Environmental Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522. The re-vegetation of closed landfill sites is an increasing concern as the amount of land involved and the value of that land increases. If successful revegetation is possible then these degraded sites provide an excellent opportunity for the establishment of native plant communities in the middle of urban sprawl. Due to compaction and poor quality soil materials, vegetation growth can be limited.
Soil moisture is typically low, due to low organic matter, exposed conditions and low permeability.
To test the importance of soil moisture, watering and mulching treatments were applied to 10 replicate plots seeded with 12 native species at two landfill sites in Western Sydney. After six months, germination occurred in just six of these species. Large variations in germination were found between and within the two sites. For many species, neither watering or mulching had a significant effect on seedling numbers. From these initial results, the use of mulch or water would not improve the success of a re-vegetation program using native species.