Invasion of the McPines!

Turkey Tangential, by Spencer Shaw of Brush Turkey Enterprises
INVASION of the McPINES!
My weedy story for today is about a group of trees that are the McDonalds of the weed world. They are big, all look the same, represent large commercial interests, are American in origin and of course have little or no nutritional value! They are a group of weeds that dominate our roadsides, invade heathlands and woodlands, change soil fertility and produce clouds of pollen with potential health risks. They are a group of weeds that I’m ashamed to admit I’d stopped even noticing, because they are so prolific. The trees are, of course, the exotic Pines, primarily Slash Pine (Pinus elliotii) and Pine (Pinus carrabea). The McPines!Their introduction around the middle of the last century by the Forestry Department saw massive areas of previously untouched native coastal vegetation cleared to establish plantations for timber and for pulp. Exotic pine trees were selected for their standard uniform growth and for the speed with which they grow and seen as the ideal plantation tree by the Queensland Forestry Department. Unfortunately they are so well adapted to growing in South East Queensland that they have since become weeds, and leapt out of their plantations and have invaded the remaining native vegetation.  These American Pines thrive in our sclerophyll ecosystems and are rated very highly in my list of dangerous weeds, as they can establish in relatively undisturbed natural ecosystems. Surprisingly however Pinus are rarely mentioned for the damage they are causing to our local native ecosystems. Unlike the Camphor Laurel (a high profile weed that mainly invades country that has already been cleared of its native vegetation) Pinus trees invade undisturbed native vegetation and yet are rarely mentioned. Pinus elliotii comes in at only 44 on the QLD herbariums top 200 most invasive naturalized plants in SEQ, in spite of the fact that it has escaped enmasse from the large plantation estates throughout SEQ. Whether it be complacency (from the fact that several generations of Sunshine Coast residents have grown up with pine plantations being part of their landscape) or from the State Governments “head in the sand” attitude and unwillingness to accept responsibility when it come to the issue of escapee pines, little action is taking place with this major weed problem. I have no argument with the commercial reality of pine plantations; however the cost of growing these trees should include the cost of controlling their wayward offspring. That old Aussie saying about the American soldiers present in Australia during WWII, of them being “Over paid, Over sexed and Over here!” could certainly apply to these American Pines. The full costs of growing Pinus trees, including their management as a weed in the coastal areas of SEQ has to be recognised or in 200 years Pinus forests will dominate from just north of Brisbane to Hervey Bay. A monocultural, monopoly of monstrous magnitude!
On a slightly more positive note I’ve recently been fortunate to work with my team at a small National Park in Beerwah on a Pinus control project initiated by our local National Parks Office. Pinus trees are a very rewarding weed to work with as they are easy to cut and fell and require no herbicides to kill them. They only require cutting below their lowest branches. The main tools we use to control them are brushcutters fitted with chainsaw tooth blades. If the Pinus are growing amongst existing native vegetation a few hours work can see a weed dominated landscape quickly transformed by revealing and liberating the native vegetation. However, the eye opening part of this work for me has been the drive home. Pinus are everywhere!  And the problem is just getting worse.Pinus species produce heavy shade and masses of pine needle mulch that suppresses the growth of existing native vegetation; they also change soil fertility and increase the acidity of the soil. Pinus seed are mainly wind dispersed but some wildlife dispersal occurs with Cockatoos carrying cones to extract their seed. In the areas we were clearing of the Pinus recently, they appeared to be wind dispersed into the heathland areas as they occurred in a fairly standard band of up to 40 metres from the edge within these areas. However in the woodland areas where there are perching opportunities for large birds, the occurrence of Pinus saplings was of a more random nature and scattered up to several hundred metres from the nearest seed sources. This significantly increases their ability to invade native forest and requires us to be vigilant, thorough and persistent in their control.  The most effective way can treat and control these weeds is through awareness. We have to remind the managers of the Pinus plantations of their responsibility with this weedy issue. Just like we accept the cost of controlling pollution as a cost to be absorbed by industry, we must include the costs of controlling and managing the detrimental effects of exotic plants and animals as part of their cost of production