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  6. Invasive pasture grasses in northern Australia - Gamba grass

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    • Buffel grass
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Invasive pasture grasses in northern Australia - Gamba grass

THREAT ABATEMENT ADVICE FOR A KEY THREATENING PROCESS

This material has been developed based on the best available information at the time of development (September 2014).

To provide information updates please email: weeds@environment.gov.au

Gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus)

Gamba grass was first introduced to the Northern Territory in 1931 for testing as a pasture grass. In 1942, it was introduced to Queensland, but large-scale planting only began around 1983. It has naturalised in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia, in the northern parts of the Northern Territory, and in coastal and sub-coastal areas of North Queensland.

Gamba grass under state and territory legislation

Gamba grass is a Weed of National Significance and it is also a declared weed throughout northern Australia.

Under Western Australia’s Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007, it is a prohibited plant under section 12. It has been placed in the C2 control category. It must be eradicated if it is in low enough numbers or in sufficiently limited areas that eradication is still feasible.

Under the Northern Territory’s Weeds Management Act 2001, further introductions of the species into the Northern Territory are prohibited and populations must be managed according to the declaration zone in which they occur. Areas which have isolated and low density gamba grass populations have been classified as the Class A/C Zone. In these areas the species is to be eradicated in all areas of the Northern Territory except where it is classified as Class B. Widely distributed and dense gamba grass infestations are within the Class B/C Zone. In these areas land managers must control its growth and prevent spread as detailed in the weed management plan for gamba grass.

Under Queensland’s Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002, gamba grass is a declared Class 2 pest – land managers must take reasonable steps to keep land free of the species and it is an offence to introduce, keep or supply the species without a permit.

Priority actions/research (recent or underway)

  • As a result of the 2013 review of weed management operations for gamba grass in the Northern Territory, the government has increased the eradication zone (Class A/C) to include four large areas of land formerly in the management zone (Class B/C).
  • Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Officers are conducting awareness and extension activities by advising land holders of the presence of gamba grass when undertaking ‘permit to burn’ inspections.
  • The Northern Territory Government has developed a gamba grass webpage.
  • The Northern Territory Government periodically runs the Gamba Grass Assistance Program which includes equipment loans and free herbicide to control gamba grass.
  • Kakadu National Park aims to keep free of new infestations of gamba grass and to eradicate some existing limited known infestations.
  • Gamba grass was declared a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) in 2012. A WoNS coordinator for gamba grass was funded until the end of June 2013. The coordinator prepared the Weeds of National Significance Gamba Grass (Andropogon gayanus) Strategic Plan 2012–2017.
  • Reducing the impact of tropical grassy weeds through effective risk management, S. Setterfield et al. (2011–12), RIRDC National Weeds and Productivity Research Program. This project focused on the Darwin/Daly region of the Northern Territory, which is a nationally significant area with high biodiversity and cultural values. It commenced development of a strategic planning framework to prioritise gamba grass management. This decision-making tool continued to be developed within the National Environmental Research Program (NERP), with application to multiple weeds and additional regions.
  • Gamba Grass Effects on Savanna Carbon and Fire, Setterfield S, Hutley L, Rossiter-Rachor N, Douglas M, Adams V, Richards A, National Environmental Research Program (NERP) North Australia Hub. The approach of this project will compare impacts of gamba grass invasion on carbon stocks, fire risk, biodiversity, and other assets, and integrate these results into a decision-support tool to determine the optimal control strategy to maintain savanna carbon stores and other assets.
  • Managing flammable high biomass grassy weeds, Setterfield S, Hutley L, Rossiter-Rachor N, Meier S, Douglas M, Bushfires and Natural Hazards CRC (commencing 2015). This project will assess the likelihood and magnitude of risk of high biomass invasive grasses to fire regimes in the tropical savanna region and provide critical information for Government policy and planning, particularly prioritisation of weed risk for fire-regime changing species, and for fire management planning.
  • National Environmental Research Program (NERP) researchers continue to work with Northern Territory and Queensland government agencies to improve understanding of the distribution, impacts and management of the five grasses. Current work includes developing decision support tools that better incorporate economic assessments of management costs and modelling the potential future spread of invasive grasses.

Resources

GAMBA GRASS PLANS AND GUIDES
Title or description Author Date Details

Threat abatement plan to reduce the impacts on northern Australia’s biodiversity by the five listed grasses

Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

2012

Priority actions to manage the five species of invasive grasses

Background: Threat abatement plan to reduce the impacts on northern Australia's biodiversity by the five listed grasses

Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

2012

Information on each of the five species of invasive grasses

Weeds of National Significance Gamba Grass (Andropogon gayanus) Strategic Plan 2012–2017

Australian Weeds Committee

2013

 

Weed management plan for gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) 2014

Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management

2014

 

Gamba grass management guide

Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management

 

 

Gamba grass weed management guide

Queensland Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

2011

 

GAMBA GRASS RESEARCH
Title or description Author Date Details

Exotic grass invasions: Applying a conceptual framework to the dynamics of degradation and restoration in Australia’s tropical savannas

Brooks KJ, Setterfield SA and Douglas MM

2010

Restoration Ecology, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 188–197

Pest plant risk assessment: Gamba grass Andropogon gayanus

Csurhes S and Hannan-Jones M

2008

Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries

Gamba grass in the NT: A summary of current knowledge

Northern Territory Government Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport

2008

 

Africanising the tropical woodlands: Canopy loss and tree death following gamba grass Andropogon gayanus invasion

Ferdinands K, Douglas MM, Setterfield SA and Barratt JL

2006

Preston C, Watts JH and Crossman ND (eds), Proceedings of the 15th Australian Weeds Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, p. 296

Seedling recruitment of the exotic grass Andropogon gayanus (Poaceae) in northern Australia

Flores TA, Setterfield SA and Douglas MM

2005

Australian Journal of Botany, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 243–249

Pest or pasture? Introduced pasture grasses in the Northern Territory

Grace BS, Gardener MR and Cameron AG

2004

Sindel BM and Johnson SB (eds), Proceedings of the 14th Australian Weeds Conference, Wagga Wagga, NSW, pp. 157–160

The extent of mission grasses and gamba grass in the Darwin region of Australia’s Northern Territory

Kean L and Price O

2003

Pacific Conservation Biology, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 281–290

Inferring habitat suitability and spread patterns from large-scale distributions of an exotic invasive pasture grass in north Australia

Petty AM, Setterfield S, Ferdinands K and Barrow P

2012

Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 49, pp. 742–752

Exotic grass invasion in the tropical savanna of northern Australia: ecosystem consequences

Rossiter N, Setterfield S, Douglas M, Hutley L and Cook G

2004

Sindel BM and Johnson SB (eds), Proceedings of the 14th Australian Weeds Conference, Wagga Wagga, NSW, pp. 168–171

Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion increases fire-mediated nitrogen losses in the tropical savannas of northern Australia

Rossiter-Rachor NA, Setterfield SA, Douglas MM, Hutley LB and Cook GD

2008

Ecosystems, vol. 11, pp. 77–88

Seed bank dynamics of two exotic grass species in Australia’s northern savannas

Setterfield SA, Bellairs S, Douglas MM and Calnan T

2004

Sindel BM and Johnson SB (eds), Proceedings of the 14th Australian Weeds Conference, Wagga Wagga, NSW, pp. 555–557

Effects of canopy cover and ground disturbance on establishment of an invasive grass in an Australian savanna

Setterfield SA, Douglas MM, Hutley LB and Welch MA

2005

Biotropica, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 25–31

Turning up the heat: the impacts of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion on fire behaviour in northern Australian savannas

Setterfield SA, Rossiter-Rachor NA, Hutley LB, Douglas MM and Williams RJ

2010

Diversity and Distributions, vol. 16 pp. 854–861

Protecting new markets: quantifying the risks to new carbon markets from invasive species and prioritising areas for immediate action

Adams V and Setterfield SA

2014

19th Australasian Weed Conference, Hobart, September 2014

The impacts of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion on the fire danger index and fire management at a landscape scale

Setterfield SA, Rossiter-Rachor N, Douglas MM, McMaster D, Adams V and Ferdinands K

2014

19th Australasian Weed Conference, Hobart, September 2014

Adding fuel to the fire: the impacts of non-native grass invasion on fire management at a regional scale

Setterfield SA, Rossiter-Rachor NA, Douglas MM, Wainger L, Petty A M, Barrow P, Shepherd IJ and Ferdinands KB

2013

PLoS One 8

GAMBA GRASS WEB RESOURCES
Title or description Author Date Details

Further information about the biology, distribution and impacts of gamba grass

Australian Government Department of the Environment

2013

Weeds in Australia website

Gamba grass management webpage

Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management

2014

Northern Territory Government website

Gamba grass identification resource

Australian Weeds Committee

 

Weeds Australia website

Gamba grass Weeds of National Significance page

Australian Weeds Committee

 

Weeds Australia website

Gamba grass declaration zones map

Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management

 

 

Gamba grass weed note

Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management

 

 

Gamba grass photo identification table

Northern Territory Government Department of Land Resource Management

2013

 

Declared plants of Queensland

Queensland Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

2013

 

Gamba grass fact sheet

Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

2014

 

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Last updated: 10 October 2021

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