Some notes on negative impacts of "ecological restoration" observed and experienced
Restoration and conservation are the most delightful undertakings imaginable. It gives the utmost joy to pass the hours in a place of great beauty or great potential, using one's wits and body to work towards an increase in the good things one sees or has seen, and to reduce the bad things.
The outcome, however, is not always what we envisaged. It takes several years, sometimes twenty, to assess the full impact of people coming into a natural area, and the flow-on effects of increased numan activity, however well-intentioned or appreciative of the surroundings.
My experience and observation suggest weed control will result in loss of native species and habitat unless it is slow, careful and based on:
a) thorough plant identification and assessment of actual and future impact of weeds both positive and negative
b) careful staging of weed reduction
c) knowledge of manual techniques necessary to avoid chemical contamination of soil, plants, fauna incl. freshwater life and land invertebrates
(Google the effects of the breakdown products of poisons, not just the poisons themselves, some of which reportedly break down quickly in soil. water etc. The breakdown products of some popular herbicides are mobile in soil and water, and have been reported to be taken up by other plants and organisms over far greater area; in fact the extent of uptake appears to be unknown).
Any proposals to make or "upgrade" public access, paths etc, or to address weed invasion, must be met with vigorous scrutiny and undertakings to
a) provide a non-destructive surface (ie no loose metal or plastic)
b) clearly and actively prohibit channelling of water off the land into waterways or reticulation, (eg by rutting of trodden clay without organic swale above it, or by piping of runoff into the stream or reticulation to elsewhere)
c) avoid increased runoff due to removal of weeds without replacement ground cover, rearranging forest floor debris or other vegetation; instead, ensure retention of even small amounts of debris, by placing sticks, fallen fern fronds etc transversely across slopes, directing the path of droplets across the slope instead of downhill, allowing time for more water to be absorbed before running off.
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