Bush regeneration attempts to protect and enhance the floral biodiversity in an area by providing conditions conducive to the recruitment and survival of native plants.
In the early 1960s Joan and Eileen Bradley[1] developed a series of weed control techniques through a process of trial and error.
The process demonstrated that, following a period of consecutive 'follow up' treatments of diminishing time requirement, subsequent maintenance was needed only once or twice a year, mainly in vulnerable spots such as creek banks, roadsides, and clearings, to be maintained weed-free.
Their principles have guided bushcare programs in Australia, although the inclusion of herbicide in modern bush regeneration is a notable deviation from the ideals of the Bradley sisters.
This has led to a range of additional disturbance-based techniques (such as burns and soil disturbance) being included in the regenerator's 'tool kit' in dry forest and grassland areas.
Invasive plant species are often the greatest threat to remnant vegetation,[3] and therefore bush regeneration is closely associated with weed abatement activities.
The original Bradley method of bush regeneration focuses on facilitating native plant recruitment from the seedbank, rather than planting seedlings or sowing seeds, as follows: Weeding a little at a time from the bush towards the weeds takes the pressure off the natives under favourable conditions.