Limitations and successes for grassy community restoration: An Australian perspective

Abstract

In Australia grassy communities (in this paper meaning grasslands and grassy woodlands) were extensive in their range prior to European settlement but have since been reduced to a small fraction of that distribution and quality. This is due largely to the impacts of agricultural clearing and urban development. Despite clear knowledge of their threatened state, and discussion of the need for their repair government support for grassy community restoration is poor and programs instead focus largely on simplistic plantings of tree and shrubs. Never-the-less there have been various groups who have continued with tenacity to pursue the goal of grassy community restoration and met with considerable success – albeit at small scale. Importantly, these outcomes have been build on key areas of innovation and knowedge development, helping to overcome barriers which previously led many to consider grassy community restoration unfeasible under Australian conditions. These sucesses invite the possibility that grasslands and grassy woodlands can over time be returned at-scale as integral parts of Australia’s highly modified agricultural, urban, and peri-urban landscapes – where now little still reside.

Keywords

• Grassland restoration
• Seed supply
• Direct seeding
• Seed sector