Early recovery signs of an Australian grassland following the management of Parthenium hysterophorus L.

Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) is believed to reduce the above- and below-ground plant species diversity and the above-ground productivity in several ecosystems. We quantified the impact of this invasive weed upon species diversity in an Australian grassland and assessed the resulting shifts in plant community composition following management using two traditional approaches. A baseline plant community survey, prior to management, showed that the above-ground community was dominated by P. hysterophorus, stoloniferous grasses, with a further high frequency of species from Malvaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae. In heavily invaded areas, P. hysterophorus abundance and biomass was found to negatively correlate with species diversity and native species abundance. Digitaria didactyla Willd. was present in high abundance when P. hysterophorus was not, with these two species, contributing most to the dissimilarity seen between areas. The application of selective broad leaf weed herbicides significantly reduced P. hysterophorus biomass under ungrazed conditions, but this management did not yet result in an increase in species diversity. In the above-ground community, P. hysterophorus was partly replaced by the introduced grass species Cynodon dactylon L. (Pers.) 1 year after management began, increasing the above-ground forage biomass production, while D. didactyla replaced P. hysterophorus in the below-ground community. This improvement in forage availability continued to strengthen over the time of the study resulting in a total increase of 80% after 2 years in the ungrazed treatment, demonstrating the stress that grazing was imposing upon this grassland-based agro-ecosystem and showing that it is necessary to remove grazing to obtain the best results from the chemical management approach

Managing an Invasive Weed Species, Parthenium hysterophorus, with Suppressive Plant Species in Australian Grasslands

Parthenium weed has been invading native and managed Australian grasslands for almost 40 years. This study quantified the potential of selected plant mixtures to suppress the growth of parthenium weed and followed their response to grazing and their impact upon plant community diversity. The first mixture consisted of predominantly introduced species including Rhodes grass, Bisset bluegrass, butterfly pea and green panic. This mixture produced biomass rapidly and showed tolerance to weed species other than parthenium weed. However, the mixture was unable to suppress the growth of parthenium weed. The second mixture of predominantly native pasture species (including forest bluegrass, Queensland bluegrass, Buffel grass and siratro) produced biomass relatively slowly, but eventually reached the same biomass production as the first mixture 12 weeks after planting. This mixture suppressed parthenium weed re-establishment by 78% compared to the control treatment. Its tolerance to the invasion of other weed species and the maintenance of forage species evenness was also superior. The total diversity was five times higher for the mixture communities as compared to the plant community in the control treatment. Therefore, using the suppressive pasture mixtures may provide an improved sustainable management approach for parthenium weed in grasslands

Soil seed bank dynamics in response to an extreme flood event in a riparian habitat

A significantly increased water regime can lead to inundation of rivers, creeks and surrounding floodplains- and thus impact on the temporal dynamics of both the extant vegetation and the dormant, but viable soil-seed bank of riparian corridors. The study documented changes in the soil seed-bank along riparian corridors before and after a major flood event in January 2011 in southeast Queensland, Australia. The study site was a major river (the Mooleyember creek) near Roma, Central Queensland impacted by the extreme flood event and where baseline ecological data on riparian seed-bank populations have previously been collected in 2007, 2008 and 2009. After the major flood event, we collected further soil samples from the same locations in spring/summer (November–December 2011) and in early autumn (March 2012). Thereafter, the soils were exposed to adequate warmth and moisture under glasshouse conditions, and emerged seedlings identified taxonomically. Flooding increased seed-bank abundance but decreased its species richness and diversity. However, flood impact was less than that of yearly effect but greater than that of seasonal variation. Seeds of trees and shrubs were few in the soil, and were negatively affected by the flood; those of herbaceous and graminoids were numerous and proliferate after the flood. Seed-banks of weedy and/or exotic species were no more affected by the flood than those of native and/or non-invasive species. Overall, the studied riparian zone showed evidence of a quick recovery of its seed-bank over time, and can be considered to be resilient to an extreme flood event

Accounts Receivable Management and its Impact on Hospital Administration

The lifeblood of a business is its ability to provide a service, whether it be in widgets, food service, consulting or a multitude of other options, and be paid in a timely manner for the services rendered. The key is that in any business endeavor there is a cost to deliver the service, and the entity must pay the cost to deliver the service and pass the cost on to the consumer. The health care industry is no different from any other business when it comes to operations. A hospital pays the cost of wages, insurance, supplies, maintenance, etc., and passes along the same costs to its consumer, the patient. A not for profit, religious affiliated hospital may be governed by a more lofty philosophy and mission than other businesses, but must still be managed like a good, strong and viable enterprise. When you look at the balance sheet of an organization, the conversion of accounts receivable to cash results in no change to current assets. But when you think of that in terms of the hospital\u27s ability to pay salaries and meet other expenses, then it takes on a new light. One measure of a business\u27 credit worthiness and bond rating uses as part of its criteria the days outstanding in accounts receivable. It is clear just how prominent a position the accounts receivable department holds for an organization, especially during this time of shrinking reimbursement from Federal and State programs, as well as the insurance industry with the proliferation of managed care plans. Many things such as personnel issues, business practices, industry trends, contract issues, regulatory requirements, budgets and system technologies, must be orchestrated in the management of an accounts receivable department, while maintaining the lowest level possible in the accounts receivable

Allelopathic potential of invasive parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) seedlings on grassland species in Australia

The allelopathic nature of adult Parthenium hysterophorus L. (parthenium weed) plants, suppressing the growth and development of its near neighbours, has been implicated in its success as an important invader around the world. This study for the first time, evaluates the allelopathic potential of parthenium weed seedlings, comparing its impacts upon seven introduced and four native Australian grassland species using the ‘plant box’ method (10). Results showed a species-specific response, often with the growth of native species being more affected than introduced species and root growth more affected than shoot growth. The native grasses [curly windmill grass (Enteropogon acicularis L.; 59% inhibition) and cotton panic grass (Digitaria brownii L.; 54% inhibition)] were the most affected, while the introduced [Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana L.; 0% inhibition), buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.; 8% inhibition) and siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum (DC.) Urb.; 9% inhibition)] were the least affected in their root growth. These results suggested that parthenium weed is capable of interfering with the growth of neighbouring seedlings even at very early stages of growth. The response found for buffel grass may partially explain why this introduced pasture grass has been found successful in suppressing the growth of parthenium weed in the field