Parklands Albury Wodonga Rangers have been beavering away during the summer heat, working along the Kiewa River to remove the invasive black willow trees. Rangers utilised methods such as ringbarking to remove these trees along the river frontages.

This particular species of willow is extremely invasive – five black willow seedlings can multiply, quickly becoming 50 the next summer and 500 the following year. If left unchecked, these populations will form monocultures that will choke out other plants including our natives which will reduce biodiversity along the river. This in turn will lead to population crashes of fish, birds, mammals, and plants as black willows reduce the amount of food available in the complex ecosystem of the Kiewa River.

To track this project, Parklands Albury Wodonga has conducted ground surveys to map out the physical location of these willows to give insight into their colonisation patterns and physical distribution as well as highlighting which areas need more attention than others. See below for an example:

This allows for land managers such as Parklands Albury Wodonga to make strategic decisions on how to tackle the black willow problem along the Kiewa.

Thank you to the North East Catchment Management Authority for their financial support through the Lower Kiewa River Stewardship Program.