Alice Bush Regeneration

Long-time Alice Springs Landcarer Andy Vinter launched a new book late last year called the Alice Springs Bush Regeneration Handbook.

The idea for the book was to assist with local plant identification, especially grasses and wildflowers. Rain over the past few years that lead to native seed germination created a diverse understorey for Andy to study, resulting in 150 species being described.

However, rural block holders interested in native plants are often faced with an understorey dominated by Buffel grass.

Andy realised that he needed to include a section describing how to effectively manage Buffel so that the blockies could starting seeing some native plant regeneration.

Andy hopes the book could also benefit the pastoral industry. While Buffel grass is a positive asset from a pastoral perspective, especially in drought years, native grasses are also important to the industry. Regeneration techniques could be employed in selected areas to promote native species and potentially limit the  fire risk associated with Buffel grass.

The Alice Springs Bush Regeneration Handbook is available in local outlets, or can be ordered by phoning Land for Wildlife on 08 8955 5222.