by Kelly Menadue
Environmental Impacts | Management | Further Information
Rubber Vine is a Weed of National
Significance and is regarded as one of the worst weeds found in
northern Australia. This is mainly due to its invasiveness,
potential to rapidly spread and its economic and environmental
impacts.
A native of Madagascar, Rubber Vine (Cryptostegia
grandiflora) was introduced as an ornamental garden plant in
the 1860s, because of its glossy, dark-green leaves, pretty flowers
and attractive venation. Rubber Vine rapidly became a pest,
spreading its seed by wind, floodwaters, and in mud sticking to
animals and machinery. It was also widely planted in the Charters
Towers region of north Queensland during World War II as an
alternative source of rubber production, when supplies from South
East Asia were disrupted. However these plans never came to
fruition, and Rubber Vine today is very dense around this area.
Whilst Rubber Vine is not yet in the Northern Territory it has
the potential to spread and have significant impacts, especially on
the pastoral industry , largely due to loss of grazing country.
Rubber Vine is most commonly found near waterways, woodlands and
rainforests. It is a species of concern as it can rapidly displace
plants and animals that inhabit riparian vegetation and native vine
thickets.
An aggressive climbing woody shrub, the plant can reach a height
of 5 metres in a year, while the tendrils of an established plant
can grow 5 metres in a month. Rubber Vine favours watercourses
where it forms impenetrable thickets, preventing animals from
reaching the water to drink. It can also completely smother native
plant communities and cause soil erosion. It is highly toxic to
stock, though unpalatable.
Rubber Vine control is a continuous, long-term process involving
a combination of mechanical, chemical and biological means. Control
programs need to be an integral part of the land management of
infested areas.
There are numerous control mechanisms currently being used to
control the species in Queensland - fire is one mechanism that has
been found to be both relatively cheap and effective.
Articles
Fire burns out large-scale riparian threat
Rubbervine research in Queensland has shown fire to be an effective control method. From Savanna Links, Issue 22, May - July 2002 [
read more...]
