Alpine Environment Protected by Wildcare Grant - Mount Mawson Feb 2016
A Wildcare grant of $1846 was received by the Friends of
Mount Field in June 2015 for laying
out and pinning of approximately 700 sqm of shadecloth on an alpine area to be
revegetated. This area is at the Mt
Mawson ski tow in Mount Field National Park, which had undergone earthworks some
two years previously. The area had been
sown with some success and covered in a loose hessian. Naturally growth is slow at this 1200m
altitude and animal grazing was also taking a toll on the herbs and grasses.
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Adrian in the kneeling approach to the work
with Greg at the top
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Alpine revegetation
experts have reviewed the area and recommended covering with 70% shadecloth, which assists with regeneration
success in alpine areas. This stemmed from a study in the Australian
alps starting in 2003 and can be found at
this link and is titled “Post-fire
experimental trials of vegetation restoration techniques in the peatlands of
Namadgi (ACT) and Kosciuszko National Parks (NSW), Australia” published in the
ANU journal series Terra Australis.
Before the cloth could be put down winter snow had arrived
and then two subsequent attempts were thwarted by the weather; one from gale
force winds and the other because Parks staff were required to tackle the
bushfire emergency. Finally, everything
aligned and the work was able to go ahead.
On a warming day we managed to lay in all and finished up by early
afternoon. Even as we left Mount Mawson the conditions were quite pleasant but
it was quite a contrast on arriving down at the visitor centre where it felt
quite hot. The temperature in the upper
Derwent Valley reached 34 but it had been far cooler up top.
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Some of the crew Trevor, Greg, Adrian,
Lynda and Peter
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