Rain brings return of native grasses to Quorn

Posted 27 November 2020.

A group of keen Quorn locals went on the hunt for native grasses and plants during spring, in a walk organised by the Quorn Community Landcare Group and assisted by the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board’s Community Ecologist Ben McCallum.

The group found about 10 different native grasses around the town’s parklands, along with some flowering native herbs.

The Knotty Spear-grass (Austrostipa nodosa) pictured, is one of many spear grasses in the town’s reserves andwhile fairly common, it is no less important than others, but does prefer clay soils.

“Native grasses are an important piece of a recovering ecosystem recovery and one of the first species to come back, along with saltbushes after rain” Ben said.

Also returning after the rain were the pretty flowered native herbs like Goodenia and Teucrium. Ben said the soil at the reserve would allow more species to return when the organic matter, bacteria and Mycorrhizal fungi rebuilds.

He talked about an example where Adelaide City Council planned a scrape site at Victoria Park nearly 10 years ago. Five years later a native grass reappeared which was believed to be extinct from the area.