Spatial Dynamics of Invasive Para Grass on a Monsoonal Floodplain, Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia

Invasive African para grass (Urochloa mutica) significantly displaces ecologically and culturally significant native species, such as wild rice, in Kakadu National Park's monsoonal floodplains. A multi-scale analysis revealed that while para grass frequently invades wild rice communities, its establishment and persistence vary greatly with depth-habitat conditions and recent fire histories. This dynamic pattern, previously undocumented, offers opportunities for targeted management to preserve high-value conservation areas. The study used high-resolution satellite imagery, historical aerial-photo mapping, and machine-learning techniques to track inter-annual changes from 1986 to 2010.

Boyden, J., Wurm, P., Joyce, K. E., & Boggs, G. (2019). Spatial Dynamics of Invasive Para Grass on a Monsoonal Floodplain, Kakadu National Park, Northern Australia. Remote Sensing, 11(18), 2090. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11182090