Weeds
Weeds have been a problem on a national scale in Australia since prickly pear engulfed large tracts of land in the nineteenth century, forcing many farmers off their land.
Since then the list of invasive alien plants in Australia has grown to more than 2700, a figure that climbs by at least 10 new species every year.
Weeds are a big problem for both our economy and our natural environment.
The damage bill faced by Australian agriculture has been put at $4 billion a year. That cost includes weed control, production losses, and contamination of agricultural products.
Weeds can ultimately be as destructive as land clearing – displacing and threatening native species and transforming ecosystems. Invasive pasture grasses that kill trees by fuelling fires can be especially destructive.
A NSW study found that almost half of that state’s threatened species and the majority of endangered ecological communities are threatened by weed invasion.
Yet despite their threat, most invasive plants in Australia are not regulated and continue to be planted and introduced to new areas.
With more cyclones, droughts, fires and floods under climate change, and native species under stress, weed invasions are likely to get much worse.
ISC advocates a much stronger focus on prevention as many of Australia’s weeds are in a very early stage of invasion or not yet spreading.
