Testing methods for reducing weed loads in preparation for reconstructing species-rich native grassland by direct seeding

摘要

Sites or parts of sites that are highly weed dominated and have little or no native cover or diversity are likely to require complete revegetation, preceded by a high level of weed control (McDonald 1999). Weed control prior to revegetation of herb-rich grasslands is a particular challenge for two reasons. First, field emergence of sown grasses and forbs can be severely compromised by competition from herbaceous weed species (Pywell et al. 2002) as many herbaceous native species compete poorly with introduced weeds (Carr et al. 1992; Cole & Lunt 2005).