Gamba Grass

 

Characteristics

Gamba Grass grows in dense patches that are as tall as four metres. It often has a white midrib, and the leaves grow to thirty centimetres long and two centimetres wide.

 

Impacts

Gamba Grass (Andropogon gayanus) is a noxious pest that out-competes native grasses by growing in dense patches. Gamba Grass was introduced to Australia's Top End in the 1930’s to feed cattle. That did not go to plan, once the grass started to spread, it was unstoppable because it had adapted so well to Australia’s landscape.

 

Native grasses burn at around 350˚C but Gamba Grass burns at just over 1000˚C, which kills plants like Cycads because it is too hot for them to survive. The heat is so immense that it can spread across roads. This happens in the Dry Season in the Northern Territory because it dries up after growing prolifically in the Wet Season.

 

Another problem with Gamba Grass was that it didn’t have enough nutrients for the cattle so they ate heaps of it but it didn’t really benefit them. Gamba Grass also burns so hot because it takes out twice as much nitrogen out of the ground than other native grasses, so the more nitrogen it takes up, the hotter the fire will be.