Bladder Saltbush (Atriplex vesicaria Heward Ex Benth) Regeneration on the Riverine Plain of South-Eastern Australia since 1983

This study reviews the distribution of healthy bladder saltbush on the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia towards the end of 1986, as well as the characteristics of regeneration following the saltbush dieback of 1977-83. The area of bladder saltbush increased by 53 per cent, from 0.53 to 0.81 million ha, in the period 1983-86. A further 0.32 million ha, which previously supported saltbush, failed to regenerate. Variations in the pattern and progress of regeneration were closely related to variations in soil type and the effects of pre- and post-dieback grazing. Although the cause of dieback remains unknown, it would appear that much of the decline in the distribution of bladder saltbush could be attributed to post-dieback mismanagement of affected stands.