Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC)—Grass Management Program 2016 – Current

During 2016-2017 the IVM Group was engaged by Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) to develop a trial IVM program for the management of mown vegetation. The main aims of this project were to reduce the frequency of mowing and the biomass of grass clippings, whilst maintaining conformance of the vegetation within specifications.

Following the success of the trial, the first phase of the IVM Program was implemented during the 2018-2019 growing season. The program has now been successfully running for 4 years. The Program initially included a comprehensive airside vegetation survey, which determined which plant species were growing in the high-risk areas of the airport and how common they were, and critically where the species that were acting as food sources for wildlife were most common.

Utilising selective insect and weed control strategies, coupled with plant growth regulation technologies, the main aim of this program is simple; reduce the presence of wildlife in the three main high-risk areas (around the Domestic Terminal, the International Terminal, and the Legacy Runway).

The following changes to the vegetation and insect activity at Brisbane Airport have been observed since the start of the IVM Program:

• An average of 87% reduction in insect numbers around the Legacy Runway when compared with the nearby untreated areas;
• An average 86% reduction in moth numbers around the Domestic and Terminal Buildings when compared with the nearby untreated areas;
• An average 84% reduction in the cover of broadleaf weeds in treated areas when compared with the nearby untreated areas; and
• an 18% increase in the cover of lower growing grasses in treated areas over the last three years.

The following changes to bird and wasp activity in Brisbane Airport have been observed since the start of the IVM Program:

• A 44% reduction in wasp nesting activity in the first year of the IVM Program compared to the average of the previous three years;
• A 62% reduction in wasp nesting activity in the second year of the IVM Program compared to the average of the previous three years;
• An 86% reduction in wasp nesting activity in the third year of the IVM Program compared to the average of the previous three years; and
• An average 33% reduction in bird number in the critical areas near the Legacy Runway during the first three years of the IVM Program compared to the average of the previous three years.

The IVM Group is committed to seeing these wildlife risk reduction benefits continue at Brisbane Airport over the life of program implementation, and we are committed to the ongoing monitoring of outcomes to ensure the effectiveness of the program is optimised year on year.