Improving regional adoption of weed control: A case study in the NSW Northern and Southern Tablelands

Abstract

This research explored the impediments to adoption of weed control practices amongst private and public land managers, and the potential of collective action programs to overcome these impediments. A case study approach was adopted, involving serrated tussock ('Nassella trichotoma') control in two contrasting grazing regions of NSW, the Northern Tablelands and the Southern Tablelands. Serrated tussock is a Weed of National Significance (WoNS). It threatens many rural and agricultural communities across Australia because of its invasiveness, unpalatability and low nutrient value, which may result in livestock malnutrition and possible death. It is arguably the largest weed threat to productive grazing enterprises and environmental values in these regions. Its invasive potential has been widely appreciated since the early 1980s, from which time drought conditions across southern Australia, lack of resources to dedicate to weed control, and subdivision of land, facilitated rapid spread of the weed (Klepeis et al. 2009). The research will be of most interest to policy makers and organisations involved in designing and implementing community-based programs to improve weed control adoption.