Serpentine wetland rehabilitation

Landholders

Queensland Wetlands Program

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service

Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM

Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research (ACTFR) Australian Government

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On-ground work, Monitoring

Queensland Wetlands Program (QWP) management case study

Australian Government

(not documented)

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Serpentine Lagoon is predominantly located on two grazing properties, 45km south of Townsville in the upper reaches of the Haughton River catchment. At commencement of on-ground works, the lagoon was infested with chinee apple and aquatic weeds such as water hyacinth had caused significant damage to the lagoon ecosystem. Additionally, grazing impacts within the wetland had been detrimental during both the wet and dry seasons. On-ground works focused on the mechanical removal of chinee apple and other woody weed infestations from 160ha of area surrounding the lagoon. Basal spraying of any regrowth was carried out at the cleared areas when weather was suitable. Fencing along the wetland boundary was undertaken allowing seasonal (typically January to August) exclusion of cattle from wetland areas. Photo monitoring was carried out to provide ‘before and after’ comparisons for chinee apple.

Managing chinee apple infestation involved mechanical removal of the whole plant. The overall aim of woody weed removal was to ensure that the removal did not create a greater environmental impact than the original infestation. The ecological assessment provided a basis for NQ Dry Tropics NRM to develop local guidelines for landholders for chinee apple.

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Serpentine wetland rehabilitation