Abstract
Many vegetation restoration works have been undertaken in Australia but only a few of those projects have been assessed for effectiveness. Revisiting earlier restoration attempts and analysing data from them is fundamental to the development of evidence-based prescriptions for future restoration work. Therefore, this study's objectives were to (I) compare plant species composition of different age direct-seeded revegetated sites and (II) determine the effect, if any, of different ages of revegetated sites on the natural recruitment of native plants. The study investigated four fenced restoration sites, dating from 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Results showed that the density of plants surviving varied widely between plots of different ages. The highest density was found in the 2001 plot (2195·.7 stems ha−1), followed by 2000 (1877·8 stems ha−1), 2004 (197·6 stems ha−1) and 2005 (195·4 stems ha−1). An ANOVA showed that the overall amount of seed broadcast does not play a significant (p = 0·437) role in the establishment rate. Overall, Eucalyptus ovata was found to be dominant in the 2000 (794·4 ha−1) and 2001 (971 ha−1) sites. In contrast, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus viminalis densities were highest in the 2004 (41 ha−1) and 2005 (60·4 ha−1) sites, respectively. PERMANOVA showed highly significant differences in the present plant composition between plots (p < 0·0001), despite similar species mixes used in sowing. Recruitment was not found in any of the sites. The least weed cover and the highest litter cover were found in the 2001 plot. A similar trend was found in the 2000 plot. In contrast, high weed cover and low litter cover were found in the 2004 and 2005 plots. Since one of the major impediments to developing better restoration strategies is the inadequate documentation of past practices, studies such as these may shed some light on how the direct-seeded technique operates in a farm situation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
