Site 3: Leys Road, Lexton (issue: biodiversity)

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Landscape

Drive north along Leys Road from the Talbot Road. Travel for 700 metres, then pull over where the road sweeps to the left. Leave your car and walk into the area beside the road where there is bushland.

There are four vegetation levels in this bush community (canopy, understorey, grasses, shrubs and groundcovers), two insect levels (above and below ground) and the vertebrates (birds and animals). What is important about them all is that they interact, each has a key role to play in the function of the whole. Indeed if even the tiniest insect was missing the area would not be a whole.

Trees that you may see include: Long Leaf Box (Eucalyptus goniocalyx), Red Box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos)
Shrubs include: Golden Wattle (Acacia pycantha), Gold Dust Wattle (Acacia acinacea), Hedge Wattle (Acacia paradoxa), Slender Bitter-Pea (Davesia virgata), Gorse Bitter Pea (Davesia ulicifolia)
Grasses include: Tussock Grass (Poa labillardieri), Common Wallaby Grass (Danthonia caespitosa)

Issues

1. Regeneration. To maintain any area, regeneration of the plant species and breeding by animal, bird and insect populations is crucial. Areas like this are not static - they change over time. Look around to see the different levels (sizes) of the same plant types, look for evidence of flowers and fruit on plants.
2. Genetic influx. Such an area if isolated would soon decline. It is important to have links to other vegetation areas - providing corridors for birds and animals to move.

Long Term Objectives

From this area we have the ability to collect and propagate a range of plants that are common to this type of country. The seed source here can be used to provide understorey plants in particular to other areas of the Landcare Group.

For the area itself we need to continue working on links from it to other areas in the vicinity to strengthen the flow of genetics. Some level of grazing and an infrequent burn are management tools that need to be formulated to encourage regeneration.

The longer-term plan for this site is to establish an inventory of species present, continue collecting material for propagation in other areas and the introduction of management techniques to enhance regeneration.