Cenchrus ciliaris and Chloris gayana are the standard grasses used for the revegetation of lands disturbed by coal mining in the Bowen Basin of Central Queensland. The objective of this work was to find if there was a grass better adapted to the edaphic and climatic conditions of these revegetation areas. A strong emphasis in the selection process was placed on the grasses ability to emerge, establish, and provide effective ground cover in the given environment. This work has resulted in the selection and release of Urochloa mosambicensis CPI 60128 as cv Saraji.

Trials were conducted at Saraji Mine, an opencut coking coal mine approx. 165 km SW of Mackay, on 3 substrates: decomposing siltstone (site 1), clay loam (site 2), and 10-15 cm topsoil over spoil (site 3). 15 chenopod species from the genera Atriplex, Maireana and Salsola were grown individually in replicated plots on the 3 substrates. Grasses (Chloris gayana, Cynodon dactylon and Cenchrus ciliaris) were planted as a mix. Sites 1 and 2 were ripped and fertilized before sowing in Jan. 1983. Establishment was measured in Aug. 1983 and cover was determined using point quadrats. Establishment on sites 2 and 3 was similar and about twice that of site 1. For all species establishment was low and ranged from 0-1.3%. With the exception of site 3, chenopods gave greater cover than grasses. A. amnicola was the most promising species, producing cover 5 times better than grasses on sites 1 and 2. A. vesicaria, A. halimus and A. undulata all showed steady growth on sites l and 2. Maireana spp. were generally slower growing and showed poor survival. On site 3 the performance of chenopods was poor with only S. kali producing significant cover. It was concluded that chenopods can out-perform pasture grasses at cover production over a range of spoil types and that annual chenopods native to the region showed capacity for rapid production of temporary ground cover and a large seed set.