Plant Protection Quarterly Vol.23(1) 2008 51 access into thick infestations for follow up chemical control and have worked well A history of boneseed control in the You Yangs as part of an integrated program. Initially Regional Park, Victoria it was hoped mulching of the boneseed would result in suitable fuel to conduct David Roberts, You Yangs Regional Park, Parks Victoria, Branch Road, Lara, large scale burning of mature plants, how- Victoria 3212, Australia. ever this was not achieved because plants were mulched too fi nely by the slashers. Biological control Introduction chemical control, mechanical control, the Six biological agents have been introduced The You Yangs is a 2000 ha regional park use of fi re regimes and biological control. into the You Yangs to control boneseed situated between Victoria’s two largest cit- No single method has been successful in since the early 1990s. The advent of bio- ies – Melbourne and Geelong, and is home controlling boneseed, however an inte- logical controls provided great hope and to one of the countries densest boneseed grated approach using a combination of enthusiasm to land managers and vol- (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monil- several of these techniques has provided unteer groups. Unfortunately, the agents ifera (DC.) T.Norl.) infestations. Boneseed the most productive and sustained results. have provided little control for boneseed was thought to have been planted in the due to a number of factors including pre- park as an erosion control measure in the Manual control dation of the agents by native fauna and late 1940s, but exact introduction details The history of manual boneseed control in environmental conditions such as drought are unknown. Boneseed quickly estab- the park can be traced back to 1958, when and extremes in temperature. Although lished in the park, initially taking a strong the Bird Observers Club identifi ed bone- not yet successful at controlling boneseed, hold on the low fertile granite slopes seed as a signifi cant threat to the natural a real benefi t of the biological control pro- and progressively spreading to the open bushland due to its rapid spread and initi- grams is the positive messages surround- woodland in the foothills. By 1963, the ated an annual ‘boneseed pulling’ working ing integrated pest management and the District Forester reported approximately bee. Over a period of 25 years, this group education value to local schools and envi- 30% of the park or 650 ha (1600 acres) along with the Geelong Field Naturalists ronment groups visiting the park. having moderate to heavy infestations of Club successfully controlled boneseed boneseed, particularly in the steep rocky over an area of 120 ha. Other volunteer Where to from here? country. The current boneseed infestation groups including many schools, service Parks Victoria has continued working covers more than 1300 ha of the 2000 ha clubs and the Guides and Scouts organi- with the challenge of large scale manage- park and dominates the landscape, par- zations, still contribute frequently to the ment programs for the control of bone- ticularly in the rocky granite hills. manual removal of boneseed through the seed. Twelve priority management zones The dense boneseed infestation has ‘Adopt a Block’ initiative, which invites were established across the park in 1999 to had devastating consequences for the na- community groups to undertake bone- focus control efforts and limited resources tive fl ora and fauna within the You Yangs. seed control in a specifi c area of the park, on protecting the threatened brittle green- Much of the native middle and lower story where they are recognized for their efforts hood orchid and areas of known signifi - fl ora has been lost in infested areas and with signage. Revegetation following the cant natural values. Weed control strate- replaced with a monoculture of boneseed. manual control of boneseed has resulted gies produced by Parks Victoria and The The competition provided by boneseed in over 26 000 native trees and shrubs be- University of Ballarat for boneseed and has inhibited regeneration of eucalypt ing planted in treated areas. bridal creeper at the You Yangs Regional seedlings, particularly Eucalyptus leucoxy- Park led to the development of these zones lon F.Muell., E. polyanthemos Schauer, E. Chemical control (Miller and Eales 1999). macrorhyncha F.Muell. ex Benth. and E. Current chemical programs for boneseed Future management of boneseed in the sideroxylon Woolls, which has long term focus on areas where known signifi cant You Yangs will involve a combination of effects on canopy trees and reliant fauna natural values are present, in particular methods as described above, with a great- species. The volume of dormant bone- areas of brittle greenhood (Pterostylis trun- er emphasis on the role that fi re can play seed seeds present in the soil (2000–19 000 cata Fitzg.) colonies, a threatened orchid in the landscape. As the community devel- seeds m−2; Brougham et al. 2006), means species present in large numbers within ops a greater acceptance of fuel reduction that any treatment or disturbance of ma- the park. Glyphosate is widely used along burning and a greater understanding of ture boneseed plants results in vigorous roadsides and around key visitor areas to the benefi ts of ecological burning on pub- boneseed recolonization, which effectively control a range of weed species includ- lic land, the opportunity to integrate fi re out-competes native species. ing boneseed, bridal creeper (Asparagus management techniques with chemical The success of boneseed management asparagoides (L.) Druce) and capeweed and manual control of boneseed may be a in the You Yangs Regional Park has been (Arctotheca calendula (L.) Levyns). Chemi- cost-effective management option for the influenced by a number of factors in- cal control was also applied as a broad acre You Yangs into the future. cluding suffi cient funding, appropriate aerial application following a signifi cant resources, continuity of staff, community wildfi re in 1985, however the program References engagement, wildfi re events, technology ceased due to high costs. Brougham, K., Cherry, H. and Downey, advancements, research and changes in P. (eds) (2006). Boneseed management land use and public expectation. The con- Mechanical control manual: current management and con- trol of boneseed over a 50 year period has Slashers, groomers, brush cutters and trol options for boneseed (Chrysanthe- relied on local strategies and a combina- heavy machinery have been used as a moides monilifera subsp. monilifera) in tion of control methods. knock down approach for the control of Australia. Department of Environment boneseed in the park. These techniques and Conservation NSW, Sydney. Control strategies have been restricted to the large infes- Miller, J. and Eales, C. (1999). Boneseed and Boneseed control strategies implement- tations where there is an absence of the bridal creeper control strategy. You Yangs ed across the park have included all the native shrub layer and a monoculture of Regional Park Centre for Environmental recognized techniques: manual control, boneseed. Mechanical approaches provide Management, University of Ballarat. .