Report for March 2019
Hours for March, and for Year to Date - (the Gahnia Grove year having begun 20 May 2018):
Liaison - 1 [YTD - 80.75]
Community Liaison (Reserve user asked where she could sign up to do same) - .25 [YTD - 1.75]
Monitoring/research (mainly Observations, uploads and discussion on iNaturalist) - 7.5 [YTD - 202.25]
Sitework (includes Weed control, "tiptoe" path creation for habitat protection, onsite assessment and planning, and maintenance of amenity through disposition of weed materials and mulch bordering mown kikuyu)- 21.5 [YTD - 277.75]
March total: 30.25
YTD Total: 562.5
Kikuyu control has gone extremely well, thanks to the cordon and the supportive and flawless collaboration of the Ventia Integrated Services team.
An early observation of the kikuyu margin, before wood chip mulch or cordon, has some info on the technique being used:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/18574386
The initial approx 80m of kikuyu margin curving around the existing planting on the Glenfield Rd side of Gahnia Grove has been reduced to approx 40m by gradually eliminating the curves through pullback and wood mulch (releasing an increased area of kikuyu-eradication behind the cordon). This won't make much difference to mowers, but will substantially reduce the time needed for ongoing manual control along the mown edge.
Nine of the weed-control hours in March were spent on control of kikuyu in the margin.
Background to the Kikuyu Edge Control project is covered in a couple of earlier posts, here:
Observations of the Kikuyu Margin of each of the Gahnia Grove sub-sites can be viewed, with most recent at the top of the list and older ones by scrolling down, at these links:
CHF Bank Kikuyu Margin: https://inaturalist.nz/projects/gahnia-grove-chf-bank-kikuyu-margin?tab=observations&subtab=grid
Arena Kikuyu margin: https://inaturalist.nz/projects/gahnia-grove-arena-kikuyu-margin?tab=observations&subtab=grid
Apron Kikuyu Margin: https://inaturalist.nz/projects/gahnia-grove-apron-kikuyu-margin?tab=observations&subtab=grid
Annexe Kikuyu Margin: https://inaturalist.nz/projects/gahnia-grove-the-annexe-kikuyu-margin?tab=observations&subtab=grid
In addition, approx 50sq m of dense, thick mown kikuyu in the Arena has been removed by manual pullback - ie no cutting or breaking - since June 2018. We expect at least a few vertical rhizomes to have survived and to make their appearance with some new growth at the surface somewhere within the Arena , but these should be easily managed in due course.
The major March activity since recent rains, however, has been the delightful task of looking through and among the dense stands of 2mH wildflowers - not at noon on sunny days when competing with honeybees and bumble bees - finding a few native seedlings, removing most of the unwanted seedlings such as Paspalum, and thinning the wildflowers where there is sufficient shade without them, as the ground is still dry:
We have been very pleased with the results of trial control of several shrub weeds by mulching of live plant or stumps, rotting the roots at least partially until the plant can be easily uprooted.
Currently we are trialling the use of Tradescantia piles to hasten rotting and suppress regrowth in Japanese honeysuckle, Blackberry, Kahili Ginger, Alocasia brisbanensis (Elephant's Ear) Arum lily and Cape Honey Flower. Many plants have already been completely uprooted so far, especially those that had their own live foliage included in the mulch.
More updates on those trials later, but here are some notes regarding an earlier trial of Agapanthus control control:
https://inaturalist.nz/projects/gahnia-grove-site-summary-and-discussion/journal/22953-agapanthus-trialling-no-dig-no-chemical-eradication
Comments on brush wattle and Moth plant seedling removal:
https://inaturalist.nz/projects/gahnia-grove-site-summary-and-discussion/journal/22520-brush-wattle-and-moth-plant-seedlings-removed-in-march
Tradescantia control is now well underway with a defined boundary incorporating those piles being used as mulch. A detailed report on this will be provided next month.
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