Should Native Pastures Be Fertilised?

Considerable research has been conducted in recent years demonstrating the ongoing benefits of phosphorus (P) fertiliser in achieving and maintaining higher levels of production from native pastures (Graham 2006; Garden et al. 2003; Lodge et al. 2003; Michalk et al. 2003). However Garden et al. (2003), Hill et al. (2004) and Dorrough et al. (2008) all question the sustainability of this practice by highlighting changes in species composition of these pastures with regard to increasing the introduced annual grass and broadleaf weed components at the expense of the native grasses and forbs but in most cases, these trends have been based on short term replicated data or based on qualitative survey data incapable of establishing causal relationships. In the Monaro region of NSW, 70% of pastures are based on native species and are the cornerstone of livestock production. The Monaro Research, Development and Demonstration of Sustainable Grassland Management Project (MGP) was designed to determine if productivity could be increased without compromising the composition and bio-diversity values of these pastures