SER seminar series 

 
 

Dr Noel Preece presents ‘Inoculating the savannas: Distributional patterning of weed species along very extensive transects across contrasting land tenures and disturbance regimes in the NT’, on Friday 16 May from 1-2pm.

Cross-country transects of almost 2,000 km of country in the tropical savannas of the NT revealed patterns of weed distribution which will lead to deep concerns about the future integrity of the savanna vegetation and ecosystems.

Modeling of the distribution of the weeds data showed that weeds distribution was influenced very strongly by land type and disturbance, climate, and infrastructure. In contrast with perceptions of weed distributions from roads, weeds in the survey area were not distributed widely across intact landscapes at present, but the inoculation of the landscape with weeds presents an imminent catastrophic infestation risk between the inoculation paths and sources, with the potential to infest very large tracts of country within a short period.

These findings are consistent with recent research in more northern areas, and suggest that urgent action is required to prevent this catastrophe.

Dr Preece is an adjunct research fellow with the School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University.

This seminar takes place in the main seminar room, Blue 1, Casuarina campus, Charles Darwin University.