DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
For this project site , marsupial grazing pressure appeared to be a major issue as there was limited vegetation cover across extensive areas of Dunn ’ s paddock . There were strong indications that large numbers of wallabies ( harbouring in dense rubber vine and currant bush ) severely limited effective ground cover and therefore contributed to the erosion process .
The marsupial exclusion fencing demonstrated marsupials could have a dramatic negative impact on erosion . Significant grass cover re-established in the exclosure after the first wet season but this did not occur with livestock only exclusion , even after several wet seasons . As a result of the demonstration of improved ground cover following marsupial and livestock exclusion , the landholder stickraked all dense areas of rubber vine in the project paddock in March 2022 to allow vegetation cover to establish across all the eroded sites ( approximately 25ha ).
A key finding from this project site was the significant impact high numbers of marsupials have on vegetation composition and biomass . This negative impact had seriously impacted erosion processes across a wide area of the project site , including revegetation of two remediated sites . The magnitude of pasture loss from marsupial grazing and its economic and environmental implications is underestimated .
This finding indicates weed management could be an important investment for improving land condition and managing soil loss and some erosion features , where large numbers of marsupials are harbouring in dense weed infestations .
The project demonstrates the benefits of an integrated approach to land management . Habitat manipulation through removal of dense weed infestations has the potential to not only improve the condition of the intervention site , but address total grazing pressure on adjacent sensitive areas such as fertile black soil flats , riparian areas and existing degraded sites . This could be a key action to ensure effective remediation of erosion sites .
The Stomping out Sediment in the Burdekin project was funded by the Australian Government ’ s Reef Trust Phase IV .