Guest Editorial: Rangelands, weeds and biodiversity

A. C. Grice; T. G. Martin

doi:10.1071/RJ06000

EDITORIAL

Next Contents Vol 28(1)

Guest Editorial: Rangelands, weeds and biodiversity

A. C. Grice ^A ^D and T. G. Martin ^B ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Private Bag PO Aitkenvale, Qld 4814, Australia.

^B CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 306 Carmody Road, St. Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia. Email: Tara.Martin@csiro.au

^C Current address: Centre for Applied Conservation Research, Department of Forest Sciences, 2424 Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4.

^D Corresponding author. Email: Tony.Grice@csiro.au

The Rangeland Journal 28(1) 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ06000
Submitted: 4 April 2006 Accepted: 10 April 2006 Published: 29 May 2006

Abstract

Australian rangelands are important for the diverse assemblages of native plants and animals that they support as well as for the wide variety of products and services that they provide. These assemblages are of national and international, cultural, social, ecological and economic significance. Woinarski (2001) identified several processes that are threatening the biodiversity of Australian rangelands, including grazing pressure, the proliferation of artificial watering points, vegetation clearing, predation by introduced animals and inappropriate fire regimes. His review also highlighted the importance of invasion by non-native plant species, a threatening process for ecosystems in other parts of Australia and around the world. Biological invasions pose a major risk for individual native species, communities and the ecological processes upon which they depend. The papers in this Special Issue of The Rangeland Journal consider non-native plant species in relation to the threats that they pose to the biodiversity of Australian rangelands and how those threats may be managed.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the following people for their contributions to the workshop at which material presented in the papers that make up this Special Issue was discussed: Nora Brandli (Desert Channels Queensland), Yvonne Buckley (University of Queensland and CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems), Shane Campbell, Steve Csurhes, Dane Panetta, Joe Vitelli and Craig Walton (Queensland Natural Resources, Mines and Water), Richard Carter (NSW Department of Primary Industry), Mike Cole (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), Mic Julien and Rieks van Klinken (CSIRO Entomology), Sandy Lloyd (Department of Agriculture Western Australia), Rachel McFadyen (CRC Australian Weed Management), John Morley (Department of the Environment and Heritage), John Pitt (PIRSA), Anita Smyth (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) and Helen Spafford-Jacob (University of Western Australia). Simone Grounds (CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) greatly assisted in the preparation of material for the workshop and report.

References

ANZECC and ARMCANZ (Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council and Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand) (1999). ‘National principles and guidelines for rangeland management.’ (Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra.)

Department of Environment and Heritage (1999). Australia’s rangelands: fact sheet. Available online at: http://www.deh.gov.au/land/publications/rangelands/index.html (accessed 14 March 2006).

Department of Environment and Heritage (2003). Australia’s 15 national biodiversity hotspots. Available online at: http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/hotspots/facts.html (accessed 10 March 2006).

Environment Australia (2000). Revision of the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) and development of version 5.1, Summary report. Available online at: http://www.deh.gov.au/parks/nrs/ibra/version5-1/summary-report/index.html (accessed 10 March 2006).

Foran B. D. , Friedel M. H. , MacLeod M. D. , Stafford Smith M. , and Wilson A. D. (1990). ‘A policy for the future management of Australia’s rangelands.’ (CSIRO: Canberra.)

George A. S. (1981). The background to the flora of Australia. In: ‘Flora of Australia: Vol 1. Introduction’. (Ed. A. S. George.) pp. 3–23. (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.)

Grice A. C. (2006) The impacts of invasive plant species on the biodiversity of Australian rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 28, 27–35.

Julien M. H. (2006) Biological control of rangeland weeds in Australia. The Rangeland Journal 28, 47–54.

Martin T. G., Campbell S., Grounds S. (2006) Weeds of Australian rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 28, 3–26.
| Crossref |

Martin T. G., Grice A. C. (2006) Management of weeds in Australian rangelands: a basis for evaluating projects. The Rangeland Journal 28, 77–81.

Martin T. G., van Klinken R. D. (2006) Value for money? Investment in weed management in Australian rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 28, 63–75.

National Land and Water Resources Audit (2000). Annual Report 1999–2000. Available online at: http://www.nlwra.gov.au/archive/full/15_publications/30_annual_reports/1999-2000/1999-2000.html(accessed 10 March 2006).

Richardson D. M., Pyek P., Rejmanek M., Barbour M. G., Panetta F. D., West C. J. (2000) Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions. Diversity and Distributions 6, 93–107.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Smyth A. K., James C. D. (2004) Characteristics of Australia’s rangelands and key design issues for monitoring biodiversity. Austral Ecology 29, 3–15.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Spafford Jacob H., Randall R. (2006) An evaluation of National and State policy and procedures for the prevention of the importation of weeds into Australian rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 28, 55–62.

Vitelli J. S., Pitt J. L. (2006) Assessment of current weed control methods relevant to the management of the biodiversity of Australian rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 28, 37–46.
| Crossref |

Woinarski J. C. Z. (2001). A review of changes in the status and threatening processes. In: ‘Developing an analytical framework for monitoring biodiversity in Australia’s rangelands’. (Eds P. Whitehead, J. C. Z. Woinarski, A. Fisher, R. J. Fensham and K. Beggs.) pp. B1-2–B1-324. (National Land and Water Resources Audit: Darwin.)