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https://theconversation.com/how-we-created-a-beautiful-native-wildflower-meadow-in-the-heart-of-the-city-using-threatened-grassland-species-240332>
"A city street may seem an unusual place to save species found in critically
endangered grasslands. My new research, though, shows we can use plants from
these ecosystems to create beautiful and biodiverse urban wildflower meadows.
This means cities, too, can support nature repair.
Species-rich grassy ecosystems are some of the most threatened plant
communities on the planet. Occupying easily developed flat land, grassy
ecosystems are routinely sacrificed as our cities expand.
In south-east Australia, the volcanic plains that support Melbourne’s northern
and western suburbs were once grasslands strewn with wildflowers, “resembling a
nobleman’s park on a gigantic scale”, according to early explorer Thomas
Mitchell. But these exceptionally diverse, critically endangered ecosystems
have been reduced to less than 1% of their original area. The few remnants
continue to be lost to urban development and weed invasion.
Unfortunately, efforts to restore the grasslands around Melbourne have had
mixed results. In 2020 the City of Melbourne took matters into its own hands.
Recognising it is possible to enrich the diversity of birds, bats and insects
by providing low-growing native plants, the council set a goal to increase
understorey plants by 20% on the land it manages.
Creating a large native grassland in inner-city Royal Park would help achieve
this goal. Adopting a technique used by wildflower meadow designers, we sowed a
million seeds of more than two dozen species from endangered grasslands around
Melbourne. All but one of these species established in the resulting native
wildflower meadow."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
