Invasive plant information

Posted on 19 June, 2019 by Ivan

Did you know Connecting Country has a useful website that contains detailed information about the most common invasive plants in the Mount Alexander region?

Invasive plants, pest plants, or weeds, have attributes that enable them to out-complete other species. They are plants that are not valued where they are growing and usually grow vigorously. They may produce prolific amounts of seed, spread vegetatively and grow rapidly, and are often unpalatable to livestock or wildlife. These characteristics often allow them to dominate and displace indigenous and crop plants, contributing to a decline in biodiversity and loss of agricultural productivity.

Under the Victorian Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (CaLP Act) certain invasive plants are classified as noxious weeds. Land owners and managers have responsibilities to control these weeds. Failure to do so could result in prosecution and severe fines.

Gorse is common throughout the goldfields region (photo by Agriculture Victoria)

Environmental weeds are plant species that are particularly invasive in natural bushland, completing with or choking out native plants. Not all environmental weeds are listed as noxious weeds on the CaLP Act.

The Connecting Country website lists over 60 invasive plants from A to Z, and includes information about their distribution, likely habitat, how to identify them and control methods. Most of the invasive plants listed have brochures available for download or links to further information. Over the past decade, Connecting Country’s projects have controlled invasive plants across 6,183 hectares of land, resulting in better habitat and allowing desirable native species to reestablish these areas.

Click here to visit our invasive plant resources and let us know what you think!