{"id":9509,"date":"2025-08-06T04:29:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T04:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/?p=9509"},"modified":"2025-09-09T05:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T05:19:09","slug":"removing-turbina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/removing-turbina\/","title":{"rendered":"Removing Turbina to Help Mabi Forest"},"content":{"rendered":"[mk_page_section bg_image=”https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/mt-lewis-rainforest-banner.jpg” bg_position=”center center” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_stretch=”true” enable_3d=”true” min_height=”500″ js_vertical_centered=”true” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” section_id=”donate” el_class=”donate-1″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”70px”][mk_fancy_title font_family=”none” align=”center”]WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT MABI FOREST[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider size=”67″][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section section_id=”great-1″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1563789112768{padding-right: 36px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”great_header_left”][mk_padding_divider size=”100″ visibility=”hidden-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”15″ visibility=”visible-sm”][mk_padding_divider visibility=”visible-tl”][mk_fancy_title size=”28″ letter_spacing=”4″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none” el_class=”terrain-title-2″]Removing Turbina Vine[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider size=”60″ visibility=”hidden-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”20″ visibility=”visible-nb”][vc_column_text el_class=”sub-head” css=”.vc_custom_1754351394766{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]8 AUGUST 2025[\/vc_column_text][mk_padding_divider size=”5″][vc_column_text title=”New Project to remove forest-smothering turbina vine” css=”.vc_custom_1755559708985{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]A campaign is happening on the Atherton Tablelands to remove turbina vine and better protect endangered Mabi forest.<\/p>\n

Landholders and organisations have joined forces to remove the South American vine from more than 50 hectares of Mabi forest over the past month – as part of a bigger Terrain NRM project to protect and restore some of the Wet Tropics\u2019 most threatened forest eco-systems.<\/p>\n

Barron Catchment Care\u2019s Bryony Barnett said turbina could form 20-metre vine towers over native trees, smothering and out-competing the natural vegetation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMabi Forest is confined to North Queensland, mostly on the Atherton Tablelands, and is listed nationally as a critically endangered rainforest ecological community because only small, isolated patches remain,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really need to look after what\u2019s left. This type of rainforest is home to iconic and threatened plants and animals including Lumholtz\u2019s Tree-Kangaroo, and to over 100 bird species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vine removed from 50+ hectares of forest<\/strong><\/p>\n

Terrain NRM has funded Barron Catchment Care to work with landholders and turbina specialists, NQ Land Management Services, on a vine removal project that began last month and will continue until mid-2026.<\/p>\n

NQ Land Management Services\u2019 Geoff Onus said turbina was a \u201csleeper weed\u201d until Cyclone Larry allowed it to take hold in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had removal projects since that have put a big hole in its progress but we now know the seeds can remain viable for about 10 years. In this project, we\u2019ve been working on the edges of forest, and further in, hand-pulling the smaller patches, cutting larger vines at the base and applying herbicide, and blanket spraying larger infestation areas.<\/p>\n

A chance for Mabi Forest to regenerate<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough job, walking and sometimes crawling through the forest in a grid pattern with five metre spacings. But it\u2019s rewarding. There are more infestations than we can tackle through this project but what we are doing here is giving these outlying areas of forest some breathing space, freeing them from vines and giving them a chance to regenerate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landholder Will Cairns has welcomed the project, which follows his own work to remove turbina from a largely rainforest property that he and his partner Andi have owned for four years.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1563789122720{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 34px !important;}” el_class=”great_header_right”][mk_padding_divider size=”206″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_padding_divider size=”50″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_padding_divider size=”50″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_padding_divider size=”5″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1754454506773{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\"\"\u201cThis is a woody vine that can grow to be as thick as your leg, or more, so it\u2019s good to have some help with it,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cNow this work is happening, it\u2019s important to have buy-in from everyone, to try and stop turbina\u2019s spread into rare and endangered habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working on six properties<\/strong><\/p>\n

The work is happening on six private properties in the Atherton-Yungaburra region and on council land at Picnic Crossing Reserve. It complements removal work on national park land as part of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service operations.<\/p>\n

Terrain NRM\u2019s Tony O\u2019Malley said the Mabi Action Group had met last year to discuss Mabi Forest values and threats, with turbina control emerging as the priority.<\/p>\n

He said the Forest Resilience project was funding weed and pest control, fire management, wildlife-friendly fencing, revegetation and conservation agreements in four threatened ecological communities in the Wet Tropics region \u2013 Mabi forest, lowland rainforest, littoral rainforest and broad leaf tea-tree woodlands \u2013 and in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest uplands.<\/p>\n

Support for 20 Forest Resilience projects across the Wet Tropics<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTerrain NRM is currently supporting 20 of these Forest Resilience projects across the region. Groups are working together to restore threatened ecosystems which, in turn, improve habitat for threatened species.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Forest Resilience project is funded by the Australian Government\u2019s Saving Native Species program. This project is in the Threatened Species Action Plan\u2019s Eastern forests of Far North Queensland priority place.<\/p>\n

If you have identified Turbina vine on your property and would like advice on how best to manage it, get in touch with Barron Catchment Care by emailing coordinator@barronrivercatchment.org.au<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section el_class=”grean-btn-sec” sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][mk_padding_divider size=”47″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_button dimension=”outline” url=”https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/?p=9509&preview=true” align=”right” el_class=”green-btn” outline_skin=”custom” outline_active_color=”#175137″ outline_active_text_color=”#ffffff” outline_hover_bg_color=”#175137″ outline_hover_color=”#ffffff”]Read More[\/mk_button][mk_padding_divider size=”100″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section section_id=”great-1-blog” sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][mk_padding_divider size=”105″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_fancy_title size=”28″ letter_spacing=”4″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none” align=”right” el_class=”terrain-title”]RELATED NEWS[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider visibility=”hidden-sm”][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][vc_row fullwidth=”true” fullwidth_content=”false” id=”post_grid_filter_1″][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”grid_greate_3″ css=”.vc_custom_1743711316392{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\n

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