. Without them the herbivores would know no limits and deserts would be our domain. Hmmm, limits!  Now there’s an interesting concept for us humans?  .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:24:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/proteaceae_in_paradise/ Turkey Tangentialby Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises“Proteaceae in Paradise”Proteus was an ancient Greek sea god who was inclined to get himself into trouble on a regular basis. His special skill however was in his ability to change his shape into many and varied forms to escape from these troubles - probably self inflicted as many of these gods where prone to mischief and mayhem! The family of plants known as Proteaceae are a particularly large and varied bunch but one thing that is common to many of them is the variable nature of their foliage, which can take many varied forms (hence the Greek god connection). Why the connection between Greece and a family of plants that are predominantly found in the southern hemisphere I here you ask? Was it the classical cultural background of the early botanists or were they aware that in the late 20th century that my wife Karen would put a new twist on the Greek delicacy baklava with Macadamias (a member of the Proteaceae family!) and rechristen it “Maclava”. This latter connection is a long bow to stretch I realize but surely no worse than naming something after some god who was prone to trouble and that people ceased worshipping 2 millennia ago!The Proteaceae family’s lineage stretches well back into the history of flowering plants long before gods even started thinking about themselves, let alone which plant families should be named after them. They are a particularly ancient lineage of plants evolving in the Gondwana super continent and are found in South America and South Africa and Oceania (Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands).Some famous representatives of the family Proteaceae around the world are the South African Proteas and Leucadendron’s and of course Australia’s Grevilleas and Banksias.One of the interesting adaptations of the Proteaceae family is the development of proteoid roots. These dense clusters of fine rootlets increase the surface area of their root systems dramatically and in association with mycorrhizal  fungi enable the plants to make available to themselves more minerals and nutrients in impoverished soils than would otherwise be available, particularly phosphorous. This is why we have special “native” (low phosphorous) fertilisers; because your average Banksia or Grevillea will poison itself with too much phosphorous if we flood the soil with this mineral. Many Rainforest Proteaceae are less sensitive when it comes to artificial or natural fertilisers as are rainforest plants in general because they are adapted to higher nutrient environments.One of the more common rainforest Proteaceae you may be familiar with is the Silky Oak Grevillea robusta. Although not naturally occurring in the moister forests on top of the Blackall Range, Silky Oak occur in drier forests on poorer soils such as in the Conondale Valley. You’ll see some particularly nice specimens in the forest park where Little Yabba Creek joins the Mary River. Another local member of the Proteaceae family you may be familiar with is the Macadamia - one of the world’s tastiest nuts. Surprisingly Macadamia are rare naturally and the local Macadamia, M. integrifolia and M. ternifolia are both protected plants. M. ternifolia is reasonably wide spread throughout the Blackall range, but don’t go trying to eat this one as it is a toxic cousin to the ones we eat. Proteaceae are often famous for their flowers and most spectacular locally is the Wheel of Fire Stenocarpus sinuatus. These spectacular red flowers remind us of the even more spectacular Tree Waratahs, many species of which are found to our south and north. Most commonly planted on the range is Alloxylon flammeum ( Syn. Oreocallis sp.) a NQ native. Another member of the Proteaceae family on the Blackall Range can also claim to have the largest seed in the area. The Ball Nut Floydia praealta is similar in many ways to the Macadamia and was classified as one until quite recently. They, like Macadamia sp., are spectacular in flower and provide dense shade.  The seed however is enclosed in a creamy – brown and hard leathery case that can be 50mm across - unlike the woody shells of Macadamias. Floydia praealta are also listed as rare and threatened but can be found infrequently throughout the northern end of the Blackall Range with a rather big specimen found on Petrie Creek at the Petrie Park, Nambour.One interesting new addition to the family Proteaceae is the recently discovered Night Cap Oak Eidothea hardeniana of North East NSW. This species has only been officially recognised very recently and has one relative in NQ and ancestors found in fossil material from Victoria. You wouldn’t have expected this plant to remain undiscovered by science for so long – particularly as E. hardeniana is a tree up to 40m! So there we have it - the native Proteaceae of Australia are a diverse mob specialising in all habitats from rainforest to desert, but our local rainforest Proteaceae are as interesting and as unusual as any. So do yourself a favour and find a place in your heart for one of these “Proteus like” plants and they at least are guaranteed not to get up to mischief, unlike their namesake. Some of our Local Rainforest Proteaceae:  Floydia praealta             Ball NutGrevillea hilliana            White Yiel-YielGrevillea robusta            Silky OakHelicia glabriflora            HeliciaMacadamia integrifolia     MacadamiaMacadamia ternifolia      Maroochy NutStenocarpus salignus      White BeefwoodStenocarpus sinuatus     Wheel of Fire Triunia robusta              Spice Bush .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:23:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/12/4/carbon_mining/ Carbon MiningTurkey TangentialBy Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises Carbon is the hot topic at present and it’s only likely to get hotter if we keep converting so much of it from a solid into a gas. Of course due to so many of our political leaders being so good at making hot gasses, they’re having problems reducing the Greenhouse effect”!Regardless of wether you believe that global warming is a reality or wether you believe it to be an elaborate hoax (and I’m enough of a conspiracy theorist to question both dogmas) there is one simple truth – the ability of the earth to absorb carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into life, into biodiversity, into the soils that support our crops and livestock is being degraded in a downward spiral that is depleting the productivity of the land.Our land management practices in either the rural or residential sectors are extractive, industrial processes. The soils that all life comes from are being mined for the fertility they have accrued over thousands of years.It’s not just the amount of carbon we are releasing through the use of fossil fuels that is a problem, it the loss of forest cover, the clearing of rivers and draining of wetlands and billabongs and the loss of organic matter (carbon) from our soils that will cause greater problems for our society in the near future.You’re all aware I’m sure that loss of forest cover is a contributing factor to the “Green House Effect”, but carrying on from my last article about healthy wetlands and dams, did you realise just how important wetlands are as carbon sinks? Primordial wetlands are the source of all our fossil fuels. When organic matter (carbon) enters a wetland, much of it eventually makes its way to the bottom of the wetland and instead of being burnt or recycled into more life forms or simply oxidising away back into the atmosphere – the bulk of the organic sediments remain at the bottom of the wetland. Peat bogs are made up of the compressed decayed remains of plants and can hold large amounts of carbon, more or less permanently – unless burnt or mined!Wetlands also become resources of fertility to the land down stream and surprisingly in spite of all the organic matter they swallow up, they are also great bio-filters that can clean the waters of soluble nutrients and pollutants that pass through them.Pre-European settlement, the naturally slow moving rivers of our area such as the Mary, Maroochy, Mooloolah and Stanley were full of dead or fallen trees, billabongs were scattered through the floodplains and wetlands were thick with vegetation. All these places held huge quantities of organic matter (carbon). Unfortunately we have spent 200 years “tidying” up our country. Draining swamps, de-snagging rivers, clearing the scrub and treating farming like an extractive industry. Australia due to its aridity and ancient sun bleached soils was a continent poor in organic matter when Europeans arrived and now due to our management practices it is a continent far poorer in organic matter (carbon) in its waterways and soils than it has ever been in the last few million years.If I have stated one too many times that organic matter is carbon, its because I’d realy like you to make that link, too often in the Greenhouse argument, it is easy to begin to think that the burning of fossil fuels is the only source of carbon in the atmosphere. Loss of organic matter should be highlighted even more in the greenhouse debate, because it represents a direct loss of fertility in the land that supports us and also the lands ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.So what relevance does managing organic matter have in natural area management? Well of course it is fundamentally important – particularly when it comes to the re-establishment and management of wetlands and rainforest. For example woody weeds lock up carbon, so when we are replanting or regenerating rainforest it is best to kill woody weeds where they stand or fell and leave whole so that they slowly release their carbon store back to the developing rainforest. Chipping or worse still burning may clean up the site in the eyes of your average “civilised” Homo sapien, but tidy doesn’t necessarily work for ecosystem rehabilitation. Herbaceous weeds such as Cobblers Pegs and Thistles may look untidy and are generally controlled on reveg sites, but in most cases they don’t slow down the growth of regenerating or revegetated rainforest at all, they can actually increase growth. Especially a year or two down the track when tree growth shades them out and the organic matter (carbon) they have contributed to the soil becomes plant food. The benefit of managing our natural areas so that they become net producers of organic matter will in turn increase the fertility of our whole landscape - the landscape that feeds us and provides our true wealth. If we don’t begin to undertake management processes that increase the organic matter held in our land, it won’t just be an oil based carbon crisis we will be leaving our children and grandchildren to face.    .... Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:18:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/27/exotic_or_native_thats_the_question_/ Exotic or Native? That’s the Question The Turkey Tangential by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises   Recently I undertook a covert and highly dangerous mission risking life, limb and sanity to infiltrate a notoriously dangerous event. An event that threatens the very fabric of our society – a garden expo! I have partaken in several preliminary missions as a speaker at several individual garden clubs over the last few years but nothing could prepare me for a full gathering of these local garden clubs (gangs – some may say!) and their agenda to usurp our native Australian flora with just about anything as long as its exotic! Dangerous I hear you say? Surely not those innocent grannies, tending their roses could be the threat you are portraying? Surely Spencer your imagination has got the better of you and you are suffering from some grand illusion. Well people I’m going to blow the cover on this most insidious of plots. I, for the first time ever, will be revealing the agenda of a secret society so nefarious in its intent, so devious in its methods, so completely evil…. just wait a second there’s somebody at the front door. Oh no they’ve found me, I don’t want to end up at the bottom of someone’s compost heap, honestly exotic plants are great, please no, not the secateurs, no, no, no arghhhhh….   Just joking of course, Garden Clubs have plenty of native plant growers and are great groups to do talks for. This expo was 50-50 native and exotic, so that seemed like positive moves where afoot. However, then came the keynote speakers talk about his trip to Thailand, assisting the nursery industry in bringing 100’s of “new” plants back into Australia. We where all assured that the risk of bringing plant diseases back into the country was virtually nil and that the potential of new weeds resulting from these imports was almost nil, I almost find that comforting.   The problem with most weeds is that they are not weeds in their natural environments. Its only when a plant is discovered for horticulture and released from its natural ecosystem, that we will discover its potential as a weed. The examples are numerous. The truth is that when we introduce exotic plants into Australia to gratify our desire for the what’s in fashion in the garden, then we will inevitably be introducing new weeds into our remaining natural ecosystems. Lantana, Cats Claw, Madeira Vine, Morning Glory, Camphor Laurel and many more are serious environmental weeds have jumped the back fence from peoples gardens. These plants should be a warning to us of the potential for destruction when a plant is released from its natural environment.   The challenge I would like to pose to may horticulturalists is to bring local native plants into local garden centres. Its one thing for us to support mainstream Australian industry by buying “Australian Made” products, but its about time we started supporting local ecosystems by planting the real “Australian Made” plants, perfectly designed for real Australian gardens and much appreciated by Australian fauna. Apologies for the blatant overuse of national pride, but if that’s what it takes to get gardeners planting less exotics then I’ll join the mainstream media and some politicians in exploiting nationalism. Well maybe not.   The average Australian garden however is a reflection of the poor relationship recent Australians have with our native ecosystems. Ask most Australians to name a few native Australian native plants and Gum trees and Wattles may come to mind and perhaps even Jacarandas! Their responses might run a little something like this  “Gum trees are ok because they have good wood and feed koalas, but then again they are messy and drop branches, Wattles are often not so good because of their rapid growth and ability to turn a cow paddock into scrub within a few years and well, Jacarandas are just as Aussie as me and you”. Even the language used to describe our local flora such as “Scrub”, “Brush”, “Swamp” etc… is derogatory and displays a lack of understanding of our local ecosystems.   The challenge for us all as new Australians is to immerse ourselves in our local ecosystems and learn all we can about the plants and animals that live within them. Gardening can be used for good (and not for evil!) in this regard, because gardeners as a rule interact with their plants and the animals that utilise them on a very personal basis and this familiarity leads to knowledge and appreciation. Every local native plant in your garden is a step forward for us living in harmony with our local ecosystems.  What’s more our local native plants shouldn’t be planted out of sympathy or duty, but because they are amazing for their flowers, fruit, foliage and so many other reasons. The only reason many of these plants are not in our gardens yet, is because of our lack of knowledge. So do yourself a favour, buy local Australian made plants and you will well and truly be investing in Australia’s future.  .... Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/27/the_frost_factor/ The Frost FactorSpencer ShawIts that time of year when those of us who have planted trees over the past year, make our way to our tree planting’s after still and clear nights with a slight sense of dread as to what damage frost may have wreaked upon our young planting’s. Frost can be extremely destructive on a young tree planting if you are not aware of what plants can survive or even be immune to frost damage. Frost damage is at its worse when plants are frozen during the night and then thaw too quickly at sunrise. If nearby trees shade your planting’s first thing in the morning this can provide some frost protection, by allowing them to gently thaw. Even weed trees maybe worth retaining initially on a site for this reason.The key to surviving frosts is using species that are naturally frost resilient.   Using species that are frost hardy does limit your species selection initially but fortunately these plants are also generally very quick growing and within one or two years you may have developed an improved microclimate that allows you to establish many other plant species and add diversity to the site. Tree guards are often touted as the best way of protecting your trees from frost damage but the results seem to be very variable. The best success I have seen is a two-sided guard up slope of trees, the theory being that they cause the frost to flow around the trees rather than collecting on them. Only two sides being protected also exposes the young plant to less of a ‘softer environment’ and the resulting tougher growth means greater frost resistance. Various foliar sprays are also available that can assist with frost resistance such as Envy TM. But again they are not miracle cures and it comes back to species selection and choosing plants that can cope with the conditions existing on your site. Frost isn’t an unformidable barrier in the re-establishment of native vegetation but it does require some thought and planning. Lots of experimenting may be required yet to expand the diversity of planting’s in frost prone areas and improve their growth but if you stick with frost hardy species for the first few years of your revegetation you can’t go wrong. Talk to your local native plant nursery about frost hardy species. And don’t be left out in the cold when it comes time for your next planting. Some Frost Hardy Species of the Mary River CatchmentSPECIES NAME      COMMON NAMEAcacia sp. Wattle’sAllocasuarina sp. She Oak’sAraucaria sp. Bunya or Hoop PineCallicoma serratifolia White AlderCallistemon sp. BottlebrushesCasuarina cunninghamiana River She OakEucalypt sp. Gum’sGrevillea robusta Silky OakHymenosporum flavum Native FrangipaniMelia azederach White Cedar  .... Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:59:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/27/priceless/ “Priceless”Turkey Tangentialby Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises For the purposes of this tale, let’s assume humans really are the centre of the universe - as the modern human asserts. Let’s assume everything, everywhere has a value a value judged by wether we can eat it, wear it, build with it and last, but not least, play with it. Given this simple philosophy, all those things named and needed by our culture have a value. These values are measured in cash; this cash is protected by law.  Unfortunately our brains are incredibly two dimensional and we tend to value only those things we call assets. We protect only the assets - not the natural processes that give rise to those assets. Here lies the fatal flaw. For example, if I were to ask you to put a value on your house or your car, you will have no problems in putting forward a figure. The builders and engineers who manufactured your house and car would also put a cash value on their services, the suppliers of the manufactured materials that made those items and the suppliers of the raw materials would also put a value on their goods and services. However, if I asked you to put a value on the ecosystems that gave rise to these products - that’s where we would struggle. We not only struggle with valuing the ecosystems that give rise to all our wealth, we almost regard them with disdain! In our naivety, our quest for wealth, for asset accumulation and for possessions has led us to a state of mind where we could be regarded as seeing nature as an obstacle to all the things we want. However, let’s progress this argument a little further before I start to sound like some 60’s rerun and you picture me writing this with flowers in my hair and fug of thick cannabis smoke rising from the joint hanging from the corner of my mouth. For starters I don’t have the hair to support the flowers these days!Take for example a water course, completely valueless in our consumptive society. You can dam it, drain it (build a supermarket on it), but the water has no value until it is drawn from the creek or river and becomes a consumable. The vegetation that lines the watercourses banks has no value; the fauna that calls the watercourse home has no value. Because they have no value to our society, society does not have to compensate or even cost into our activities the damage that we wreak on the very ecosystems that support us. Let’s go back to water. You’d have thought, that with the hindsight of recorded history and a long list of civilisations that have failed when the water ran out, that by now, we’d acknowledge the vast body of knowledge that we have accumulated on how our catchment systems work, how climate and ecosystems contribute to the health of these ecosystems and the most fundamental principle of all - the interconnectedness of all things (sorry, quick trip back to the 60’s there – man!). The modern “civilised” human requires vast quantities of water, piped into their abode to wash all those things you can’t do without and of course to flush away those things you’d rather do without. Cities in particular require rivers of water to flow through their pipes to keep industry and the consumer happy. On the driest continent on earth you’d think there would be some self moderation when it comes to using water. However, when the water in the river has no value (and will somehow always magically be there) and the water in the pipe has so little value that we can bathe our cars and backyards and fill our pools without any regard to an impact to our wallets - let alone the environment - then why would you even let thoughts of ecological impact, enter your head? Here’s where our inability to place a value on ecosystem services magnifies our impact on the ecosystems we call home. If rivers aren’t running and dams aren’t filling because catchments are damaged, unfortunately the first reaction of government is to build more dams and impact more catchments and damage more ecosystems. If an incredible fish such as the lungfish happens to be in the way of a dam that will provide the consumptive citizen of the city with water to bathe their shiny vehicles on the weekend - then farewell lungfish. Ecosystems are almost an afterthought when it comes to resource extraction. Once all the land is resumed, roads rerouted and construction of dam completed at a cost of hundreds, if not thousands of millions of dollars, the best that the ecosystem that has provided the very product that we are so eager to obtain, can expect in compensation is some token vegetation re-establishment in the immediate vicinity of the dam - where people can see it. What value can we place on a lungfish or a platypus or an ecosystem? Unless we can place a value on these very things and adjust our impact accordingly, we will damage the very source of all our wealth, our priceless ecosystems.   .... Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:59:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/27/shades_of_grey/ Spencer Shaw – Brush Turkey Enterprises Shades of GreyOne of the greatest lessons I have learnt in the last few years is that nothing is clear cut, there is no black and white (just shades of grey) especially when it comes to all things natural, including weeds. As I have mentioned before there are many good reasons for not touching some weeds – they can provide very cost effective and necessary habitat for our fauna and can achieve the same environmental outcomes as natural ecosystems i.e. water quality improvements, carbon sequestration etc. Whole exotic ecosystems are developing that are species poor but are often the only habitat present in some areas. In many areas of the Blackall Range, SEQ, we can see forests of Camphor, Large-leaved Privet, Chinese elm and Broad-leaved pepper, with understoreys of Ochna, Small leaf Privet, Indian Hawthorn and vines that include Madeira, Morning Glory, Lantana and a host of exotic legumes. The question I am now going to put forward, is how can we use these weed ecosystems to further our objectives of ecological restoration and just what benefit can we put them to when it comes to the re-diversification of the landscape? First let’s make ourselves aware of the weeds that truly threaten existing native vegetation and concentrate our efforts on their control and elimination. Top of my list for forest destroyers with no redeeming features what so ever, are Cat’s Claw Creeper and then Madeira vine. These two vines can conquer a wide variety of ecosystems and undisturbed forest presents no barrier to them. Madeira is widely found throughout our region and once present on a water course can spread by the aerial tubers or potatoes, that it forms at leaf axils on the stem. It is shade tolerant and can grow high into the canopy of a tree where the weight of vine and tuber can break branches, snap tree crowns etc. Cat’s claw is just about to become a major problem in our area, if we are not vigilant in stamping out existing patches and stopping new colonies. It has all the tree strangling properties that Madeira vine has but it produces thousands of wind dispersed seeds that thrive in the low light conditions of intact forest and climb their way up trees and then swamp them with their profuse growth. Ok that’s the two “real baddies” out of the way (what was I saying about black and white?). What about some other weeds and how can we use them to restore ecosystems. Take Camphor laurel for example (please take it!) “How”, I hear you say, “do we work with them?” Well using the shades of grey analogy, I’ll present you with three shades of grey and how one weed species could be looked at differently in each situation. In a wet sclerophyll forest, Camphor laurel is a nasty weed. They can invade this type of natural ecosystem and eventually usurp the locals, eventually becoming a dominant tree, as seen in much of Nth NSW. In this case camphor can be rated as a weed of immense significance which needs serious control measures if biodiversity is not to be lost. However in our local rainforest, camphor laurels don’t really stand a chance. Low light levels or predation prevent camphor establishing in undisturbed rainforest. An example of this is their complete absence as a weed in forest remnants such as Mary Cairncross. In this case Camphor is not a weed because it doesn’t have the goods to cut it in the competitive world of rainforest plants. Our third example of Camphor Laurels is where we find the majority of them in our area. It is in heavily degraded landscapes that have been cleared of most, if not all, of their native forests. Here we see the Camphor (and Large-leaved privet) as an opportunistic pioneer species that has popped up along creek banks and along fence lines and is the only tree cover linking isolated remnant vegetation. In this case the presence of species such as Camphor can be used to our advantage in a very cost effective way. Our local rainforest plants have a nigh on impossible chance of germinating and growing in the competitive environments that our exotic grasslands present, but they can grow in the shade of camphor and privet (given that there is remaining native vegetation nearby to act as a seed source). In this case it is perhaps a better use of our time and resources that we look at how to increase the growth of these native plants so that they out compete their “exotic nurse crop” through strategic pruning and removal of exotics directly competing with the natives. So here’s the crunch. When we look at these areas solely as pest problems to be eliminated, we could blinker ourselves to their positive environmental values, which can be at great cost to local biodiversity and at great financial cost to ourselves. Planting trees is a necessary part of the works we can undertake but is also horrendously expensive for the scale of ecological restoration we need to be undertaking. Surprisingly, looking at how we can use weeds to create favourable conditions for the regeneration of our native vegetation could well be the next phase in major ecological restoration. Throwing Blackbean seeds into a patch of privet, weeding around native seedlings or planting a strangler fig in a weed tree may not be the answer for all patches of weeds but it’s a very cost effective, if somewhat slow method of doing something very positive with that patch of weed trees you just don’t have the resources to tackle yet. Let’s just remember that most of the other animals that live upon this planet don’t see in colour. They don’t pick native from exotic, they just see it all in shades of grey..... Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:58:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/20/the_answer_is_blowing_in_the_wind/ The Answer is blowing in the wind?By Spencer Shaw When we discuss seed dispersal you may invariably think of those gaudy members of the flora kingdom who use birds and mammals to spread their seed by covering their seed in a fruit that’s attractive to the animals. It could be said that these plants were the first beings to master the art of advertising. That is to say - the art of making you believe, that you just have to have their fruit no matter how low the food value, because its such a lovely colour. Sure some fruit are relatively nutritious and the lucky bird or possum that’s eaten them can lay back on a warm sunny branch and relax while the digestive processes take place. However most fruit are designed to pass straight through digestive systems as quickly as possible leaving birds feeling hungry and  having to eat even more fruit – how devious! Before you go thinking how superior you are and how dumb birds are for getting themselves trapped in a vicious circle like that, may I remind you that at least the birds only get sucked in by the advertisers when it comes to food… Then there are those free spirits of the botanical kingdom who throw caution to the wind, well maybe not caution but at least their seeds. Prior to plants taking advantage of the digestive systems of animals as a means of dispersing their seed, wind dispersal was the only way to spread your seed (hmm. there’s got to be a joke in there somewhere?). Ferns and mosses were amongst the earliest of plants and produce spores that are wholly spread by wind. Tree fern spore is particularly good at getting about. Now I don’t want you to panic but you’re probably inhaling some at the moment, its everywhere! Fern spore will germinate on any moist, shady and bare patch of soil which is great for all you revegetators out there because ferns will turn up in your patch of developing forest all by themselves when the conditions become right.Besides the ferns many trees have evolved to spread their seed in the wind. Some familiar examples are the ancient conifers (excluding the Bunya of course) whose flat seeds are blown about in the summer storms and the sand like seed of eucalypts that are released to float on the breeze after a bush fire.  The great limitation of wind dispersal is of course the wind itself. After all what happens if a few weeks of calm weather set in when you’ve got a big crop of fruit on! Also unless your seed is particularly small then you’re going to be lucky if your seed goes any more than a kilometre. This poses a big problem for the spread and maybe survival of some of the wind dispersed species in the fragmented forests of SouthEast Queensland.When it comes to tree planting we should make sure these species are on our planting lists particularly if no parent trees of the same species appear close by. Next time I will discuss a group of plants that can have even more problems spreading their seed, those who’s dispersal agents are now extinct! Some Wind Dispersed Seed:Ailianthus tryphisa                                    Araucaria cunninghamiiArgyrodendron actinophyllumArgyrodendron sp. Kin KinCaldcluvia paniculosaCallicoma serratifoliaDaphnandra sp. mcpherson rangeDoryphora sassafrasFlindersia austalisFlindersia bennettianaFlindersia schottianaFlindersia xanthoxylaGrevillea hilliiGrevillea robustaHymenosporum flavumPentaceras australisPseudoweinmannia lachnocarpaToona ciliataTristaniopsis laurina.... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:32:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/20/spreading_the_seed/ “Spreading the Seed” By Spencer Shaw www.brushturkey.com.au When it comes to trying to grasp the wonders of nature, humans are unfortunate enough to be blessed with an attention span not much greater than that of a small intellectually challenged skink called Fred, who other skinks call rather rude names. We are limited to the view of what is directly in front of us. We are designed to live right here and right now, chasing the next mammoth or foraging for the next berry bush. However this is not the way ecosystems work. They are so much more than what is here and now – they are the present, past and future all rolled into one. The ecosystems that we behold before our attention-deficient eyes are a reflection of all that was before them and also are crucial in what will precede them. They are not just the plants, fungi and animals that we see before our eyes but also the processes that those plants and animals are undertaking to reproduce themselves and thus shape the future. Ecosystems are magical things. Not in the “Harry Potter” sense of the word but in the fact that although many of you may believe that humans are the greatest thing ever to arrive upon this planet – we still know, very, very, very, very, very, very ,very little. What’s this all got to do with the spreading of seed, I hear you say? Well to prove my point I thought I’d quickly demonstrate the ease with which the human brain can get off the track … or maybe that’s just me. The rainforest remnants that are fortunate enough to have survived on the Blackall Range are a testament to the plants, fungi and animals that comprise them and their ability to survive and reproduce. However the ability of some or even many of the species that make up these ecosystems been compromised. Will they all be part of the future ecosystems, yet to be? For many plants and animals, the answer, may well be, no.  For example when large seeded plants such as the White Apple Endiandra virens disappear from an area, how can they move back into that area? Their fruit can be upto 80mm across with seeds approximately 40mm in diameter. How do you suppose a seed this size can move throughout the landscape?  Even though many large seeded plants exist in good numbers in the remnant forests of our area at present, their ability to disperse themselves throughout the landscape has been seriously compromised by habitat fragmentation. Water and gravity are great ways of moving your seed around, but you can only disperse downhill or down stream, or under your parent tree and who wants to grow up in the shadow of the “oldies”! That’s where we can help. We can either decide its too much effort to ensure the survival of  the many wonderful species that make up the ecosystems of our area and allow threads to disappear from the magnificent tapestry of life that our local rainforests represent, or we can make up for our past indiscretions by spreading our local plants across the landscape again. I realize that many of you who are reading this are busily planting and regenerating local natives – but we need to do so much more. However, let’s get back to the example of the White Apple Endiandra virens. When it comes to standard Natural Regeneration practice, no plants should be introduced by planting. According to standard Natural Regeneration theory, regenerators should theoretically limit themselves to the preservation of existing remnants through weed control and the stimulation of natural soil seed banks – thus ensuring survival of local genetics. In the case of plants with large seeds however we are now crucial in dispersing their seed across a landscape from which they have been cleared.  Our “intervention” in this case will ensure their ability to be part of the future forests, and contribute to the potential for diversity in future ecosystems. Just in case you thought that all large seeded trees require our assistance to spread, let’s also look at Black Bean Castanospermum australe. You may think that a rat is a rat is a rat, but our native Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes plays a role in our native ecosystems quite unlike the introduced Ship Rat Rattus rattus. Researchers from Griffith University (per com J. Kanowski) found that if R. fuscipes disappeared from rainforest to be replaced by R. rattus the number of Black Bean seedlings actually increased. This was due to the fact R. fuscipes eats their seed and R. rattus is obviously yet to develop a taste or for that matter, a stomach that can cope with these toxic seeds. Next time you plant a rainforest tree, think not just about this one tree you are planting, but also about the ecosystem it will add to, about how the lineage of this plant has evolved over millions of years and about the role you and this plant are playing in the survival of its own kind and the ecosystems it and we are part of - into the future..... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:05:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/20/thinking_long_term/ Thinking long term By Spencer Shaw The human mind is a curious thing when you think about it (especially when you’ve got to use the human mind to think about the human mind, oops I’m getting dizzy). Until recently if you saw something really big you either killed it and ate it or chopped it down and broke it into much smaller bits. Now psychologists could probably analyse this as some deep seated insecurity on our behalf, and it probably is. But I don’t think we can hide from our competitive natures and a classic case of this was the ‘beating of the bush’. Early settlers often stood in awe of the forest giants they met, especially after they cut them down so they could accurately measure them. The bit I don’t think they understood was that once they cut it down to see how big a tree it was, they weren’t measuring the tree they where measuring a big dead thing.Some of our forest giants are fruiting or about to fruit over the next few months. Flindersia schottiana or Bumpy ash are fruiting at the moment so keep your eyes open for them. The pods are about 100mm long slightly bumpy and green. When ripe the pods open up like five petalled flowers releasing upto 30 seed to be spread by the wind. Bumpy ash is one of those species that quite often go a few years without fruiting (apart from odd individuals - no offence to odd individuals!) and it has been four years since the last big seeding event on the range. When the time comes however these trees make up for their infrequent fruiting by covering the ground with seed that given a bit of rain will become a carpet of seedlings, each vying for their place in the sun and the chance to one day be a forest giant. Bumpy ash are a very attractive tree that in spite of the infrequent fruiting produce masses of white blossoms every year in late spring to early summer. Their timber can have a beautiful light yellow grain, and is surprisingly heavy and durable for such a quick growing tree. Collect the fruit when some start to split open on the tree (this sounds a lot easier than it actually is because the fruit are usually held on the higher branches). Place the fruit in a warm place and they should then open and shed the seed. The seed are easy to germinate as long as they are fresh, so sow them as soon as you get them. Place the flat seed on your seed raising mix and cover with no more than a few millimetres of seed raising mix, then keep them moist but not too wet and in a few weeks the whole surface of the propagation tray should start to lift as the seedlings emerge. Then prick them out, pot them up, plant them out and wait. And there you have it within a few hundred years you’ll be responsible for the return of one of our magnificent forest giants to the soils of the Blackall range – that’s if you can wait that long! Sloanea woolsii or Yellow Carabeen is another of our forest giants that rarely produces good crops or at least crops that are within reach of us mere mortals. These are one of our true forest giants of East Coast Australia, members of the upto 55m category! These trees can often be recognised within the forest even if you can’t see their leaves by the massive buttresses that support the base of the tree. These buttresses are your classic plank buttresses that are thin and parallel sided, extending upto 5m high on the trunk. You can’t help but to be touched by the awesome spectacle of the pure ‘bigness’ of one of these forest giants and the timelessness that they symbolise. The flowers that appear in late spring are white and hang downward in clusters and the trees can often be very impressive in bloom. The fruit which are a spiky capsule that ripens in late summer turn from green to a yellow-brown and split open to reveal upto two but more commonly one seed. The black-brown seed are upto 10mm long and mostly covered in an orange layer of flesh called an aril. The seed should be collected fresh from the tree or at least recently fallen. The fruit should be removed and then the seeds soaked for a few days to help remove the aril, as soon as you have the seed clean sow and watch it grow. Like the Bumpy ash, when you plant one of these trees (in the right place of course) you are making one of the greatest bequests any of us can make for the planet or future generations. In our lifetime we will see a beautiful tree grow and thrive, but we should keep in mind that the tree we help establish may live long enough to see the next millennium. Wow!Other seed falling in  Feb-AprilArchontophoenix cunninghamiana - Picabeen PalmCanarium austalasicum - Mango BarkEndiandra pubens - Hairy WalnutPilidiostigma glabrum – Plum MyrtleRhodamnia argentea – Silver MyrtleSloanea australis - Maidens BlushSyzygium oleosum – Blue lillypilly.... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:35:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/20/shadows_of_green/ By Spencer Shaw, Brush Turkey Enterprises I was fortunate enough recently (although it took some convincing at the time) to be treated to a joy flight in a 60 year old Tiger Moth aeroplane from Caloundra to the Glasshouse mountains. After saying goodbye to my family (the plane was 60 years old!) we gently ascended over a landscape we are often not fortunate enough to view from above. Kinda scary too… and I’m not talking about the fact that I was 1000metres up in the air without a parachute. The forested areas of the coast look somewhat larger when viewed from land, even from the elevated views of the front of the range, but when viewed directly from above you realize just how isolated and fragmented our forests are. Here on the southern end of the Blackall Range plateau it’s clear for all to see the fragmentation and isolation of our forest remnants. Oceans of kikuyu lap gently around the precious islands of forest that remain. However to look at these fragments as islands is a mistake, they are the remains of a complex, diverse and, most importantly, linked ecology. An ecology, that is doomed if we do not re-link these remnants. Sounds rather dramatic I hear you say, has Spencer forgotten to take his happy pills today? No, the simple fact is that many of the creatures and plants that call our local forests home don’t like leaving these forests. The Long-nosed Potoroo Potorous tridactylus is a small ground dwelling marsupial, somewhat like a miniature wallaby. It lives in thick vegetation from wallum heaths through to the dense undergrowth of wet sclerophyll and rainforests. A major component of the diet of the Long-nosed Potoroo is the fruiting bodies (truffles) of fungi, many of which are mycorrhizal. Mycorrhizal fungi live on the roots of living plants and do not damage their host but improve their health immeasurably - by improving the plants access to nutrients in the soil. The Long-nosed Potoroo after eating these truffles disperses the fungi spore (seed) in its scats. This method of dispersal may be crucial to the health of forests by the constant spread and inoculation of vegetation with these mycorrhizal fungi. Now here’s where we get back to the isolation of forest fragments. Animals such as the Long-nosed Potoroo don’t like open ground (especially the oceans of kikuyu). If they disappear from a forest fragments due to feral cats, foxes or disease – that’s it, they are gone from that forest fragment forever. However, not only have we lost a cute and cuddly beast but also a means of dispersal for mycorrhizal fungi. And this is where things can start to fall apart…If the forest fragments of the Sunshine Coast are left as isolated patches their previous diversity will gradually but surely fade away, because as one species drops out of the local ecosystem others will be sure to follow. It’s a sad fact that Long-nosed Potoroo’s have already disappeared from the coastal area of the Sunshine Coast, and probably the majority of the Blackall Range. Also gone or going is the Tiger Quoll Dasyurus maculatus, the Coxen’s Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta diapthalma coxeni and the Giant Barred Frog Mixophyes iteratus to name but a few. This of course is only half the picture though, animals can disappear quickly from an ecosystem when it is fragmented or they are threatened by new predators or disease. Forests hang on for a little longer due to the longer life spans of their plants, but as their health is threatened by exposure to weather, disease and weed invasion and their pollinators or seed dispersal agents disappear; forest vegetation diversity will also begin to fade.How do I sleep at night after writing up such a depressing scenario, I hear you say. Well eternal optimist that I am I believe we can manage our local ecosystems in a positive manner. First of all I don’t think there are any excuses for the clearing of any more native vegetation, at least on the Sunshine Coast. When I say vegetation clearing what I refer to is ecosystem destruction; that is the complete clearance of natural vegetation and the ecosystem it supports and is part of. From 1000 metres up in the air you can quite clearly see we have already cleared enough land of its native vegetation for all our housing, industry and food requirements - we just have to use this land better. So no more clearing! Secondly and this is what you are all busily doing at the moment (I hope!) is planting local native plants in your gardens, revegetating stream banks, linking up isolated forest fragments with corridors and in even more importantly learning more about all our local plants, animals and fungi that make up our dynamic and eternally awe inspiring local ecosystems.We can’t step back 200 years as far as our local forest go, but we can move forward together with some hard - but fun work - from us. Our grandchildren then may see the return of some of the animal species that have disappeared from our area, and the ongoing survival of our local forest ecosystems. And not be faced with the grief of watching these forests fade into the shadows forever. References: Wildlife of Greater Brisbane, Queensland MuseumWet Forest Frogs of South-east Queensland, Meyer, Hines and HeroField Guide to the Birds of Australia, Simpson and DayPotoroos their Poos, Truffles and Trees, Nick Clancy  .... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:27:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/19/stuck_in_the_understorey/ Stuck in the under storey By Spencer Shaw Often it is said that we can’t see the wood for the trees … but I also think that quite often we can’t see the shrubs for the trees.Have you ever noticed those straggly, sparse and some may say spindly( I prefer to say foliage impaired) plants in the shade of that lovely cool forest you’re strolling through. More often than not they are not noticed and this is a great tragedy because there are some fantastic groundcovers and shrubs hidden in the understorey of our local Eucalypt forest and Rainforests.Not all plants ‘suffer’ in the shade, many ferns often look their best when in the humid environment of the forest and we have to simulate these conditions in our gardens to grow them. Shadehouses are a prerequisite for the health of most ferns and orchids however many of the other plants that make up the forests understorey positively thrive when treated to the conditions that many exotic plants in our gardens take for granted.Many of the shrubs that make good garden plants would have previously been seen at their best on forest edges, but with the arrival of lantana this niche was lost to them and they have been relegated to the shade of the forest where lantana (Edgeii taker’overii) cannot dominate. So for all of you who have wanted to do the right thing and plant something native to the area but looked at our local rainforests and thought everything local is at least as tall as a four storey building, likely to crack foundations, hide that beautiful view and block out the sun! Well think again. One of the numerous benefits of a wide range of our local shrubs is that they fruit and flower early in their lives (1-2 years) and often profusely. So that not only do we get some very attractive plants in our gardens but also a myriad of birds to feed on all the flowers and fruit. When we plant local plants in our garden we create a beautiful environment and help restore our local ecology, a win-win situation for everybody!   Beautiful understorey plants: Eupomatia laurina - BolwarraSenna acclinis - Bush cassiaSenna sophorae - Bush cassiaSambucus australasica - Native ElderberryCallicarpa pendunculata - Velvet leafPsychotria loniceroidies - Smooth leaf psychotiaPsychotria daphnoidies - Hairy psychotriaPipturus argenteus - Native mullberrySaurops albiflorus - Ferny phylanthusPilidiostigma glabrum - Plum myrtlePilidiostigma rhytispermum - Small leaf plum myrtleArchirhodomyrtus becklerii - Rose MyrtleDecaspermum humile - Silky myrtle.... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:43:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/11/19/unwanted_wildlife/ Unwanted Wildlife By Spencer ShawJust recently we have been blessed with the presence of three Brush Turkey chicks Alectura lathami in our rather small town yard in Maleny. “Blessed” I hear you say, “just you wait till they start raking all your well placed mulch and ripping out plants etc. then who’ll be blessed!” Well glutton for punishment that I am I’d still think we’re blessed, even if they did do those things. Fortunately we have never had problems with Brush Turkeys (well there was the incident of when I first grew rainforest seedlings, under some banana trees - but lets not talk about that, I’m nearly out of therapy over that one.) Brush Turkeys are one of those local species that have adapted to the changes that we have wrought on the landscape and yet are unfortunately referred to by many as somewhat of a nuisance. However, they are not the only successful wildlife that cops the bad press. Our cultural fear and loathing of snakes never fails to surprise me, and yet we have far more of a chance of dying when in the vicinity of a car than from a dreaded snake. Native Raspberries can thrive in paddocks and on forest edges but are surely a nuisance because of all those prickles? Rubus rosifolius is common on red basalt soils in SEQ and crucial wildlife habitat – because of the prickles! If that’s not good enough in my books the fruit is a tasty morsel to nibble on too. The list of successful and yet unpopular native species goes on and on and can include possums, bush rats, stinging trees, wattles – but for now lets get back to the turkeys.When I read of some of the many horror stories about Brush Turkeys devastating tree plants that some intrepid revegetators have been undertaking - I can’t help but think that the said writers are under the impression that the turkeys are purposefully targeting them or that these feathered little vandals should be more grateful for all the trees being planted.  After all it’s for their own good; all of that tree planting isn’t it! Well that’s where we might be wrong. The Brush Turkey is just doing what Brush Turkeys do (nature is very Zen!). They don’t think to themselves, “Oh how wonderful, those pale humans are creating a habitat that my descendants may enjoy and frolic in. That’s so good of them to see the error of their ways and plant one tree for every 10,000 they cut down when they came here. What I should do is demonstrate how grateful I am by scratching up the weeds growing around those trees they have planted and rake the mulch into neat and orderly piles around each plant” (I’m not sure wether turkeys are prone to this level of sarcasm, maybe its just me). The Brush turkey like the rest of nature is living very much in the here and now and seizes opportunity as it arises. Its us who have to think of how we can better change our reveg’ and gardening techniques to better suit our local environment and the turkeys of course.The Brush Turkey does not differentiate between weeds and natives, infact it is thought that lantana could contribute to their survival as chicks by giving them a prickly pile of stuff to hide in, although our much maligned native raspberries Rubus sp. also fill this niche. The main reason there are turkey chicks roaming around our yard and the local environs are the clusters of Camphor and Coral trees down in the gully behind us that our local dad Brush Turkeys build their nests under. Its not as if there are even any clusters of native vegetation to choose from. So it’s a simple matter of lowering ones standards and moving into an inferior weedy ecosystem or face local extinction. When we started revegetating in this area we actually had to argue to keep these trees to be able to get funding for native trees to plant. Not only would the cost of removal be prohibitive to us it would also have effectively rendered the wildlife homeless. Now six years on over 200 different native species are rocketing away with some trees at upto 10 –15 metres in height.  The privet have all been poisoned -Bam!, the Camphor laurels  thinned - Kersplat!, Morning glory annihilated - Kerpow! and the exotic grasses are gone -Wham! (I thought the batman style thumping noises might emphasise the beating of the weeds into submission). Best of all, in my mind however, the Brush Turkeys have been with us the whole way through this process, with two nest mounds every year. As have the Satin Bower Birds – Ptilonorhynchus violaceus birds and their bowers, Whip birds - Psophodes olivaceus, Koels - Eudynamys scolopacea, Brown Cuckoo Doves - Macropygia amboinensis, Southern Boobook Owl - Ninox novaeseelandiae and many more. Our philosophy has been that we must have net gains in native habitat before even thinking about removing weedy habitat (this scenario mainly applies if weeds are the only habitat).Some tips on Brush Turkey friendly gardening:• Don’t go overboard when it comes to tidying up your reveg’ patch, leave messy branches all over the place as they fall or are pruned. This will reduce their raking in that area.• Don’t feed them. This will inflate their numbers to greater than the local environment can handle.• Stake your plants, and try mulch mats instead of loose mulch, or even no mulch at all initially. And remember give a Brush Turkey a hug today (metaphorically speaking), and revel in our good fortune at having these ancient megapodes as neighbours. Cheers to all the wildlife and plants that are taking advantage of us for a change!  .... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:37:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/to_weed_or_not_to_weed_that_is_the_question_/   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 of all the lantana, privet, tobacco and camphor, are we then depriving the native birds and animals that spread them - of habitat possibly crucial to their survival. It is often said that weeds are damaging the local ecology, invading native ecosystems and reducing biodiversity, but is this true of all weeds, in all situations? The question I wish to pose is ‘can weeds actually increase biodiversity?’ I’m going to play the devils advocate here and say yes. What’s that I hear you say, he’s finally gone mad - perhaps spent a little too much time out in the sun or taste tested one too many funny looking mushrooms?  Weeds such as camphor laurel, privet and lantana are spreading in our local environment because of the relationship they have with our native fauna. Weeds most often thrive in disturbed ecosystems or ecosystems in a state of change. Mature rainforest is very stable and one of the most resilient of ecosystems to weed invasion. However areas that have been cleared of rainforest are highly susceptible to weed invasion. In an area like the Blackall Range we thus have the perfect conditions for weed establishment, large tracts of cleared land and the birds capable of spreading weed seed. Most remnant rainforest is highly fragmented in small patches throughout the range. Much less than 10% of the landscape on the red soil areas of the range is home to remnant rainforest ecosystems. These fragments are so small and isolated that many species will die out in these remnants, the areas are just too small to sustain them. However the spread of many weeds such as camphor, privet and lantana has created vital links between many forest fragments and also created buffers to protect the edges of remnants. What we must remember when we view these weeds as a problem, is that the weeds didn’t arrive in this area independently of us, create wide scale ecological imbalance and then plant themselves. We created the situation and exotic plants are exploiting that situation. What’s left of the native fauna are also exploiting whatever resources are available - they certainly don’t pause to consider whether a fruit is of an exotic tree or not, they are just hungry!. I’m not for one second suggesting that weeds don’t require management, I for one like nothing better than a good bit of lantana smashing or privet and camphor felling. But when undertaking these activities we should also be giving due consideration to habitat values for native wildlife? In my particular reveg plot when we started 90+% of the habitat was exotic. We left the majority of thecamphor laurels and planted the grassed areas. We also left 50% of the lantana patches but as the replacement habitat has developed from the planting’s, the exotic weeds are now being cut out or being out competed. Thank goodness we now have projects such as the Corridors of Green projects and other reveg activities both private and public that are establishing corridors of native vegetation through planting or regen’. But also let’s not underestimate nature’s capacity to create its own corridors out of whatever is left available. The good news is that the more native vegetation we plant or regenerate the greater will be the future seed production of these species and maybe one day we will see as many native seedlings popping up as exotics Solanum mauritianum fruit are a valuable food resource for birds such as Macropygia amboinensis the Brown Cuckoo-Dove. Ligustrum lucidum fruit are a valuable food resource and corridor tree for many birds such as Satin Bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus and Catbirds Ailuroedus crassirostris crassirostris *. *If you think botanists have made the scientific names for plants complicated, then you will soon realise that zoologists have taken the art of complicated names to a whole new level.  .... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:40:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/to_mow_or_not_to_mow_that_is_the_question/ 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 at the seams when we tidy them up. Vast swathes of lawn may look attractive and appeal to certain needs, deep within our psyche, but not only are they a massive drain on the resources of the planet, they are sterile deserts when it comes to species diversity. Unlike Ug however we have no survival excuse for maintaining these ordered grasslands. We wiped out all the other creatures at the top of the food chain and don’t have to fear marsupial lion or giant goannas sneaking out of the undergrowth (but there’s still snakes of course - if your lucky). Our only excuse for the vast lawns and well ordered garden beds is that we are so wealthy (in real terms) that we can alter vast areas of land that would otherwise be home to complex self-maintaining ecosystems purely out of indulgence and not for survival or production of economic wealth. Before I jump down of the soapbox (or get knocked off!) I’d just like to add that the usual characters that are blamed for threatening our local ecosystems such as the woody weeds (Privet, Lantana and Camphor laurel) are largely innocent. In fact they often have very little impact on overall ecological processes compared to the grass lands we indulge ourselves with for lawn or even dare I say it horse paddocks. The woody weeds may even have many positive effects on the local ecology, especially if they are spread by local wildlife.  Now before the Motor Mower Retailers of Australia Association take out a contract on me and try and put me six foot under the lawn. Or the local pony club decide to play an old fashioned game of polo with my head - I’d just like to add that I too have a spot of lawn (literally - we keep it in a pot in the patio and mow it with a set of hair clippers!). Seriously now, small grasslands can be very useful for recreation and amenity values but do we really need as much as some acreage blocks maintain. Instead of scattered clumps of trees amongst our vast artificial grass lands I’d prefer to see scattered grassy clearings amongst ecologically diverse and complex forestlands. Out at the Bunya Mountains National Park grassy knolls are found within the forest and were previously maintained by the local Murri’s fire stick farming practices. These grasslands are welcome sources of food for the local herbivores – but they also need the forest for food, shelter and water. It’s a matter of balance. Perhaps our own Bald Knob that we see at the front of the range was so named because it was a small patch of grassland amongst the dark forests of the Blackall range. Now we’ve all been good little revegetators for the last few years and busily planting trees. The next thing we must learn to do is how to regenerate the understorey of our forests and even rehabilitate our native grass lands. See I’m not anti –grass, well actually you could even say I’m pro-grass, but that’s another story !! There are a whole swathe of fantastic native grasses and herbs we can encourage or plant. Suprisingly some grasses grow in or on the edges of our native forest such as Oplismenus aemulus, the Creeping Beard Grass or Ottochloa gracillima. These grasses can even be mown to create shade-loving lawns (see I can even use the L-A-W-N word in a positive sense). So next time your strolling across your vast lawn ask yourself - do you really need all that grass? And next time your walking through or along the edge of you local forest don’t forget to appreciate all those wonderful small native plants at your feet – I just love dichotomy!   Some fantastic native groundcover Pollia crispata – Pollia  Viola hederaceae - Native Violet Oplismenus aemulus - Creeping Beard Grass Ottochloa gracillima – Ottochloa Lobelia trigonocaulis – Rainforest Lobelia Carex polyantha – Rainforest Carex Hydrocotyle pedicellosa – Money-wort And a whole range of ferns of course!   by Spencer Shaw .... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:38:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/the_maleny_strangler_strikes_again1/ 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 a short cut to the canopy. They have the amazing ability to germinate not just in soil but in moist patches of humus high in the forks of branches on existing trees. You can imagine that life in the tree tops must become very dry after months without rain like we have seen recently, but somehow fig seedlings survive on what little moisture is taken from the air or that collects on the trunk of their host. This ability also makes them one of the few plants that can strike on rocky outcrops where moisture collects in fissures - Ficus virens the White fig can commonly be seen on rocky outcrops beside waterfalls throughout the Range. The next task for the fig to complete after germinating high in an existing canopy tree, is to send roots down to the ground, just enough leaf is produced to provide the energy for this process. The survival of the fig depends on its roots reaching the forest floor and finding permanent water. Once that connection of root to soil is made, the days of the host tree are numbered (well the decades anyway - time moves bit slower in the plant world). Soil contact and permanent water allows the fig to rapidly accelerate its growth and send more roots down, these roots eventually surround host tree giving it an unintentional hug of death! * Mature Ficus sp. that apparently start life in such a gruesome manner go on to become fountains of life within forests, through the massive quantities of fruit they produce. The fruit themselves are unique in that the flowers are born internally within the ‘fruit’ and are pollinated by remarkable mini-wasps that in turn complete their lifecycle within the ‘fruit’. The fruit provide a life sustaining supply of food to numerous birds and animals and are sometimes born in quantities that could possibly be estimated not by the kg but by the ton. However before you race in to Barung and buy a fig to plant in your backyard, consider that amazing root system that these plants have and what they may do to your/or your neighbours drains or foundations. Their root systems can be expansive and are great at holding landscape together, but putting one in your backyard is like trying to keep an emu in a budgie cage – sooner or later something is going to give! Acreage’s are best for these guys and they are one of those amazing plants that once established are incredibly hardy and will live on for centuries. Help make the future a better place and find a place in your world for a fig. *Gosh it’s easy to slip into the ‘natures a battle field’ descriptions of natural processes. After watching obviously one too many of the Crocodile Hunter series (enforced upon me by my kids!) I imagine myself as an intrepid, if somewhat hyped botanist, battling through deep dark jungle, dodging flailing tendrils of lawyer cane, wrestling dangerous strangler figs and advising the viewers at home to never, ever try anything at home like this with their petunias.   by Spencer Shaw .... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:30:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/sweet_dreams1/ 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 birds are on the day shift for spreading the seed and pollen of various trees and plants. However, we are often completely unaware (because we are curled up in front of the telly or in bed or both) of the important role our fellow mammals play in the dispersal and pollination workforce for our local forest plants at night. For instance are you aware that most eucalypt cross-pollination occurs at night courtesy of the much maligned, flying foxes. In a recent study of flying foxes Pteropus sp. it became apparent that eucalypt flowers where at their most receptive to cross-pollination during the hours of darkness. These trees rely upon flying foxes and other blossom bats to facilitate some serious genetic interchange over the vast distances that they travel in search of food. Some local eucalypts that attract nectar-feeding bats include Flooded Gum - Eucalyptus grandis, Tallow wood - Eucalyptus microcorys and the Pink Blood Wood – Eucalyptus intermedia. Mammals aren’t the only creatures of the bush being enticed into working for the plants during the night. As the sun sets in the forest, the air can become thick with the intoxicating perfumes of some forest plants and although humans may appreciate these scents the real targets of these perfumes are the moths. Just like some humans use perfumes for the purposes of romance, these night time flower scents are designed to attract moths to their flowers and so spread their pollen from flower to flower – the moths thus play an unwitting role in the love lives of plants. The moths are rewarded with a small prize of nectar for their work, but not too much, just enough to get them to the next flower! Some night/evening perfumed flowers are Wilkea - Wilkea macrophylla, Native Jasmine’s - Jasminum sp., Mat rush’s - Lomandra sp., and Musk wood - Alangium villosum. The flowers of the night are often white to reflect whatever light is available ie. “by the light of the silvery moon”. Flowers aimed at the moth demographic are often small simple flowers such as Chain fruit Alyxia ruscifolia, Banana bush Tabernaemontana pandaqui and Native currant Carissa ovata. Flowers aimed at the larger mammalian pollinators such as flying foxes, possums and many other nectar-loving marsupials often carry a larger reward of nectar to satisfy these sugar-hungry mammals. The flowers are brush-like in design to cover the snouts of the foraging animal in pollen. Flowers of the family Myrtaceae such as Eucalyptus sp., Syzygium sp. are typical of the flowers designed to attract mammals. Crucial to the health of most forests is their relationship with mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi actually engage in a symbiotic relationship with plant roots whereby they form a protective sheath over the plant roots and make more water and trace elements available to the plant through their hyphae (a fine network of tissue, that comprises the fungi feeding organ). In return, they receive carbohydrates from the plants. What has all this got to do with the night time activities of the forest, I hear you say? Now here’s the really amazing bit! Some of the mycorrhizal fungi have truffle like fruiting bodies. These truffles are an important food source for about 37 native mammals that include wallabies, bandicoots, rodents, potoroos and bettongs. The nocturnal bettongs and potoroos are specialist truffle eaters. Bettongs in particular have a specialised digestive system for making the most of the truffles they eat. The spores of truffles pass safely through the digestive systems of the animals and are deposited in a neat little fertiliser package ready to colonise new ground. These animals are crucial to the spread of some of these mycorrhizal fungi and in turn the fungi are crucial as a food source to the animals. What a wonderful case of mutual benefit! However what happens when small marsupials such as the bettongs and potoroos become extinct in an area, due to habitat loss and feral animal predation? It could be speculated that not only do we lose some of our wonderful local fauna but that mycorrhizal fungi populations will be affected, by the loss of their main dispersal agent. Flowing on from that, tree health will be affected. The old analogy about ecology being like a spider web becomes more and more relevant in a story like this, because removing one thread often has serious effects on all the other threads and the web as a whole. So we must all do what we can to maintain the diversity of our local ecosystems and be awed and thankful for the amazing local environment that we live and work in. References: Wildlife of Greater Brisbane, QLD Museum Publication Tropical Topics, Wet tropics Management Authority Thanks to Les Hall for his information re. flying foxes and eucalypt pollination and Jim Reside for his information on the importance of small marsupials and truffles.   by Spencer Shaw.... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:29:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/rainforest_succession/ 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 seeds readily dispersed mainly by birds in our local area. Their small hard-shelled, long-lived seeds wait for the opportunity of a break in the canopy and exposed soil to grow and in turn set seed again. Wherever there is open soil, pioneers grasp their opportunity. They quickly produce a mass of foliage on weak stems, cast shade and leave litter on the soil (thus enriching it), and may just as quickly die. Other species, ones that do not need light quite so much when they are young, take their place.  Typical species are: Omolanthus nutans, Macaranga tanarius, Pipturus argenteus. SECONDARY SPECIES - THE NEXT STAGE We call this vegetation "secondary" because it grows where the original, primary forest has disappeared. At first, secondary forest does not have structure. It is thick, but its vegetation is not strong or long-lived. Other types of vegetation can easily replace it i.e. environmental weeds. Secondary species often require the protection of the pioneers to germinate and grow and create the increased shade and humidity suitable for the germination of climax species Typical species are: Polyscias elegans, Melicope micrococca, Guioa semiglauca MATURE OR CLIMAX FOREST - THE CYCLE COMPLETED Seed from the mature phase species is short lived and does not persist in the soil seed-bank. Therefore, seed of these species must come from a seed source forest that exists close by the regenerating gap otherwise the regeneration will at best stagnate at the pioneer or secondary stage, but most likely become dominated by exotic species i.e. Lantana and/or Privet. In the ideal situation, the forest will progress through the various stages of regeneration until a mature stage rainforest ecosystem is re-established. This process may take several hundred years to complete. The regenerative process will however only continue to progress from the initial pioneer and secondary species mix if there is a ready seed source of mature phase species close by. Mature forest is made up of ancient trees that will last as individuals in excess of 800 years. Typical species are: Argyrodendron trifoliatum, Sloanea woolsii, Ficus macrophylla. References: Growing Rainforest - Rainforest Restoration and Regeneration. R. Kooyman.  Living Earth, livearth@gn.apc.org Natural regeneration of the rainforests of Brisbane - Kenneth McClymont   by Spencer Shaw.... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:28:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/clean_up_australia__not_in_my_forest_mate_or_don/ 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 Chtonobdella whitmani must think my O+ blood type is the nectar of the gods and I’m hosting a tick convention of Ixodes holocyclus behind my left ear. It was dark when I fled to the forest last night and my nerves got the better of me and, you guessed it, the call of nature led to a rather extremely painful encounter with the leaves of the Giant-leaf Stinging Tree Dendrocnide excelsa. The leaf litter of the forest floor is amazing stuff (if sometimes a little bumpy and prickly). At this time of year as temperatures increase, the leaf litter thickens as trees drop old leaves to reduce their water-loss and also to conserve soil moisture by the thicker mulch layer. Thick layers of Leaf litter are more commonly seen in our drier rainforest patches, where the canopy is lower at 10 –15 metres and on poorer well-drained soils. A range of seeds also add to the leaf litter at this time of year. These include the Brown Tulip Oak Argyrodendron trifoliatum, whose bronze winged fruit gently whirl to earth like little helicopters when the breeze picks up. An amazing adaptation that the Argyrodendron genus has made is the development of moisture-conserving gels that surround their seeds. The Black Booyong Argyrodendron actinophyllum produces an enormous quantity of gel around its seed when wetted. This is great for protecting the seedling from drying out in the harder soils of the range where it naturally grows. Conversely this moisture-holding gel can be a bit tricky to cope with when propagating them in nurseries, as they may be kept too moist and rot. The forest’s leaf litter and the soil below it, is home to a myriad of life forms such as millipedes, mites, snails, spiders, worms, beetles, ticks, fungi and so much more. The leaf litter is the powerhouse of nutrient recycling that maintains the ongoing health of the trees, shrubs and vines that make up the forest. This leaf litter and all the tiny creatures that make it their home, are also the start of the food chain for all the larger creatures that call the forest home. Take the amazing Brown Antechinus Antechinus stuartii of our local forests. These little guys are often confused with rodents but are serious carnivores and are distant relatives of the Tassie tiger. I imagine Antechinus with the “Jaws” sound track playing in the background. To see them in action is fantastic! The sight of two furry little ears protruding through the leaf litter doing circles around a bush cockroach before it leaps up and takes its prey in one foul swoop and ducks back below the leaf litter is awesome. And where would the infamous Brush Turkey Alectura lathami be without a good pile of leaf litter to rake up. The compost heaps they make from the forest floor are not only crucial to the incubation of their own young, but also the concentrated goodness of these piles makes a perfect home for all sorts of little critters and fungi. Perfect germination sites for some species of plants that need that extra bit of moisture can be found around these piles and sometimes even the composting effects of the pile can help break seed dormancy. The Brush Turkey unfortunately cops a lot of bad press due to its activities in some perfect gardens. But where else in the world do humans have the good fortune of living side by side in the suburbs with such a large wild animal a creature whose greatest crime is building compost heaps and occasionally getting a bit too friendly with one’s domestic poultry. In closing, next time you’re hiding out in the forest from whatever dominant paradigm you have challenged, don’t forget to appreciate the leaf litter that you are snuggled down in and wonder at all those marvellous little fungi on the log you’re using as a pillow. And as the Clash sang back in the 80’s “I fought the law-n and the law-n won, I fought the law-n and the law-n won” - well for now anyway! by Spencer Shaw.... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST http://www.brushturkey.com.au/blog/2009/10/7/sweet_dreams/ 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!.... Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:07:00 EST