Innovative field nurseries to assess weed risk in the rangelands ofWestern Australia

摘要

There is growing interest in intensifying beef cattle production in the rangelands of northern Western Australia through 'mosaic agriculture' to complement the extensive grazing of native vegetation. Irrigated fodder production and the introduction ofimproved forage plants (dryland) can broaden the feed base of rangeland grazing systems. With agricultural development there can be unwanted consequences and one of these is that some pasture plants have become agricultural and environmental weeds in certain situations.Taking an innovative approach a series of four field nurseries have been established in key environments (soil x climate) in the West Kimberley and Pilbara to obtain data on the persistence and/or spread of a wide range of commercial pasture and fodder grasses and legumes. The trials were established under irrigation to simulate a worst case scenario as weed spread in a rangelands context is likely to be episodic, for example, following a cyclone. The results should help to inform debate and provide decision-makers with the information to find the balance between agricultural development and the protection of high value environmental assets. This research is a work in progress and the preliminary results will be presented at the conference.