Inaugural Study Award Winner Gains PhD
Congratulations to our inaugural Quinovic/Coastal Restoration Trust Study Award recipient Susanne Krejcek on recently being awarded a PhD for her research;
“Direct and indirect interactions of native and introduced species in coastal habitats”.
One of the challenges of dune restoration projects is increasing the survival percentages of spinifex plantings, particularly in exposed locations and where an existing cover of exotic species (such as marram) is extensive. With this in mind one of the research questions of Susanne’s study was; is an existing cover of marram grass useful in assisting the establishment of native sand binders (via facilitation) or does it prevent establishment of spinifex (via competition)? Included in this research question was to discover whether it’s better to plant spinifex amongst dead herbicide-sprayed marram grass or live marram grass.
Susanne found that spayed (dead) marram is a better facilitator for spinifex growth than live marram, especially on the seaward part of the foredune. However, self-colonising weed species were also facilitated by sprayed marram, so for restoration plantings it is only recommended to plant into dead marram if the site is not weed prone as weeds were facilitated in the same way as spinifex and in some instances appeared to hinder spinifex growth. Susanne also concluded that for a successful conversion from marram to spinifex, it’s important that the initial density of marram grass is not too high prior to spraying as lower densities of dead marram allow for better spinifex growth.
The Coastal Restoration Trust would like to thank Susanne for her very valuable contribution in adding to the science behind dune restoration and we wish Dr Krejcek all the very best for her future endeavours.
You can see a full copy of Susanne’s PhD thesis at:
Posted: 29 August 2014 in the Flora & Fauna category