Cushion Plant Observation

Cushion Plants are harder Than You Might Think

For years it has been understood in many quarters that cushion plants are very badly effected by trampling. I am even aware of someone asserting that a cushion plant would die if stood on. There is no doubt that the plants do suffer from excessive walker impact, but there is much more to this when actual sites are examined.

On Windy Moor, at Mount Field National Park, walkers have caused significant damage to cushion plants. When you visit the Moor these plants are noticeable along the track, but if you stop and look about it is hard to see any cushion plants on the moor, even quite close to edge of the track. There are many varieties of other plants visible, but these other species have all gone from the path of the track due to the heavy use of walkers. What is left is bare earth, small herbs or grasses and lots of cushion plants. The only conclusion I can come to is that the cushion plants are the last of the major plant survivors. They have outlasted all bushy vegetation and have been subjected to thousands of boots tramping on them.

Many of these plants have been so impacted that eventually they too would give way to bare earth and mud. The newly installed planking will stop this deterioration and it will provide walkers with a good view of cushion plants that are otherwise hidden from view just a metre or two beyond the old track. The question is, will the original vegetation gradually return and again hide them, or will the cushions take advantage of the new conditions to maintain their dominance.