14/04/2026
Are Local Governments Now Trying To Find Excuses Not To Plant Critical Cornerstone Species?
Species like marri (Corymbia calophylla) are on the host list, but they are not among the key reproductive drivers of spread.
So the suggestion that we should stop planting marri or other Swan Coastal Plain natives is not supported by the science.
Marri is a keystone species:
• Critical food source for Carnaby’s and Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoos
• Supports a wide range of native biodiversity
• Already under pressure from clearing, fragmentation and climate stress
If anything, this situation highlights the need for greater canopy diversity and continued investment in resilient native ecosystems, not a retreat from them.
Pulling back from planting native species because of PSHB would be a short-term reaction with long-term ecological consequences.
We need to be very careful not to let a complex biosecurity issue be used to justify decisions that further erode our already diminished Swan Coastal Plain canopy.
A local government in Perth’s north is no longer planting a certain native plant species as the number of trees lost to an invasive pest continues to grow.
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