ilkari Conservation Group est.1990ilkari Conservation Group est.1990
Lake Plan 2003 Prepared by Nele Findlay 12.6.03
SUMMARY
Removal of existing exotic plants:
Elm sucker trees, south side
Exotic Cyperus, north side
Weeding:
Coolatai grass
Invasive woody weeds: ash, elm, rhamnus, olive.
General smaller weeds, concentrating on planted areas.
Planting:
Small trees and shrubs, towards south from east end plantings.
Fill gaps in existing plantings.
Friends of Warriparinga will have some small trees and shrubs available of species already present at the lake (Acacia pycnantha, A retinodes, Allocasuarina verticillata, Dodonaea viscosa, Bursaria spinosa). These can be planted in the next section to the south of the existing east end plantings, once the elm trees are removed from here.
A few shrubs, eg. Dodonaea viscosa, could be planted in spaces on the stony embankments.
Some planting into gaps and at the borders of the existing plantings could also take place. Some more sedges etc. are needed where the water from the hillside runs into the lake.
More Cymbopogon obtectus (scented grass) and Dichanthium sericeum (silky blue-grass) can be planted on the north- facing rocky slope as the Coolatai is removed. These grasses still need to be propagated (when weather is warming up). We could also try some other species eg. Atriplex semibaccata (Berry saltbush) and Chloris truncata (windmill grass) in this area.
Regrowth has occurred at several sites and needs to be removed.
Three blocks of mature grass remain on the SW slopes. Remove these, leaving the most westerly between trees to the last.
The plantings at the east end are not too badly weed infested. However weeds such as plantain, aster and annual grasses need hand-pulling. Oxalis and Kikuyu need swabbing with glyphosate. Any remaining sprouting elm suckers and cut trunks need treatment with glyphosate in the late summer/autumn.
At the West end the stony embankment needs hand-weeding. We could try direct- seeding or planting some perennial native grasses into the gaps between stones. There are some bigger weeds among the sedges which need to be dealt with.
The North facing embankment also needs weeding. A patch of brome grass is about to seed and should be weeded before the seed ripens.
Deciduous elm sprouts, larger ash seedlings are best dealt with in late summer/autumn.
Weeds such as olives, scabious, daisy species are growing on the banks adjacent to lawns and are spreading seed into the general seed bank (and also look untidy). Can we find the means to do something about this?