Project Description
Grassland Resurrection – Connecting Knowledge, Research & Management Forum
8 May, 2026. Fitzroy Town Hall, Melbourne, Victoria
Abstract
Grasslands occur all over the globe, in a wide range of ecological and cultural contexts. Despite their diversity, most grasslands share some basic features, such as soil fertility, the presence of certain key plant families, and long histories of human use. These features explain some of the persistent difficulties that confront grassland managers. This talk will introduce the variety of grasslands found globally, and the impressive diversity of grasslands within Victoria. It will describe the common features that define Victorian grassland systems, and their management, and set the scene for further discussion.
Presenter Bio
Dr Steve Sinclair Senior Scientist, Plant Ecology Arthur Rylah Institute Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action Steve has been fascinated by plants since childhood. He studied plant physiology at Monash University, and has worked as a plant ecologist at the Arthur Rylah Institute (ARI) since 2003. At ARI, Steve has conducted field work across Victoria, and led numerous projects, mostly focussed on vegetation mapping, understanding how to measure ecological condition, monitoring ecological change and modelling ecosystem dynamics.
Questions from the Forum
Do you think our efforts towards grassland seed supply should be focused on planted seed orchards, nursery stock or harvesting from the wild?
All of these techniques have their place, and the answer is likely to be different for different species. Each species differs in being more or less common in the wild (some grasses are abundant enough to sustain wild harvest; most other species are now too rare). They also differ in how well they perform in different contexts (most forbs produce more seeds in nursery conditions), and the quantities of that seed will be needed for restoration (grasses are likely to be needed in larger quantity than forbs, because they are the ‘backbone’ of the grassland ecosystem.
How do our grasslands compare to the rest of the world? Are we doing okay?
As outlined in the presentation, our grasslands have some characteristics that make them very susceptible to degradation, and particularly difficult to manage. Given this, many of our grasslands are in a more degraded state than some other grasslands such as the Asian steppes. However, ours are not the only grasslands in trouble: For example, the prairies in America have also suffered substantial declines. Also, the story is not uniform and we have some wonderfully intact grasslands in places.
We are undertaking a range of initiatives to support our valuable grasslands. For example, the Melbourne Strategic Assessment Program invests in the protection and management of important grasslands across Melbourne. This includes working with partners to establish, restore and manage the 15,000‑hectare Western Grassland Reserve.
Is there any way of finding out whether a site was treed pre-colonisation? E.g where you have patches of woodlands amongst open grasslands/paddocks?
Sometimes. The evidence differs between regions, and pre-colonial patterns can be reconstructed very accurately in some areas, but less well in others.
There are four kinds of evidence:
- Old survey plans, which often mention which trees are present on specific properties and use marked trees to position lot corners
- Early images such as drawings, paintings and photographs
- Written descriptions by travellers and diarists
- Relict trees that remain in the current landscape (dead or alive, e.g. Drooping she oak can be identified by timber characteristics of dead trees).
These lines of evidence can be used to reconstruct patterns, particularly if they are interpreted alongside soil patterns and terrain, and with the aid of robust modelling approaches.
This is a grassland conference, but was curious if the panel thinks that some grassland management techniques carry over well to grassy woodlands?
Many techniques apply to both. Both systems are relatively fertile and may support similar species of natives and weeds in their understorey vegetation. So, for example, many weed control techniques, such as choices of herbicide, apply to both.
Some techniques must differ. For example, woodlands may support old trees which are susceptible to collapse if they catch fire, and this consideration applies to fire management in woodlands but not grasslands.
If you find a small block of remnant grassland intermixed with weeds. What should you do first to help bring it back to a more natural state?
First, it is necessary to find out what species are present, by conducting an initial survey / inventory. The appropriate action will depend on the types of weeds present, their abundance, and the condition of the remaining grassland. For example, a high-quality grassland with a few annual weeds may require a very different response to the same grassland with patches of invasive perennial weeds. One common approach that is often considered appropriate is to burn the grassland to clear out excess biomass and expose the individual tussocks and then apply herbicide to re-growing weeds.
When did grassland species disperse across the globe …and from where? Seems a puzzle that they have similar families and sometimes even genera. Were they pre-Gondwanan?
Grasslands have evolved gradually, over approximately100 million years. There are two main mechanisms that can explain the similarity of genera across the world’s grasslands:
- Grasslands have expanded and contracted regionally, as the Earth’s climate has changed, such that there were periods of time when some grassland areas were once joined, that are no longer joined today
- Plants can occasionally achieve very long-distance dispersal, for example by wind-blown seeds or seeds that travel with birds.
These mechanisms do not need to happen very often, and there has been a long time for rare events to occur. Once a species is present in an area it may take hold and persist, and over evolutionary time, new local species may form which are unique to an area but have relatives elsewhere.
Steve, what is the evolutionary/geographic history behind grasslands with similar genera and families globally, including Australia? When and how did they disperse?
See answer to question 6 above.
What mapping/modelling software would you all recommend for grasslands?
This depends on the question or application you have in mind, and whether you have a budget for software purchase. There are freely available GIS programs to download, with active online support communities.
Are there native grassland plants that don’t like fire?
There are very few. Most grassland plants tolerate fire by re-sprouting. A few species may experience some elevated rate of mortality after very hot fires (even some native grasses), or fires which occur at very vulnerable stages in the growth cycle, such as the production of new shoots.
Given herding grazing mammals are a natural part of grasslands…how should we be responding to growing calls to cull kangaroos that are seemingly out of balance?
This question involves several value judgements: i.e. what values do we want to protect? How much ‘damage’ or modification from kangaroo grazing will we accept before we choose to act? And, what is our tolerance for culling, given animal welfare concerns and cultural matters? It is also a matter of monitoring — both the kangaroo population and the vegetation. There is no single answer — each situation must be considered on its merits.
Should we be promoting hard hooved animals in our management?
Usually not, because many features of native grasslands can be damaged by hooved animals (such as grazing sensitive plant species, and soil structure). This is particularly the case for more intact grasslands. However, there are many situations where grasslands have been managed for many decades using grazing, and what remains are those parts of the grassland system which are tolerant of grazing. To maintain these, and avoid risking unwanted changes, it may sometimes be advised to continue a grazing regime. If this is the case, it is often recommended to shift away from set stocking (where animals have the time to graze out preferred species) and move towards rotational, cell or pulse grazing (where stock are on for a short time, and have little time to explore the paddock and concentrate their activities; more closely mimicking a fire).
