The reproductive ecology and dispersal ability of Australia’s most invasive species of willows is being explored to help land managers control them more efficiently.
Willows are major environmental weeds that obstruct water flow, displace native riverine plant species and increase water temperature.
The study focused on how willows pollinate, how much seed they make and how far the pollen and seed can travel across catchments.
“The results show that over half the pollen and seed is moving more than 15 kilometres between rivers. This high rate of spread suggests that land managers have to act urgently on control efforts across the whole catchment if long-term eradication is going to be effective,” CSIRO researcher Tara Hopley said.
Read more at CSIRO