Is resilience to weed invasion related to plant richness in Cumberland Plain Woodlands?

2023 Cumberland Plain Research Funding Grant Recipient

Lead investigator: Senior Professor Kris French (University of Wollongong)

Co-Investigators: Dr Joh Turnbull (UoW) and Associate Professor Paul Rymer (WSU)

Project Summary: Cumberland Plain Woodlands are highly diverse plant assemblages particularly in the lower strata and ground cover. This diversity may help in preventing weed invasion although many sites subject to high disturbance from agriculture and other anthropogenic activities will have reduced diversity, providing opportunities for weeds to invade and intensify degradation. Increasing the diversity and complexity in the lower strata at disturbed sites may well impart resilience to weed invasion.

This project will test whether lower strata diversity will enhance resilience to invasion in a laboratory setting as a precursor to undertaking larger manipulations in the field. We will compare the establishment of two different weed species in patches with established seedlings of many native species with patches with low diversity under high light and shaded conditions. These weed species are two of the most prevalent problems in these habitats; African Lovegrass and Paspalum. If resilience is enhanced by diverse plantings, then this provides information to facilitate restoration of degraded land and improve resilience in remnant vegetation.