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7/23/2019 Native Vegetation Management in Queensland
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Native Vegetation Management in Queensland
Background, Science and Values
Edited by: S. L. Boulter, B. A. Wilson, J. Westrup,
E. R. Anderson, E. J. Turner and J. C. Scanlan
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Photographs courtesy of Jenny Milson, DPI
Front cover (left to right):
Acacia aneura (Mulga)
Ipomoea pes-caprae (Beach morning glory)
Back cover (top to bottom):
Brachychiton collinus (Hill kurrajong)
Clerodendrum floribundum (Lolly bush)
Acacia cambagei (Gidgee)
Nymphaea violacea (Water lily)
Astrebla squarrosa (Bull mitchell)
DNRQ00116
ISBN 0 7345 1701 7
© The State of Queensland, Department of Natural Resources, 2000Department of Natural Resources
Locked Bag 40
Coorparoo DC, Qld 4151
Copies of this publication are available from:
Marketing Officer
Scientific Publishing
Department of Natural Resources
A Block, 80 Meiers Road
Indooroopilly Qld 4068, Australia
Phone: +61 7 3896 9515
Fax: +61 7 3896 9672
Email: <[email protected]>
Website: <www.dnr.qld.gov.au>
sp#14272
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iii
Queensland’s diverse array of landscapes and
vegetation is second to none. These unique assetscontribute to ecological processes critical for
sustaining life and the long-term productivity of our
primary industries. They provide space for
recreation, habitat for native animals, and the
natural beauty that helps define our State.Demands on our State’s natural resources by both
our urban and rural communities are unlikely to
diminish as we move into the 21st century. We
have a collective responsibility to ensure that theeconomic and social benefits we accrue from
development are not at the expense of the long-
term quality of the environment.
Planning for the sustainable management of ournative vegetation requires a scientific understanding
of complex ecological processes. It also requires an
understanding of economic and social pressures of
an increasing population on our limited resources.
Our understanding of ecological processes is
evolving and Queensland already has a great wealthof expertise, not the least of which comes from the
thousands of landholders who manage the land and
produce the food and fibre products that we depend
on. There is also a growing body of scientific
research into ecological processes. The role of thisliterature review is to make the findings of this
research accessible to the many people who are
actively involved in vegetation management acrossthe State.
In the long term, our future will depend on how
we use and manage our natural resources. This
literature review highlights the importance of
scientific understanding in balancing ecologicallysustainable development with the protection of
biodiversity and other environmental and social
values to the future of Queensland’s environment.
Rod Welford
Minister for Environment and Heritage and Minister
for Natural Resources
Foreword
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iv
Table of contents Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
1. Queensland’s resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Queensland’s land and vegetation resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Landscape health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Rate of clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.2 Current extent of regional ecosystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2. Land tenure and legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1 Leasehold and freehold tenures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 European settlement and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Managing vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4 Other legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3. National and international issues and their local impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.1 Ecologically sustainable development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2 Conservation of biological diversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3 Greenhouse effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4. Regional and local processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.1 Impacts of habitat loss on biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.1.1 How much habitat is required for conservation of biodiversity at a regional level? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.1.2 Fragmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.1.3 Condition of vegetation remnants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.1.4 Impacts of domestic grazing within remnant vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4.1.5 Ecosystem repair and management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.1.6 Vegetation with particular ecological and catchment values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.1.6.1 Riparian zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.1.6.2 Wetlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584.1.6.3 Marine and adjacent coastal vegetation communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2 Land degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.2.1 Tree decline and dieback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.2.2 Pest invasions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
4.2.3 Tree removal: implications for soil processes and accelerated soil loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.2.4 Soil structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4.2.5 Nutrient cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.2.6 Soil acidification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.2.7 Hydrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.8 Salinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
4.3 Management and production aspects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804.3.1 Crop production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.3.2 Animal production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4.3.3 Pasture production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.3.4 Improved pastures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.3.5 Regrowth management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.3.6 Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.3.7 Timber production and farm forestry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.3.8 Alternative products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.4 Other values of native vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.4.1 Non-value benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.4.2 Urban and peri-urban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
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5. Social and economic issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
5.1 Rural social issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5.1.1 Socioeconomic issues related to native vegetation management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5.1.2 Social issues and sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.1.3 Community involvement issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
5.1.4 Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.2 An economic analysis of broadscale tree clearing in Queensland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.2.1 Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
5.2.2 Marginal costs and benefits of clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1055.2.3 Assessing the costs and benefits of clearing options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
5.2.4 Net on-farm benefits from tree clearing in Queensland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.2.5 Indirect external impacts from tree clearing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.2.6 The non-use values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.2.7 Measures to reduce tree-clearing activities.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
6. Planning and monitoring native vegetation management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
6.1 Vegetation management planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.1.1 Planning defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6.1.2 Regional approaches to planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
6.1.3 Planning for vegetation management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
6.1.4 Property planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6.1.5 Configuration of remnant vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6.1.6 How do the different layers of planning relate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
6.2 Monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Appendix 1 Overview of the bioregions of Queensland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Appendix 2 Description of land types (native pasture communities). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Appendix 3 Queensland Herbarium vegetation and regional ecosystem survey and mapping program. . . . . . . 132
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
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Preface
This review is an update of a report to the Working
Group of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on
Tree Clearing: The Production, Economic and Environmental Impacts of Tree Clearing in Queensland:a Report to the Working Group of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Tree Clearing , J. C. Scanlan
and E. J. Turner (eds), 1995.The original report represented the findings of a
Scientific Forum that examined the impact treeclearing on leasehold land had, or is likely to have
had, on production, economics and the
environment. This was conducted having due
regard to the Government’s stated objectives ontree clearing and the Draft State Guidelines on
Broadscale Tree Clearing.
In describing the purpose of the original report, the
editors noted the following limitations:
While an attempt has been made to provide acomprehensive review, not all issues have beencovered in equal depth. A majority of the researchreported here has an agricultural production focus.This is a reflection of the amount of researchconducted and available, rather than any bias in thecompilation of this report. Some of the issues notcovered in detail include induced salinisation,eucalypt dieback, soil acidification, weed introductionand spread, soil biology, and general consideration oflocal and regional ecosystem processes.
In August 1999, the State Liaison and Coordination
Group on Native Vegetation Management,
representatives from Department of PrimaryIndustries, the Environmental Protection Agency
and Department of Natural Resources agreed on
the need to update this review. This update is a
collation of review material submitted by staff fromthese three departments plus others from Central
Queensland University, Griffith University, CSIRO
and Brisbane City Council.
The purpose of this revised publication was to
update and collate current scientific informationrelevant to all aspects of tree clearing and
sustainable native vegetation management. It is
primarily intended to provide professional technical
support material for staff dealing with tree-clearingissues and a comprehensive assessment of the
environmental, economic and production
information relating to the impacts of tree clearing.
This version aims to broadly cover the relevant
research and diverse debate to provide informationthat can be used to assess how vegetation should be
managed. The majority of the recent research
focuses strongly on issues of sustainable production,
biodiversity conservation and environmental health,
and this is reflected in the overall content of thisreview. In this update, we have included information
on issues identified in the original report as having
been considered in less detail. These include salinity,dieback, weeds and accelerated greenhouse effect.
Acknowledgments
Principal editor
Sarah Boulter Department of Natural Resources
Editorial
Bruce Wilson Environmental Protection Agency
Jude Westrup Department of Natural Resources
Eric Anderson Department of Primary Industries
Ed Turner Department of Primary IndustriesJoe Scanlan Department of Natural Resources
Contributors
Numerous experts from various fields contributedto preparing the main text of the sections. Their
names are listed at the beginning of each section.
The original report, The Production, Economic and Environmental Impacts of Tree Clearing in Queensland:a Report to the Working Group of the Ministerial
Consultative Committee on Tree Clearing , J. C. Scanlanand E. J. Turner (eds), 1995, was prepared by a
scientific forum with the following membership:
Department of LandsJoe Scanlan Ed TurnerPat Lyons Elton Miller
Jim Walls Geoff Edwards
Department of Environment and HeritageDes Boyland Bruce Wilson
Peter Stanton Gethin MorganStephen Barry Keith Claymore
Department of Primary IndustriesBill Burrows Eric Anderson
Bob Miles Bob Shepherd
George Bourne Blair BartholomewTony Constantini
A large number of people provided comment and
review of earlier drafts of this review. Special
thanks must go to Joe Scanlan and Kay Dorricott
for coordinating contributions for two sections. Inparticular, comprehensive comments were provided
on the entire document by Ed Turner, Bill Burrows,
Eric Anderson, Joe Scanlan, Jude Westrup, Melva
Hobson, Andrea Leverington, and Paul Hauenschild.Others provided significant comment on areas of
interest: Bruce Wilson, Adrian Jeffreys, Blair
Bartholomew, Brian Vandersee, Chris Hill, Don
Begbie, Grant Wardell-Johnson, John Ludwig, RossWilson, Mick Capelin, Nev Hunt, Paul Lawrence,
Rachel McFadyen, Rod Hewitt, Ross Berndt, Mardi
Schmidt, Wojciech Poplawski, Ian Gordon, Bruce
Cook, Geoffrey Lawrence, Adam Geitzelt, CliveMcAlpin, Alan Dale, Tara Martin, and Jennifer
Finlay. Bronwen Fletcher and Kirsten Kenyon
assisted with the final editing and compilation.Bronwen Fletcher assisted with preparation of thesection summaries.
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Thirteen bioregions have been described for
Queensland. There is evidence of declininglandscape health in all areas of the State. Land
degradation includes soil fertility and structure
decline, salinity, erosion and loss of habitat.
A number of pressures on the condition of landsinclude climatic conditions, population growth,
economic pressures, urbanisation, vegetation
clearance, agriculture, forestry operations and
mining.
Tree clearing can have direct and indirect impactson landscape and ecosystem health. Impacts or
changes may be desirable or undesirable, and this
can depend on the value placed on vegetation.
Managing native vegetation requires considerationof many interrelated and complex factors.
Some impacts on landscape and ecosystem health
attributable to tree clearing:
• Vegetation clearing causes habitat fragmentation
and loss. Loss of habitat leads to decreases in
abundance of individual species, changes tocommunity dynamics and a decline in ecosystem
functioning. A loss of essential ‘ecosystem
services’ can include disruption of nutrient
cycling, atmospheric cycling, water quality,genetic diversity, production inputs, soil
formation and fertility, pollination, natural pest
control and bioremediation. This can affect both
production and environmental values.Information on the predicted and actual
relationship between species loss and habitat
retention is presented. This indicates that there
are habitat retention thresholds below which therate of species loss may dramatically increase.
• Clearing of vegetation also results in the loss of
other values such as scenic and intrinsic values.
Quantifying and assessing these values,
especially in economic terms, is just beginningfor Queensland.
• Tree clearing has a direct impact on the
hydrological regime. Generally the removal of
deep-rooted trees increases deep drainage and
this may result in the expression of salinity at or
near the soil surface. Areas likely to be impactedare largely restricted to areas with between
600 and 1500 mm annual rainfall. Assessment of
salinity hazard risk can ensure clearing will notresult in salinity.
• There is considerable evidence from much of
Queensland that removal of large woody
vegetation can increase pasture growth ascompetition for water and nutrients is removed.
This response has been the main incentive for
the development of Queensland’s rural
industries. There are some studies that havedemonstrated the improvement of pasture
growth with retained trees.
Executive summary
This review looks at a wide range of physical,
ecological, social and economic issues that relate to
native vegetation and, in particular, tree clearing, in
Queensland. While the review necessarily has ascientific focus, the intent is to provide a greater
understanding of the need for sound policies and
administrative procedures involving the production–biodiversity nexus in attaining sustainable naturalresource use and management. The review has
tried to look at vegetation management as one part
of sustaining the landscape.
The responsibility for managing freehold and
leasehold lands rests largely with individuals, butwith government setting the policy and regulatory
framework that will stimulate change towards the
sustainable use of natural resources. Part of the
sustainability question is ensuring economicviability for both individuals and the State in the
long term. The continuing challenge is to achievelasting changes in attitudes to the sustainable use
and management of natural resources, particularlyin regard to native vegetation management.
Sustainability is the primary goal of land managers,
government agencies and the global community.
The precise meaning of sustainability is debatable,
and generally reflects the values of the user.Sustainability may be economic, social and
ecological, and consideration of vegetation
management will require finding a balance between
these considerations.Decision making about management options needsto be put into both the social and economic
context. This review, while focusing primarily on
the physical context, also considers these issues.
To meet the requirements of sustainability, and the
consideration of economic and social issues inmanaging native vegetation, planning and
monitoring are essential tools. Queensland has
substantial bioregion mapping and information that
can serve as a basis to regional vegetationmanagement planning. The regional planning
process could become an integral and connecting
component of a whole planning system, and offer a
participative, adaptive and equitable planningprocess.
Approximately 68% of Queensland is under
leasehold tenure, and regulated by the Land Act 1994(Qld). Of the remaining land, 24% is freehold tenure.The historical development of agricultural and
pastoral lands, and the accompanying development
of statutory controls of land clearing are discussed.
At the national, State and local level, there are a
number of legislative and policy documents that dealwith native vegetation management.
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• Clearing of trees releases carbon stored as
biomass in standing vegetation and thiscontributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Australia has international obligations to ensure
growth in emissions remains below 108% of
1990-95 levels.
There are other impacts for which the evidence ofthe direct effects of tree clearing is conflicting:
• Well-pastured blocks have been demonstrated tobe efficient in minimising run-off, although there
are other studies that demonstrate an increase in
run-off following the clearing of trees—making itdifficult to generalise about the impacts of tree
cover on soil surface erosion. In riparian areas,
trees have been shown to protect streambanks
from mass failure and erosion by adding to bedand bank stability.
There are other changes in ecosystem health that
result from post-clearing management, rather than
clearing per se:
• Erosion of soil is controlled by a number of
factors, including slope, ground cover andinfiltration rate. These factors are affected by
management practices such as grazing pressures
and the use of fire. Fire has historically played
a role in vegetation dynamics. There is someevidence that Indigenous fire management
affected plant demographics and structure,
although the extent of this is still debated in
the literature. Fire is still used as a managementtool today.
• Soil compaction is more likely to occur underheavy grazing, particularly where the soil is wet
or poorly structured naturally.
• Some land uses are particularly acidifying to soil.They include those cropping activities that
include the removal of large quantities of
harvested material, application of ammonia-
based fertilisers and introduction of legumes.Particular soil types are more vulnerable to
acidification than others.
• Changes in vegetation structure and composition
can be attributed to management practices suchas grazing pressures and fire. Poor managementof grazing in remnants can result in declining
condition of remnants through browsing, soil
compaction, reduced ground cover, changes in
structure and species composition, and weedinvasion.
• Where vegetation is retained, it is important to
assess and manage the condition of the
vegetation and associated ecosystems to ensure
sustainability.
• The functioning of remnants can be impacted by
the size and shape of remaining vegetation, aswell as connectivity. Small remnants can be
impacted by large proportions of their area being
affected by changed physical conditions and
increased vulnerability to pest invasions. Theimportant role of remnants in the landscape
is discussed.
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Index
return to contents
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brigalow ( Acacia harpophylla) . . . . . 57, 65, 67, 72, 75, 80,82–3, 86–7
brigalow development scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 89
Broadscale Tree Clearing Policy (BTCP). . 14, 18–9, 32, 120
buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) 48, 50–1, 54, 63, 72, 75, 86
buffer zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54, 72, 81
bush foods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Cadellia pentastylis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Callitris columellaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Callitris glaucophylla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Callitris spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Calyptorhynchus lathami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Calyptorhynchus magnificus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) . . . . . . . . . . . 64
carrying capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Cassia nemophila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Casuarina spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 72cat’s claw creeper (Macfadyena unguis-cati) . . . . . . . . . 64
Celtis sinensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Cenchrus ciliaris. . . . . . . . . . . 48, 50–1, 54, 63, 72, 75, 86
Chinchilla white gum (Eucalyptus argophloia) . . . . . . . . 42
Chinese celtis (Celtis sinensis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Cinnamomum camphora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
community participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 101–3, 111
community values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
compaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
corridors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 46–8, 54, 56–7, 120
dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47–8
Corymbia citriodora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
crop production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 80–1
Cryptostegia grandiflora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58, 64, 88
cultural heritage values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Dawson gum (Eucalyptus cambageana) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
development
history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 106
Dichanthium spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
dieback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 36, 40, 48, 51–2, 60–2, 120
arboreal wildlife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
drought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 36, 60, 62
insects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
mistletoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
nutrient enrichment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
pathogens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
salinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
senescence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
symptoms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
waterlogging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
discharge areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Dodonaea viscosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83166
Aboriginal people
fire management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 54, 88
Acacia aneura . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 54, 57, 66, 75, 82–3, 87
Acacia argyrodendron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 85
Acacia cambagei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 72, 86
Acacia harpophylla . . . . 57, 65, 67, 72, 75, 80, 82–3, 86–7
Acacia nilotica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Acacia shirleyi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Acacia spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 63, 72, 85
Acacia stenophylla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
acidification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Aepyprymnus rufescens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Albizia lebbeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Alstonia constricta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
alternative products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89–90, 93
animal production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81–3
heat stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
liveweight gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Anredera cordifolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Aristida spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 88
armillaria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Atalaya hemiglauca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Baccharis halimifolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
belalie ( Acacia stenophylla). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 26–31, 40, 104, 107, 119
conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 29, 42
decline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42–4
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
ecosystem
diversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 27, 30
function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
genetic diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 27, 30
habitat loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 42–60
landscape health ( see also ecosystem services) . . 22, 27
loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 40, 106
national policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29–30
origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3
productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110–1
riparian zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
society benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 110
species
diversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 27, 30
loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43–5, 50
bioregional planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114, 117
bioregions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 7
black speargrass (Heteropogon contortus) . . . . . 51, 75, 88
blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
blackwood ( Acacia argyrodendron) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 85bluegrasses (Bothriochloa spp. and Dichanthium spp.) . . 51
Bothriochloa spp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Index
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ecologically sustainable development (ESD). . . . . . . 22–6
Brundtland Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22–3
core objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
government adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
economic analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103–111
choice modelling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108, 110
contingent valuation method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107–8
cost benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98–9, 105–9marginal analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105–6
off-site costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
economic issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98–111
ecosystem function
repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 53–5
resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ecosystem services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 93
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
ecotones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
ecotourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
edge effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 47–9, 64
microclimate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) . . . . . . . . . . 2–4, 31
Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 17
Eremocitrus glauca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Eremophila gilesii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Eremophila mitchellii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 53, 56, 64–7, 87, 109–11
ground cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
management practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
pasture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
slope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65–6
tree clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64–55
vegetation cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Eucalyptus argophloia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Eucalyptus cambageana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Eucalyptus coolabah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Eucalyptus crebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 83Eucalyptus erythrophloia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Eucalyptus grandis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75, 84
Eucalyptus intertexta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Eucalyptus laeviopinea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73, 75
Eucalyptus melanophloia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Eucalyptus melliodora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Eucalyptus ochrophloia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Eucalyptus populnea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50, 54, 67, 71, 83–4
Eucalyptus spp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 63, 66, 71, 75, 83, 87
farm forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89–93definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
national policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90–1
fire management. . . . . . . . . 36, 41, 49, 54, 63, 65, 88–90
Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75, 84
flower and foliage markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
fodder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80–2, 86, 89
fragmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 64
species loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
dispersal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46–7
ecosystem function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
isolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45–7
remnant size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 45–7freehold tenure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14–5
freeholding leases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
gidgee ( Acacia cambagei) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63, 72, 85
grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50–3, 63, 67, 81
artificial watering points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
erosion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
fire management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
flora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
livestock handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 86
productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108, 121
remnants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 50–4
riparian zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
soil
acidification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73–4
erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
fertility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
species change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50–1
sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
thickening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
wetlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
green panic (Panicum maximum) . . . . . . . . . . 73, 83, 85–7
greenhouse
biomass estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
carbon
accounting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35–6
credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33, 35–6, 109–10
trading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37, 90, 110
climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 31–7emission reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
gas emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31–3, 104, 108–9, 110–1
international policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
land use change and forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 32–3
sinks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 32, 37
soil carbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35–6
thickening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
tree clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33, 35–6
Heteropogon contortus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 75, 88
honey production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 93
hydrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74–5
evaporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
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hydrology (continued)
rainfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
watertable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) . . . . . . . . . 14–5, 118–9
introduced legumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75, 78, 81, 86–7
kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Kyoto Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 32, 37
lancewood ( Acacia shirleyi) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Land Act 1962 (Qld) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Land Act 1994 (Qld) . . 2–3, 14–5, 18, 20, 32, 89, 115, 119
cultural and heritage values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
native title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
land degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60–80, 104
cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ecosystem function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28–9
land tenure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14–9
Land Use Change and Forestry (LUCF). . . . . . . . 22, 32–7landscape
ecology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114, 116
health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–7
planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Lantana camara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
leaf litter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67, 71
leasehold tenure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14–8
conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16–7
tree-clearing controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18–9
Leucaena leucocephala subsp. globate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Leucaena spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86–7
liveweight gains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Local Agenda 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Local Government Act 1993 (Qld) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
LUCF see Land Use Change and Forestry
Macfadyena unguis-cati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Macroptilium atropurpureum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Madeira vine ( Anredera cordifolia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
mangroves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59–60
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Medicago spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Melaleuca spp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58, 60, 72, 75
microclimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 85
Montreal Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 91
mulga (Acacia aneura) . . . . . . 49, 54, 57, 66, 75, 82–3, 87
mycorrhizal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72–3
National Framework for Management andMonitoring of Australia’s Native Vegetation . . . . . . 17, 54
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI). . . . 22, 33–7
National Greenhouse Strategy (NGS). . . . . . . . . . . 22, 32National Strategy for Australia’s Biodiversity . . . . . 22, 29
National Strategy on Ecologically SustainableDevelopment (NSESD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22–3
native pasture
communities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 20
native title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
native vegetation
aesthetic values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 93–5, 100–1
amenity values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93–5, 100–1
coastal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48commercial values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Commonwealth legislation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
community benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98–9
condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48–9
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ecological benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
economic benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
erosion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
landholder attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
landholder perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 102–3
local government controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19–20
management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53–5
monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114–22
planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114–22
national policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
non-remnant ‘woody’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
non-use values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 107, 110–1
nutrient cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71–3
pre-European . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3
productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Queensland legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18–9
remnant size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45–7
remnants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 48–53
resilience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27–9
retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 43–4, 120
salt-tolerant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79–80
social issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98–111
society benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107–8
structural changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 51–2, 84, 87
thickening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
urban and peri-urban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
water uptake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld) . . . . . . . . 14, 18–9, 30
NGGI see National Greenhouse Gas Inventory
NGS see National Greenhouse Strategy
nitrogen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 72, 86
fixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 86
nutrient cycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71–3, 93
ooline (Cadellia pentastylis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
oversown legumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Panicum maximum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73, 83, 85–7
Parkinsonia aculeata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Parthenium hysterophorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus) . . . . . . . . 63
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participatory approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 103
Paspalum dilatatum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
pasture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 80, 83–7
exotic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 81, 83, 86
native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 86
nutrient cycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
oversown legumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73, 83
productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
tree clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83yield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83–4
pest animals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62–4, 82
diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
pest plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62–4, 88
diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Phytophora cinnamomi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Pinus spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
planning
definition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114–5
poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) . . . . 50, 54, 67, 71, 83–4
woodlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
precautionary principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
property management planning . . . . . . . . 103, 114–5, 119
Prosopis velutina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Queensland Implementation Plan (QIP) . . . . . . . . . 22, 32
Quilpie mesquite (Prosopis velutina) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
rare species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
recharge
areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75, 79
rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
regeneration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54–5, 79
regional ecosystems (REs) . . . . . . . 3, 7, 40, 114, 117, 119
biodiversity surrogates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 114, 117
conservation status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 91
regional planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111, 114, 116–8
regional strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114, 117
regional vegetation management plans (RVMPs) . 114, 119
regrowth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7, 31, 41, 75, 80, 86, 87
rehabilitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
remnant vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 108, 119–20
clumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
REs see regional ecosystems
reserve system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30, 101
reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43, 105
restoration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
revegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 54, 79, 91
RFA see Regional Forest AgreementRhodes grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
riparian zones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 53, 54, 56–8
buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
riparian zones (continued)
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 58–9
habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
instream fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57–8
large woody debris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) . . . . . . . . 58, 64, 88
Rubus fruticosus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
run-off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53, 66–7, 74Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 (Qld). . . . . . . 14, 18–9, 63
RVMPs see regional vegetation management plans
saline soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
salinity . . . . . . 41, 74–80, 95, 98, 104–5, 107–10, 119–20
climate and rainfall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75–6
hazard modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78–9
impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75–6
landform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
soil properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
tree clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
vegetation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
salt-tolerant vegetation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79–80
shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 82, 85
shelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81–2, 85, 120
silver-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus melanophloia) . . . . . . 51
siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
SLATS see Statewide Landcover and Trees Study
social issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98–111
partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 103
sodic soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 76
soil
acidification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 73–4, 87
grazing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
land use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
remediation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
tree clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
biota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72carbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35–6, 110
fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
fertility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 65, 72, 80, 84, 93
infiltration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
nitrogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72–3, 86
nutrients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71, 73
organic carbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
organic matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72, 80
structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 50, 52, 67–71
compaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 50, 53, 68definition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
degradation
impacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69–70
prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
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soil (continued)
repair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
soil water content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
tree clearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71, 81, 85
spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) . 5, 35, 122
stock-carrying capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83stocking rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 82, 87
Stylosanthes spp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74, 87
sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22–6, 101–2, 121
biodiversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24–5, 121
landholder adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25–6
markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
sustainable production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Themeda triandra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
thickening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 51–2, 84, 109
threatened species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
threshold parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43–8
Thunbergia grandiflora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89–93
tree clearing
animal production. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17–20, 111
crop production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80–1
cultural and heritage values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
economic analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103–111
economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98–111
erosion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
greenhouse gas emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
habitat loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 42–60
history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16–7
hydrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74–6indirect off-site impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109–10
introduced legumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
land degradation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–5
methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
native title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
nitrogen cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
off-site effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98, 100
on-farm benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108–9
organic carbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
pasture production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83–5
pest management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64production benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 7
species decline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42–4
species loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42–8
tree hollows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
tree management plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115, 118–9
tree–crop competition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80–1
tree–grass interactions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71–2, 83–5
animal production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81–2
moisture competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
nutrient competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Trifolium spp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld) . . . . . . 2, 7, 14, 18–9, 32, 44, 58, 76, 119
Water Resources Act 1989 (Qld). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 18–9
weeds see pest plants
wetlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 58–9
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
wildlife
dispersal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120refuges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
riparian zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
wind erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
windbreaks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41, 81–2
wiregrasses ( Aristida spp.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 88
yapunyah (Eucalyptus ochrophloia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
yellow jacket (Eucalyptus intertexta) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
zero till . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Ziziphus mauritiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
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1 Queensland’s resources
Contributors
Queensland’s land and vegetation resources
Bruce Wilson, Environmental Protection Agency
Sarah Boulter, Department of Natural ResourcesMirranie Barker, Department of Natural Resources
Jude Westrup, Department of Natural ResourcesLandscape health
Sarah Boulter, Department of Natural Resources
Bruce Wilson, Environmental Protection Agency
Tim Danaher, Department of Natural Resources
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1.1 Queensland’s land and vegetation resources
Queensland is a large and diverse State that lies
between latitudes 10°S-29°S and longitudes 138°E-
153°E. Climate ranges from subtropical in the southeast to wet and wet–dry tropics in the north and to
semiarid and arid in the south–west. Queenslandsupports about 65% of Australia’s known frog,
reptile, bird and mammal species, and 47% of itsvascular plant species (EPA 1999c). Landscapes
vary from tall open forest, woodlands, and tropical
rainforests and vine forests to semi-arid woodlands
grasslands and deserts in the interior.
Assessment of the extent, condition andmanagement of natural resources of such a diverse
State, both historically and in the future, requires
some classification based on the natural resource
factors that affect land use. Sattler and Williams
(1999) have described 13 bioregions of Queenslandand the major geology, landforms, soils, native
vegetation and ecosystem types that occur there.
These regions are used to provide a context for
biodiversity assessments and have been used to
develop tree-clearing guidelines under the Land Act
1994 (Qld) and Vegetation Management Act 1999
(Qld). A summary of each bioregion is given in
appendix 1.
Weston et al. (1981) have produced a map (see
figure 1.1, p.9) and description of 14 native pasture
communities of Queensland. These are widely usedto make general assessments about the capability,
degradation and other land-resource related issues
and are summarised in appendix 2.
Pre-European settlement vegetation
Australia supports a rich diversity of vegetation,
both in structure and composition. This diversity isparticularly demonstrated by the presence of a high
proportion of species endemic to the Australian
continent. Also unique to the Australian flora are
the presence of unusual structural attributes, in
particular scleromorphy, and the dominance of twotree and shrub groups, Eucalyptus spp. and Acacia spp. (Barlow 1994; Fox 1999). The origin,
adaptation and differentiation of the regional
Summary This section provides a brief introduction to
Queensland’s land and vegetation resources, their
past and present state, and methods being used tofurther refine knowledge of the current status of all
vegetation types.
Queensland is a large and diverse State. Climate
ranges from subtropical in the south-east to wet
and wet–dry tropics in the north, and to semiaridand arid in the south-west. Landscapes vary from
tall open forest, woodlands and tropical rain/vine
forests to semiarid woodlands grasslands anddeserts in the interior.
The unique mosaic of native flora in Queensland,
and all of Australia, is the result of global patterns
and processes of geomorphology, climate, evolution
and recruitment over geological time. Atmosphericand oceanic perturbations in the form of the
El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have
contributed to climatic variability, particularly in theeastern two thirds of Australia.
While the extent of the impact of Aboriginal landuse on vegetation dynamics prior to European
settlement is widely debated in the scientific
literature, there is some anecdotal and scientific
evidence that Aboriginal fire management may haveresulted in changes to the geographic and
demographic structure of many vegetation types.
While new technologies and agricultural techniques
have increased yields and outputs per unit area, the
overall condition and productivity of Queensland’slandscape have declined considerably over time.
This overall decline is a reflection of current and
historic land uses. Agricultural practices are
partially responsible for soil erosion and structuraldecline, salinity, soil acidification, and native
pasture decline. Land degradation factors include
vegetation clearance as well as urbanisation,
agricultural practices, forestry and mining.
The rate of clearing in Queensland has increasedfrom 289 000 ha/year in 1991–95 to
340 000 ha/year in 1995–97. During this period,clearing on leasehold land decreased by 12%,
while it increased on freehold land. The majorityof clearing was carried out to convert woody
vegetation to pasture.
Vegetation maps are being produced over substantial
parts of Queensland. These are particularly
important in determining the previous and currentextent of native vegetation, and therefore
conservation status, of regional ecosystems. It is
estimated that in 1995 approximately 81% of the
State was covered by remnant vegetation. Statistics
are given on the amount of remnant vegetation bybioregion and subregion and by the status of
ecosystems under the Vegetation Management Act
1999 (Qld).
The bioregions of Queensland group the State intoareas with broadly similar landscape patterns.
These areas provide a useful context for assessing
the natural resources of the State. A summary of
these regions is provided in appendix 1. Appendix 2details 14 native pasture communities of
Queensland used to make general assessments
about land capability, degradation and other land-
resource related issues.
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Prior to European settlement, Aboriginal land use,
migration and fire patterns also influencedvegetation composition and distribution (AUSLIG
1990; Barlow 1994; Bowman 1998; Groves 1999;
Orchard and Wilson 1999). Although a highly
contentious issue, there is evidence that Aboriginalburning, in particular, may have played a role in
the modification and maintenance of the Australian
flora (Bowman 1998). Some authors have used
explorer and early settler quotes to suggest thatAboriginal burning created a structurally more
open grasslands and grassy woodland landscape
(Ryan et al. 1995). However, Benson and Redpath
(1997), in a review of scientific evidence andhistorical sources, refute this conclusion,
suggesting that this analysis over emphasises the
influence of Aboriginal fire management and
ignores the evidence that climate was the majordeterminant of vegetation change and distribution.
There is, however, considerable evidence that
Aboriginal people used fire to achieve short-term
ecological outcomes, creating habitat mosaics thatfavoured some species or increased local
abundances of food plants. Bowman (1998) cites a
large body of ecological evidence that suggests
Aboriginal burning may have resulted in changes tothe geographic range and demographic structure of
many vegetation types. Anderson (1999) notes,
however, that Indigenous fire management arises
from ‘diffuse social, cultural, spiritual andecological practices’ rather than a desire to meet
certain management or biodiversity goals.
The importance of these evolutionary factors increating Australia’s rich and unique flora is in
trying to understand the landscape for managementand conservation of the extant biodiversity.
structure, composition and diversity of Australia’s
vegetation have been attributed to global patternsand processes of geomorphology, climate, evolution
and recruitment over geological time. Rainfall,
associated temperature patterns and climatic
variability in particular has been significant indetermining vegetation distribution and change.
Atmospheric and oceanic perturbation in the form
of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have
contributed to historic climatic variability,particularly in the eastern two-thirds of Australia.
Nicholls (1991) suggests that this variability can be
viewed as causing an adaptation ‘to climate in such
a way that demographic composition (ofvegetation) is in a state of unstable equilibrium’.
These factors, in association with changes and
effects over geological time (see table1.1), have
created the unique mosaic of Australian flora.
Table 1.1 Factors influencing pre-1770 diversity, distributionand structure of Australian flora. Adapted from Barlow1994; Fox 1999; Specht 1994; Groves 1999; Frakes 1999.
Major factor Associated factors
location southern and oceanic hemispherelocation, meridional, latitude andIndo-Australian position, insularity,age, size, shape and physiognomy
climate circulation patterns, rainfall patternsand seasonality, insolation,temperature, albedo, variability, ENSO
landforms and soils soil type, drainage, nutrient levels
fire lightning strikes, anthropogenic
Queensland’s terrestrial vegetation communities
can be broadly grouped into forests (including
woodlands), arid shrublands, grasslands,
heathlands and wetlands (EPA 1999c). For thepurposes of conservation, Queensland’s
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently
published a hierarchical framework classifying
Queensland’s vegetation into Regional Ecosystems(REs) (Sattler and Williams 1999). The recording of
some 1084 REs based on dominant vegetation,
geomorphic land zone and bioregion, demonstrates
the wide range and diversity of habitats existingacross the State (Williams 1979; EPA 1999c) (see
section 1.2.1).
Table 1.2 Post-1990 estimates of land degradation by State and land use. Adapted from RIRDC 2000; † Cregan and Scott 1998;*Hayes 1997.
Soil health issues by State NSW QLD VIC TAS SA WA`000 ha `000 ha `000 ha `000 ha `000 ha `000 ha
Soil structure decline/compaction 14 695 2 645 10 530 317 1 300
Sheet and rill 2 288 1 343 3 180 226
Gully and tunnel 9 460 4 220 340
Wind erosion 20 045 74 000 1 630 321 8 300 50
Wind/water in rangeland 7 300Salinity *120 *10 *120 *20 * 402 *1 804
Acid soils (pH Ca<4.8) †13 500 †8 400 †3 000 †1 000 †2 800 †4 700
Area of State 801 690 172 720 22 760 6 780 98 400 252 550
Note: Blank cells indicate no data yet found. Cells are not exclusive and area may be affected by several types of land degradation.
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19 communities in Queensland (see table 1.5). This
assessment has not been repeated, and someauthors suggest that the results may, in part, reflect
the pasture condition during an El Niño event, and
therefore underrate pasture condition (B. Burrows
2000, pers. comm., 24 April). Changes in pasturecomposition and other aspects of land degradation
are due to various combinations of factors. The
following identifies some of the more important
factors in grazing lands:• increased grazing pressures from domestic, feral
and native animals
• reduced burning or controlled burning regimes
• provision of stock watering facilities• use of bore drains
• use of feed supplements
• climatic extremes
• declining soil fertility status• development of salinisation
• changes in animal types and breeds
• indirect factors such as the need to service
property debt and maintain cash flows.
Table 1.4 Overview of relationships between pressures on,and condition of land resources. Source: EPA 1999c.
Pressure Resulting condition ifpressures are poorly managed
Underlying pressures Underlie and/or exacerbate manyof the following pressures
- weather and climate- population growth- economic pressures
Vegetation clearance Degraded soils, particularly:- erosion
- dryland salinitySpread of noxious species(can lead to degraded soils)Increased grass cover
Agriculture Vegetation clearance- bare surface production Erosion (can lead to loss of
systems soil fertility and structure)- intensive cultivation Soil fertility decline- grazing and associated Soil structure decline
fire regimes- application of fertilisers Irrigation salinity
and agricultural chemicals- irrigation Acidification- introduction of exotic Land contamination
species Noxious plants and animals
(can lead to native pasturedecline and erosion)Native pasture decline
Urbanisation Vegetation clearanceLoss of productive landLand contamination from wastes
Pest plants and animals Pest plants and animals(can lead to native pasture declineand erosion)
Forestry operations Depletion of forest resourcesErosion and chemicalcontamination of soils
Mining Depletion of mineral resourcesDisturbed land
Land contamination from wastes
1.2 Landscape health There is considerable evidence that the condition
and productivity of Queensland’s lands have
declined over time (e.g. Mills et al. 1989; Tothill &Gillies 1992). The health of the landscape in
Queensland reflects current and historic land-use
practices (see section 2.2 for history of
development and section 4.2 for some current
effects of land-use practices). In reporting on thestate of the environment in Queensland, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1999c)
recorded the contribution of some agriculturalpractices to soil erosion and structure decline,
salinity, soil acidification (table 1.2), and native
pasture decline. In a collaborative report, the
Australian Conservation Foundation and NationalFarmers Federation (Virtual Consulting Group &
Griffin nrm 2000), identified the degradation of
Australia’s resource base and environment as a
national issue and not just a farming issue, with
profound economic, social and ecological impacts.They estimated the annual cost of degradation as
at least $2 billion, with potential to increase to
$6 billion annually by 2020 (see table 1.3). In theiranalysis, they identify production benefits and
other benefits that reside mostly in the domain of
the public, and recommend strategic investment by
both government and the private sector.
Table 1.3 Cost estimates of land and water degradation.Source: Virtual Consulting Group and Griffin nrm (2000).
Form of degradation Estimate($ million per year)
Salinity 270
Acid soils 300
Sodic soils or structural decline 200
Erosion 80
Irrigation salinity 65
Water quality 450
Total 1 365
The EPA (1999c) identified a number of landdegradation factors, including pest invasions,
vegetation clearance, urbanisation, land
contamination, forestry and mining and their
relationship to the condition of land resources (seetable 1.4). A number of these ecosystem health
issues are explored in greater detail in section 3.2.
While tree clearing is a factor in land degradation
issues, particularly in regard to loss of biodiversity,deterioration and degradation of pastoral lands is
primarily attributed to inappropriate land
management practices. For example, de Corte et al.
(1991), reported extensive soil erosion andincreases in woody weeds in a survey area where
tree clearing was very limited.In an assessment of the condition of northern
Australian pasture communities in 1991, Tothill
and Gillies (1992) recorded the condition of
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Table 1.5 Assessment of condition of rangelands in northernQueensland in 1991. Adapted from Tothill & Gillies, 1992.
Condition assessment1991 (%)
Pasture Sustainablecommunity condition Deteriorating Degraded
Plume sorghum 90 5 5
Schirizachyrium 22 66 12
Rainforest 40 50 10
Heathland pastures not assessed
Bladygrass 17 62 21
Black speargrass 32 52 16
Ribbongrass 95 5 nil
Aristida–Bothriochloa 50 33 17
Seasonal riverine plains 40 40 20
Brigalow pastures 40 37 23
Gidgee pastures 35 32 33
Queensland bluegrass 26 36 38
Bluegrass–browntop 20 75 5
Mitchell grass 58 33 9
Spinifex 52 34 14
Mulga—perennial shortgrass 19 52 29
Georgina gidgee 70 20 10
Saltwater couch 90 5 5
Mulga—annual shortgrass 20 40 40
Many ecological processes are poorly understood
for most of Queensland’s native vegetation
communities (Australian Science and TechnologyCouncil 1993), particularly the relationship
between tree clearing and hydrology, nutrient
cycling (Harrington 1990) and native fauna (Recher& Lim 1990). Tree clearing has been identified as asignificant factor in the loss of biodiversity, salinity
risk, changes in nutrient cycling, missed production
opportunities (as well as gains), and reduced water
quality (e.g. EPA 1999c; RIRDC 2000).
1.2.1 Rate of clearing
An essential part of determining the impact of
vegetation clearing is having accurate data aboutthe extent of land clearing and overall vegetation
cover. In 1995 the Queensland Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) initiated the StatewideLandcover and Trees Study (SLATS) to monitor thechange in woody vegetation cover over Queensland
(DNR 1999b). Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)
imagery (30 m resolution) is used to compare the
vegetation cover between 1988, 1991, 1995, 1997and 1999 over the entire State. Images are analysed
using a combination of automated and manual
interpretation techniques on computer workstations.
This is followed by a period of field checking foreach satellite scene. To date, the 1991–95 and
1995–97 change detection has been completed for
the entire State (DNR 1999a, DNR 1999b).
Describing the period between 1995–97, the DNR
(1999b) reported an average annual State-wideclearing rate of 340 000 ha/year (see figure 1.2,
p.10), which is an increase on the 1991–95 average
of 289 000 ha/year. The current preliminary
estimate of 1988–91 clearing is 475 000 ha/year(25%) (DNR 1999b). The greatest proportion of
clearing occurred in the brigalow belt bioregion with
this accounting for 57% of total clearing. By
combining clearing data with Digital Cadastral DataBase and Tenures Administration System data, DNR
(1999b) reported that during the 1995–97 period
approximately 40% of clearing occurred on
leasehold land, 57% on freehold land and theremaining 3% on Crown land and other tenures.
The 1995–97 rate of clearing on leasehold tenure
was 12% less than the 1991–95 rate, while on
freehold tenure it increased by 54% (DNR 1999b).
In their analysis of vegetation change data, DNR(1999b) reported that approximately 86% of woody
vegetation change was clearing of woodyvegetation to pasture. However, there was a
significant increase in the proportion of landcleared for cropping between 1991–95 and
1995–97 from 4 to 9% respectively.
An important consideration in assessing clearing is
determining the proportion that was regrowth
treatment of areas previously cleared. In the SLATSreport, the proportion of 1995–97 clearing for
regrowth control could not be accurately
calculated, requiring the analysis of earlier
sequences of imagery. However, using 1988 and
1991 imagery, DNR (1999b) did identify that aminimum of 18% of the 1995–97 clearing was
regrowth control. This proportion may increase as
earlier imagery is analysed and older regrowthidentified. A partial analysis based on EPA’s
remnant vegetation mapping (see section 1.2.2)
indicates that regrowth control may account for
30–40% of clearing.
The report was also able to detect a significantamount of natural tree death in the area covered by
Dalrymple Shire (west of Townsville) due to a
prolonged drought. In total, an area of 69 000 hawas affected over the period 1991–97, with mostdeath believed to have occurred in the 1994–97
period (DNR 1999b).
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1.2.2 Current extent of regionalecosystems
The Queensland Herbarium has been producing
vegetation maps and survey reports since the early
1970s. This program has been accelerated during
the 1990s as the lack of vegetation mapping oversubstantial parts of Queensland has limited the
scope and quality of land use decision making
and sustainable land management. The informationderived from this survey and mapping has a widerange of uses, but is particularly important in
determining the previous and current extent,
and therefore conservation status, of regional
ecosystems.
This section gives a summary of statistics derivedfrom this survey and mapping completed to April 5
2000, on the remnant area and clearing rates by
the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld) status
across the bioregions of Queensland (see table 1.6and figure 1.3, p.11). Details about the surveying
mapping methodology are outlined in appendix 3.
It is estimated that in 1995 approximately 81% of
the State was covered by remnant vegetation (see
table 1.6).
The amount of remnant vegetation acrossindividual bioregions ranged from 30–40% in the
New England Tableland, Brigalow Belt and
Southeast Queensland regions to 98–100% in the
Channel Country, Northwest Highlands and CapeYork Peninsula regions (see figure 1.3, p.11).
The amount of remnant vegetation varied acrossprovinces within bioregions (figure 1.3). The
Brigalow Belt in particular showed the highest
variability with the amount of provinces clearedranging from less than 15% to over 90%.
The amount of remnant vegetation varies across
different ecosystems within bioregions (see table
1.6). Under the Vegetation Management Act 1999
(Qld) status classification, as at January 2000 it isestimated that:
• approximately 1 000 000 ha (approximately
0.5% of the State) are classified as endangered
regional ecosystems (<10% of preclearing extent
remains or, 10–30% if total remnant area is<10 000 ha). Of this, about 500 000 ha occur on
freehold land, 370 000 ha on leasehold land, and
114 000 ha on protected areas, reserves, State
forest etc.
• over 4 000 000 ha (2.5%) are classified as ‘of
concern’ regional ecosystems (10-30% of
preclearing extent remains or >30% if total
remnant area is <10 000 ha). Of this, about1 700 000 ha occur on freehold land,
1 800 000 ha occur on leasehold land and500 000 ha occur on reserves/State forests etc.
• over 650 000 ha of the ‘of concern’ regional
ecosystems have greater than 80% of theirpreclearing distribution remaining. These
ecosystems are listed because of their limited
extent, but are often not suited to, or are
currently threatened by, land clearance (e.g. thiscategory includes many naturally restricted
heathlands and shrublands that occur on skeletal
soils).
In the 1995–97 period about 7% (17 000 ha) of the
total amount of remnant clearing occurred in‘endangered’ ecosystems, while 33% (77 000 ha)
occurred in ‘of concern’ ecosystems, and the
remaining 60% (142 000 ha) occurred in ‘no
concern at present’ ecosystems.
These clearing figures differ from those on totalwoody vegetation reported previously (see section
1.2.1). They do not include the clearing of non-
remnant (e.g. ‘regrowth’) woody vegetation and
some areas of remnant clearing that are beyond the
scale of mapping (<5 ha), but do include theclearing of non-woody vegetation. In the 1995–97
period, about 60–65% of the total 340 000 ha of
woody vegetation that was cleared occurred in areasmapped as remnant vegetation by the herbarium.
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9Figure 1.1 Native pasture communities. Source: DNR.
Pasture sparse or absent
Bladygrass
Black speargrass
Queensland bluegrass
Brigalow pasture
Aristida–Bothric
Gidgee pasture
Mulga pasture
Mitchell grass
Spinifex
Channel pasture
Bluegrass–browntop
Schizachyrium pasture
Native sorghum
Native pasture communities
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10 Figure 1.2 Average annual clearing rate (1995–97). Source DNR 1999b.
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11Figure 1.3 Map of Queensland showing the percentage of each province covered by remnant vegetation. Data used is remnantvegetation mapping by the Queensland Herbarium completed April 2000. Source: EPA.
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12 Figure 2.1 Land Tenures in Queensland (1997). Source DNR 1999b.
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2 Land tenure and legislation
Contributors
Land tenure and legislation
Sarah Boulter, Department of Natural Resources
Mirranie Barker, Department of Natural Resources
Native title issues
Cyril Cordery, Department of Natural Resources
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Summary This section discusses the differences between
freehold and leasehold tenures, the history of land
management in Australia with particular reference toQueensland, opportunities for managing vegetation
under different tenures and legislation that effects
native vegetation management in Queensland.
• Property rights at law are the relationship that
an individual has with an object.
• Under freehold tenure, the landholder, in effect,
‘owns’ the land, although ownership is not
absolute as the State retains certain rights to the
land e.g. mineral rights which may be exercisedat any time. The State may also control land use
with legislation.
• Under leasehold tenure, land is leased from the
freehold owner (often the State), under strict
conditions, for a defined period, and rent isusually payable. Leasehold tenure, and the
conditions under which these leases are held,are administered under the Land Act 1994 (Qld).
• Approximately 68% of Queensland is held under
some form of leasehold tenure.
• Early European settlement saw the developmentand clearing of considerable areas. Early clearing
of properties involved the cutting and ringbarking
of trees to improve pasture growth, but little
emphasis was placed on utilising the clearedtimber. Early legislation sought to realise the
commercial value of timber cut on properties. In
the mid 1900s, various schemes such as theBrigalow Land Development Scheme, were run toencourage development of the land. This
included encouraging the clearing of large areas
of land to secure ownership. Subsequent
legislation has been developed to protect andsustain native vegetation values.
• Currently in Queensland, the Broadscale Tree
Clearing Policy governs the clearing of trees on
leasehold land. A lessee must obtain approval to
clear under the Land Act 1994 (Qld). Anapplication for clearing must be accompanied by
a tree management plan detailing the type, area
and location of vegetation proposed to be cleared.
• On the proclamation of the VegetationManagement Act 1999 (Qld), amendments to theIntegrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) (IPA) will
require that owners of freehold land submit an
application before clearing vegetation, although
there are several important exemptions.
• At the Commonwealth level, there are a number
of policy and legislative documents that relate tovegetation management. These include a
national framework for Management and
Monitoring of Australia’s Native Vegetation and
the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC), which has
implications for management of native vegetation
in Queensland. The EPBC provides that actions
deemed likely to have a significant impact on theenvironment are subject to a rigorous
assessment and approval process. This has the
potential to protect threatened species and
ecological communities.
• Other State legislation important to nativevegetation management includes:
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld)
- Water Resources Act 1989 (Qld)
- Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld)
- Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 (Qld)
• There are several native title considerations to be
made with respect to vegetation management.
After the ‘Mabo’ decision in the High Court in
1992, it was recognised that the Crown does nothold absolute title over all land, and that the
rights of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, according to their laws and customs,
should be recognised. The Native Title Act 1993(Cwlth) (amended in 1998) recognises native title
rights, provides validation for past acts that may
be invalid under native title, and provides a
process by which claims for native title andcompensation can be determined.
• Cultural heritage values, which are independent
of tenure, may require conservation and
management to protect their cultural heritage
significance. Legislation providing for this iscurrently being drafted.
• The Land Act 1994 (Qld) also makes provisions
for the consideration of both native title and
cultural heritage values in assessing tree-clearing
permits.
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The Act makes certain provisions relating to
leasehold interests. They include:• the duration of a term lease shall be no greater
than 50 years, or 100 years in some
circumstances (Land Act 1994 (Qld) s. 155)
• an obligation to pay rent to the State (Land Act 1994 (Qld) Chapter 5, Part 1)
• obligations to fulfil lease conditions that may
cover a variety of matters from residency to
development and improvements (Land Act 1994(Qld) Chapter 5, Part 2). These conditions are
usually negotiated with the lessee
• lease conditions can be reviewed every 10–15
years for new leases under the Land Act 1994(Qld) (s. 211)
• restrictions on land use in accordance with lease
conditions and the purpose of the lease (Land Act 1994 (Qld) s. 153 and Chapter 5, Part 2,Division 1)
• restrictions on who may hold certain lease types
(e.g. corporations cannot hold grazing
homestead perpetual leases) (Land Act 1994(Qld) Chapter 4, Part 2, Division 2)
• restrictions on subdivision of leases (Land Act 1994 (Qld) Chapter 6, Part 4, Division 5), which
relates to maintaining viable property sizes• aggregation controls also apply to certain lease
types, for example, no more than two living
areas of grazing homestead perpetual leases can
be held by an individual (Land Act 1994 (Qld)s. 146)3
• a liability to forfeiture of the lease for non-
compliance with lease conditions of the Act,
non-payment of rent, or if the lessee acquiredthe lease by fraud (Land Act 1994 (Qld) s. 234).
Approximately 68% of Queensland is held under
leasehold tenure. The balance of land is made up of
freehold estates and a small proportion under other
tenures (table 2.1 and figure 2.1, p.12). The Actallows for the conversion of leasehold land to
freehold tenure by application, unless the lease is
over a reserve or is a term lease granted for
pastoral purposes (Land Act 1994 (Qld) Chapter 4,Part 3, Division 3—Conversion of tenure). A lessee
may be entitled to pay the purchase price off over aterm of years, with the maximum term to repay
being 30 years (DNR 1998a).
Table 2.1 The area of land covered by different tenures in1997. Adapted from DNR (1999b).
Tenure Area (km2) %Queensland
Leasehold 1 184 435 67.9
Freehold 424 641 24.3
Other tenures (Commonwealthlands, mining tenures, main
roads, water, railways, ports,action pending, etc) 23 292 1.3
Other reserves (State forest,timber reserves, national parks) 114 017 6.5
Totals 1 746 385 100.0
2.1 Leasehold and freehold tenures
The common understanding of property in western
societies is that a property owner has a right to
exclusive ownership and control. At law, however,
‘property’ is defined not as the object or land itself,but the relationship that an individual has with that
object (Hepburn 1998). In essence, a landholder
does not own the land, but a bundle of rights to
that property. These principles operate inQueensland historically at common law (‘unwritten
law’ based on custom or court decisions) and are
incorporated in statute law. At common law there
are two doctrines that govern these legallyenforceable property rights:
• The doctrine of tenure provides that radical or
ultimate tenure (cf. beneficial ownership) to all
land is vested in the Crown2, and the landholdermerely holds land ‘of the Crown’.
• The doctrine of estates provides that alandholder does not own land, but an estate in
it. In essence, an estate is a right to possessionor enjoyment for a defined duration (Tooher &
Dwyer 1997).
Freehold land is the most complete alienation of
land from the State, although ownership is not
absolute, as the State is empowered to withholdcertain rights e.g. mineral rights. In addition, use of
the land may be controlled by legislation, for
example, the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld), and
Local Government Act 1993 (Qld). (DNR 1998a).
Leasehold tenure is the right to use land for theduration of the lease, after which time the land
reverts to the freehold owner (which may be the
State). Under leasehold ownership, rent is generally
payable and conditions of use may be imposed bythe lease agreement.
The distinction between freehold and leasehold
tenure is significant for the management of native
vegetation in Queensland, as each tenure type
offers different avenues for State legislative controls.
In Queensland, the Land Act 1994 (Qld) (the Act)
regulates the administration and management ofnon-freehold land (in particular, leasehold land), as
well as the creation of freehold land. There are
three main types of leases under the Act:• term leases (for a term anywhere between 1 and
100 years)
• perpetual leases (held by the lessee in perpetuity)
• freeholding leases (these are leases where theissue of freehold title has been approved, but
freehold title is issued only after the lessee
finalises the payment of the purchase price).
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Leases from the State are granted for a purpose,
e.g. business, grazing, pastoral and residentialdevelopment. In the case of leases granted for
pastoral purposes, the land may be used only for
grazing or agriculture. Although a lease is issued
for a particular purpose, the Minister may approvethe conduct of additional or fewer uses on the
subject land for the term of the lease. The Act also
provides a statutory obligation of a duty of care for
the land (DNR 1998a).
2.2 European settlement anddevelopment
We had at length discovered a country ready for theimmediate reception of civilised man, and fit tobecome eventually one of the great nations of theearth...Of this Eden it seemed I was the only Adam;and it was indeed a sort of paradise to me.Explorer Thomas Mitchell
The arrival of European settlers saw the succession
of a new culture to Australia. With it came aninherent tradition of land management and usesbased on European experience, and concepts of
sustainability that were not appropriate to the
Australian environment. The resulting impact of
development and management practices on theAustralian biota is widely acknowledged and
described (see section 1.2 Landscape health).
The economic development of the early colony, and
later the State of Queensland, was closely linked to
the pastoral industry. While the British ColonialOffice maintained a policy of government-
controlled settlement, squatters saw the
opportunity of millions of hectares of unoccupied
land and took what they could defend (Roberts1968). The new Queensland parliament faced early
conflicts, with pastoralists seeking large areas of
land and town interests seeking smaller holdings.
In 1860, a series of four land Acts were introducedto cover various aspects of land-use policy and
tenure. The primary aim of the initial legislation
was to ‘secure rapid, efficient and real
settlement...in pastoral land’ (Kingston 1965). The
Unoccupied Crown Lands Occupation Act 1860allowed for the creation of agricultural reserves
under the condition that basic improvements,
including housing, fencing and clearing beundertaken (Powell 1998). The Act provided that
the land should be stocked within twelve months or
be subject to forfeiture (Kingston 1965). This
emphasis on stocking and developing the countrycarried on into later legislation. Early pastoralists
used ring barking as a quick and cheap method of
improving pastures without the cost of cutting and
clearing timber. Much of the timber cleared from
pastoral lands was wasted. Sheep provided greaterreturns for significantly less effort than timber,
transportation of which was difficult. Trees were
believed to be an inexhaustible resource, so
wastage of timber on pastoral properties did not
initially concern the government (Bolton 1992;Powell 1998).
The early history of Queensland saw a government
preference for granting leasehold tenure for pastoral
land, while encouraging closer settlement for
agriculture with freehold tenure. This is stillreflected in the distribution of these tenures today
(see figure 2.1, p.12). Further, to encourage landdevelopment, a number of major government
settlement schemes and incentives, whichincorporated land clearing, were established for
land development. This continued until recently
with the Brigalow Land Development Scheme
running from 1960 to 1985. Under this scheme,allocated blocks of land were drawn in a ballot,
with winners having to demonstrate their ability to
develop the land. Clearing of large blocks of
vegetation was encouraged in property developmentplans, although there was some provision for
retaining areas for conservation purposes(Breckwoldt 2000).
Over time, improvements in the efficiency of
clearing methods, and agricultural research, enabledcost-effective development of a wider range of land
types. Early development was associated with
clearing for cropping and involved felling trees with
axes and the digging out or burning of tree stumps.The subsequent adoption of ring barking trees to
increase growth of pastures affected greater areas.
This phase of clearing lasted until the 1950s. After
World War II, the availability of heavy machinery
(surplus war equipment), and the development ofchemicals for stem injection, gave further impetus
to larger areas of land development. The
development and introduction of ‘improved’ pasturegrasses and legumes accompanied this, again
increasing the development of properties. Larger
tractors became available in the early 1960s and
were extensively used in the Brigalow LandDevelopment Scheme. Continued increases in the
power of machines enabled their use for clearing
eucalypt communities. Most clearing is currently
undertaken using a large chain pulled by two
bulldozers. Blade ploughs are particularly effectivefor regrowth control of root-suckering species, and
have become popular in Queensland since 1980,
despite their high cost. Increased stocking rates andcrop yields were achieved by the introduction of
new practices and technologies such as the
introduction of heat-tolerant and tick resistant
Brahman cattle breeds, new pasture species andnew crop varieties (Turner 1975; Breckwoldt 2000).
Few foresaw the possible environmental
implications of uncontrolled tree clearing during the
early history of Queensland. In 1803, the effects ofearly land clearing prompted Governor King toissue a proclamation forbidding the felling of trees
along rivers and watercourses in order to prevent
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process. The EPBC Act contains an extensive
regime for the conservation of biodiversityincluding:
• identification and monitoring of biodiversity, and
the preparation of bioregional plans
• listing of nationally threatened species andecological communities
• the identification of key threatening processes.
The matters of environmental significance that areidentified as triggers for the Commonwealth
assessment and approval process includenationally threatened species and ecological
communities (Commonwealth of Australia 1999). It
is conceivable that individual plant species and
regional ecosystems could be included under this.An issue such as tree clearing could also be
included as a key threatening process. The
Commonwealth has also flagged its intention to
include greenhouse issues as triggers under theEPBC Act.
Other Commonwealth legislation that potentiallyaffects native vegetation includes:
• Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 (Cwlth)
• Australian Quarantine Act 1908 (Cwlth)• Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997 (Cwlth)
• Natural Resources Management (Financial Assistance) Act 1992 (Cwlth)
• Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989 (Cwlth).
Further, there is a considerable body of national
policies, strategies and plans also directly relating
to native vegetation management, most of which
have been negotiated between the Commonwealthand the States (table 2.2). Recently, the
Commonwealth has drafted the National
Framework for Management and Monitoring of
Australia’s Native Vegetation (Commonwealth ofAustralia 2000). An initiative of the Australian and
New Zealand Environment and Conservation
Council (ANZECC), the framework describes three
key elements to implement a unified goal inmanaging Australia’s native vegetation:
• desired native vegetation outcomes
• best practice management and monitoringmechanisms• work plans (actions and timelines for each
jurisdiction).
further erosion and flooding (Bolton 1992). Despite
large fines, the directive was clearly disregarded(Powell 1998). Other minority groups also voiced
concern that continued extensive tree clearing
would have a detrimental impact on climate and
rainfall (Powell 1998). Apart from a concern withthe impact of deforestation on climate, an influential
lobbyist group, the Acclimatisation Society of
Queensland, promoted the importation of exotic
species of plants and animals to ‘improve’ theAustralian environment.
The value of timber was later recognised, and by
1839 licenses were required to cut red cedar from
Crown lands. The Crown Lands Alienation Act 1876introduced prohibition on cutting a number oftimber species on vacant Crown land or pastoral
leases (Powell 1998). As timber became more
valuable, speculators would obtain cheap land,
remove all the timber and forfeit the selection(Frawley 1983). In 1884, new legislation sought to
claim a royalty on certain timbers cut fromleasehold interests. Though this was overturned in
1888, attempts in 1886 under the Crown Lands Act Amendment Act 1886, to reduce timber speculation
on selections, resulted in the limiting of timber
cutting without the Land Commission’s permission,
by payment of a royalty if the landholder sold thetimber within the first five years of the lease
(Department of Public Lands 1926; Powell 1998). It
became practice for genuine selectors to simply
destroy the timber, while speculators waited for thefirst five years before extracting the valuable timber
(Frawley 1983). This early control was aimed atCrown realisation of the commercial value of
timber.
2.3 Managing vegetationCommonwealth legislation and nationalpolicies
While States retain primary legislative power to
regulate management of natural resources, the
Commonwealth government has progressively
increased the extent to which it endeavours to
influence or support the policies of State andTerritory jurisdictions (Griffin nrm 1999). The scale
of some land and water degradation issues, as well
as obligations associated with international treatieson environmental issues (e.g. greenhouse and
biodiversity), are frequently the drivers in this
increased Commonwealth role. Of particular
significance to native vegetation, the CommonwealthEnvironment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC), which comes into force in July
2000, has significant potential to impact on native
vegetation. The EPBC Act provides that certain
actions (i.e. a project development, undertaking oractivities) which are likely to have a major impact
on a matter of national environmental significance,
are subject to a rigorous assessment and approval17
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Table 2.2 Key national policies, strategies and plans relevantto native vegetation. Source: Griffin nrm 1999.
1989 • Murray–Darling basin: NRM Strategy
1992 • Decade of Landcare Plan• Convention on Biological Diversity• Inter-governmental Agreement on the Environment• National Forest Policy Statement• National Strategy for Ecologically
Sustainable Development• United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change
1993 • National Landcare Program FrameworkPartnership Agreements
1994 • COAG Water Reform Framework
1995 • Wood and Paper Industries Strategy (includingcommencement of the Regional ForestAgreements processes)
1996 • Murray–Darling Basin Sustainability Plan• National Strategy for the Conservation of
Australia’s Biodiversity
1997 • COAG Heads of Agreement on Roles andResponsibilities for Environment
• Decade of Landcare Plan: National Overview• Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change• National Weeds Strategy• Nationally Agreed Criteria for the Establishment of a
Comprehensive Adequate and Representative ReserveSystem for Forests in Australia
• Natural Heritage Trust Partnership Agreements• Plantations 2020 Vision• Wetlands Policy of the Commonwealth Government
of Australia
1998 • National Greenhouse Strategy
1999 • Great Artesian Basin Sustainability Initiative• National Principles and Guidelines for
Rangeland Management• Conservation of Australian Species and Ecological
Communities Threatened with Extinction: A National
Strategy (ANZECC Working Document)Feb 2000 • National Framework for the Management and
Monitoring of Australia’s Native Vegetation
May 2000 • UNCCD UN Convention to Combat Desertification
Queensland
Over the history of Queensland, the legislative and
policy emphasis, as it relates to natural resource
management, has shifted to a more formalrecognition of the need for sustainable land
management. While the early introduction of
conditions under which lands could be held was
aimed at the development and expansion of ruralindustries, the continuation of leasehold tenure in
Queensland has allowed continued legislative
control of the conditions of occupation. Broadscale
tree clearing was first regulated for most leaseholdtenures through the Land Act 1962 (Qld), which
required permits for tree clearing. Although there
was increasing emphasis on conservation values, it
was not until several major amendments in theearly 1990s that real emphasis was placed on
sustainability within Queensland legislation (Fisher
& Walton 1996). Sustainability concepts are now
embodied in the Land Act 1994 (Qld), and in otherState legislation.
In a review of native vegetation management and
monitoring practices undertaken in August 1999,five major pieces of Queensland legislation were
identified as important to native vegetation
management (Griffin nrm 1999):
• Land Act 1994 (Qld)• Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld)
• Water Resources Act 1989 (Qld)
• Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld)
• Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 (Qld).
Since the publication of that review, the VegetationManagement Act 1999 (Qld), which has significant
implications for managing native vegetation on
freehold properties in Queensland, has been passed.
Under the Land Act 1994 (Qld), a lessee is required
to obtain a permit to clear trees on leaseholdproperties (Land Act 1994 (Qld) Chapter 5, Part 6),
with specific exceptions (see s. 257). The Act
(s. 262) sets out matters that must be considered
when assessing an application for tree clearing.
These include local guidelines for broadscale treeclearing approved by the Minister or, in the
absence of local guidelines, the contents of a
Broadscale Tree Clearing Policy (BTCP) approved bythe Governor in Council. Thirty-four local
guidelines for broadscale tree clearing were
approved in 1997. These were repealed in
December 1999 at the same time that a new BTCPwas approved. The new policy increased the level
of protection for regional ecosystems with an ‘of
concern’ conservation status.
Legislative controls of clearing native vegetation
were recently extended to freehold land through theVegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld) which was
passed in December 1999, but at the time of
writing, had not yet been proclaimed. This Act
amends the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) tomake clearing on freehold land a form of
assessable development for which approval is
required. Exemptions from requiring approval apply
to clearing in certain circumstances (VegetationManagement Act 1999 (Qld) s. 84). These
exemptions include clearing of regrowth and
clearing or harvesting as part of a sustainableforest management operation. Applications areassessed for compliance with the requirements of
the Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) using an
assessment code that forms part of a regional
vegetation management plan approved by theMinister (Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld)
Part 2 Division 3). If a relevant regional
management plan is not approved, an assessment
code that forms part of a State policy for vegetationmanagement is used. Note that under the Act
vegetation is defined as ‘a native tree’ or ‘a native
plant, other than a grass or mangrove’ (VegetationManagement Act 1999 (Qld) s. 8 ).
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Table 2.3 Summary of legislation affecting rural land use, development and management. Adapted from Hyam 1995;Fisher and Walton 1996.
Act Area of control affectingland use/activity
Queensland
Aboriginal Land Act 1991 and Regulation Provide for the grant, and the claim and grant, of land asAboriginal land and for other purposes
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (Land Holding) Act 1985 Titling and administration of traditional landsand Regulations
Beach Protection Act 1968 Regulates land use and land management of Queensland beaches
Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 Adds a planning dimension to the measures contained in theBeach Protection Act 1968
Environment Protection Act 1994 Provides for the protection of the environment from a comprehensiverange of sources of environmental degradation in accordance withthe principles of ESD
Forestry Act 1959 Provides for the effective establishment and management offorest lands in Queensland
Integrated Planning Act 1997 Provides a system whereby any development may be approvedanywhere in the State through a uniform process based on asingle application
Land Act 1994 Consolidates the law relating to the administration andmanagement of non-freehold land and the creation of freehold land
Mineral Resources Act 1989 and Regulations An Act to encourage and regulate mining in QueenslandNative Title (Queensland) Act 1993 Mirrors Commonwealth legislation
Nature Conservation Act 1992 Provides for the management of protected areas and the conservationof endangered species
Property Law Act 1974 An Act relating to the law of conveyancing of property
Queensland Heritage Act 1992 Provides for the conservation of the cultural heritage and environment ofQueensland
Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 Provides for the management and control of plants and animals affectingrural land
Soil Conservation Act 1986 An Act that provides for the requirements for conservation of soil
Water Resources Act 1989 Provides for the construction and control of irrigation waters in Queensland
Commonwealth
Native Title Act 1993 Provides for circumstances in which native title has not been extinguished
at law
Under both the Broadscale Tree Clearing Policy forLeasehold land and the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld), a clearing application must be
accompanied by a tree management plan (for
leasehold land) or a property vegetationmanagement plan (PVMP) (for freehold land) which
details the type, area and location of vegetation
proposed to be cleared.
Other State legislation that controls the
management and monitoring of native vegetation
includes:
• The Nature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld) which
provides for the issue of conservation orders on
any tenure in order to protect environmental and
conservation values, and provides for thedesignation of an area as being of major interest
or critical value.
• The Water Resources Act 1989 (Qld) imposes
controls over the clearing of beds and banks of
watercourses.
• The Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 (Qld)
identifies exotic woody weed species that are tobe controlled and allows landholders to control
these species without first seeking tree clearingpermits, provided the overstorey trees are not
removed.
• The Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld) provides that a
person must not remove, destroy or damage a
marine plant without a permit (s. 123). Burning
salt couch and pruning mangroves are used asexamples of unlawful damage. Grazing salt
couch could be construed as ‘damage’ under this
definition. ‘Marine plant’ is defined broadly, to
include ‘a plant (a tidal plant) that usually growson, or adjacent to tidal land; whether it is living,
dead, standing or fallen; material of a tidal plant,
or other plant material on tidal land; a plant, ormaterial of a plant, prescribed under a regulationor management plan to be a marine plant,
(s. 8(1)). This definition allows for plants
adjacent to tidal land, such as melaleuca forests
in freshwater wetlands contiguous with tidalland, to come under the provisions of the
Fisheries Act 1994 (Qld), with respect to
vegetation disturbance.
Local government
Local governments may also regulate native
vegetation management through ordinances andpolicy instruments that affect all tenures in urban
and peri-urban areas. For example, the Brisbane City
Council is progressively introducing a number of
planning and policy instruments to protect
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vegetation: Vegetation Protection Ordinances (VPOs),
zoning controls and requirements, strengthening ofVPOs under the IPA, the Brisbane City Bushland
Acquisition Program and Community Partnerships.
2.4 Other legislation There is a considerable body of legislation,
including planning law, which impacts upon, or
controls activities on rural land holdings (see table2.3). A considerable proportion of this
contemporary legislation reflects developments in
environmental law, and embraces many of theconcepts of sustainability (see section 3.1
Ecologically sustainable development).
Native title issues
As discussed in section 2.1, on European
settlement in Australia, the Crown was deemed to
acquire radical title to all lands in the colony, andabsolute title to all uninhabited lands. However, the
High Court, in Mabo and Others v. Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, held that not all land
rights derive from a Crown grant. A majority of theCourt held that the common law of Australia
recognises a form of native title to the land. Native
title is the recognition of rights, which are held by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleaccording to their laws and customs. The common
law provides that the Crown could extinguish
native title by valid exercise of their sovereign
power by one of the following:• legislation
• granting a tenure (such as private freehold)which is inconsistent with the continued
existence of native title• using the land in a manner inconsistent with the
continued existence of native title.
In practice, native title is not an issue in respect of
valid private freehold grants, but is an issue that
must be assessed in respect of dealings involvingall other lands. Whether native title does, or does
not, survive on a given parcel is therefore a
question of fact, not of policy or discretion by
governments, and depends upon two mainconsiderations:
• whether there has been a lawful extinguishment
of that title
• whether the relevant Aboriginal or Torres StraitIslander people have maintained a continuous
connection with the land.
The Australian Government gave a legislative
response to the Mabo decision by passing theNative Title Act 1993 (Cwlth). The objects of the
legislation were to:
• validate past acts which may otherwise be
invalid due to the existence of native title• set the standards for future dealings with land
where native title exists
• recognise and protect native title and provide for
its coexistence with land management systems• establish a mechanism for determining claims to
native title and for compensation where native
title has been extinguished or impaired by past
acts.
Following the commencement of theCommonwealth Native Title Act, the High Court, in
Wik Peoples v. State of Queensland (1996) 141 ALR129, held that the grant of a pastoral lease does not
necessarily extinguish native title and that pastoralleases may coexist with native title. This decision
meant that native title might potentially coexist
over a large number of leasehold properties. The
Commonwealth responded with the passing of theNative Title Amendment Act 1998.
Native title implications in respect of all dealings,
authorised or implemented by the Department of
Natural Resources, including tree clearing permits,
vegetation permits, sale of forest products and the
like, must be assessed with regard to the provisionsof the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth). The Land Act 1994 (Qld) also makes provision for both native
title and cultural heritage values (see Part 3 fornative title and s. 262(2)(k) for cultural heritage
values) to be considered in assessing a tree-
clearing permit.
Cultural heritage values
Native title and cultural heritage are different, and
are protected by various pieces of legislation.Cultural heritage values are independent of tenure
and may require conservation and management toprotect their cultural heritage significance. A draft
model for new legislation outlines possible ways toprotect cultural heritage as it relates to land and
water. The implications of the proposed legislation
with respect to native vegetation management are
potentially significant, but cannot be detailed untilthe proposed legislation is forthcoming.
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3 National and international issues and their local impacts
Contributors
Ecologically sustainable development
Sarah Boulter, Department of Natural Resources
Conservation of biological diversity
Rod Fensham, Environmental Protection Agency
Geoffrey T. Smith, Department of Natural ResourcesBruce Wilson, Environmental Protection Agency
Greenhouse effect
Beverley Henry, Department of Natural Resources
Lyn Allen, Department of Natural Resources
21
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• Biodiversity is crucial to maintaining a healthy
landscape, providing useful products andmaintaining critical ecosystem services such as
pollution breakdown and absorption, water
quality, pollination, natural pest control and
nutrient cycling. Natural biodiversity providesecosystems and landscape with resilience
against extreme (local) events.
• A National Strategy for Conservation ofAustralia’s Biodiversity has been developed. In
Queensland, biodiversity conservation isincorporated in planning and management
strategies at all government levels. Conservation
of regional ecosystems and their role as
surrogates for species is an importantcomponent in biodiversity management and
protection strategies in Queensland. However,
comprehensive strategies plan and manage
biodiversity at a range of levels and scales.
Greenhouse effect
• The warming of the earth’s atmosphere as a
result of the release of greenhouse gases such as
methane and carbon dioxide has increased overthe past 200 years, resulting in changing
temperature and rainfall patterns, and rising sea
levels.
• The global response has been the signing of the
Kyoto Protocol, where countries madecommitments to reducing emissions to a certain
percentage below 1990 levels by 2008–12, with
Australia’s target being 108% growth on the
1990 emission level.
• Australia is undertaking action through the
National Greenhouse Strategy (NGS), including
measures in relation to sinks, directed at
reducing land-based emissions and enhancingsequestration in vegetation and agricultural soils.
In response to NGS, the Queensland Government
has also developed the Queensland
Implementation Plan (QIP).
• The Australian Greenhouse Office has initiatedcalculations of land-based source and sinks in
the form of a National Greenhouse Gas Inventory(NGGI). A significant component of this is the
Land Use Change and Forestry sector (LUCF),which was responsible for approximately 20% of
Australia’s emissions in 1990.
• The Kyoto Protocol has provided for the concept
of carbon credits and carbon trading. Examples
of sinks that could generate carbon credits forQueensland include conservation of forests from
clearing or logging, and agroforestry. However,
eligibility for carbon credits from restrictions in
land clearing is yet to be determined.
Summary This section examines the national and
international issues of ecologically sustainable
development, biological diversity and thegreenhouse effect, as they relate to the management
of native vegetation. The issues are outlined in
general, together with local implications for native
vegetation management.
Ecologically sustainable development (ESD)
• The concept of ESD is defined in the Bruntland
Report, as ‘development that meets the needs ofthe present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs’. The
Commonwealth Government and the State
Governments have accepted ESD, leading to theformulation of a National Strategy on ESD,
providing core objectives and guiding principles
across a broad range of issues.
• There has been discussion as to whether thestrategy provides the necessary framework formajor institutional changes and changes in
current production–consumption patterns.
Associated with this debate is the definition of
ESD itself, which has been criticised as beinglimited in terms of its operational component, so
not providing for the aforementioned necessary
changes. Emphasis remains on the need for
meeting material wants and sustaining economicgrowth, with biotic communities and ecosystems
being valued only incidentally.
• Despite these problems of definition, ESD is thestated primary objective of most land-use
management.
• A review by the Productivity Commission in 1999found that there is a lack of clarity in
Commonwealth departments and agencies as to
what constitutes ESD-related policy, a lack of
long-term focus, and failure to follow ‘goodpractice’ policy-making principles.
• The agricultural industry has developed a
number of sustainability indicators both at the
regional, national and on-farm levels. Theindicators are related to the profitability,managerial skills and off-site impact of
agricultural land use, and the land and water
quality required to sustain production.
Conservation of biological diversity
• Biodiversity has been defined as the variety of
life in all its forms—the different plants, animals
and micro-organisms, the genes they contain
and the ecosystems or assemblages they form.Traditionally, biodiversity has been considered on
the genetic, species and ecosystem level, but isnow also considered on the landscape level, in
recognition of the complex interactions thatoccur across a landscape.
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3.1 Ecologically sustainabledevelopment
What is ‘ecologically sustainabledevelopment’?
In reporting on the state of the environment inAustralia, sustainable development was identified
as the ‘central issue of our time’ (DEST 1996). With
both the environment and agriculture showingsigns of stress (Tothill & Gillies 1992; IndustryCommission 1998) the need for systems of
sustainable land use is generally agreed to be
paramount (eg: McIvor 1990b; Williams 1990;
Pickup & Stafford Smith 1993; Dovers & Norton,1994a,b; Bishop et al. 1999). Concern for the
environmental impact of development globally has
led to international adoption of the notion of
ecologically sustainable development (ESD), whichseeks to integrate a range of environmental and
development issues. Determining the application of
this principle in practice is not straightforward, andhas implications for the retention and managementof native vegetation.
The notion of ESD has historical links to classical
economic theory, energy analysis and sustained
yield management modelling of indefinitely
renewable resources (eg: fisheries and forestry)(Dovers & Norton 1994a,b; Callicott & Mumford
1997). The concept gained international acceptance
with the United Nations World Commission on
Environment and Development (the Bruntland
Commission) in 1987. The commission’s reportoutlined how governments might achieve the
objectives of economic development and
environmental protection, and interpreted ESD as‘development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’ (World
Commission on Environment and Development1990). Following on from this initial report, a
number of international and national policy
documents have sought to further refine and
implement a global plan for sustainable
development. In 1992, the Australian Governmentfinalised its own National Strategy on Ecologically
Sustainable Development (NSESD) that was
subsequently endorsed by the QueenslandGovernment.
The NSESD defines ESD as:
Using, conserving and enhancing the community’sresources so that ecological processes, on which lifedepends, are maintained and the total quality of life,now and in the future, can be increased.(Commonwealth of Australia 1992b)
23
The core objectives of ecologically sustainable
development are:
• to enhance individual and community well-
being and welfare by following a path ofeconomic development that safeguards the
welfare of future generations
• to provide for equity within and between
generations
• to protect biological diversity and maintain
essential ecological processes and life-supportsystems.
The guiding principles are:
• Decision-making processes should effectively
integrate both long- and short-term economic,
environmental, social and equity
considerations.
• Where there are threats of serious orirreversible environmental damage, lack of full
scientific certainty should not be used as areason for postponing measures to prevent
environmental degradation.
• The global dimension of environmental impactsof actions and policies should be recognised
and considered.
• The need to develop a strong, growing and
diversified economy which can enhance the
capacity for environmental protection shouldbe recognised.
• The need to maintain and enhance
international competitiveness in anenvironmentally sound manner should berecognised.
• Cost effectiveness and flexible policy
instruments such as improved valuation,
pricing and incentive mechanisms should be
adopted.
• Decisions and actions should provide for broadcommunity involvement on issues which affect
them.
These guiding principles and core objectives need
to be considered as a package. No objective orprinciple should predominate over the others. Abalanced approach that takes into account all
these objectives and principles is required to
pursue the goal of ESD.
Box 3.1 The core objectives and guiding principles from theNational Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development(Commonwealth of Australia 1992b).
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• consideration of the whole property as an
integral part of the geomorphic (hydrological andecological) processes (landscape) of which it is
part (eg: McIvor 1990b; Williams 1990; Pickup &
Stafford Smith 1993; Dovers & Norton 1994a,b;
Lefroy & Hobbs 1998; McIvor & MacLeod 1999;McIntyre et al. 2000; Simpson & Whalley 1999)
• promotion of better environmental outcomes,
(e.g. improved soil fertility, health and structure,
protection of biodiversity and ecosystemamenities, reduction of erosion, salinity).
It is generally acknowledged that in order to put
sustainability into practice, land managers and
developers need to acknowledge that the current
environment is the result of three factors:• evolutionary history (millions of years) including
that of historic and prehistoric humans
• biophysical parameters and processes (soil,
climate, nutrient cycling)• management parameters (percentage developed,
grazing type and pressure).It is important to distinguish between these
evolutionary and biophysical factors as they must
be planned for in management strategies, so thatmanagement factors can then be adjusted in order
to meet sustainability goals.
In the context of the grazing ecosystem,
sustainability would require land use to take place
in an ecologically conservative fashion, withinapparently safe limits that have been determined by
an integrated assessment of current and potential
threats (Dovers & Norton 1994a). In the absence of
sufficient ecological information, sustainabilityincludes the adoption of the precautionary
approach to environmental issues. The
precautionary principle requires that if the full
impact of a decision is unknown and theconsequences of that decision are irreversible, then
that decision should not be made.
A recent Australian workshop explored the
modelling of sustainable agriculture on natural
ecosystems. In addition to production, theconservation of land and water and to a certain
degree, biodiversity, is an outcome of theagricultural system, rather than an ameliorating
afterthought (Lefroy & Hobbs 1998). Production isdesigned using ecological assemblages based on
proportional representation of functional groups
(cf. taxonomic, biogeographic or aesthetic groups)
found in nature. As this does not necessarily meanlocal, indigenous species, care must be taken to
avoid using scenarios where weeds may become a
problem. In determining the level of biodiversity to
be imitated, the existing biota must be looked at inevolutionary terms. The difficulty in this approach
is the ability to retain mutualistic or cooperativefunctions that are generally lost in intensively
managed systems, and social and economicconstraints such as the slow rate of adoption by
The strategy provides core objectives, guiding
principles (see box 3.1) and a broad strategicframework for key industry sectors across a broad
range of issues. It seeks to integrate economic,
social and environmental concerns and provide
protection to the community based on the notion ofintergenerational equity. At a State level, various
Queensland Acts include sustainable development
in their purpose (see section 2).
Economists Constanza and Daly (1992) present an
alternative perspective, distinguishing growth as‘pushing more matter–energy through the
economy’ and development as ‘squeezing more
human want satisfaction out of each unit of matter
energy that passes through’. Economic growthequates to increased throughput, and sustainable
economic development to increased efficiency.
However, Callicott and Mumford (1997) note that a
‘no-growth concept’ of ESD could also be achievedby changing human wants to fewer material goods,
more amenities (clean air and water) and services(education), which would improve profits and
create jobs. This shift would facilitate ESD lessthrough production efficiency, but more from a
demand-driven shift in the economy. In a
Commonwealth inquiry into ecologically
sustainable land management, the IndustryCommission (1998) similarly identified the absence
or poor functioning of markets for key natural
resources (i.e. water, farm forestry, native flora and
fauna) and recommended improvement of thesemarkets (e.g. tradeable rights to water, separate
tenure for land and trees). CSIRO research in northAustralia, is identifying improved markets for
‘clean, green’ agriculture, to demonstrate theeconomic benefits of creating a niche market for
sustainable agriculture.
Sustainability can be simply defined as the ability
to maintain something undiminished over some
time (Callicott & Mumford 1997). Based on thisdefinition, Callicott and Mumford (1997) argue that
definitions need to be reconstructed bearing in
mind the inapplicability of the sustained yield
notion to most natural resources, which are
vulnerable to risks other than over-harvesting(e.g. land degradation).
Principles, assessment and indicators
While a useful definition of ESD can be debated ad
infinitum, other authors have circumvented these
difficulties by focusing on determining principles,assessment procedures (Bosshard 2000) and
indicators of sustainability (Dove 1997). There are
a number of guiding principles that are generally
accepted within the literature. Common elements ofapproaches to sustainable land-use planning
include:• identifying the best combination of sustainable
land uses for an area
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landholders (Lefroy & Hobbs 1998). Dawson and
Fry (1998) assert that to be successful, such amodel needs to be based on scientific
understanding, to mimic the natural variability
found at farm and landscape scale and to be
designed within an adoption framework.
McIntyre et al. (2000) have formulated a set of
principles for sustainable management for grazing
in subtropical woodlands. The principles
incorporate ecological indicators for grazingproperties relating to soils, pastures, trees and
wildlife. For some of these principles, thresholds
were determined. Pickup and Stafford Smith (1993)
suggest an assessment process that is a stepwise,iterative application of procedure to determine
economic viability, ecological adequacy and social
feasibility. While they acknowledge that the
application is somewhat daunting, they suggest theprocess is valuable in providing a basis for
application based on current local knowledge, and
identifies many critical research issues. Dovers and
Norton (1994a,b) have also suggested criteria forassessing sustainability based on an ecological
framework.
Some authors have attempted to describe regionaland on-farm indicators of sustainability. For
example, table 3.1 details a set of indicators
developed under the following broad categories
developed by SCARM:• profitability (reflected by long-term, real, net
farm income)• land and water quality to sustain production
• managerial skills
• off-site environmental impacts (Dove 1997).
King et al. (in prep) described the work in Australia
on sustainability indicators as ‘an industry of itsown’. They identify a number of reasons why use
by farmers is limited, such as measurements being
meaningless to landholders, production agriculture
being viewed as separate to conservation
agriculture, the theoretical nature of indicators, lackof enthusiasm by farmers in measuring degradation
of their own farms, the threatening nature of the
subject of land conservation, monitoring beingperceived as negative by farmers, and the
perception by farmers that they are being assessed.
Key findings of this study were:
• that the knowledge of farmers in developingindicators has been largely ignored
• there are links between indicators used by farmers
and those developed through traditional science
• off-farm indicators used by farmers may beuseful in policy development.
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Table 3.1 Sustainability indicators for agriculture (Dove 1997).
Regional/national indicators On-farm indicators
Profitability • Net farm income • Disposable income per household• Equity • Non-farm income• Productivity • Farm operating surplus as % land value• Term of trade • Farm income per hectare per 100 mm growing season rainfall
• Operating costs as % land value• Land value per household• Machinery value as % of farm income• Farm income per farm labour unit• Financing costs as % total income• Return on capital
Land and water quality • Water use efficiency • Water use efficiencyto sustain production • Nutrient balance • Acidification
• Enterprise diversity • Organic matter (Organic C%)• Native vegetation • Exchangeable sodium (Exch. Na %)• Rangeland condition • Soil erosion• Change in area of productive
agricultural land
Managerial skills • Farmer education level • Financial• Participation rate • Administration• Implementation of sustainable • Risk management
management practices • Land• Machinery• Staff management
• People skills• Crop and pasture production• Livestock production• Succession plan• Marketing• Farm safety
Off-site environmental impacts • Chemical residues in • Salinity of water leaving farm/districtagricultural produce • Nutrient in water leaving farm/district
• Salinity in streams • Health of livestock leaving farm/district• Dust storm frequency • Health of plants leaving farm/district
• Length of contact zonewith conservation areas
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1983; McIvor 1990b; Dovers & Norton 1994;
ANZECC and ARMCANZ 1999). For manyresearchers and managers, the primary objective is
still the need to optimise production, although
there is some acknowledgment that management
trade-offs are paramount in preventing irreversibleland degradation (McIvor 1990b; Pickup & Stafford
Smith 1993; McIntyre et al. 2000). Other authors
consider that sustaining biodiversity should be the
primary concern of sustainability (Noss 1983;Dovers & Norton 1994a; Dovers & Norton 1994b;
Callicott & Mumford 1997; Callicott et al. 1999).
Their broad interpretation of ecological
sustainability for biological conservation involvesconverting natural resources (efficiently) into a
commercial commodity without running down the
natural capital (i.e. biodiversity, and
consequentially ecological services and function)beyond the degradation threshold (Tilman 1999b).
James et al. (1999) offer an economic costs
scenario likely to ensure the persistence of
biodiversity. Their analysis explores the costs insetting aside areas for restricted use, and in fencing
other areas for exclusion. They assert that this is a
‘modest investment in sustaining biodiversity’. Their
purpose was to explore ways in which productioncould (more or less) continue while biodiversity
protection was implemented.
Decisions about what proportion of a property to
develop in the rural context make up part of the
management parameters of sustainability. A greatdeal of debate about the appropriate amount of
vegetation to retain on properties gives rise toguidelines of between 20%4and 34% (Burrows et
al. 1988b; Walpole 1999; McIntyre et al. 2000) forvarious vegetation types and for various purposes
(wildlife habitat, shade and shelter, nutrient
recycling and erosion control) as part of
sustainable property management. The treeclearing guidelines determined by the VegetationManagement Act 1999 (Qld) and the Land Act 1994
(Qld) provide for a vegetation management
framework, while the stated purpose includesallowing for ecologically sustainable land use
(Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld) S 3.1 (e)).Based on the above analysis, conservation of
regional vegetation diversity alone cannot addressall facets of sustainable property management, and
must be included with a wider interpretation of
sustainable management. Statewide reductions in
clearing to achieve biodiversity outcomes will haveshort-term and long-term economic consequences,
and part of the challenge of sustainability is
ensuring the economic viability of landholders. The
challenge in implementing this legislation ismarrying the short-term profitability of the
property with the long-term goal of sustainability,and in this way incorporating sustainability of
biodiversity with sustainable property management.
Pickup and Stafford Smith (1993) have identified
the following difficulties in prescribing guidelinesfor sustainable land use:
• the scale at which properties are managed
• the variability of influencing factors
• lack of research information to provideconceptual models
• lack of effective techniques for measuring and
combatting land degradation
• a failure by bureaucracies to transmit aconsistent message to landholders
• land managers lacking the tools to help with
making decisions at the property scale.
Where principles are recommended, adoption of
these practices by landholders may be limited bythe following:
• character of the land
• economic constraints
• available technology• legal aspects of land use
• land tenure and management• production-focused government policies as
opposed to those that focus on the sustainabilityor fate of individuals (Hollick 1995)
• historical or cultural aspects.
In 1999, an inquiry was conducted to examine the
progress of Commonwealth departments and
agencies in incorporating ESD into their policy,decision-making processes, and day-to-day
operations (Productivity Commission 2000). The
overall progress of ESD implementation has been
variable, with the best examples in natural resource
management. The major impediments forimplementation were identified as being the lack of
clarity regarding what constitutes ESD-related
policies, failure to follow ‘good practice’ policy-making principles, lack of long-term focus and
often lack of tools to assist in policy making. Many
organizations regarded ESD as relating solely to
environmental issues, when in fact it has a broaderscope, including factors such as externalities and
open access resources with undefined property
rights (Productivity Commission 2000). The inquiry
recommended that improvement of ESD
implementation could be achieved by focusing onimproving the practices of policy making within
departments and agencies, improving coordination
between agencies and other stakeholders,undertaking regular monitoring and review of policy
initiatives, encouraging longer term strategic
thinking and developing a longer-term commitment
to monitoring environmental indicators(Productivity Commission 2000).
The current Queensland framework and theimplications for land managers
Despite the difficulties in defining sustainability as
outlined above, the notion has become a common
objective of natural resource management (Noss
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3.2 Conservation of biologicaldiversity
Biological diversity: definition and values
Biological diversity, or biodiversity, refers to thevariety of life in all its forms—the different plants,
animals and micro-organisms, the genes they
contain and the ecosystems or assemblages they
form. Traditionally, biological diversity is consideredat three different levels: genetic, species and
ecosystem (Commonwealth of Australia 1993).
However, biodiversity is also defined in relation to
environmental and ecological distinctiveness andthe complex interactions that occur across a
landscape. The regional landscape level of
biological diversity is now well accepted (Noss
1990; Sattler 1993a) and is recognised in the Nature
Conservation Act 1992 (Qld).
Humans are dependent on biological systems and
processes, and derive their food, many medicines
and industrial products from both wild and
domesticated components of biological diversity.This diversity also underpins and sustains
functions important to maintaining a ‘healthy’
landscape. This functional role of biological
diversity, and the suite of processes that make upthe complex interacting system of the earth
according to how it supports humans, have been
collectively referred to as ‘ecosystem services’ (e.g.
Daily 1997). These services are such pervasivefeatures of the environment that they are often
assumed to be constant until they break down orbecome depleted (Mooney & Ehrlich 1997). Indeed,
it is the global extent of emerging land degradation,poor quality surface water and declining wild
stocks that have focused international attention on
the functional roles of biodiversity (Baskin 1994,
Baskin 1997, Daily 1997).
What ecosystem services might include
Ecosystem services operate at a variety of scales,from global to local. Delineating the boundaries of
connected processes is difficult, if not impossible.
Examples at a local level include the role of birdfauna in maintaining insect populations at levelslow enough to prevent defoliation and associated
dieback of eucalypts in northern New South Wales
and Victoria (Ford 1990; Loyn 1987), and native
ants improving recruitment of grass species in theMitchell Grass Downs region (Phelps & Phelps
1999). Other examples of global ‘services’ provided
by biodiversity include pollution breakdown and
absorption, soil formation, nutrient cycling,recovery from unpredictable events, contribution to
climate stability and protection of water resources
(table 3.2).
Does biodiversity matter to ecosystemservices?
The importance of biodiversity to the functioning of
ecosystems has been identified by a number of
authors (e.g. Daily 1997; Naeem 1998). Biologicaldiversity can be measured by assigning organisms
to functional groups by trophic level, guild and
other ecosystem roles or outputs (Naeem 1998).
These groups are arguably of greater importance indetermining the role of biodiversity in providing
ecosystem services than in the identity of their
component species (Ewel et al. 1991; Ewel 1986).
Four conclusions emerge from theoretical modellingand field research on the role of biodiversity in
ecosystem function. They are:
1. Species richness adds to the net ecosystem
productivity up to a (small) number of species,
beyond which the level of productivity remainsfairly constant (Tilman et al. 1996; Tilman 1997).
Productivity increases more with diversity offunctional groups than with increases in
randomly selected species because of theimportance of complimentary niche roles and the
interactions among selected species (Loreau
1998; Hector et al. 1999).
2. Resilience to the impact of extreme (local) events
is enhanced by greater regional biodiversity, asthe functional ‘short-fall’ on the loss of
individual species can be filled by other species,
and so biodiversity has an element of
redundancy (Naeem 1998). Greater (regional)
species richness is an insurance against theimpact of extreme (local) events (Yachi & Loreau
1999; Petchey et al. 1999; Hector et al. 1999;
Tilman 1999a).
3. Local extinctions or reduction in biomass (withinfunctional groups) can trigger loss of ecosystem
functions, degradation or collapse and the
transition and ‘run-down’ to a new equilibrium
with a lower level of productivity (Westoby 1989,Ash et al. 1997; Tothill & Gillies 1992).
4. Simplified human-managed ecosystems are
efficient producers of target products, but tend tobe inefficient with regard to such services as
maintenance of soil fertility (i.e. losing soil,nutrients and water) (Baskin 1997; Paoletti et al.
1992).
Diversity can be increased by the introduction of
exotics, although it may increase only temporarily
beyond that of the natural ecosystem after which itcan decline, depending on the competitive
advantage of the exotic species. Australia’s species
richness has increased by >2700 alien plants (Low
1999), including many useful to agricultural
production (Bridgewater 1990; Tothill & Hacker1996), yet few would argue that this has been
entirely beneficial (EPA 1999c).
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technology. The challenge is to improve economic
production and halt or reverse degradation.
Identifying threats to ecosystem functioning,
predicting outcomes and assessing risk is difficult.When does a phenomenon constitute a degrading
process or a temporary disturbance? How should
biodiversity be managed in order to maintain the
resilience that permits an ecosystem oragroecosystem to recover from a disturbance?
(Sousa 1984). Cause and effect can be separated by
kilometres (e.g. down a river) or generations into
the future, complicated by lag effects and feedbackmechanisms (see for example section 4.2.8
Salinity). However, environmental modelling,
together with appropriate survey capability can
Threats to ecosystem functioning
The complete replacement of the life support
functions of the biosphere with a synthetic
analogue is a technical impossibility. Even thesmall-scale experiment ‘Biosphere 2’ (Marino &
Odum 1999; Alling et al. 2000) demonstrated the
difficulty, or futility, of building a self-perpetuating
functioning ecology on a planetary scale. But no-one is proposing to eliminate the entire biosphere.
Rather, rising human population, falling terms of
trade and concern for the future drive attempts to
increase the efficiency of resource use whilelimiting further degradation. Agricultural
efficiencies can be raised in terms of yield/ha (if
not yield/input) with the application of modern
28
Table 3.2 Categories of ecosystem services derived from biodiversity.
Ecosystem service Details
Global
Atmospheric composition and climate • Plants play an integral role in atmospheric cycling through photosynthesis, respiration andtranspiration (See section 3.3 Greenhouse effect).
• Local patterns of precipitation and temperature effects may include proximity to the ocean,topography and vegetation cover (Meyer-Homji 1992; Smith 1994; Smith et al. 1992;Williams 1991).
• Sustained reduction of rainfall following clearing, based on loss of function of vegetation cover
to water balance regulation through increasing the height of the planetary boundary layer,heat fluxes, evapotranspiration (Lyons et al. 1993) and release of aerosols demonstrated in theWestern Australian wheatbelt (Chambers 1998).
Cycling of water, nutrients and • Cycled essential elements include carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium,atmospheric chemical elements manganese, calcium, sulphur and sodium.
• Living organisms make a major contribution to rendering these and other nutrients available asorganic compounds or soluble ions.
• The same processes and the chemical attributes of the biosphere are essential to water andair purification (Daily et al. 1997).
Genetic library • Provision of a gene pool contributes both directly (medicine, food, resilience to disease andpests) and indirectly (continuation of evolutionary processes).
Regional and local processes
Natural resources/production inputs • Plants concentrate nutrients and other complex molecules required from inorganic sources,which consumer organisms generally are not capable of synthesising (Dorit et al. 1991).
• Non-food resources supplied by ecosystems include fossil fuel, timber, paper, fibre for textiles,
chemicals for industry and pharmaceuticals.
Soil formation, fertility and retention • Living decomposers turn dead organic matter, including potentially toxic plant products, toinorganic ions and humus, aiding soil structure, pore size, ped formation, nutrient store andbuffering the soil against pH changes (White 1997b).
• Some bacteria fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, while symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi improvethe ability of plants to utilise soil nutrients.
• Larger organisms bury and process organic wastes, improving the structure of the soil.(Baskin 1997; Daily et al. 1997).
Pollination and dispersal of plants • Worldwide, 91% of flowering plants are pollinated by animals, 8.3% are pollinated by wind orare self fertile and 0.06% are dispersed by water (Nabhan & Buchmann 1997)
• Pollination and seed dispersal are frequently mediated by animals (e.g. bats, insects and birds)in Australia. (Specht & Specht 1999)
Natural pest control • Herbivorous and wood-boring insects are preyed upon by predatory insects, spiders (Reichert& Bishop 1990; Reichert & Lockley 1984; De Barro 1992), insectivorous birds, micro batsand reptiles (Davidson and Davidson 1992).
• Intensive agriculture that has displaced natural systems entirely or that introduces massivedisturbance through the use of pesticides that attack non target (beneficial) species are veryvulnerable to pest damage (Carson, 1962; Pimental & Greiner 1997).
Hydrology and flood control • Vegetation can determine whether rainfall contributes to evapotranspiration and interception,soil surface evaporation, root zone storage, run-off and deep drainage (to groundwater)(White 1997b; Meyers 1996; DNR 1997).
• The control exerted over hydrology by percent cover and deep rooted perennial vegetation has
been evidenced in Australia in shorter and higher flood hydrographs and rising groundwatertables (Hobbs & Hopkins 1990).
Bioremediation • Wetlands vegetation (from unicellular algae to macrophytes that float or are anchored) inparticular have been demonstrated to purify water (Sainty et al. 1994)
• Efficient and/or hardy species from natural functional groups can be recruited (and bred) foruse in particular tasks such as treatment of urban run-off and natural processing of wasteproducts such as leachate and mining tailings (Sainty, et al. 1994).
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contribute to regional and catchment-level risk
assessments. For example, a limited riskassessment for survival of selected (rare) species in
the aquatic ecosystems of the Fitzroy basin has
been made as part of the Water Allocation
Management Planning (WAMP) process (DNR1998b). However, extinctions of individual species
are only the final outcome of prolonged or
profound degradation (Recher 1999). Function loss
may arise once a species or functional groupdeclines or becomes an extinct keystone species
(Krebs 1994; Mooney & Ehrlich 1997). Ecosystems
don’t need to collapse entirely to impact on the
quality of ecosystem services or productivity(Hobbs & Hopkins 1990).
More intense agroecosystems tend to be less
complex than the natural ecosystems they replace.
These simplified systems are efficient in terms of a
target product but may lack the resilience orbuffering effect of native ecosystems. Monocultures
can be efficient and yet vulnerable to extremeweather events and disease. Extensive land use, or
utilisation of native vegetation for grazing orforestry varies in impact, depending on stocking
rates and grazing management or harvesting
regime (Wilson 1990). Further, it is possible to use
non-indigenous plants and animals to satisfyproduction as well as performing certain ecological
services, although this is often imperfect (see also
section 3.1). Adaptations to highly local conditions
are often seen to be optimal, however, the functionsand efficiencies of local species and communities
are also limited to natural variety and evolution. Indeciding ideal levels of management in terms of
replacing or adding species, continued delivery ofecosystem services should be an integral aim at
paddock, landscape and catchment scales. The
recognition that ecosystems respond to sustained
disturbance in a non-linear fashion has focusedattention on thresholds (McIntyre et al. 2000).
Cumulative incremental losses can degrade
ecosystem function (Saunders et al. 1991). If
threatening processes persist and/or interact,‘steady states’ can be pushed or suddenly degraded
to a point where productivity is permanentlyreduced to a new ‘equilibrium’. By identifying
thresholds, management can seek to stay withinsafe limits to avoid collapses or losses of function.
The species of naturally occurring communities are
a moveable feast, changing over time with
invasions and other disturbances and shifts such as
climate change. Others have argued that speciesare positioned along environmental gradients,
fulfilling particular or general ecological functions
regardless of their taxonomy or that of their
neighbours. Some geographic areas will perform atless than maximum ecological efficiency, defined as
biomass production, if a functional group is poorly
or not represented. For example, pasture
production can be increased in north Queensland
by the addition of vigorous exotic legumes.
However, such successful introductions can initiatea one-way directional shift. Legumes can change
environmental parameters such as pH
(acidification) and increase soil nitrogen (Cregan &
Scott 1998; Noble et al. 1997).
Agroecosystem design, development andmanagement will benefit from the strategic
retention of trees or regional ecosystems and theuse of ecological analogues in pastoral and
cropping systems. Future shocks and directionalshifts can be expected from sources such as global
climate change and outbreaks of weeds and
diseases. Intact native biota can be seen as a buffer
against rapid (detrimental) change and as a sourceof genetic resources.
Strategies for conservation of biodiversity
At an international level, the Convention on
Biological Diversity sets out the broad guidelines
and outcomes necessary for the conservation of
biodiversity. This convention was ratified byAustralia in 1996. Within Australia, biodiversity
conservation principles were incorporated into the
development of ecologically sustainable
development strategies (e.g. Commonwealth ofAustralia 1992b). Subsequently, a National Strategy
for the Conservation of Australia’s Biological
Diversity has been developed and has been
accepted by the Commonwealth, State and Territorygovernments (ANZECC 1993). This strategy sets
out broad directions covering a range of
substrategies and programs such as the National
Forest Policy, the National Reserve System, NationalHeritage Trust Programs and treaties such as the
Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA)
and others listed in table 2.2.
In Queensland, there is no overarching State-wide
strategy for the protection of biodiversity. However,biodiversity conservation is a component of a range
of planning and management strategies covering a
range of regions and levels of detail and
government. Examples include catchment, localgovernment, landcare, bushcare and property
plans, and regional planning initiatives such as theSouth West Strategy (Williams 1995), Water
Allocation Management Plans (WAMPS), thedeveloping Nature Conservation Strategy for South-
East Queensland 2001-06 and the SEQ Regional
Coastal Management Plan process.
Most strategies and plans emphasise the need totake a regional approach to maximise the
effectiveness of actions required to manage
biodiversity. Sattler and Williams (1999) set out a
framework for bioregional planning in Queenslandthat describes landscapes across the State, based
on climate, geology, landform, soils and vegetation,
providing a relevant context for assessing and
prioritising biodiversity. The development ofGeographic Information Systems (GIS) allows this
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Examples of ecosystem-level planning and
management are the definition and prioritisation ofregional ecosystems based on conservation status,
which has been incorporated into State-wide tree
clearing guidelines and the Regional Forest
Agreement process in south-east Queensland (andelsewhere in Australia).
Landscape level
This level attempts to bring together the otherlevels and emphasises the complex ecological
structure, functioning and processes of the differentcomponents of biodiversity. Scale is also an
important aspect of landscape considerations. For
example, a wheat paddock that displaces most of
the native species from an area cannot beconsidered sustainable with respect to biodiversity
conservation at a paddock scale, but could readily
be a part of a landscape where biodiversity is
sustainably protected at a regional scale. Anotherexample is that a species or ecosystem that is
abundant across the Brigalow Belt bioregion as awhole, may be considered threatened at a
subregional province level.
Examples of landscape-level planning andmanagement are the development of regional
vegetation management strategies and property
plans that incorporate concepts such as the size
and relative placement of remnant ecosystems,provision of wildlife corridors and special
management of areas that act as wildlife refuges.
An adequate reserve system where management is
specifically directed to conservation is also an
essential part of a landscape-scale strategy for theprotection of biodiversity. Conservation reserves in
Queensland total about 6 800 000 ha or 4% of the
State and provide the foundation for the protection
of biodiversity. Unfortunately, a reserve-basedstrategy will not be sufficient to conserve
biodiversity (Recher & Lim 1990; Nix 1993; Kitching
1994). Many plants and animals will be dependent,
not only upon the habitat contained within theboundaries of a protected area, but also upon its
landscape setting. Most birds, for example, need to
be able to exploit resources as they becomeavailable over a large area. Furthermore, theimpending likelihood of accelerated climate change
accentuates the necessity for a well-connected
natural landscape. The range of many eucalypts is
determined by climate and yet they are extremelypoorly dispersed. If the habitat for immobile species
were restricted to isolated reserves, many species
would become extinct as they became trapped in
unfavourable habitat as the climate changed. Clearlythe reserve system needs to be complemented by
facilitating pro-active management of other lands to
protect biodiversity. This may be partially achievedthrough voluntary conservation agreements, but islikely also to require a legislative framework and
importantly, financial incentives (in a variety of
forms) to protect threatened ecosystems
bioregional framework to be applied to those
regional planning processes using boundariesbased on varying criteria (e.g. local government
or catchment).
In practice, all the strategies mentioned previously
address biodiversity at one or all of the levels at
which it is recognised—the genetic, species,ecosystem and landscape levels. The different levels
of biodiversity and examples of their managementstrategies in Queensland are:
Genetic levelProtecting species and communities across theirgeographical range maximises the protection of
their gene pool and takes into account both the
extent of genetic variation, and its geographical
distribution. During the last decade, much attentionhas been paid to the importance of population
genetics (Ellstrand 1992; Storfer 1996), because
fragmentation of the landscape has caused a
decrease in population size and density, which can
then result in the erosion of a species’ geneticdiversity. For many species there is a lack of the
critical data on the spatial organisation of genetic
variability and on critical population genetic factorssuch as gene flow, inbreeding levels and effective
population size, which is necessary to manage the
landscape at this level.
Species levelAt the species level, the emphasis is on savingelements of biodiversity that can then be managed
in conjunction with higher levels. Rare and
threatened species projects (bridled nailtail wallaby,
hairy-nosed wombat, golden shouldered parrot andbilby) are examples of species-level planning and
management where individual species are
prioritised and managed, sometimes through
species recovery plans (Reville 1992). Themanagement of these and other species with
particular management requirements or commercial
uses (e.g. macropods, crocodiles, and waterfowl),
can also be addressed by the preparation andimplementation of Conservation Plans under theNature Conservation Act 1992 (Qld).
Ecosystem levelThis level emphasises protecting ecosystems as
important in their own right (e.g. wetlands andrainforest) and recognises their associated
functions, such as the role wetlands play in
nutrient cycling and absorption and in the
hydrological cycle. It also recognises that specieswill not be adequately protected without
conserving their habitat (e.g. Nature Conservation Act
1992 (Qld); ANZECC 1993; ANZECC-MCFFA 1995).
Ecosystems are also often assumed to act as
surrogates for other levels of biodiversity. In otherwords, protecting and managing regional
ecosystems will protect and manage their
associated species and genetic components.
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(Young et al. 1996). Careful integration of
conservation and primary production land uses canbenefit landholders, the wider community and
wildlife (Harrington 1990, Nix 1993).
Biodiversity values of non-remnant‘woody’ vegetation
There are numerous examples of areas of non-
remnant vegetation (which include ‘thinned’,
‘regrowth’ or ‘highly disturbed’ areas) that have afloristic and faunal diversity value higher than thatin adjacent cleared areas, although not generally as
high as in remnant areas. Dorricott et al. (1997)
found that thinned or regrowth brigalow woodland
areas were associated with relatively high faunalspecies richness and, in one case, a higher number
of fauna species than in nearby unmodified,
ungrazed areas of similar vegetation. Thinned
brigalow woodlands in New South Wales have alsobeen shown to be associated with almost as many
native fauna species as adjacent uncleared brigalow
woodland (Ellis & Wilson 1992). In the Mulga Lands
bioregion, thinning mulga trees, combined withappropriate follow-up management (Pressland
1976b) has the potential to restore micro-
heterogeneity, re-establish critical functioning and
create a diverse system (Tongway & Ludwig 1995)and therefore to be compatible with conservation
objectives (Cameron & Blick 1991).
There is little data available on the development of
the structure and floristic composition of regrowth
vegetation over time. Johnson (1997) has shown
that cleared brigalow communities near Theodoremay be able to return to communities similar in
structure and floristics to ‘untouched’ stands,
although the transition may take more than50 years. Thus, while regrowth areas are not an
immediate substitute for remnant habitat, they
could provide an effective source for long-term
habitat restoration.
It is important to distinguish between the impact ofclearing and the conservation value of regrowth
vegetation, given the above and the associated
impact of introducing exotic pasture species that
often accompanies clearing. In a study comparingfloristic diversity of remnant, cleared/no exotic
pasture introduction, and cleared/exotic pasture
vegetation, Fairfax and Fensham (2000) found that
floristic diversity was highest in the remnants evenwhen exotic species were present. The floristic
diversity in cleared/no exotic pasture was slightly
lower, but was significantly lower in adjacent areas
where clearing was accompanied by theintroduction of improved pastures. McIvor (1998)
has also shown that the introduction of exotic
species and cultivation is associated with a
significant reduction in the density and total numberof native plant species in northern Queensland.
3.3 Greenhouse effect Background
Over the last 200 years, the heavy burning of fossil
fuels in conjunction with the clearing of forests and
other native vegetation for agriculture, and therelease of soil carbon to the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide from intensive use of the soil, has created a
heavy imbalance in the global carbon cycle. Eachyear, as much as 6000 Mt/year of carbon dioxide isbeing released into the atmosphere. Oceans,
terrestrial vegetation and soils absorb about half of
this, leaving the rest to build up in the atmosphere.
The global warming caused by increasedgreenhouse gases results in changes in temperature
and rainfall patterns, as well as rising sea levels
(Rawson & Murphy 1999).
Australia’s vegetation is already fairly well adapted
to significant climatic variability, primarily as aresult of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
While impacts on vegetation resulting fromgreenhouse changes may be very difficult to
differentiate from those due to ENSO variability,modelling suggests increased carbon dioxide loads
may result in an increased frequency of ENSO
events, with the average cycle falling from
5 to 3 years (Wollast & McKenzie 1989).
Rawson and Murphy (1999) have identified anumber of potential distinctions for Australian
ecosystems:
• an increased occurrence of droughts/floods, or
greater climatic variability that may lead tofurther stresses in small populations and
possible extinctions
• climatic change resulting in alterations to the
competitive interactions of species. For example,increased rainfall could lead to species better
adapted to wetter areas invading or gaining
advantage over species adapted to drier
environments• increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the
atmosphere will favour some species over others
depending on which photosynthetic pathway
they utilise• the available water for plant growth, which will
influence species distribution, will be dependent
on the ‘new’ climate and the water-holding
capacity of the soil in new locations• changes in plant productivity and interaction
with grazing may threaten some species
• fragmentation will make migration of species
more difficult.
Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmospherewill tend to enhance the growth of vegetation,
however, some plants do not respond to this excess
as much as others. It is likely that those speciesthat respond well to higher concentrations ofcarbon dioxide will increase their ranges by
migration. Little is known about the specific
responses of most native plants in Australia 31
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that may be included are conservation of native
vegetation, revegetation activities not meeting thedefinitional requirements for afforestation or
reforestation under Article 3.3, management to
increase carbon storage in forests, enhanced
carbon storage in agricultural soils throughmanagement practices such as reduced tillage,
increased residue inputs and management of
stocking intensity.
• Article 3.7 provides for countries for which net
emissions from Land Use Change and Forestry(LUCF) was a net source in 1990, to include the
net emissions from land use change in the
baseline. This is the so-called ‘Australia clause’.
Australia is undertaking action to address
greenhouse issues through the NationalGreenhouse Strategy (NGS) including measures in
relation to sinks directed at reducing land-based
emissions, enhancing sequestration in vegetation
and agricultural soils and improving understanding
of carbon fluxes and measurement capacity in theterrestrial biosphere. The Queensland
Implementation Plan (QIP), developed by the
Queensland Government in response to the NGS,includes land management and carbon sink
initiatives. The following are some of the strategic
recommendations:
• implement tree clearing controls on State landsthrough provisions of the Land Act 1994 (Qld)
• develop a comprehensive vegetation
management framework to address native
vegetation management issues consistently
across all tenures• deliver planning certainty to landholders,
industry and the community
• promote ecologically sustainable development ofthe land and protect biodiversity values
• develop legislation to support tree crop
ownership and rights to harvest
• remove legal impediments to plantation andnative farm forestry for crediting carbon
(Queensland Government 1999).
The passage of the Vegetation Management Act 1999
(Qld) and changes to the Broadscale Tree ClearingPolicy on Leasehold Land, which restrict areas inwhich clearing of remnant vegetation can occur in
Queensland, are likely to lead to reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions in the land use change
sector.
(AGO 1998a). In a review of the ability of models to
calculate the impact of climate change onQueensland grazing lands, Hall et al. (1998)
demonstrated considerable variation in impacts
between regions. Models developed in the study
showed that more complex variation was to beexpected when regional climate change scenarios
were evaluated in combination with varying soil
and pasture parameters.
Global response
Increasing international concern about the
implications of climatic change and recognition thata global response was required to solve a global
environmental problem resulted in the drafting of
the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under the KyotoProtocol to the UNFCCC, negotiated in 1997,
developed countries have agreed to potentially
legally binding targets of reduced greenhouse gas
emissions as a whole, to 5% below 1990 levels by
2008-12. Developing countries have been assigneddifferentiated emissions reduction or limitation
targets that reflect differing economies and
capacities for reduction. As a signatory to theUNFCCC, Australia has an obligation to produce a
national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and
removals and to implement appropriate greenhouse
response measures to limit emissions. Should theprotocol be enforced, Australia will be required to
limit growth in greenhouse gas emissions to 8%
above 1990 levels by the first commitment period—
2008–12.
Articles 3.3, 3.4 and 3.7 provide a framework fordealing with greenhouse gas sinks.
• Article 3.3 provides that sink activities counted
towards the first commitment period are confined
to afforestation, reforestation and deforestation
since 1990. Forests established since 1990 arerecognised as sinks, while deforestation since
1990 must be recognised as an emission. Growth
between 1990 and 2008 in eligible forests cannot
be counted, although afforestation anddeforestation will need to be implemented prior
to 2008 to allow for lag effects, since it takestime to establish a new forest and growth rates
often peak many years after planting.
• Article 3.4 establishes a process for negotiatingadditional sink activities that may apply in the
first commitment period and must be applied in
subsequent periods. While an agreement on
allowable additional activities is subject tofurther considerable domestic and international
policy debate, there may yet be incentives for
other vegetation retention or enhancement. Some
additional human-induced activities in the land-use change and forestry and agricultural soils
categories, may be negotiated for inclusion for
the first commitment period, provided they have
taken place since 1990. Examples of activities32
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measures such as reduction in tree clearing or
management practices for agriculture and forestrylands, are essential. Consideration of equity in the
costs of greenhouse gas abatement will become a
significant issue in the period leading up to the first
Kyoto commitment period.
Emissions and removals of greenhouse gases,primarily carbon dioxide, from the LUCF sector are
complex and difficult to estimate. Naturalexchanges due to the uptake of carbon dioxide in
photosynthesis, and its loss through respiration andthe decay of organic matter, which occurs between
the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere are
large, and anthropogenic effects are small relative
to this background. The Australian GreenhouseOffice has undertaken the National Greenhouse
Gas Inventory (NGGI) of land-based sources and
sinks using established international guidelines
(Rawson & Murphy 1999). The inventorymethodology is based on the assumption that
anthropogenic fluxes of greenhouse gases to orfrom the atmosphere are equivalent to the change
in stocks of carbon in biomass and soils andfurther, that the changes in stocks can be estimated
from the human activity (such as land-use change)
and the practices (e.g. burning) used to effect the
change. Emissions in any year are, in part, a resultof activities in previous years through the slow,
non-uniform decay of woody debris and change in
soil carbon. Knowledge of both the time taken and
the magnitude of these processes is required.
All activity data and emission factors that go into
compilation of the inventory have an associateduncertainty which is often high due to lack of
relevant well-documented data and limited
understanding of processes contributing to theoverall uncertainty of emissions estimates.
Insufficient measurements and natural variability
mean that it is difficult to assign a probability
distribution to many of the parameters and thus toquantify uncertainty in the estimate of emissions.
The Revised 1996 Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines provide a basic
methodology and default data that may be used for
national greenhouse gas inventories, but countriesare encouraged to incorporate national data, or
more sophisticated methodology, where possible.
This has been done for some categories in theAustralian and Queensland inventories but most
rely on incomplete or default data. The estimate of
emissions from LUCF is the sum for different
categories as outlined in table 3.3.
Selected parameters are discussed below forillustration but this list is not exhaustive.
Uncertainty in the LUCF and Agriculture inventories
in Queensland is being addressed through work bythe Department of Natural Resources and theDepartment of Primary Industries.
Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions andremovals for Land Use Change and Forestry(LUCF)—National Greenhouse GasInventory (NGGI)
The net emission from, or absorption of, carbon in
the terrestrial biosphere is associated with changes
in land use and other human activities that result
in changes in carbon stocks in vegetation and soil.
A natural undisturbed forest is considered to beneither a net emission source nor a net absorption
sink of carbon. Net change in carbon stock may
occur when there is a change in land use ormanagement and may involve the management of
native vegetation. The Land Use Change and
Forestry sector has been identified as producing
about 20% of total Australian emissions in 1990.Land clearing of native vegetation in Australia is
estimated to have resulted in the emission of
103 Mt CO2-e (carbon dioxide equivalents) to the
atmosphere in 1990, and 65 Mt CO2-e in 1997.
This compares with total net greenhouse gasemissions from sectors other than land clearing of
389 Mt CO2-e in 1990 and 431 Mt CO
2-e in 1997
(NGGIC 1999b).
Continued growth in emissions from the energy and
transport sectors has meant increasing economic
and political pressure to decrease land clearing.
The transfer of carbon from the atmosphere and itsstorage as biomass in vegetation and soils is
potentially one mechanism of reabsorbing carbon
released by the burning of fossil fuels. In the short
term, this appears to be an effective mechanism incombination with others. Vegetation can absorb
significant amounts of carbon in a period of about
50 to 100 years, and so can be used as a buffer
while the changes that will be required to bringabout a reduction in the rate of burning of fossil
fuels are introduced to activities and attitudes. In
the long term, the only solution is to reduce the
amount of fossil fuels burnt. Forestry and managedplantations have provided a net sink of 26 Mt CO
2
1997 for Australia (NGGIC 1999b). Regrowth
following clearing is also a significant sink,
absorbing 16 to 17 Mt of carbon dioxide in 1990and 1996 nationally.
When vegetation is disturbed or cleared, the
biomass can break down to release large volumes of
carbon as carbon dioxide. In 1997, about 13% of
Australian carbon dioxide emissions were associatedwith land clearing. As the State with the highest rate
of tree clearing for agriculture and with large areas
of land managed for agriculture (see section 1.2),
reduction in net emissions associated with land-usechange in Queensland has been identified as having
the potential to contribute significantly to limiting
growth in total emissions of greenhouse gases inAustralia. Improved quantification of emissions andremovals of greenhouse gases for LUCF, and of
estimates of the impact on net emissions of
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Table 3.3 Summary of the major parameters required in calculation of emissions and removals associated with the Land UseChange and Forestry sector of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Source or sink category Parameters required for calculations of emissions and removals in theLUCF sector of the NGGI
Changes in forest and other woody biomass stocks
1. Managed native forests Area of forests by type and age class; annual growth rate of above-ground biomass (frequentlyby conversion of commercial volume using expansion factor and wood density); carbon fractionof biomass.
2. Plantations Area of hardwood and softwood plantations; annual growth rate of above-ground biomass
(conversion of commercial volume requires expansion factor and wood density); carbon fractionof biomass.
3. Commercial harvest Volume of harvested timber by product converted to total biomass harvested using expansionfactors and density; carbon fraction of biomass.
4. Fuelwood consumed Total fuelwood consumed less that removed from forests during clearing.
Forest and grassland conversion
a. Above ground
(i) Clearing (burning) (CO2)
1. Closed tropical and temperate forest Annual rate of clearing by forest class; proportion of clearing that is regrowth; biomass ofvegetation cleared; carbon fraction of biomass; clearing practice (i.e. proportion of biomass burntin the year cleared); proportion of biomass burnt that is taken off-site as fuelwood; efficiency ofburning (i.e. proportion remaining unoxidised as charcoal.
2. Open forest
3. Woodland and scrub(i)* Non CO
2gases (CO
2-e) Biomass burned on-site; carbon fraction of biomass; elemental C:N ratio; emission factors for
each gas from fires.
(ii) Clearing (decay)
1. Closed tropical and temperate forest Rate of clearing by forest class for the inventory year and for the previous y years, where y is thetime taken for decay of slash (10 years assumed in the NGGI); proportion of clearing that isregrowth; biomass of vegetation cleared; carbon fraction of biomass; clearing practice(i.e. proportion of biomass left to decay as slash); time for decay.
2. Open forest
3. Woodland and scrub
(iii) Regrowth
1. Closed tropical and temperate forest Rate of clearing by forest class for the inventory year and for the previous z years, where z is theaverage time for cyclic reclearing (10 years assumed in the NGGI); proportion of clearing that isregrowth; biomass of vegetation cleared; proportion of cleared land maintained for crops orpasture; carbon fraction of biomass
(crops/pasture and woody vegetation); carbon increment per year in regrowth (currentassumption for linear growth over a nominal 25 years to reach the original biomass); biomass ofcrops or pasture.
2. Open forest
3. Woodland and scrub
b. Below ground (soil and roots)
1. Closed tropical and temperate forest Below-ground biomass: Root biomass of vegetation cleared (based on root to shoot ratio of 0.25in the NGGI); carbon fraction of root biomass; rate of clearing by forest type in the inventoryyear and the previous y years, where y is the time of decay of roots (10 years assumed in theNGGI); proportion of the clearing that regrows to woody vegetation and to crops/pasture; root toshoot ratio of woody regrowth and crops/pasture; carbon fraction of regrowth by type.Soil Carbon: rate of clearing in the inventory year and in the previous x years, where x dependson the time course of change in soil carbon towards equilibrium; agriculture use and
management of cleared land; native soil carbon (preferably corrected for bulk density, and to adepth of 1 m—current default is 30 cm); base factor (fraction of soil carbon lost due toconversion from forest to agriculture); factors to allow for management (tillage, input); pattern ofchange of soil carbon after conversion (exponential change assumed in the Australian NGGI);time factor for change towards new equilibrium.
2. Open forest
3. Woodland and scrub
Other
1. Prescribed burning of forests Area of forest burned in prescribed burns and wildfires; fuel load per ha; burning efficiency;and wildfire (CO
2-e) carbon fraction of biomass; elemental C:N ratio; emission factors for each gas from fires.
2. Pasture improvement, minimum tillage Annual rate of conversion of unimproved pasture or minimum tillage (in Western Australia) overthe 25 years up to the inventory year; soil carbon increase due to conversion; fraction ofimproved pasture not used in cropping rotation.
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Area of clearing: The Statewide Landcover and
Trees Study (SLATS) mapping of vegetation coverand land use provides rates of woody vegetation
clearing that are the basis for calculation of
emissions from LUC (table 3.4, see also section 1.2).
For the national inventory (NGGI) prepared for the
UNFCCC, Australia has defined ‘forest’ according tothe National Forestry Industry (NFI) definition—
woody vegetation with a mature, or potentiallymature, stand height exceeding 2 m and with a
canopy cover equal to, or greater than, 20%. Thedefinition, for the purposes of the Kyoto Protocol, is
the subject of ongoing negotiations. The SLATS
study is able to detect change in woody vegetation
cover down to about 10%. Resolution of definitionalissues will have an impact on the monitoring of
rates of deforestation and also of reforestation and
afforestation.
Table 3.4 The rates of clearing for 1981 to 1997 inQueensland, used in the NGGI.
Years Clearing (ha/y) Source
1981–87 297 559 Graetz (1999)
1988–90 475 000 ( 25%) SLATS (preliminary)
1991–95 289 000 ( 10%) SLATS
1995–97 340 000 ( 10%) SLATS
Biomass: In the NGGI, forests are allocated to three
categories based on Carnahan classes (AUSLIG,1990). A biomass (tonnes dry matter/ha) is
assigned to each forest category for the purpose of
estimating the initial carbon stocks before clearing
(table 3.5). The carbon fraction in dry matter ofwoody biomass is assumed to be 0.5 (NGGIC
1999b). Biomass harvesting by the Department of
Primary Industries in the TRAPS permanent
monitoring transects is giving improved estimatesof biomass and understanding of the dynamics of
woodlands in Queensland (Back et al. 1997).
Table 3.5 Biomass estimates for forest classes used toestimate carbon stocks.
Forest class Biomass (t dm/ha)
Tropical and temperate closed forest 233
Open forest 90
Woodland and scrub 51
Growth rates in managed forests: The QueenslandForest Service maintains databases of plantation
and native forest growth measured in permanent
and temporary plots. These data will provide
improved inputs for the forest inventory, and inparticular, to estimates of changes in stocks in
managed native forests.
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Soil carbon: One of the greatest areas of
uncertainty in inventory calculations for the LUCFsector is the change in soil carbon following
clearing of native forests for agriculture. The carbon
content of soils before clearing of native vegetation
is variable, but the NGGI assigns an average valuefor each of the three broad forest classes listed
above. In the 1997 NGGI, estimates of loss of soil
carbon are based on international default values
from the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines. Thegreatest proportion of clearing in Queensland is for
pasture. The default assumption is that 30% of the
carbon present in the top 30 cm of soil before
clearing is lost over 20 years, following conversionof forest to unimproved pasture (NGGIC 1999b).
Recent research indicates use of the default value
may significantly overestimate the loss in some
soils (Christopher et al. 1997). If soil carbon losswere negligible following conversion, the estimated
emissions for LUC in Queensland would be about
40% lower than current estimates.
A program of paired site measurements (DNR) and
modelling (CSIRO) is being undertaken by theNational Carbon Accounting System to provide
improved data and understanding of soil carbon
levels and dynamics. These measurements will aim
to address some difficulties in previousmeasurements including bulk density correction
and, where possible, carbon density to at least 1 m.
Improved understanding of the degree to which
clearing and post-clearing land managementpractices (such as reduced tillage or grazing
intensity) and climatic factors (particularlytemperature and rainfall) influence the magnitude
and dynamics of soil carbon change will helpreduce uncertainty.
Carbon pools: Data relating to the stocks and
changes in stocks in other carbon pools are
required to improve estimates of fluxes associated
with LUCF. These pools include:- coarse woody debris
- fine litter
- charcoal.
For example, practices regarding management ofcoarse woody debris, may become a considerationin carbon accounting for Kyoto compliance, since
the current alternatives of immediate release of
stored carbon through burning or slow decay over
many years impact on the committed emissions inyears following deforestation.
+–+–+–
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Proliferation of woody vegetation: A number of
authors have drawn upon historical sources tosuggest that there was more open grassland in pre-
European Australia than is present today (Pyne,
1991; Flannery, 1994). This assessment is, however,
challenged by other interpretations of the historicalevidence (Benson & Redpath 1997) including semi-
quantitative (Croft et al. 1997) and quantitative
assessment (Fensham & Holman, 1998). The area
of woody vegetation in Queensland was assessed tobe 76 000 000 ha using NOAA AVHRR imagery
(Danaher et al. 1992), with 60 000 000 ha of
grazed woodland (Burrows 1995). Because of the
large area involved, even a small increase in thecarbon density in the grazed woodlands represents
a potentially large impact on terrestrial carbon
stocks. There is ongoing debate concerning
whether the sink due to proliferation of woodyvegetation (also known as vegetation thickening
and/or woody weed invasion) should be included in
Australia’s national greenhouse gas inventory of
anthropogenic emissions.
Vegetation thickening has been defined as involvingan increase in the biomass of woody plants
(measured as an increase in basal area and height)
typically resulting from an increase in grazing
intensity and constancy and other managementactions that suppress fire frequency and intensity
(Noble, 1997a). Increase in aboveground woody
biomass and associated increase in soil carbon
stocks can be attributed to both human-induced(direct and/or indirect) and natural factors.
A component of thickening has been ascribed toaltered fire management and the introduction of
grazing by ruminants in arid and semiaridsavannas in Africa (Scholes & van der Merwe,
1996), America (Archer et al. 1995) and Australia
(Burrows et al. 1998). Burrows et al. (1998) base
their arguments that thickening in Queensland’sgrazed woodlands is occurring and is human-
induced, on several anecdotal sources of evidence,
carbon isotope ratios in soil organic matter
showing a shift from C4
grasses to woody C3
species over time, and on detailed measurements of
basal area increment in over 30 TRAPS sites(standard layout of 5 x 100 m permanent
transects). There are also cases where the primarycause of change in vegetation structure is not
anthropogenic but is climate driven. For example,
Fensham and Holman (1999) have presented
evidence that extensive dieback in savannas canresult from extreme drought events. With current
knowledge and measurement capacity it is not
possible to resolve the separate impacts of natural
and anthropogenic factors on growth and structuralchange in vegetation, but ongoing research and
measurements will help to quantify the magnitudeof the fluxes due to all causes. In fact, it is not clear
in greenhouse gas accounting how attribution can
be made for processes when both natural factors
and anthropogenic intervention are required forchange in carbon stocks.
Burrows et al. (1998) estimate the magnitude of the
vegetation-thickening sink (due to all factors) in the
approximately 60 000 000 ha of Queensland’s
grazed woodlands, to be in excess of 100 Mt CO2
per year. Inclusion of a proportion of this sink in
Australia’s national inventory would most likelymean that in 1990, the LUCF sector in Australia
was a net sink rather than a net source ofgreenhouse gases. The IPCC Revised 1996
Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
allow for the inclusion of ‘any forest which
experiences periodic or ongoing humaninterventions that affect carbon stocks’ and for
which ‘the necessary data are available’. Thus,
inclusion of change in carbon stocks due to
proliferation of woody vegetation in the grazedsavannas depends on resolving the change
resulting from human activity and documenting thesupporting data for the magnitude of the change.
Emissions estimates: Table 3.6 gives the estimated
rates of emissions or removals associated withLUCF for Australia for 1990 and 1997 (NGGIC
1999b). Estimates for Queensland are also given,
based on the same methodology. It is important to
note that ongoing research is providing new dataand understanding of processes that will
significantly affect the estimated emissions from
LUCF. Table 3.6 presents a possible range in
estimates with inclusion of changes to data inputs
or definitions. Full carbon accounting over timewould assist accurate estimates of the magnitude
and uncertainty in stocks and fluxes of all pools in
the terrestrial biosphere, but sufficient data are notyet available.
Measures to reduce emissions: Restricting clearing
of native vegetation has the potential to decrease
net emissions in Queensland. Based on the current
data and methodology, restricting clearing of100 000 ha of undisturbed woodland in Queensland
will result in emissions savings in the order of 5 to
12 Mt CO2-e.Other measures that may result in reduction in thenet emissions from the LUCF and Agriculture
sectors include:
• reduced harvest of forests
• increased planting of woody vegetation• fire regime management
• sustainable management of cropping and grazing
lands to conserve soil carbon levels
• management of rangelands for optimal stockinglevels.
The magnitude and, in some cases, even the
direction of the impact of these and other measures
over time is unknown.
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Carbon credits and carbon trading
The Kyoto Protocol provides for mechanisms to
facilitate the achievement of greenhouse gas
commitments by parties in a more cost effectivemanner than if they acted alone.
• Joint Implementation (JI) (Article 6) allowsexchanges between Annex 1 countries of
Emission Reduction Units (ERUs).
• Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) (Article
12) involves arrangements between an Annex 1country and a non-Annex 1 country to generate
Certified Emissions Reduction (CERs).
• Emissions Trading (Article 17) allows Annex 1
countries to use international emissions trading
to assist in meeting their emission commitments.
The principles, modalities, rules and guidelines for
these mechanisms will be negotiated at the 6thConference of Parties (COP 6), in The Hague, in
November 2000. The role of sinks in the
mechanisms, particularly in CDM, has yet to bedetermined. Incorporating land-based sinks and
emissions reductions into a national emissions
trading system would provide additional stimulus to
the creation of forest and agricultural soil sinks andthis would likely result in associated environmental
(e.g. sustainability, biodiversity) and socioeconomic
benefits.
Emissions trading is likely to be market-driven with
carbon credits generated or purchased bycompanies to offset other greenhouse emissions.
One suggested structure would be for emissions
trading to be based on emission permits (probably
in units of tonnes CO2-e) that would be
interchangeable with carbon credits issued for each
tonne CO2-e sequestered on Kyoto land. There are
many issues yet to be negotiated concerning
measuring, monitoring and verifying carbon creditsthat relate to baseline, permanence of the sink,
leakage (unmonitored impacts of a project outside
the monitored boundary) and how to treat impactsof natural events such as pests and fire. In addition,administrative issues such as a system for issuing,
trading and tracking carbon credits, a system for
establishing ownership of carbon rights and for
measuring and verifying carbon credits, and a
legislative framework for codifying these systemshave to be established. Queensland legislation
dealing with carbon rights is currently under
discussion.
Examples of sinks projects that could generate
carbon credits for Queensland include conservationof forests from clearing or logging, agroforestry,
and enhancement of carbon sequestration in
rangeland soils through improved management of
stocking rates. It is difficult to estimate withconfidence the sink potential of these activities with
the current level of understanding and data and
measurement capacity for the terrestrial biosphere.
There are natural limits on the availability of largeareas of land suitable for forest, and costs of
establishment and maintenance are considerable.
This, coupled with the fact that the absolute rate ofsequestration will be low for the first years afterplanting of trees will mean that the sink due to
revegetation activities is likely to be relatively small
in the first commitment period. Plantings under
programs such as bushcare and landcare are likelyto deliver limited greenhouse benefits for the first
commitment period, but the longer-term
sequestration potential and associated
environmental benefits must also be consideredand valued. Build-up of soil carbon in grazing lands
is likely to be slow and inherent variability may
make measurement and verification difficult overshort periods, although potential sequestration islarge because of the areas involved. Non-
greenhouse benefits of sustainable management of
grazing lands are important.
The greatest potential for net greenhouse gas
emissions reduction from the land-based sector inthe first commitment period is likely to be from
restrictions in land clearing. However, eligibility for
carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol has yet to
be determined.
37
Table 3.6 Estimated emissions from the LUCF sector as published in the NGGI for Australia. Values for Queensland for LUCestimated using the 1997 NGGI methodology are given, but the uncertainty is seen in the possible range. Vegetation thickening iscurrently not included in the NGGI.
Category Australia Queensland
Emissions (Mt CO2-e) Emissions (Mt CO
2-e)
1990 1997 1990 1997
Total (all sectors) 492 496
LUCF
NGGI methodology 76 (15% total) 38 (8% total) (30–70) (15–50)Including thickening (-40–70) (-50–50)
LUC
NGGI methodology 103 (21% ) 65 (13%) 63 47
Possible range (35–70) (20–55)
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4 Regional and local processes
Contributors
Impacts of habitat loss on biodiversity
Bruce Wilson, Environmental Protection Agency
Rod Fensham, Environmental Protection AgencyKay Dorricott, Environmental Protection Agency
David Hannah, Environmental Protection AgencyImpacts of domestic grazing withinremnant vegetation
Geoff Smith, Department of Natural Resources
Andrew Franks, Department of Natural ResourcesAnnie Kelly, Department of Natural Resources
Riparian zones
Jo Voller, Department of Natural Resources
Sally Boon, Department of Natural Resources
Ecosystem repair and management
Andrew Grodecki, Department of Natural ResourcesBruce Wilson, Environmental Protection Agency
Wetlands, mangroves, and other coastal vegetation
Estelle Ross, Environmental Protection Agency
Tree decline and dieback, nutrient cycling
Peter Voller, Department of Natural ResourcesChris Chilcott, Department of Natural Resources
Pest invasions
Joe Scanlan, Department of Natural Resources
Dane Panetta, Department of Natural Resources
39
Tree removal: implications for soil processes andsoil loss
Bruce Carey, Department of Natural ResourcesMark Silburn, Department of Natural Resources
Craig Strong, Griffith UniversitySoil structure
Des McGarry, Department of Natural Resources
Soil acidification
Phil Moody, Department of Natural Resources
Andrew Noble, CSIRO
Hydrology
Mark Freebairn, Department of Natural Resources
Salinity
Sarah Boulter, Department of Natural ResourcesManagement and production aspects
Joe Scanlan, Department of Natural ResourcesChris Chilcott, Department of Natural Resources
Improved pastures
Ian Partridge, Department of Natural Resources
Timber production and farm forestry
Mark Cant, Department of Natural Resources
Andrew Grodecki, Department of Natural Resources
Alternative products
Jude Westrup, Department of Natural Resources
Urban and peri-urban
Alan Barton, Brisbane City Council
return to contents
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40
• Providing linkages between remnant patches of
vegetation can increase the viability ofpopulations and species, aid dispersal and allow
for movement of wildlife between patches. The
effectiveness of corridors varies with a range of
factors: habitat structure and quality, dimensionsof the corridor (particularly length to width
ratio), surrounding land use, use of corridor and
biology of species expected to use the corridor.
Generally, wider, larger corridors or patches arebetter for biodiversity conservation.
• Grazing can impact on remnant condition.
Impacts may include browsing or rubbing of
vegetation, changes in species composition, soil
compaction and erosion, eutrophication of watersources, spread of weeds, and altered fire regime.
Changes in species structure can alter ecosystem
functioning and cause a loss in critical ecosystem
services. Overgrazing and poor land managementpractices for grazing appear to have the greatest
impact, and the seriousness of impacts variesacross the landscape and through time.
• Understanding of size and connectivity limits to
viability of remnants can be applied to ecosystemrepair. Revegetation has the potential to repair
lost ecosystem function as well as protection of
species and amenity. Ongoing research is needed
to provide adequate and efficient managementinformation across the diverse Queensland
landscape to deliver significant levels of
ecosystem repair.
• Riparian vegetation and wetlands provide
vegetation with particular ecological andcatchment values. Riparian vegetation can buffer
streams from nutrient and sediment flows, and
trees can maintain stream bank stability,
enhance stream water quality and are animportant source of biodiversity. Guidelines for
retention of riparian zones require consideration
of combined functions of riparian vegetation.
Wetlands act as buffers for streams, storage andfiltration of sediment, nurseries for commercial
fish and crustaceans.
Maintenance of the productive potential and use ofland and associated ecological processes, requires
a more comprehensive approach to landmanagement than retention of native vegetation at
certain levels. Consideration of land degradation
and production relationships must be part of a
sustainable approach to native vegetationmanagement:
• General tree death or dieback incidents have
been associated with a range of land degradation
and other possible causes. A number of causal
factors are discussed: insects, salinity, nutrientenrichment, pathogens, senescence, drought and
waterlogging.
Summary This section examines the impacts of habitat loss
on biodiversity and subsequent management and
land uses on conservation of biodiversity andecological processes. The evidence permits
preliminary recommendations for retention,
replanting and active management of native
vegetation, and associated land management
practices, but concludes that imperfectunderstanding requires ongoing research and
adaptive management. This section looks at four
major themes—the ecological impacts of habitatloss on biodiversity, associated land degradation
issues, evidence of production and management
effects of managing vegetation, and other values of
native vegetation. The following lists the mainpoints discussed under these themes.
• Land clearing has been identified as one of the
major threats to biodiversity in Australia.
Processes such as land clearing lead tofragmentation of habitat, resulting in loss of
habitat, reduction in size of each habitat and
increased isolation of remnant patches. Habitat
is critical to species survival. Other processesthat can threaten biodiversity, and to which
remnant areas are more vulnerable, include
grazing, predation, changes in fire regime and
competition from feral plants and animals.
• The amount of habitat required to preservebiodiversity at a regional level is not known,
although the amount is likely to be dependent on
each region, and be species specific. Researchindicates that local and regional losses ofbiodiversity (species richness) commence with
habitat loss, but once remnant vegetation
declines to around 30% of preclearing extent,
rates of species loss accelerate dramatically.Regional ecosystems are the best available
surrogate for biodiversity at the species level. On
available evidence, 30% is the minimum
benchmark for the rate of retention of RegionalEcosystems to ensure against substantial
extinction in the longer term, although there are
many factors influencing this figure.
• The total area and pattern of native vegetation
across the landscape are important to habitatvalue for plants and animals. Size, shape,
connectedness, condition and land use of remnant
vegetation become important to the viability of
remnants once clearing or other disturbance hascommenced. It is important to recognise the role
of corridors of vegetation in mitigating the effects
of habitat fragmentation. The size of remnants
required to conserve biodiversity varies withspecies and habitat type. Larger fragments are
likely to support greater diversity, and reduce the
area affected by ‘edge effects’.
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• Condition of remnant vegetation can be affected
by the occurrence of undesirable plant and animalspecies. Disturbance (e.g. grazing, changes in fire
regime) can allow the opportunity for the
establishment of undesirable species. Native
vegetation can host predator species that controlproduction pests in surrounding land uses.
• The role of vegetation in prevention of soil loss
and maintenance of soil condition iscomplicated. Erosion of soil is controlled by a
number of factors, including slope, ground coverand infiltration rate. These factors are affected by
management practices such as grazing, fire and
vegetation clearing. There are some studies that
demonstrate an increase in run-off following theclearing of trees, although pastured blocks have
been demonstrated to be efficient in minimising
run-off. In riparian areas trees have been shown
to protect stream banks from mass failure anderosion by adding to bed and bank stability.
• The physical condition of soil structure can bestrongly impacted by post-clearing activities. Soil
compaction can occur with use of heavy
machinery during tree clearing if the soil is wetor particularly vulnerable to structure decline.
Compaction is more likely to occur under heavy
grazing, particularly again where the soil is wet
or fragile.
• Vegetation exerts a considerable influence on soilfertility. Trees have been described as nutrient
pumps, transporting nutrients from deep within
the soil, and redepositing them in leaf litter.
Removal of trees will have impacts on theavailability of nutrients and organic matter.
• Some land uses are particularly acidifying, and
include cropping, which involves the removal of
large quantities of harvested material;
application of ammonium-based fertilisers; andintroduction of legumes. Particular soil types are
more vulnerable to acidification than others, and
careful management and consideration of land
use are recommended.
• Tree clearing has a direct impact on the
hydrological regime. Generally the removal ofdeep-rooted trees increases deep drainage. This
may result in the expression of salinity at or near
the soil surface. While Queensland currently haslimited salinity problems compared to other
States, there is potential for significant increases
in saline-affected lands in the next 10–30 years.
Areas likely to be impacted are largely restrictedto areas with between 600 and 1500 mm rainfall
per annum. Assessment of salinity hazard risk
can ensure clearing will not result in salinity.
Revegetation plays a significant role inmanagement of saline-affected land.
• Cropping is generally conducted on cleared land.
There is often a long-term decline in productivity
as the time since initial clearing and
development increases. Windbreaks can be
useful in protecting high-value crops from winddamage, although there may be some sacrifice in
productivity close to treed windbreaks where
trees compete with the crops.
• Tree clearing is primarily conducted in
Queensland to promote increased pastureproductivity. Vegetation can also provide fodder
for grazing livestock, as well as shade andshelter from harsh climatic conditions. These
benefits can have significant production benefits.
• There is substantial Queensland evidence thatnon-leguminous trees and shrubs can decrease
pasture production within their projected
canopies and beyond. Individual trees can have a
variety of impacts varying from net increase tono net effect to a net decrease. There are several
important situations that report improved
pasture growth with trees.
• Clearing of vegetation is often followed by
regrowth or regeneration of the original plant.Ongoing regrowth management will be necessary
if the consequential pasture production increases
are required.
• Fire has an effect on plant ecology, the extent of
which depends on fire intensity, frequency andseason of burning. The interaction between an
adaptive trait and fire regime may facilitate
survival or reproduction. Fire may be used as a
management tool for productivity as well asconservation. Changes in the use of fire have
happened over time.• The benefit of retaining and managing native
vegetation for its timber and other commercial
values is only now beginning to be realised. Thepotential of farm forestry enterprises is being
explored at various levels. A number of national
and international policy initiatives and factors,
such as global markets, carbon trading, theMontreal Process, certification and labelling of
forest products, and the Regional Forest
Agreement process, are likely to affect the future
direction of these enterprises. There is potential
to manage private native forest areas tomaximise conservation outcomes for these areas.
• Retaining native vegetation may offer ecological
and economic benefits through new crops,
diversified agriculture or alternative products.Alternative products may include bush foods,
ecotourism, pharmaceutical products, honey, and
landscaping materials.
• Benefits from retaining native vegetation may be
measurable short-term economic benefits andlong term benefits to the landholder and general
community that are not easily measured.Benefits to the whole of society include aesthetic
and amenity benefits.
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4.1 Impacts of habitat loss on biodiversity
Land clearing has been identified as the major
threat to biodiversity in Australia (Ecological
Sustainable Development Working Party on
Biological Diversity 1991; Glaznig 1995). Systematicassessment of fauna from various parts of Australia
attributes declines in species directly or indirectly
to habitat loss (Saunders et al. 1985; Loyn 1987;
Dickman et al. 1993; Barrett et al. 1994; Smith &Smith 1994). For example, Garnett (1992), in a
review of bird populations, cited clearance of
habitat as the most frequently inferred means of
decline for 150 birds classified as threatened orextinct. Many species of fauna are dependent on
trees and the habitat they provide, and therefore
undergo decreases in abundance and extent
following tree clearing. For example, the glossyblack cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami, classified
as Vulnerable) is dependent on brigalow–belahcommunities for habitat, the red-tailed black
cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus magnificus) depends onsupply of eucalypt seeds as its major food source,
the rufous bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens) relies on
eucalypt woodland for habitat, and various reptiles
live almost solely on trees and under logs (e.g. treedtella and tree skink both of which occur on gidgee
and brigalow). Australia has a large number of
obligate tree-hollow nesting birds. Hollows are
characteristic of mature tree communities, and takecenturies to form (Abensperg-Traun & Smith 1993).
Studies carried out in Queensland’s brigalow region(Russell et al. 1992), and in similar areas in
northern New South Wales (Barrett et al. 1994;Ellis & Wilson 1992), have shown that there are
substantially more fauna species in treed areas
compared to adjacent cleared areas.
There are many plant species threatened by land
clearance in Queensland, including ooline (Cadellia pentastylis) and other softwood species, Chinchilla
white gum (Eucalyptus argophloia), and several grass
and herb species from the Darling Downs region
(Fensham 1998b). However, overall there appear to
be fewer obvious examples of plant species directlyimpacted by clearing compared to fauna species.
This could be at least partly because plants can
survive for extended periods in small remnants(<5 ha) which are too small to support fauna
species. However, the long-term viability of such
remnants is questionable (Hobbs & Saunders 1994)
and the decline in flora populations may be moreinsidious (McIntyre 1992), but in the long term just
as severe as declines in fauna.
Other agents also contribute to the decline of
biodiversity, and their impact is oftenindistinguishable from those of land clearing. Theseother agents include grazing (Foran et al. 1990;
Morton and Price 1994; see section 4.1.4),
predation, changed fire regime (e.g. Morton 1990)
and competition from feral plants and animals
(Humphries et al. 1991; Low 1999). Recher (1999)predicts that, with current patterns and trends of
land use, up to 50% of Australia’s bird species may
be lost in the next century. However, not all native
species are disadvantaged by land clearance. Treeclearing, and the associated creation of more open
landscapes with increased grass cover and artificial
water points, is associated with increased
abundance of species such as plains turkeys,galahs, cockatiels, woodswallows, budgerigars,
zebra finches, diamond doves, pipits, songlarks and
some macropods (e.g. Saunders & Curry 1990).
However, it is not the species that prosper underEuropean management, but rather those that suffer,
that should form the main focus of biodiversity
conservation.
This section will look first at the question of how
much habitat is required to ensure biodiversity atthe landscape level. The physical effects of habitat
loss on biodiversity, including fragmentation andlandscape connectivity, and the implications of
disturbance (particularly grazing) and remnantcondition for biodiversity will be discussed.
Ecosystems with particular roles in landscape
functioning (e.g. riparian zones, wetlands) are
examined in more detail. There is also a briefdiscussion on ecosystem repair to reinstate
biodiversity.
4.1.1 How much habitat is requiredfor conservation of biodiversity
at a regional level?Despite the widespread view amongst scientists that
habitat loss is the major threat to biodiversity in
Australia, the relationship between species survival
and habitat loss is not well understood. Thefollowing is a review of the existing literature on
species and habitat loss at a landscape scale, with
Australian, and particularly Queensland, examples.
Habitat-versus-species relationships are likely to be
region and species specific. Most Australianmammal extinctions have occurred in arid areas
where habitat loss has been minimal. However, theprocess that led to these extinctions actually
highlights the importance of habitat (Morton 1990).It is thought that the key desert resources that
allowed species to survive the severe droughts of
the interior became contracted with the advent of
pastoralism. The concentration of fauna in thesehabitat enclaves made them easy prey for feral
foxes and cats, resulting in the significant decline in
medium-sized mammals. The extinction of fauna in
relation to tree clearing follows some of these sameprocesses. Clearing of habitat forces animals into
remnant vegetation, where they face a range ofproblems associated with the reduction of habitat,
including increased predation, inbreeding, lack ofdispersal opportunities, and a suite of influences
known as ‘edge effects’ (see Andren 1994).
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Extinction due to habitat loss may be particularly
acute in Australia because of the extraenvironmental strains of drought and flood.
Ecosystems, and their component functions
subjected to stresses, display a degree of elasticity
in condition from which recovery is possible
(although the return state may not be the same asthe original). Thresholds represent those levels of
environmental change or damage, beyond whichrecovery is not possible. It is generally thought that
the relationship between habitat loss and speciesloss is non-linear. Initial losses in habitat are
accompanied by relatively small reductions in
species numbers, but as habitat loss increases,
large losses in species are associated with smallreductions in habitat (Connor & McCoy 1979;
Shafer 1990; Koopowitz et al. 1994). These simple
models suggest that with 30% habitat loss, 10% of
species will be lost; while at 50% habitat loss,15% of species will be lost. The models can also
offer information on threshold levels for ecosystemsand species. This basic information has been used
to limit clearing of every land type in south-westernNew South Wales to 30% of its original extent
(Southern Mallee Regional Planning Committee
1999).
Bennett and Ford (1997) carried out a study on
the woodland avifauna of northern Victoria anddocumented a dramatic decline in species numbers
once habitat fell below 10% tree cover. They
highlighted the lag phase between habitat loss and
species decline and indicated that many of the
species persisting in regions with more than 10%habitat retention are imperilled because of small
population sizes. There is ample evidence of a ‘lag
time’ between habitat and subsequent species loss.The status of birds continued to decline in the
Adelaide region between the 1970s and 1980s,
despite relatively little loss of habitat in the region
during this time (Paton et al. 1994). Other exampleswhere bird species have become locally extinct long
after fragmentation has ceased come from Western
Australia (Saunders 1989) and Victoria (Traill et al.
1996).
The scientific advisory group to the Commonwealthof Australia (Pitman et al. 1995) concluded that
biodiversity could be adequately protected if 15%
of each forest type was contained in a conservation
reserve and if the non-reserved part of that foresttype was managed in a sustainable way. The non-
reserved forest estate is, in general, not analogous
to clearing pastoral lands because the expressed
aim of forestry management is to recover foreststructure through the regeneration of native tree
species, where as pastoralism often involves the
reduction in woody species and establishment ofnative or exotic ‘grassland’ or pasture. It wouldappear that retention rates in the pastoral
landscape must greatly exceed those for Australian
forests if the conservation viability of the two
regions is to be matched.
In Queensland, the Eastern Darling Downs is one of
the most heavily fragmented regions and naturalhabitat is currently about 23% of the original area
(Fensham 1998b). Two field zoologists have
assessed the mammal fauna of the Eastern Darling
Downs based on historical records and their currentknowledge of distributions (Craig Eddie & Pat
McConnell 2000, pers. comm., 14 June). They
suggest that the original fauna was likely to have
comprised 32 native species. Of this, four species(13%) were assumed to be locally extinct in the
region. A further eight species were regarded as rare
which, together with the presumed extinct species,
represent 39% of the mammals in the region.
An extensive bird inventory was conducted at‘Coomooboolaroo’ in Duaringa Shire over the period
from 1873 to 1924 (Woinarski & Catterall 1999).
The owner during this time recorded around 225
bird species from the property, with about 30 ofthese being irregular visitors. In a recent census of
the property (over a shorter time frame), it wasrevealed that 150 bird species still live on or visit
‘Coomooboolaroo’, and the number may wellincrease with further surveys. If the irregular visitors
are excluded from the original list, the currently
known fauna represents 77% of the original fauna.
The property has not been exceptionally cleared;indeed, the landholders here have been clearly
sympathetic to wildlife and their environment. The
loss of birds is apparently not restricted to the
softwood and brigalow scrubs that have sufferedthe most clearance regionally, as there have also
been declines in many bird species associated withthe eucalypt forests and woodlands that make up
the bulk of the property. The loss of birds at‘Coomooboolaroo’ is almost certainly symptomatic
of the broader region. Data from 1995 for Duaringa
Shire indicated that habitat retention is currently
about 42% of the original area, which is the samerate as that for the entire Brigalow Belt bioregion at
that time. At even larger scales, there is good
evidence for the loss of birds across the tropical
savannas of northern Australia (Franklin 1999).
In a worldwide review of fauna studies, Andren
(1994) found that 30% habitat retention was acritical threshold. He verified that species loss
occurs above 30% habitat retention, but that below
this level the retention of species is more reliant onlandscape configuration than habitat loss per se.
When habitat is examined as individual remnants,
there is considerable literature to demonstrate that
large remnants provide more viable habitat andcontain more species than small remnants (section
4.1.2). Various bird studies have suggested that
10–20 ha provide a minimum viable habitat size for
many birds (Catterall et al. 1998). Ecosystemfunction is greatly impaired as remnants reduce in
size and particularly as their edge to area ratio
increases. This is clearly visible in relation to exotic
invasion. Buffel grass, while clearly of great valueto the cattle industry, is particularly invasive and
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between production and conservation, the
productive potential of individual RegionalEcosystems (REs) may be accounted for. Regional
Ecosystems represent the best available surrogate
for biodiversity at the species level. Hence they may
provide an appropriate base unit for a system ofthresholds. On available evidence, 30% is the
minimum benchmark for the rate of retention of
REs to ensure against substantial extinction in the
longer term.
While this benchmark is in keeping withapproaches to managing ecosystems for
biodiversity elsewhere in Australia (e.g. Pitman et
al. 1995), there are many factors that can
determine an appropriate level to retain. Forexample, ecosystems that have a restricted
preclearing extent may be cleared down to unviable
areas if the benchmark is strictly adhered to.
Therefore, in the case of the Regional Ecosystemsdefined in Queensland and used in the Vegetation
Management Act 1999 (Qld), in addition to theproportion of preclearing extent, a 10 000 ha
minimum area has been incorporated into thecriteria for assessing status. This helps to ensure
adequate protection of habitats with a restricted
distribution.
The requirements of individual species,
populations, individual ecosystems and themanagement and condition of the surrounding
landscape, would also be expected to impact on the
benchmark. Ecosystems that are left highly
fragmented and surrounded by more intense land
use (such as exotic pasture development; seeMacIntyre et al. 2000 for an example of
recommendations) are likely to require greater
retention than ecosystems that are retained withina native species matrix (e.g. mulga woodlands, see
has been shown to replace native plant species
(Fairfax & Fensham 2000). Many remnants in thepastoral district are heavily invaded by buffel grass,
while other exotics lower the conservation value of
remnants elsewhere. In some vegetation types, such
as rainforest and acacia forest, weed invasionbrings a shift from fire resistance to flammability.
The native species in small and linear remnants are
the most vulnerable to fire, exotic invasion, grazing
and predation.
Clearly we can expect further extinctions if habitatloss continues in Queensland. This is likely to be
most acute in the regions or provinces (see figure
4.1) that have already been extensively cleared,
namely the Central Queensland Coast, the BrigalowBelt and the Southeast Queensland bioregions.
These bioregions have already lost sufficient
habitat that, using derived models (see figure 1.1),
would suggest 20% species loss. This predictedrate of extinction is in keeping with the anecdotal
evidence from Queensland and elsewhere, allowingfor further extinction of rare species as small
remnant populations lose viability and ecosystemfunction is altered. (Ecosystem function or
‘services’ is discussed further in section 3.2.)
Summary
In deciding where habitat should be retained for
conservation purposes, it is generally recognised
that a greater sacrifice should be made in the mostproductive regions and for the most productive land
types—those areas that have been
disproportionately cleared. Patterns of clearing inQueensland reflect both topography and soilfertility and hence lowland areas have been
extensively cleared and fragmented (Martin et al.
2000). In order to provide a balanced trade-off
80
S p e c i e s l o s s
( % )
60
40
20
0
60 20 40 60 80 100
z=0.2
z=0.25
z=0.3
Central westNew South Wales
Coomooboolaroo X
?
?
DarlingDowns
?Northern plains
Victoria
Wheat beltNew South Wales
Area cleared (%)
Figure 4.1 Theoretical species loss from international models. Data from the studies mentioned in the text. Mammals in the
central west New South Wales, wheat belt New South Wales, Darling Downs Queensland, and birds at ‘Coomooboolaroo’central Queensland and northern plains Victoria. The position of the tail of the arrow is the species that are known to beextinct. The position of the arrowhead is the species that are extremely rare. The lines in the graph are taken from a report tothe Southern Mallee Regional Planning Committee (1999), which adapted empirical equations derived by Connor and McCoy(1979) and Simberloff (1992).
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of biodiversity value as size and arrangement of
fragments (e.g. MacIntyre & Hobbs 1999).
Fragmentation (of remnant or semi-modified
vegetation) leads to several problems for the
protection of biodiversity. Firstly, the viability ofisolated small blocks of vegetation is generally poor
(Hobbs 1991). This may be exacerbated if remnant
vegetation is not protected from domestic livestock
and inappropriate fire regimes. These isolatedblocks are not efficient in supporting a wide variety
of native fauna, and risk further degradation from
salinity, grazing, weed invasion and rising
watertables (Hobbs 1987). Another aspect of theproblem is lack of habitat diversity. In well-
developed agricultural areas, remaining vegetation
tends to be a non-random sample of former
habitats: swamps that could not be drained, steephillsides, and small patches of rainforest
maintained for ‘conservation’. These remnant
patches support a narrower spectrum of flora and
fauna than if all habitats were represented.In practice, problems associated with fragmentationmay be mitigated by interconnecting remnant areas
and/or specifying a minimum size of retention
areas for the protection of biodiversity and/or
managing the condition of patches.
Habitat reduction—what is a viablefragment size required for conservation of biodiversity?
An important element in the physical effect of
fragmentation is the reduction in the size of
individual habitat patches. There is considerableevidence indicating that larger remnants provide
more viable habitat and contain more species than
smaller remnants (e.g. Barrett et al. 1994; Catterallet al. 1998). However, the size of remnants required
to conserve biodiversity varies with species and
habitat types. For example, bird studies in southern
Queensland have concluded that 10 ha provides aminimum viable habitat size (Catterall et al. 1998).
Similarly, studies of birds in woodlands and open
forest in northern New South Wales (Barrett et al.
1994) have shown that remnant patches of 10–20ha are required to provide suitable habitat for the
majority (80%) of bird species. Studies from
Western Australia (Abensperg-Traun et al. 1996b;
Smith et al. 1996) suggest that small remnants(<5 ha) can provide suitable habitat for reptiles
and invertebrates. McIntyre et al. (2000)
recommend woodland patches of 5–10 ha are
required to support the majority of native plant andanimal species in grassy woodlands in south-east
Queensland.
Some unpublished studies from Queensland are
beginning to establish data for some ecosystems.Staff from the Queensland Parks and WildlifeService (Emerald), Griffith University, Queensland
Museum and Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife
Commission, have been investigating the effects of
Cameron & Blick 1982). While the benchmark
works at a bioregional scale, habitat loss at a morelocal scale (e.g. province sensu Sattler & Williams
1999; see figure 1.1) may impact on the
benchmark, for example 1998 local leasehold tree-
clearing guidelines for the Darling Downs increasedState-wide retention thresholds due to a high
amount of habitat loss in the local district. For
many habitats that are agriculturally productive,
such as temperate grassland or brigalow woodland,it is too late to achieve this benchmark. Many other
ecosystems are likely to retain higher levels of
vegetation based on guidelines for vegetation
retention in areas vulnerable to otherenvironmental risks such as salinity or erosion.
4.1.2 Fragmentation
A consequence of agricultural development has
been the vast reduction in intact native vegetation,and subsequently the high degree of fragmentation
of remaining vegetation (Wallace & Moore 1987).
Bennett (1999) identifies three components of the
fragmentation process:• the overall loss of habitats in the landscape
(see section 4.1.1)
• reduction in the size of blocks of habitat
(habitat reduction)• increased isolation of habitats (habitat isolation).
This section examines the latter two in more detail.
The study of landscape ecology recognises the
structure and spatial relationships, and interactions
over space and time between the ecosystems
and/or patches that make up a landscape (Forman& Godron 1986). There are sophisticated software
packages available to quantify landscape structure
(e.g. McGarigal et al. 1998) and theoreticalframeworks available to optimise or reintegrate
fragmented landscapes (Hobbs & Norton 1996;
Hobbs & Saunders 1991; McIntyre & Hobbs 1999).
These procedures work on the assumption thatplanning and managing over an entire landscape
will optimise protection of values compared to
planning and managing at individual patch or
subregional scales. In Queensland, vegetation
mapping could be used as a basis to reintegratehabitats across the landscape, although further
work is required to assess on which options best
meet the requirements of species and ecosystemsover space and time.
In many areas, landscapes cannot be classified into
remnant versus non-remnant areas, and it may be
more appropriate to treat them as ‘variegated’
(McIntyre & Barret 1992; McIntyre 1994; McIntyre &Hobbs 1999). That is, in between remnant
vegetation and vegetation which has been cleared
and planted with crops, there is a continuum of‘semi-modified’ vegetation that will possessbiodiversity and other values. In this case, a
consideration of the matrix that fragments are
embedded in can be just as important a determinant
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tree clearing and fragmentation on the fauna of
eucalypt woodlands in central Queensland.Preliminary results indicate a trend in declining
species richness with declining remnant size (David
Hannah pers. comm.; summarised in table 4.1).
Large woodland areas (over 2000 ha) consistentlyhave more species present than medium-sized
remnants (50–300 ha) that, in turn, have more
species than do small remnants (5–20 ha). For
birds, small remnants and linear strips oftencontain widespread generalist bird species that can
utilise the changed conditions of these sites. As
remnant size increases, however, forest-dependent
species become more common. Initial observationssuggest that where herbaceous, log and litter cover
are intact, small mammals and reptiles will persist
within remnants, regardless of size classes and
connectivity. In general, as clearing reduced thesize and cover of tree groves and other vegetation
patches, counts for the grey butcherbird, yellow-
throated miner, striated pardalote, pale-headed
rosella and Carnaby’s skink declined, whereascounts for the red-backed fairy wren and house
mouse increased (Ludwig et al. forthcoming).
Counts for the weebill, Bynoe’s gecko and the
delicate mouse did not significantly change withclearing. Of these ten common fauna species, the
pale-headed rosella was the only species to
significantly change its abundance (higher counts)
with increased levels of livestock grazing,suggesting that clearing more strongly affects
abundances of common fauna than does grazing.
In another fauna survey of a property inWaggamba Shire with 10% total tree cover,
shadelines ranging from 20–200 m in width andsmall patches up to 5 ha, a total of 7 native
mammal, 81 bird, 17 reptile and 7 frog species
were found (Richard Johnson, EPA Roma unpub.).
This represents more than a third of the totalspecies predicted to occur in the surrounding shire
(including about half the total bird species). Thus,
while these shadelines’ sizes and total tree covers
are too small to protect all species, particularlythose that require larger areas (e.g. eastern yellow
robin Eopsaltria australis, imperial hairstreakbutterfly Jalmenus evagoras evagoras), they may have
considerable conservation value.
Habitat isolation—the role of wildlifecorridors
Habitat fragments are often isolated from one
another by a hostile environment (Andrén 1994),
although habitat patches do not exist in an non-interactive matrix, and the surrounding agriculture
or secondary forest (Power 1996; Whitmore 1997)
may offer a habitat or means of dispersal to some
terrestrial species. Ecosystem processes such asseed dispersal, pollination of plants, predator–prey
relationships, gene flow and dispersal of disease
and parasites, can be sensitive to isolation effects
(Bennett 1999). The ideas of dispersal have bornefurther theoretical investigations into the viability of
subpopulations and the concepts of natural
extinctions, recolonisations and the persistence of
the metapopulation as a whole (Hanski et al. 1995;Collinge 1996).
Wildlife corridors are areas of retained native
vegetation that link other remnant vegetation within
an otherwise non-remnant landscape. They areoften seen as an essential element of nature
conservation planning (e.g. Noss 1987; Chenoweth
& Associates 1994), mitigating the impact of habitat
loss and fragmentation. Linked large remnants arelikely to provide more viable habitat at the regional
scale than many small fragments with a high edge
to area ratio (Cale & Hobbs 1994).
Definitions of corridors abound (e.g. Saunders &
Hobbs 1991; Harris & Scheck 1991) but all includethe following:
• a continuous strip of vegetation• usually link larger tracts of vegetation
• used or capable of being used by wildlife formovement
• capable of being a habitat in their own right.
Corridors may be classified according to their
continuity and connectivity as well as by their
origins (Loney & Hobbs 1991). Natural corridors,remnant corridors, restored corridors and riparian
corridors are such examples, with classification not
necessarily mutually exclusive. Riparian corridors
have been referred to as Australia’s ‘ecological
arteries’ (Recher 1993; Sattler 1993b). Thesecorridors usually contain the most fertile and well-
46
Table 4.1 Fauna species richness (mean and standard deviation) in eucalypt woodland remnants of different area and isolationclasses, and eucalypt regrowth and pasture sites in central Queensland.
Site type Description Birds Mammals Reptiles
Large >2000 ha (8 treatments) 55.6 (10.0) 7.5 (3.1) 15.9 (5.8)
Medium patch (connected) 50–300 ha (8 treatments) 47.8 (11.1) 7.1 (2.8) 14.9 (4.2)
Medium patch (unconnected) 50–300 ha (8 treatments) 44.3 (13.5) 7.0 (3.0) 12.8 (3.1)
Linear strip (connected) 50–150 m wide (5 treatments) 42.0 (6.6) 5.5 (1.7) 11.8 (3.6)Linear strip (unconnected) 50–150 m wide (8 treatments) 32.8 (11.3) 5.2 (2.8) 8.8 (6.1)
Small patch (unconnected) 5–20 ha (8 treatments) 26.5 (9.3) 5.4 (1.8) 10.1 (4.6)
Eucalypt regrowth 5 m +/- 3 m high (8 treatments) 29.6 (10.5) 6.9 (3.1) 8.9 (6.3)
Pasture Improved and exotic (8 treatments) 20.8 (4.6) 6.4 (2.5) 7.0 (4.5)
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Bennett (1999) considers wildlife corridors as one
option of a number that contribute to managing theentire landscape for connectivity. While corridors
can and are applied as a habitat conservation
measure in fragmented landscapes (Noss 1987),
they should not be used as an all-encompassingpanacea for fragmentation. In the absence of
detailed, species- and site-specific research, the
use of corridors should be mixed with other
measures and there is always likely to be a need toretain larger areas of non-fragmented habitat.
Downes et al. (1997) found that wet sclerophyll
corridors in north-eastern Victoria provided useful
habitat for several mammal species, but that there
were intraspecific differences in habitat use bybrown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii). Specifically,
there was a higher proportion of males, and
individuals had lower body weight in corridors than
in forests. Thus fragmentation may lead toreduction in fitness of isolated populations of some
species. This study demonstrated that, whilecorridors can provide useful habitat for mammalian
assemblages, they might not provide a completesolution to the problem of landscape fragmentation.
There has been some published and unpublished
data from Queensland suggesting wildlife corridors
do provide useful habitat in some situations. Work
in northern Queensland in Donaghy’s Corridor(Atherton Tablelands), which is a revegetated strip
of rainforest linking Lake Eacham National Park and
Gadgarra State Forest, provides evidence that
corridors do provide for the movement of species
(Tucker 2000). Preliminary unpublished evidencefrom genetic studies on Rattus fuscipes, Rattusleucopus and Melomys cervinipes indicate that the
previously isolated populations of these species,which occurred at each end of the corridor, are
distinctly different genetically. However, the F1
generation of each species has recently been
identified as being genetically related, indicatingthat the corridor seems to be functioning as a
conduit for these species.
In a north Queensland survey of four species of
rainforest interior insects, Hill (1995) found that adung beetle species and butterfly species occurredin linear corridors, but not in the surrounding
arable land. The remaining two species were
confined to the rainforest habitat. Hill (1997)
argues that emphasis should be placed upon theseinterior (or edge aversive) species, because the
process of habitat fragmentation is likely to have
the greatest impact on such species. Use of
corridors by these species supports the need forthem for conservation purposes. Hill (1997) noted
that corridors were functioning as habitat for the
beetles rather than simply encouraging dispersal,and that with corridors 200 m wide you get about80% of the fauna present in a large habitat patch.
watered part of the landscape, and are highly
significant from both a productive and conservationperspective.
There are three main reasons why corridors may be
used to protect biodiversity in a fragmented
landscape (Simberloff & Cox 1987):
1) They allow increased migration or movement ofwildlife. It is predicted (from ‘equilibrium theory)
that they allow more species to survive than ifvegetation is present as smaller fragments with
no migration.2) They provide habitat for wildlife in their own
right, particularly for fauna that may require
larger diversity and amount of habitat to meet
their food requirements than may be present insmaller isolated fragments.
3) They prevent inbreeding of isolated populations.
The effectiveness of corridors
Simberloff and Cox (1987) and Lindenmayer (1994),
point out there has been a paucity of evidenceavailable to support or refute the values ofcorridors as conduits for the movement of species.
Furthermore, information that is available has often
not been collected from properly designed
experiments, making it difficult to disentangle causeand effect. For example, comparing two remnants
that are not connected by a corridor with two
remnants that are may be confounded by the
additional habitat provided by the corridor in thesecond case and not just the fact that they are
linked.
The effectiveness of corridors is likely to vary witha range of factors including habitat structure and
quality within the corridor, dimensions(length:width ratio) of the corridor, the nature of
the surrounding habitat, human-use patterns and,
most importantly, the biology of the particular
species that are expected to use the corridor and itssurrounding habitat (Simberloff & Cox 1987;
Lindenmayer 1994). For example, highly mobile
species may be able to travel through or inhabit
modified land between remnant fragments, makingcorridors non-essential to their survival.
The degree of isolation is species-specific and is
relative, not only to the biology of each individual
species, but also to environmental conditions
(Harris 1984). Dispersal abilities of individualspecies play a key role in assessment of fragment
suitability, as well as identifying barriers to
dispersal (Goosem & Marsh 1997). Many studies
focus on single species, and largely on mammalsand birds (e.g. Andrén 1994, Laurance 1994, and
Goosem & Marsh 1997), and it is difficult to make
generalisations for a range of species based on
these. Landscape connectivity (e.g. wildlifecorridors) may be a useful management tool in
overcoming the impacts of isolation.
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From the above discussion, it is possible to say that
generally, wider and larger corridors or patches areconsidered better for biodiversity conservation than
smaller and narrower corridors or patches (Hussey
et al. 1989), although the optimum width and size
will vary with the nature of habitats that form andsurround the corridor and the ecology of species
using the corridor (Noss 1987). For example, in
Western Australia, bird species’ richness in
woodland corridors on road reserves wassignificantly influenced by the density of the
ground cover below 1 m and the density of
vegetation above 8 m. A study of birds in south-
east Queensland open forest found that corridorshad to be at least 500 m for small forest birds
(Catterall et al. 1991). Hussey et al. (1991) suggest
rainforest corridors may need to be 100 m wide,
while in heath vegetation the minimum requiredwidth might be only 30 m.
4.1.3 Condition of vegetation
remnantsThe effect of patch size is often confounded by the
relationship between patch size and condition. To
ensure both sustainable use and the long-term
viability of the landscape, knowledge of thecondition of remnants is essential. It is traditionally
accepted that remnant size, shape and proximity to
other areas of native vegetation are critical
variables affecting the persistence of native speciesand the invasion by exotic species (Saunders &
Hobbs 1991). Other factors affecting the condition
and functioning of remnants include the type andintensity of disturbances that the remnant has beensubject to and the vegetation type, which vary in
their levels of natural resilience and resistance to
change. Despite these influences, degraded
remnants still provide value in the landscape interms of property productivity and regional
conservation, although it is assumed that remnants
with limited modication are better able to provide
these values across the landscape.
Habitat value of small remnants is usuallycompromised by changes in understorey structure
and composition caused by disturbances such as:• grazing, from domestic livestock and native
fauna• herbicide or pesticide spray drift
• weed invasion, particularly from exotic pasture
species
• native fauna population pressures from reducedhabitat
• edge effects
• alteration of fire regime (Saunders et al. 1991;Barret et al. 1994; Abensperg-Traun et al. 1996b;
Smith et al. 1996).
Apart from biological consequences of
fragmentation, there are physical consequences to
fragmentation. Alterations in radiation, wind and
48
The study from central Queensland, summarised in
table 4.1, also investigated the effects ofconnectivity of remnants on associated fauna
richness. Where a remnant patch or strip of
vegetation is linked to other patches of vegetation,
species numbers increased. This was especiallyevident for bird species’ richness that increased
greatly when linear strips of vegetation connected
up with more extensive woodland areas. Regrowth
vegetation supported greater numbers of faunaspecies than pasture sites. Pasture sites which have
been sown with the introduced pasture grass
Cenchrus ciliaris (buffel grass) generally had fewer
remaining ground-dwelling species (e.g. quails,fossorial skinks and native small mammals) than
pastures which contained a mix of native grass
species (see further discussion on the effect of
reduced grass diversity and loss of biodiversity insection 3.2).
Corridors and patches, as remnants of once
widespread and complex vegetation associations,are subject to species losses and changes in
ecosystem processes (Hobbs 1993b). Being linear,corridors in particular suffer a relatively larger edge
effect (see section 4.1.3), so that damage by fire,
fertiliser drift, weed invasion, wind damage, insect
defoliation, nutrient enrichment from run-on,microclimatic changes, hydrological changes, and
many other impacts, greatly affect their
sustainability (Hussey et al. 1989). Fauna using
corridors as habitat may be more susceptible topredation by increased feral cat and fox
populations that are often associated with afragmented landscape.
In coastal areas, vegetation is generally denser, and
edge effects are likely to result from intensive landuses such as sugarcane cultivation, sown pastures
and urban and peri-urban subdivisions. Given the
extent of the development and the low rate of
retention of native vegetation, coastal corridors willalso have a major function as habitat and should
be made as wide as possible.
In inland areas, harsher and more frequent climatic
extremes and extended seasonal food deficienciesmean that corridors need to be wider than coastalareas. This is also true because the generally
sparser vegetation provides less protection for
animal species from predators. Population densities
may already be relatively low and the chances ofcorridors becoming ‘sinks’ for some species
relatively high. The loss of smaller insect-feeding
birds facilitates insect outbreaks that may lead to
repeated tree defoliation and eventual ruraleucalypt dieback (Ford 1986). In these areas, 200 m
may be a sustainable width, but variables such as
corridor length and grazing pressures also need tobe considered.
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water fluxes can all affect populations within
fragments. Changes in microclimate are especiallynoted at the edge where original habitat meets
cleared matrix (Saunders et al. 1991; Laurance &
Yensen 1991) and, whilst the effect of this is
unknown, it may result in invasion by shade-intolerant or secondary species (Lovejoy et al. 1986).
Ecosystem function is greatly impaired as remnants
reduce in size and particularly as their edge-to-area ratio increases. Deterioration due to ‘edge
effects’ is the greatest threat to stability of smallremnants or wildlife corridors. This impact of
habitat edges on the viability of biodiversity in
remnants has become an enormously complex
aspect of fragmentation research and has sparked aplethora of investigations into edge effects (e.g.
Laurance & Yensen 1991; Turton & Freiberger 1997;
Didham 1997). In its earliest conception, edge
effects were quantified in a ratio of perimeter lengthto area (see figure 4.2), in an attempt to quantify
size and shape variation (Laurance & Yensen 1991;Didham 1997). Assessment of the ecological
impacts of edge effects by the core-area model(Laurance & Yensen 1991) uses edge penetration
distance to calculate the unaffected area of a
fragment of any shape or size for focal taxa.
Linked large remnants are likely to provide more
viable habitat at the regional scale than many smallfragments with a high edge-to-area ratio (Cale &
Hobbs 1994). The nature and impact of the edge
effects will be greatly influenced by the nature of
the adjacent land use and the corresponding
strength of the edge effect (Soule & Gilpin 1991).Dorricott et al. (1998) have demonstrated edge
effects in the southern brigalow belt (see figure 4.3).
A sustainable remnant will have two zones: theoutside areas that are affected by ‘edge’ processes,
and an inner or core area. Fragments must be wide
enough to ensure that an ecologically viable core
area is sufficiently distant from the edges to reducethe impact of edge effects (Start 1991).
The utility of corridors as habitat is often reduced
because their linear nature makes them prone to
degradation by disturbance. Corridors also must bewide enough to ensure there is a large area in themiddle that is not impacted by edge effects (Start
1991). Corridors must be managed with specific
objectives in mind. Weeds have the potential to be
the most serious threat to corridor integrity andmust be addressed. Similarly, pests, vermin and
feral animals may also live in corridors, and it is
important to control problem species. Fire
management must be considered, especially whenthe dominant tree species is fire sensitive (e.g.
mulga Acacia aneura). Similarly, management
practices and operations, especially stock handlingand mustering, have to be taken into considerationin developing appropriate strategies for overall
management of corridors.
E f f e c t i v e n a t u r a l h a b i t a t ( h a )
100
50
00 50 100 150
Area of remnant vegetation block (ha)
150
circle
no edgeeffect
1:5 strip
1:10 strip
Figure 4.2 The effect of shape of retained vegetation on thearea of natural habitat within that vegetation. Naturalhabitat is defined as that part of the block greater than 75 mfrom the nearest boundary. The difference between the1:1 line and the particular configuration line is an indicatorof the area of ‘edge’ habitat. Source: Scanlan et al. 1992.
Figure 4.3 Showing how size and shape impact on edgeeffects. Source: Dorricott et al. 1998.
Indicates edge effectsfor a difference of 25 m
Size, shape and edge effects10 ha remnants
Indicates effectiveundisturbed habitat
Undisturbedarea 7.5 ha
Undisturbedarea 7 ha
Circular remnanttotal edge=1121 m
Square remnanttotal edge=1265 m
Undisturbed area 4.5 ha
Long narrow remnant total edge=2200 m
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4.1.4 Impacts of domestic grazingwithin remnant vegetation
As highlighted in section 4.1.1, the greatest threat
to biodiversity in Queensland is loss and
degradation of habitat associated with continued
broadscale vegetation clearing (Scanlan & Turner1995; EPA 1999c).
Broadscale vegetation clearing, however, is not the
only contributor to loss of biological diversity, with
overgrazing by domestic stock commonly accepted
as a significant factor contributing to thedegradation of remnant and riparian vegetation
(Foran et al. 1990; Morton & Price 1994).
According to the State of the Environment Queensland 1999 report (EPA 1999c), grazed woodlands have
undergone considerable structural changes sincethe arrival of domestic stock, with evidence that
many areas support increased unpalatable woody
plant density and biomass. Elsewhere in Australia,
there is a growing amount of evidence to indicatethat domestic grazing has impacted greatly on the
natural environment and its associated biota (e.g.
Hobbs & Hopkins 1990; Morton 1990; Christie
1993; Kirkpatrick 1994; Wilson & Clark 1995;Landsberg et al. 1997a, 1997b and 1997c).
A review of the impacts of grazing in wooded
ecosystems in south-eastern Queensland, recently
undertaken by an Ecologically Sustainable Forest
Management (ESFM) review panel (McDonald et al.1999), suggested that the cumulative impacts of
grazing were poorly studied and understood. It is
likely that this has broader applicability across theState of Queensland. Notwithstanding, stakeholdersin the south-east were of the opinion that if
properly managed, grazing may be compatible with
flora and fauna conservation, particularly in
grasslands (McDonald et al. 1999). Furthermore,the results of long-term grazing experiments in the
northern spear grass region by CSIRO support the
contention that moderate levels of grazing pressure
by domestic livestock and conservation of nativeplant diversity can be largely compatible (EPA
1999c). It is prolonged and continual overgrazing,
however, that is considered to be the primary
source of degradation and loss of biodiversity ofremnant vegetation.
Impacts on flora
Domestic stock are suspected, directly or indirectly,
of impacting on the flora of remnant vegetation
through grazing, browsing or rubbing of vegetation,
soil compaction and erosion, eutrophication ofwater sources, altered nutrient status of soils,
spread of weeds, and altered fire regimes (FERA
1998). The effect of grazing in remnants depends on
the type and intensity of grazing (Fensham 1998b),the predominant season grazed (Pettit et al. 1995),
and management activities associated with grazing,
such as fire regimes and tree treatment. Also of
importance is the location of watering points, and
the establishment of tracks, fence lines and otherinfrastructure, such as yards and buildings.
Braunack and Walker (1985) found that grazing
altered the structure of both gradational texture
profile and duplex profile soils within remnants of a
semiarid poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) woodlandat Wycanna, southern Queensland. This may be
attributed to the loss of ground cover, resulting insoil erosion and subsequent nutrient loss (Braunack
& Walker 1985). However, an increase in the inputof faecal matter from domestic stock may
compensate for this by supplementing nutrients and
increasing soil pH as was demonstrated in a study
of sheep in Western Australia (Scougall & Majer1991).
Other changes resulting from altered soil structure
include soil compaction and/or surface seal
formation, and the inability of plants to germinate,
grow or survive (Braunack & Walker 1985). In a
study in Western Australia, Scougall and Majer(1991) found that soil moisture was increased by
grazing, largely because of a decrease in the
abundance of plant cover. As a result, less wateruse and increased compaction occurred in the
upper surface layers, leading to greater soil water
retention. (See section 4.2.4 Soil Structure.)
Changes in species composition
The most direct effect of grazing within remnant
vegetation is changes in the species composition ofthe plant community (Friedel & James 1995;
Scanlan & Burrows 1990). Continual, heavydomestic grazing within remnants can rapidly
reduce the abundance of palatable ground-layerplant species, including regenerating seedlings of
canopy species. Preferential grazing of these
palatable species leads to a general increase in the
abundance of unpalatable (grazing-tolerant)species (Yates & Hobbs 1997; Prober & Thiele
1995; Cheal 1993). Palatable shrub foliage within
reach is also browsed. Palatability of species may
vary according to season, age of plant, location, orthe type of grazing (e.g. cattle and sheep). As such,
the response of the plant community to domesticgrazing is very complex.
The introduction of exotic pasture plant species
into Australia with agricultural expansion hasadded a further layer of complexity to the effect of
grazing on remnant vegetation. Clearing
applications indicate that the vast majority of land
clearance in Queensland is directed at theestablishment of buffel grass pasture. Franks et al.
(2000) express their concern over the expansion
and incursion of exotic pasture species into the
remnant vegetation of Queensland, particularly thenorth African perennial, buffel grass (Cenchrusciliaris). They suggest that the life-history traits
sought in successful screening of pasture species
are also the traits that make these species potential
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weeds of remnants. Once established within
remnants, these exotic pasture species alter thecharacter and functioning of the plant community
in several key ways. The most readily observed
result is a reduction of diversity and abundance of
native plant species, particularly grasses and herbs(Fairfax & Fensham 2000). Buffel grass poses great
problems to the managers of national parks
because of its capacity to change fire regimes
(R. Fensham 2000, pers. comm. 29 March). Thelocal loss of native species, coupled with the
invasion of exotic pasture species, has been
observed as a response to grazing in a number of
studies (Pettit et al. 1995; Abensperg-Traun et al.1996a, 1996b and 1998; Prober & Thiele 1995;
Cheal 1993).
Fensham’s (1998b) study on the Darling Downs
demonstrated that species richness was generally
greater in moderately or heavily grazed sites thanin sites lightly grazed, although responses varied
with vegetation type. McIntyre and Lavorel (1994)found no significant difference in exotic species
richness at different grazing intensities. McIvor(1998) demonstrated that whilst changes in
diversity of both exotic and native pastures changes
with site and year, his results clearly show that the
introduction of sown species, particularly withcultivation, significantly reduces the density of
native species. McIvor expresses some concern at
the implications of these changes for the
productivity and stability of these pasture systems.The importance of investigating this impact in
different environmental contexts is emphasised byProber and Thiele (1995), who noted that livestock
grazing appeared to have played a more significantrole in degrading remnant quality in white box
woodland species, than fragmentation effects per
se. It must be remembered that all the direct effects
of grazing pressure occur under light grazing aswell as under heavy grazing. The time for the
effects to manifest under a light grazing regime is
greater than under moderate to heavy stocking
rates (Hussey & Wallace 1993).
In a study on the ecological condition and
functioning of remnant poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) woodlands, it was found that any effects
associated with fragmentation were overridden by
prevailing domestic stock grazing regimes and otherland management practices. Those remnants that
received periodic or light grazing had higher native
species diversity and increased structural complexity
than those subjected to year-round, moderate toheavy grazing. Again, the number of exotic species
did not vary greatly among stocking rates.
A number of significant changes were recorded,
with different grazing intensities for plant andvegetation patch attributes in poplar box andsilver-leaved ironbark (E. melanophloia) woodlands
in central Queensland (Ludwig et al. forthcoming).
51
For example, the authors found that the cover of
clumps of native perennial grasses such askangaroo grass (Themeda triandra), black speargrass
(Heteropogon contortus), wiregrasses ( Aristida spp.)
and bluegrasses (Bothriochloa spp. and Dichanthiumspp.), declined significantly with increased grazingpressure, where as the cover of buffel grass
(Cenchrus ciliaris) clumps increased. Grazing had no
significant impact on tree grove, shrub thicket, log
hummock, and termite mound patch coverattributes. However, in heavily grazed sites, tree
dieback was evident, and unpalatable shrubs (i.e.
Carissa ovata, currant bush) and bare ground
patches were more common.
Changes in habitat structure
York’s (1998) studies on the impacts of grazing andfire on forest biodiversity in New South Wales have
demonstrated that the structure of understorey
vegetation differs substantially between grazed and
non-grazed sites. Grazed sites had significantly less
ground herb cover and small shrubs, but the degreeof impact appeared to vary with geology and soils.
York (1999) further suggests that the effects of
grazing on forest structure may be patchy due tocattle grazing occurring preferentially in more open
areas. Accordingly, York (1998) also reported that, as
sites become more open, grazing intensity increases,
resulting in a reduction in the amount of vegetationin the ground herb and small shrub layers.
In a study of the impacts of cattle and macropods
on grazed woodlands in north Queensland,
Fensham and Skull (1999) found no significantdifference in basal area of eucalypts between nativeand domestic stock grazing. However, the basal
area of non-eucalypt species was significantly less
in those sites grazed by cattle. The physical
location of the sites grazed by macropods naturallyexcluded grazing by cattle and were presumed to
be burnt considerably less than those sites grazed
by livestock. Fire regime must therefore be
considered as a confounding variable, even thoughfires can be considered part of domestic grazing
management and thus constitute part of the overall
effect. Nevertheless, it is generally believed thatgrazing reduces the ability to burn because ofreduced fuel loads.
There is both anecdotal (Royal Commission 1901;
Inter-Departmental Committee 1969; Rolls 1981;
Allingham 1989; Joyce 1990; Simpson 1992; Tothill
& Gillies 1992; Harland 1993; Reynolds & Carter1993) and empirical evidence (Burrows et al. 1985;
Burrows 1995) that woody plants have increased in
both density and biomass under grazing in
northern Australia since European settlement(Tothill et al. 1982). Similar increases in woody
plant cover in grazed vegetation have been reportedin Africa, South America, India and North America
(see S. Archer’s web site bibliography for referencesfrom several countries: <http://cnrit.tamu.edu/
rlem/faculty/archer/bibliography.html>).
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Using historical data as well as δ13C analyses,Burrows et al. (1998) have shown that woody plant
thickening has occurred in the grazed woodlands of
north-eastern Queensland. It is suggested that
these woodlands were maintained as a firemediated subclimax prior to the introduction of
domestic livestock. Altered fire frequency and direct
effects of reduced cover on increasing soil water at
depth have contributed to the increase in woody
cover. They reported tree basal area growthincrements of 21 ± 0.03 m2/ha/yr (mean of 47
established diverse sites) for eucalypt species in
Queensland’s grazed woodlands over a mean nine-year period with some plots from the early 1980s
(with a focus on central Queensland). Broadly
similar rates of increase in grazed woodlands have
been reported in North America and southernAfrica (S. R. Archer 1999, pers. comm.,
16 November; R. J. Scholes 1999, pers. comm.,
16 November).
The vegetation structure of rangelands in Australiahas great relevance to the pastoral industrybecause of the inverse relationship between the
abundance of trees and grass (Burrows et al. 1990).
The real possibility that the density of the woody
component of woodlands is increasing is thus ofgrave concern for that industry and has been a
prime motivation for the mechanical clearance of
vegetation. There is little doubt that stocks of
woody vegetation can undergo considerable flux.The open question is whether these fluxes are the
result of normal climatic cycles, the result of cattle
grazing through the inverse relationship betweenwood and grass, changes in fire regime, orfeedback resulting from the primary cause of the
greenhouse effect, namely CO2
fertilisation.
Fensham and Holman (1999) have recently
demonstrated that dieback collapses canundoubtedly result from extreme drought events.
Finally, it is important to note that remnant
degradation may occur through removal of grazing
as well as prolonged overgrazing, by forcing
changes to vegetation structures (House 1997).Periodic grazing within remnant vegetation allows
some control of exotic pasture species that, withoutgrazing, would come to dominate the herbaceous
layer and displace native species. This leads to aloss of species diversity and changes in habitat
structure, and can alter the ecological dynamics
within remnant vegetation.
Impacts on fauna
Literature on the effects of grazing on native
vertebrate and invertebrate populations in Australiais limited. Abensperg et al. (1996a, 1996b), in the
wheat belt of Western Australia, used sheep faecal-
pellet density (as a proxy of grazing intensity) and
percentage cover of weeds to allocate disturbancecategories on arthropod abundance. This study
found sheep faecal-pellet density and lichen cover
to be the most important habitat indicators for the
abundance or richness of scorpions, termites andbeetles, but not for spiders, isopods, cockroaches
or earwigs.
Scougall and Majer (1991), in the Western
Australian wheat belt, compared 23 biological
variables between grazed and non-grazedremnants, including a survey of the ant fauna. They
found that the species of ants changed significantlybetween the grazed and non-grazed remnants, as
an indirect result of grazing exclusion. Theyconcluded that domestic stock activity within
remnants compacted the soil to such a degree that
this selected for those species of ants that were able
to cope with the altered soil structure. The changesin species and numbers of ants also affected the
dispersal patterns of many native plant species.
Bromham et al. (1999) found that invertebrate
species composition between grazed and non-grazed remnants also varied. The less abundant
orders, such as cockroaches, millipedes, centipedes,springtails, beetle larvae and scorpions, showed
highest representation in non-grazed remnants.
Arnold and Weeldenburg (1998) studied the effectsof remnant size and grazing on recorded bird
species. Although the mean number of bird species
present in grazed patches was less than in non-
grazed patches, the difference was attributed toremnant size. Stock have also been suspected of
destroying sheltered sites important to feeding and
roosting by the black-breasted button-quail Turnix melanogaster , although it is likely that this effect is
exacerbated during times of drought (Flower et al.1995). Preliminary investigations into the impacts
of broadscale tree clearing and grazing on
vertebrate fauna in central Queensland found thatalthough tree clearing and grazing interacted, the
removal of trees had the greater impact on fauna
(Ludwig et al. forthcoming).
Rare and threatened species
Endangered, Vulnerable or Rare (EVR) species are
generally very susceptible to disturbance, due tolow population numbers, restricted ranges or a
declining population. It is for these reasons thatEVR species should be considered separately when
attempting to manage the effects of grazing onnative flora and fauna.
Little is known of the impacts of grazing on EVR
species. For example, of the 205 EVR species (plant
and animal) in Queensland considered in the Fauna
and Flora Information System (DNR 2000),13 species are considered to be ‘threatened’ and
84 species are ‘possibly threatened’ by grazing.
Management recommendations for these species
tend to be precautionary, based on best availableknowledge.
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Effects associated with watering points
Grazing impacts are greatest close to artificial
watering points, and decrease with distance fromthese points (Foran 1980; Andrew & Lange 1986a
and 1986b; Landsberg et al. 1997a and 1997c;
James et al. 1999). Changes cited by James et al.
(1999) across the arid zone include:• the development of a zone of extreme
degradation around the water (up to 0.5 km)where soil crust is broken, erosion is high, and
unpalatable plants dominate• an increase in the number of unpalatable
perennial shrubs beyond the extreme
degradation zone, particularly in semiarid
woodland and arid shrubland habitats• a decrease in abundance of palatable native
perennial grasses, due to selective grazing. These
changes near water can cause a decline in
perennial plant diversity and in fauna dependenton such vegetation such as grasshoppers
(Ludwig et al. 1999).The positioning of point water sources on the edge
of remnants creates further problems in the
effective management of these areas. Theconcentration of stock to a point water source
rapidly degrades the remnant condition
immediately adjacent to these areas, with the
effects decreasing as the optimal foraging rangeincreases (James et al. 1999). With many properties
currently with (uncontrolled) artesian water,
converting from linear (bore drains) to point water
sources as a means of water management, there
appears to be some merit in maintaining existingbore drains. Primary among these is the
distribution of domestic stock impacts across the
broader landscape rather than a concentration onthe edge of remnants.
The removal of established artificial watering points
may have effects on species composition and
abundance and may threaten vulnerable species. In
areas where water supplies are limited theimplementation of artificial watering points may
increase the range of grazing animals other than
domestic stock, exacerbating impacts caused by thelatter (James et al. 1999). This form of alteredcomposition and possible changes in abundance of
fauna in areas containing artificial watering points
may have profound effects on flora at the
ecosystem level, as well as immediately adjacentthe watering point.
Grazing in riparian areas
The effects of stock grazing on remnant riparian
vegetation in Queensland are of particular concern,
as vegetated buffers are required by legislation to
be left around watercourses after clearing. Hancocket al. (1996) nominated grazing as one of the
foremost environmental problems threatening
riparian plant species diversity in Western
Australia, but did not provide data to support this.53
Bennett (1994) suggests that remnant riparian
vegetation in the northern plains of Victoriasupports the greatest diversity of bird species when
compared with other remnant vegetation types. He
indicates that riparian vegetation supports a greater
density of birds and arboreal marsupials than allother remnant types. Bennett expresses concern
with current grazing management on privately
managed riparian sites, implicating grazing as a
cause of remnant degradation.
Effects of continual grazing of riparian zonesinclude the elimination of, or reduction in, canopy
species due to the prevention of regeneration
(Fleischner 1994; Smith 1988). Fleishner (1994)
indicated that grazing may alter riparian vegetationin four main ways:
1) by compaction of soil (increasing run-off and
decreasing the water available to plants)
2) by removal of herbaceous species3) by physical damage to vegetation by rubbing,
trampling and browsing4) by altering the growth form of plants, through
removal of terminal buds and stimulation oflateral branching.
Eutrophication of water and trampling of important
breeding sites for amphibians are of particular
concern.
Conclusion
Studies suggest that the effect of grazing on the
condition of remnant vegetation is not alwaysbenign. Overgrazing and poor land management
practices for grazing appear to have the greatestimpacts, especially on floral composition, the
extent of weed invasion, habitat structure and thediversity of wildlife communities. Significant
impacts appear to occur within the vicinity of
watering points, due to the prolonged use of
remnant vegetation by stock. Furthermore, theseriousness of impacts is variable across the
landscape and through time.
Land managers possess some of the tools and
knowledge necessary to carry out responsibilities
toward the ecologically sustainable management ofQueensland’s natural resources. For example,
together with this review, current research, the
availability of models to predict safe carrying
capacities (e.g. Johnston et al. 1996), and effectivemonitoring (see section 6.2), the efficacy of grazing
management regimes and their impacts on the
condition of forests can be assessed.
4.1.5 Ecosystem repair andmanagement
The decision to retain areas of native vegetation for
biodiversity values may not automatically guaranteethe continuation of biodiversity. Reduction of
vegetation clearing to ensure no net loss of native
vegetation within Australia by July 2001 (CIE 1999)is one aspect of the national goal of native
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vegetation management, others may also include
assessing and monitoring the condition of theremnant, and managing the remnant to achieve the
goals sought for the area (this may include
production, wildlife and biodiversity
considerations). As the National Framework for theManagement and Monitoring of Australia’s Native
Vegetation (Commonwealth of Australia 2000)
becomes firmly established, the focus across the
State will be upon how remnant vegetation and theecosystems of which they are part is managed. We
will want to know how we can best improve the
condition of what is left and strategically increase
native vegetation cover in Queensland. Managingfor biodiversity may include active measures to
manage and repair ecosystem function. Areas, such
as riparian zones, play an important role in the
function and structure of streams, and influencewater quality and stream bank stability (Campbell
1993). Due to their poor condition, the management
of riparian zones in Queensland has now become a
major conservation issue (Sattler 1993b).
The best management of these areas also requiresdetailed consideration for the protection of
biodiversity. The management of retained
vegetation on lands used primarily for production
will obviously not usually be identical to themanagement of areas set aside primarily for nature
conservation (e.g. national parks). Grazing (e.g.
grasslands on the Darling Downs (Fensham
1998b)) and thinning (e.g. mulga woodlands(Cameron & Blick 1982)) can be compatible with
maintaining the majority of biodiversity values ofvegetation in some cases.
Pre-European condition may represent a good
indicator of management requirements forbiodiversity in some cases, particularly with respect
to fire management. However, management is best
determined by an assessment of the impacts of
management against the requirements ofbiodiversity. For example, poplar box (E. populnea)and yellow jacket (E. intertexta) woodlands in the
Dirranbandi area are considered by many
landholders to be in an ‘unnatural state’ because
their dense shrubby understorey is believed to havereplaced a naturally grassy ground layer. The
absence of this understorey may be associated with
an increase in native herbaceous species richnessbut it can also be associated with an increase in
the abundance of the exotic buffel grass, Cenchrusciliaris. Central to considering management of
remnant areas is understanding the relationshipbetween surrounding and concurrent activities, and
functioning of the remnant. Of particular
importance in Queensland is the impact of
domestic grazing on remnants.
Any strategic approach to ecosystem repair mustconsider the appropriate vegetation management
techniques, the conservation priorities for a
particular regional ecosystem, and the cost of
implementation of any repair programs. There are a
number of national and State policies and programsthat support vegetation management (e.g. The
National Framework for the Management and
Monitoring of Australia’s Native Vegetation
(Commonwealth of Australia 2000) and the bushcareprogram). In addition to this there is also a national
‘Rehabilitation, Management and Conservation of
Remnant Vegetation Research and Development’
program which has been funding research projectsaimed at improving the management of remnant
bushland. Only a small proportion of the established
research projects occur in Queensland (Price & Tracy
1996). The Department of Primary Industries is theprincipal State agency responsible for woodland
research in Queensland and has developed
sustainable production systems for various native
vegetation communities.
The Department of Natural Resources providesfunding principally to the Queensland Forestry
Research Institute for a range of ongoing vegetationmanagement research projects. A number of
universities and State departments around Australiaare engaged in vegetation management research
projects. There is a strong case for the need to
establish a Cooperative Research Centre for
Vegetation Management which has, as part of itsfocus, the task of determining the most effective
techniques for broadscale vegetation management
and ecosystem repair. Landcare is a high-profile,
national program of ecosystem repair andrestoration.
Some local governments have intensive ecosystemrepair programs (e.g. Brisbane City Council and
Gold Coast City Council). The success of these
programs largely depends on a large pool of willingvolunteers, strong financial position, and small
public areas in need of attention. In rural areas of
Queensland, such efforts must overcome small
population densities, vast areas of private land withpotential for repair, and a low economic and
technical capacity by both the local government
and landholders to engage in such work.
There are a number of land management techniquesthat may be used to promote ecosystem health andrepair. A strategic approach to the repair of regional
ecosystems may involve the reclamation,
rehabilitation and restoration of the landscape using
regeneration, revegetation and other vegetationmanagement techniques (for clarification of the
meaning of these terms, see box 4.1).
Revegetation is commonly identified with ecosystem
repair strategies. The expense and relatively limited
and sometimes questionable impact of revegetationmeans that strategic approaches are required.
Hobbs (1993a) has presented an initial frameworkfor developing revegetation strategies that include
the use of buffer zone, corridors and additionalhabitat areas. The Bushcare program, for example,
is the largest component of Natural Heritage Trust
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Box 4.1 Definitions and descriptions of ecosystem repair terminology.
and nationally will have allocated $346.5 millionover five years, ‘to protect and restore native
vegetation to conserve biodiversity and restoredegraded land and water’ (CIE 1999). While the
bushcare program will achieve a number of other
outcomes and revegetation is only one approach, it
is projected that this expenditure will revegetateonly 150 500 ha (CIE 1999). The most effective
techniques for broadscale vegetation management
will need to be identified to achieve significant
levels of ecosystem repair in Queensland.
Just as the combination of geology, geomorphology
and climate have resulted in a large number ofdistinct regional ecosystems across Queensland,
there are likely to be specific differences in the
condition, conservation imperatives andmanagement options which apply to a given
regional ecosystem or group of regionalecosystems. Tongway and Ludwig (in Jenkins
1996), for example, suggest that rehabilitation ofdegraded rangelands for both restoring production
and overcoming land degradation may be achieved
by thinning mulga and leaving patches of branches
to create a mosaic of retained vegetation and fertileareas of pasture. While some resources have been
developed to provide management advice for
specific types of ecosystems such as rainforest
(Kooyman 1996; Goosem & Tucker 1995), thedifferences between various ecosystems necessitate
research into new resources to support ecosystemrepair efforts. Significant work still needs to be
done to provide adequate and efficient managementinformation across the diverse Queensland
landscape that delivers significant levels of
ecosystem repair.
McLoughlin (1997) has identified and distinguished between 19 terms related to working in natural areas
ranging from nine variations of the term ‘regeneration’ through restoration, reinstatement, reconstruction,
reclamation, rehabilitation and fabrication. Often used as if they are synonymous, these various ecosystemrepair terms may be more basically differentiated as:
• Reclamation—revegetation using a range of species without attempting to reinstate the original
vegetation (Lamb 1994). (This commonly used meaning differs markedly from McLouglin 1997).
Reclamation normally involves claiming or reclaiming land for human use, and in Queensland this term
often applies to activities such as the reclamation of severely disturbed landscapes (e.g. mines), but can
also refer to the drainage of natural coastal mangroves for urban development.• Rehabilitation—revegetation with species that are economically and ecologically suited to a site,
possibly including locally native species (Lamb 1994). Rehabilitation is commonly practiced as a
requirement for mining leases where the principal aim may be to return the area to grazing.
• Restoration—revegetation using only the original locally native species (Lamb 1994). Restoration is an
attempt to restore an original ecosystem and must honestly be acknowledged as an attempt only(McQuillan 1998). As ecosystems are impossible to define precisely, restoration is an indefinite goal that
aims to achieve a fully functioning ecosystem without reaching that final point. Restoration projects
attempt to re-establish all identified ecosystem elements such as the known fauna and flora species and
abiotic factors. Only locally indigenous plant species are allowed to regenerate or to be reintroduced,with a preference for locally collected seed.
• Regeneration is a technique that draws upon the extant soil seed banks and various seed dispersal andgermination mechanisms to increase the amount, and sometimes the diversity, of vegetative cover.
Regeneration activities may use a number of means of achieving this, including intentional variation of
fire, grazing and weed management strategies and silvicultural treatments. For example, fire can be apowerful and yet subtle tool for ecosystem manipulation. The absence of fire, reduction in fire
frequency, heat of the fire and season of occurrence of a fire event have resulted in dramatic changes in
the structure and composition of vegetation communities in many parts of Queensland. Considered
alteration of these fire regimes can also be expected to have positive results. The active management ofareas of depauperate remnant vegetation using the appropriate application of this suite of land
management activities is likely to be a priority across many regional ecosystems.
• Revegetation is the intentional re-establishment of native or exotic vegetation in an area using
regeneration, planting or some other technique. When planting is required, there are at least five key
decisions that can influence the resultant vegetation community. These are: selection of plant species,matching species to each environmental location within a site, deciding upon planting density, selecting
combinations of species and structural mix, and mulching decisions (McLouglin 1997). Direct seeding
has been identified as a very cost-effective technique for revegetation (Boyle 1998; Vanderwoude 1993)
and has been increasingly adopted and adapted for broadscale revegetation projects. The outcomes ofdirect-seeding activities can be affected by species selection, seed germination characteristics, soil
condition, site preparation, and post germination site management (Sun & Dickenson 1995).
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4.1.6 Vegetation with particularecological and catchmentvalues
4.1.6.1 Riparian zones
Riparian lands are that part of the landscape
adjacent to streams that exert a direct influence on
stream or lake margins, and on the water and
aquatic ecosystems contained within them.Riparian land includes both the stream banks and a
variable sized belt of land alongside the banks
(Karssies & Prosser 1999).
Riparian vegetation performs a range of functions:
• stabilising stream banks against erosion
• reducing delivery of sediment, nutrients and
other pollutants to streams• controlling plant growth in streams
• providing terrestrial habitat and wildlife corridors
• providing aquatic food and habitat through
provision of leaf litter, logs, shade etc
• dissipating flow energy and in the process re-aerates the water reducing the erosional capacity
of the water.
The importance of this zone for the protection of
biodiversity and other natural resource values isbeing increasingly recognised (Bunn et al. 1993).
Recent establishment of a national research
program by the Land and Water Resource Research
Development Corporation (LWRRDC) and Statepartnership agreements with the Cooperative
Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology and the
Cooperative Research Centre for FreshwaterEcology, focusing on the ecology and managementof riparian zones in Australia, give testament to
this interest.
It is clear that riparian zone vegetation contributes
significantly to long-term channel stability and
integrity. For example, research on the NambuccaCatchment in northern New South Wales (Doyle et
al. 1999), indicates that the disastrous state of the
river system is due to a combination of factors,
including the removal of riparian vegetation,artificial channel straightening, and removal of
large woody debris. Elsewhere in Australia,significant funding is now being provided to re-
establish cleared and degraded riparian zones (e.g.Murray River of Green project). In Queensland, a
number of specific riparian vegetation projects
occur as well (e.g. Wet Tropics Tree Planting and
the Mary River Incentive Scheme). The roles ofriparian vegetation highlighted are significant and
must be incorporated into riparian vegetation
management considerations. In many areas, the
remnant riparian zones are presently not wideenough to provide adequate fauna corridors, so to
encourage retention of the remaining vegetation,the benefits may be confined to those listed above.
Riparian zones—maintaining stream bankstability
Riparian and in-stream vegetation strengthens and
protects stream banks against mass-failure and
erosion, adding to bed and bank stability throughboth live vegetation and the dropping of large
woody debris into the channel. The roots of woody
vegetation increase the shear resistance of soils by
providing additional apparent soil cohesion(Abernethy & Rutherfurd 1999a). Even low root
densities provide substantial increases in shear
strength compared to non-root-permeated soils
(Abernethy & Rutherfurd 1999a). By helping todrain water, riparian trees can more than double the
resistance of degraded bank sections to slumping.
Vegetation also reduces direct rainsplash impact
and bend over during floods to dissipate energy anddirectly protect soil. The presence of large woody
debris within the channel increases bed and bank
resistance, dissipates energy and physically protects
the material in the bed and banks.Work by Abernethy and Rutherfurd (1999b)
suggests that the effects of tree roots may be up to
a tenfold increase in cohesion close to the trunks of
riparian trees, falling to about a twofold increaseunder the drip line. Mature trees, with longer and
more firmly anchored roots, provide more
reinforcement than younger trees.
The width of vegetation required for stability
depends on the channel dimensions and theerosional forces in play. Intact vegetation with all
structural layers is required to offer the fullestprotection. The overstorey has the greatest influence
over the processes of mass-failure, with shrubs andgrasses on the bank face and aquatic plants at the
bank toe influential in controlling scour.
Riparian vegetation interacts with a range of
geomorphological, geotechnical, hydrological and
hydraulic factors to affect the type and extent ofriverbank erosion. Abernethy & Rutherfurd (1999b)
calculated that for stability purposes only, the
following minimum riparian zones are
recommended: basic allowance (5 m measured onto
the floodplain from the bank crest) + heightallowance (≥ height of the bank measured vertically
from the toe to the bank crest). It is important to
note that these recommendations consider only thephysical requirement for bank stability, and do not
include consideration of the width required for
long-term viability and sustainability of the
vegetated zone or the contribution such areas maketo wildlife habitat.
Bank erosion is a natural process. Given enough
time, even fully vegetated natural streams erode
back and forth over their floodplain (Abernethy &Rutherfurd 1999b). The recommendation abovedoes not include an allowance for this.
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Riparian zones—widths for bufferingsediments and nutrients
Riparian lands have the potential to buffer streams
from hill-slope sediment and nutrient transport.
Experiments in northern Queensland have shownthat grass riparian buffer strips can trap more than
80% of incoming bed load on planar slopes, even
under heavy tropical rainfall (McKergrow et al.
1999). Recommendations resulting from theseinvestigations include that grass filter strips be
provided for about 5 m on the landward side of any
riparian zone and adjacent to agricultural activity,
as the grass is effective in capturing sediment.
The contamination of waterways from fertilisers
and pesticides as a result of excessive or
inappropriate usage is a major concern in some
areas, particularly within the Murray–DarlingBasin. Well-vegetated riparian zones can trap
sediment and associated nutrients and pollutants
by spreading and slowing water flowing through
them towards the watercourse (Barling & Moore1993). Factors such as vegetation type and density,
soil type and moisture content, the intensity of
rainfall, and the slope and the width of the riparian
zone, affect its ability to do this. With respect tovegetation type, density at the ground surface is the
most important characteristic. Forested filter strips
will be more effective where trees do not prohibit
an understorey of dense grass through shading orcompetition. This is only likely in semiarid and
subhumid environments where there is incomplete
canopy cover (Karssies & Prosser 1999).
It is important to note that nutrients and pollutants
in solution will only be reduced through infiltrationinto the soil profile. Soil properties, antecedent
moisture conditions and the amount of run-off
affect infiltration. Riparian lands are the wettest
part of the landscape and, when fed by soilmoisture generated from upslope, may stay close to
saturation for long periods. It is only in the semi-
arid areas of Queensland, where soil moisture is
low, that infiltration is likely to be significant inabsorbing nutrients. Filters of the order of 10 to
30 m width are required to absorb run-off underdry antecedent conditions and greater widths are
required where converging flow drains through anarrow zone (Herron & Hairsine 1998, as quoted in
Karssies & Prosser 1999).
Riparian zones—habitat, maintenance of biodiversity and wildlife corridors
Riparian zones along rivers, creeks and gullies are
an essential component of the landscape for the
maintenance of wildlife distribution, abundance
and diversity, and for the maintenance of in-stream
fauna (Sattler 1993b). Riparian zones act asrefuges, providing resource rich habitats necessary
for survival of (fauna) species during the course of
their normal lifecycles (Gregory et al. 1991; Bunn1993), or in times of drought (Morton 1990). They 57
provide a rich and diverse habitat in their own right
(e.g. Catterall 1993). Therefore, riparian areas oftenprovide habitat for a disproportionately high
number of species relative to the proportion of the
landscape they occupy. For example, riparian areas
in the mulga and south-western brigalow regions inQueensland (see appendix 4 of Neldner 1984)
contain the highest number of plant species (27%
of the total) compared to all other habitats, even
though they occupy a relatively small area (<10%of the total area). Soft mulga land types are the
next richest ‘broad’ habitat type, containing 20% of
the total number of species but occupying >20%
of the area. Similar patterns occur for flora andfauna numbers in other parts of Queensland
(Boyland 1984; McFarland 1992; Catterall et al.
1992; Crome et al. 1994) and, at least for bird
species, in other parts of Australia (Recher et al.1991; Loyn 1985; Gregory & Pressey 1982).
Though riparian zones have been extensively
cleared or degraded in many regions ofQueensland, significant areas of intact habitat do
remain (indicated by the status of riparianecosystem types). The importance of these zones
for the protection of biodiversity and other natural
resource values is increasingly being recognised
(Bunn et al. 1993).
Arthington et al. (1992) have summarised theimportance of riparian vegetation in the
development of linked habitat networks for regional
or catchment planning by:
• forming corridors that link bushland remnants
into sustainable regional networks• providing critical habitat refugia within which
species are maintained in time of drought or fire
• forming part of local habitat complexes whichsustain terrestrial wildlife
• representing unique lowland communities
subject to threatening processes.
The significance of riparian lands for wildlife is
such that they should be regarded as ecologicalarteries of the Australian continent, spreading as a
series of intricate interconnecting webs across the
landscape.Ecological benefits of riparian vegetationfor in-stream fauna
Important ecological processes in upland streams
are largely dependent on riparian vegetation.Proposed shading (by riparian vegetation) of 50%,
particularly in small catchments, will have a
significant improvement on ecological functions of
upland streams (Davies & Bunn 1999) andimprovements in upland streams (e.g. lower water
temperatures) may also protect downstream reaches.
Riparian vegetation provides an important source ofin-stream woody debris in the form of fallen logs
and trees. Woody debris can provide habitat for in-stream fauna, as well as increasing channel
roughness, and hence decreasing velocity and
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associated stream power (Cohen 1999). Marsh et
al. (1999) showed that in the Albert River,Queensland, 78% of large woody debris (LWD)
pieces were associated with some form of habitat
scale morphological effect, whereas in Cooper
Creek system, morphological effects of LWD werelow (11%). This shows that in some systems,
particularly those with higher energy, LWD has a
vital role in habitat provision (this may be in the
form of forming a scour hole, forming bars,providing a bank scallop, etc.).
Loss of riparian vegetation has in part resulted in
the decrease in in-stream woody debris. For
example, existing levels on the lower
Murray–Darling basin may be only 15% of pre-European settlement levels. Appropriate levels of
coarse woody debris are crucial for the ecological
‘health’ of floodplains (MacNally & Parkinson 1999).
Riparian zone dimensions
Riparian zones vary enormously in size dependingupon their position within a river catchment (e.g.gully head versus a lower reach of a river system).
In lower parts of the catchment, the riparian zone
increases in size, usually incorporating wetlands
and significant areas of floodplains. Widths ofvegetation required in riparian areas will therefore
depend on the position in the catchment and the
functions that the riparian zone is required to
perform. Different functions will often requiredifferent widths of vegetation. These areas are very
productive and important wildlife habitat; they are
very important to grazing livestock as well.Research in Queensland (Catterall 1993) andoverseas (Spackman & Hughes 1995) indicates that
to be effective these corridors need to be of
substantial width, particularly for avifauna. As an
overseas example, for mid-order streams, minimumwidths of 75–175 m were needed to include 90% of
bird species (Spackman & Hughes 1995). In south-
east Queensland, corridors greater than 200 m
wide have been recommended (Catterall 1993).
Riparian zones should be multi-functioning, whichwill then necessitate the adoption of the widest
width recommendation and should:• include the ecotones between aquatic and
terrestrial ecosystems along streams andadjoining wetlands and lakes
• incorporate appropriate buffers to enable
protection of these ecotones from disturbance
from such factors as fire and weed invasion• be sufficiently wide to maintain stream bank
stabilising functions and to allow for natural
changes in watercourse positioning within its
floodplain• enable the reduction of sediment, nutrients and
other pollutants from overland flow beyond thesaturated zone
• contain sufficient ecological integrity to act aseffective wildlife corridors
• be sufficiently wide to ensure the viability of the
riparian zone buffer.
Accordingly, it is appropriate for buffer widthstandards to vary for gullies, creeks and rivers
rather than a set figure being applied, but the width
should be such as to ensure the viability of the
riparian zone buffer. Other factors that have to beconsidered are the impact of riparian zone
corridors on management practices (particularlymustering) and property operations (e.g. clearing of
declared weeds such as rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora)), and access to water for stock and
agriculture right up to the high bank.
4.1.6.2 Wetlands
Queensland has the most diverse array of wetlands
in Australia, due mainly to the State’s climatic
variation and seasonal variability. The biologicaland hydrological values of natural wetlands are
recognised in a range of catchment and land
management strategies (e.g. Murray–Darling BasinCatchment Management Strategy). Areas thatcontribute to the conservation value of wetlands
can be protected under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld).
Although wetlands are most commonly thought
of as occurring where land and sea meet (e.g.mangroves and estuaries), natural wetlands occur
in a range of landscapes including basins (e.g.
lakes), flat lands (e.g. swamps), and floodplains
(e.g. billabongs), or where the watertable intersectsthe surface (e.g. springs).
Wetlands have been broadly defined as ‘areas of
permanent or periodically/intermittent inundation,
whether natural or artificial, with water that is
temporary or permanent, static or flowing, freshbrackish or salt, including marine areas the depth
of which at low tide does not exceed six metres’
(EPA 1999c).
For the purposes of vegetation management, other
researchers have taken a narrower view, forexample floodplain wetlands (Hillman 1997) or
coastal wetlands (Zeller 1998). Wetlands can, to a
very large extent, be viewed as ecotones, that is,transitional zones between terrestrial habitats anddeepwater aquatic systems (Boon & Bailey 1997).
Typically, wetlands include areas that show
evidence of adaptation of soils or vegetation to
periodic waterlogging (EPA 1999d). This providesfor areas subject to saturation through periodic or
seasonal rise in the watertable, as well as
depressions or channels filled from overland flow.
Such areas may be bare of vegetation, be coveredwith sedges or other aquatic vegetation, or be
forested, for example wetlands with Melaleuca spp.
or Eucalyptus coolabah woodland (e.g. EPA 1999a).
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The values and functions of wetlands have been
documented by numerous studies (e.g. QueenslandGovernment 1999) and include:
• playing a key role in supporting the diversity and
abundance of wildlife
• contributing significantly to the economicproductivity of the State by providing water
resources for (primary) industry; vital breeding,
nursery and harvest sites for edible fish,
molluscs and crustaceans; and areas of pasturefor stock.
Away from the coastal delta and lowland wetlands,
floodplain wetlands become significant features in
the landscape, both ecologically and hydrologically.
For example, the arid river floodplain systems ofthe Lake Eyre Basin are geomorphically,
hydrologically and ecologically complex, and might
be described as a series of extensive and widely
dispersed, predominantly ephemeral wetlands,rather than as rivers in the conventional sense
(Morrish 1997). The diversity and values of inlandwetlands are discussed in ‘Wetlands of South-
Western Queensland’ (EPA 1999a).
The flood-pulse concept (Junk et al. 1989) hashighlighted the significance of floodplain
productivity in providing organic carbon for the
biota of lowland rivers (Hillman 1997; examples in
Timms 1997 and 1999; Puckridge 1997). Becauseof their distinctive aquatic biota, in comparison
with their river, and because their spatial and
temporal variability creates a mosaic of habitat
conditions, billabongs represent a significant
contribution to biodiversity to floodplain riverecosystems, and also contribute to biodiversity
beyond their boundaries (Hillman 1997). Briefly
inundated wooded swamps in inland Queenslandhave been documented as having significant
conservation values for bird life, frogs, fish and
mammals (EPA 1999a).
The major factors altering plant communities in
wetlands are water regime and grazing (Brock1997). There is surprisingly little detail on the ways
domestic stock and feral animals influence the
ecology of wetlands in Australia (Walker 1993;Bacon et al. 1994). However, it is clear that stockcan have direct impacts on wetland vegetation,
soils and water quality (Robertson 1997), and that
they impact directly on faunal communities and the
biogeochemistry of wetlands by altering habitatstructure and patterns of primary and secondary
production in and around wetlands (Robertson
1997). By altering wetland vegetation structure and
biomass, sediment chemistry and water columnnutrient concentrations, livestock and feral grazers
also contribute to shifts in the quantities and
chemical quality of materials available for transportfrom floodplains to rivers during flood periods(Robertson 1997).
Soil mobilisation, nutrient enrichment, and
controlled burning are obvious factors associated 59
with the pastoral industry. Other factors, such as
modification of pasture grasses (e.g. by thinningthrough grazing or planting of exotic grasses
(Bullen 1993)) and construction of ponded
pastures, can significantly affect the ecology or
hydrology of wetlands (Boland 1997). In addition,particularly on the eastern coastal plain, large
areas of freshwater wetlands have been lost or
degraded by clearing, draining, and exotic weed
invasion (Zeller 1998). For example, in coastalareas in the Johnstone, Moresby and Mulgrave-
Russell river catchments between 1952 and 1992,
forested wetlands and sedgelands decreased in area
by between 48% and 82%, due to clearing forgrazing and agriculture (EPA 1999b).
A significant factor in maintaining the ecological and
hydrological functions of a wetland is the provision
of a buffer zone of riparian vegetation, as for rivers
and watercourses. Appropriate widths for buffers orriparian zones vary depending on their purpose. For
example, a filtration buffer for water quality couldbe as little as 10 m (Karssies & Prosser 1999), while
buffers up to 2 km wide could be required tomaintain groundwater quality in certain situations
(Van Waegeningh 1981; Davies & Lane 1995).
4.1.6.3 Marine and adjacent coastalvegetation communities
MangrovesMangroves are trees and shrubs tolerant of
intermittent flooding by salt water, living in the
intertidal zone between Mean Sea Level and
Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT), bordering thebanks of estuaries and foreshores along protected
parts of the Queensland coastline (Zeller 1998).
Areas of deposition of silt and mud at the mouthsof rivers and creeks and in the lee of larger offshore
islands (e.g. Hinchinbrook, Curtis, Fraser or North
Stradbroke islands), protected from strong wave
action, support the most extensive mangrovecommunities (Dowling & McDonald 1982).
Saenger (1995) estimated 3424 km2 of mangroves
occurred in estuaries, while Galloway (1982)
estimated the total area of mangroves in
Queensland to be 4602 km2. Approximately 90% ofQueensland’s mangrove forests lie in the tropics
(Robertson & Alongi 1995).
In general, mangroves vary in height with rainfall
(MacNae 1966), and in species diversity withlatitude (Lear & Turner 1977), varying from over 30
species on Cape York Peninsula and the Wet Tropics
to seven in Moreton Bay. Queensland’s tropical
mangrove forests are among the most productive ofany mangrove system worldwide (Hutchings &
Saenger 1987) while, under certain conditions,
primary productivity of subtropical mangroves mayexceed that of tropical systems. A suite of factors(including soil pore salinity, nutrient supply and
water balance under dry weather conditions) may
cause variability in primary productivity between
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locations and among mangrove species in the same
location (Clough 1992).
It has been estimated that 75% by weight of theQueensland commercial fisheries catch is derived
from species dependent on shallow marine habitats
(e.g. estuaries) for at least part of their life (Quinn
1992). Mangroves, seagrasses, and adjacentsaltpans and marine couch areas are all part of the
ecosystem that sustains this industry.The importance of the tidal wetland (mangroves,
saltmarshes and clay pans) and its connected
freshwater wetland (melaleuca wetlands, palmforests, sedges and lagoons) ecosystem, both for
fisheries and for shoreline protection, has been
widely acknowledged (Hamilton & Snedaker 1984;
Quinn 1992; EPA 1999d). However, extensiveclearing, draining and filling of these wetlands for
agriculture, industry or urban development, and
separation of estuarine systems from adjacent
freshwater or riparian habitats has had a major
impact on fisheries values in some areas (e.g.Tait 1994; Russell & Hales 1994; Zeller 1998).
Other coastal vegetationCoastal vegetation varies considerably in both
structure and species composition, depending onthe substrate and hydrological regime. Coastal
vegetation communities range from spinifex and
coastal she-oak communities on the foredunes, to
closed littoral forests usually in swales behindforedunes, to tall open forest, such as satinay
forests, on deep sands. Intertidal (mangrove)
forests, salt flats with chenopod herbfields and
marine couch grasslands, swamp oak andsedgelands, melaleuca forests, or sometimes closed
forest with palms, occur on heavier or poorly
drained soils.
Native vegetation in the coastal zone is important
because it:• maintains biological and ecological processes
• is biologically diverse
• provides habitat for protected wildlife and
migratory species covered by State legislation orinternational agreements
• maintains river and estuary bank stability andshades water bodies, reducing light and
temperature (factors in weed and algal growth)• minimises soil erosion, siltation and pollutant
run-off into waterways and estuaries
• maintains the watertable and catchment areas
that provide water suitable for domesticconsumption
• can assist in beach accretion on dunal areas
through trapping windblown sand (EPA 1999b).
Land clearing has affected most of Queensland’s
coastal zone to some degree. This clearing has beenfor agricultural purposes, but more recently for
urban and tourist development particularly in
south-east Queensland. Clearing constitutes a major
pressure on the biological resources of the coastal
zone and is continuing (EPA 1999a). Many of these
ecosystems rely on a healthy vegetation cover forstabilisation against wind or water erosion, invasion
by exotic weeds and subsequent degradation of the
system. Changes to vegetation cover are associated
with changes in hydrology, increased risk of duneinstability, wind erosion and tidal inundation, and
loss of natural values (EPA 1999b).
4.2 Land degradation 4.2.1 Tree decline and dieback
‘Dieback’ is commonly associated with general tree
death resulting from a wide range of causes. It is
symptomised by deterioration of the primary treecrown that may lead to total defoliation and
subsequent repeated bursts of epicormic regrowth
along the main branches and trunk (Landsberg
1990; Landsberg & Cork 1997). The plant’scarbohydrate reserves are reduced if these
subsequent flushes of secondary growth are lost,and death may ensue (Podger 1973; Gall &
Davidson 1981).
Tree decline relates to noticeable reductions in treepopulation health over time (Kile et al. 1980). The
term includes the more apparent problems of
dieback, senescence and mortality as well as the
inability of a tree population to effectivelyregenerate from seed stock or vegetative propagules
(Neale 1981).
Occurrences
Dieback symptoms have been recorded in a widerange of species with considerable regional
variation in relative susceptibilities (Landsberg et al.1990; Williams & Nadolny 1981). Most individuals
are eucalypts, but this may reflect the prominence
of the genus in the Australian woody flora.
Wylie et al. (1993) provide a detailed assessment of
the incidence of dieback in Queensland, andconclude, in part, that dieback in southern and
central Queensland was most severe in landscapes
where more than 50% of original tree cover had
been removed. Serious land degradation (erosionand salting) have also been recorded in areas of
high tree loss (Firth et al. 1984; Shaw et al. 1986;
Woods 1983).
Localised studies of dieback have been conducted
of riparian areas of the Condamine (Voller & Eddie1996) and Macintyre catchment (King 1995).
Fensham and Holman (1999) observed tree death
as resulting from drought in north Queensland.
Anecdotal reports of dieback associated with insect
plagues or unseasonal weather events have beenrecorded from inland areas of the State, while
incidence of patch death in rainforest areas of farnorth Queensland have been attributed to
phytophora root disease.
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Causes
Many potentially damaging factors have been
suggested as possible causes of dieback, butrelatively few of these have been extensively
investigated (Landsberg & Wylie 1991). While it has
been possible to identify single causal agents in
some regions (e.g. Hughes (1984) showed thatdieback of many eucalypts in the Lockyer Valley was
due to secondary salinisation), single causal agentsare more likely to be the exception than the rule
(Landsberg & Wylie 1991) (see figure 4.4). Diebackdoes, however, appear to be particularly severe
where intensive farming production is the main land
use (Wylie & Johnston 1984). The recruitment of
native trees into these landscapes may be limited,where cultivation for establishing improved pastures
kills seedlings, and natural seedling regeneration is
prevented by associated increases in stocking rates
(Ford et al. 1993; Reid et al. 1998). In the absence ofnatural regeneration, sown pastures over the whole
of a property may result in either a perpetualcommitment to planting trees or the eventual loss of
trees from the landscape.
Insects
While many factors (including waterlogging andmistletoe infestation) probably cause localised
incidents of tree death, repeated defoliation by leaf-
eating insects is the single factor most frequently
cited in reports of rural dieback (Old et al. 1981;Wylie 1986, Landsberg et al. 1990; Reid & Landsberg
1999). For example, anecdotal accounts of severe
defoliation by cup moths in Charters Towers wereobserved in 1989–91 (J. C. Scanlan 2000, pers.comm., 13 April).
Dieback trees are often more heavily damaged by
insects than healthier nearby trees (Landsberg &
Wylie 1983; Landsberg 1988; Landsberg et al.
1990; Mackay et al. 1984). Control of insects ondieback trees (Mackay et al. 1984) or branches
(Landsberg et al. 1990) can lead to rapid recovery
or regrowth.
Detailed studies of insects and dieback have been
restricted to south-east Queensland and the NewSouth Wales tablelands (Wylie et al. 1993;
Landsberg & Wylie 1983; Mackay et al. 1984). Reid
et al. (1998) described the relationship between
insect population dynamics and dieback in NewEngland. They concluded that, while clearing
removed mature trees as a food source for insects,
pastures provided an increased food supply for
larvae. Increased insect populations subsequentlyconsumed epicormic regrowth, depleting tree
nutrient reserves (Reid et al. 1998).
Although insect damage is often associated with
dieback, this association is not universal. Where itdoes occur, there is some evidence to show thatchronic defoliation may be the ultimate cause of
61
dieback, but may have been accelerated by other
factors, such as climatic stress (Sutherst & Mo 1997)or human intervention (Wylie 1984).
Salinity
Salinity has frequently been associated with
dieback (Old et al. 1981). Tree death associated
with dryland salinity was first observed in valley
floors in south-eastern Queensland in the 1920s,
and has since been reported with increasingfrequency to affect a variety of eucalypt, Casuarinaand Callitris species in south-eastern and central
Queensland (Wylie & Bevege 1981).
Where dieback is associated with salinity, salt maybe a primary cause of dieback or predispose trees
to other agents, such as chronic defoliation by
insects. In the Mary River catchment, a close
association between the occurrence of salinity,dieback and insect damage was demonstrated
(Wylie & Johnston 1984; Wylie 1986).
Nutrient enrichmentPasture improvement has lead to substantial
increases in soil nutrient levels (Russell 1986).
Redistribution of nutrients by livestock throughmanure and urine can lead to very high
concentrations of nutrients near trees (Russell
1986). Insect-related dieback has been associated
with very high levels of soil and tree nutrients andenhanced growth of defoliating insects. Landsberg et
al. (1990) demonstrated a causal link between high
plant nutrients and the enhanced insect damage.
PathogensSeveral species of fungi have been implicated in stem
cankers and crown dieback in eucalypts (Davidson &
Tay 1983; Old et al. 1986; Shearer et al. 1987). Someof these fungi can spread rapidly in branches of
defoliated trees and are nearly always associated
with insect defoliated trees (Beckmann 1989).
Virulent soil borne pathogens such as Phytophoracinnamomi (Old 1979), armillaria (Kile 1981) and
leaf pathogens (Palzer 1981), have caused locally
severe and sometimes widespread dieback and
death of vulnerable species.
Senescence
Senescence could be a primary cause of dieback or
a predisposing factor towards it in some, but notall, dieback affected regions. Many of the trees left
after initial clearing are now old, and in areas
where regeneration is slow, dense pasture and
grazing can suppress regeneration, and wholestands of rural trees may now be senescent
(Landsberg & Wylie 1991; Voller & Eddie 1995). In
areas where natural recruitment of native trees is
no longer occurring, many of the extant treesinevitably develop apparent dieback symptoms as
the population ages.
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62
Drought
Several very severe droughts have been associated
with leaf wilt, leaf shedding, bark splitting andsome death of severely stressed trees (Ashton et al.
1975; Palzer 1981; Pook et al. 1966; Fensham &
Holman 1998). Fensham and Holman (1999) used
extensive historical accounts of dieback and rainfallrecords to confirm extensive tree death following
past droughts in the Queensland savanna.Protracted dieback of drought-affected trees may
result if stem-boring beetles invade injured stems
(Hoult 1970). Landsberg and Wylie (1983) recordeda worsening of rural dieback in south-east
Queensland during a period of severe water stress.
If there is no insect infestation, full recovery of
surviving trees generally occurs in the followingwet season.
Mistletoe, arboreal wildlife
There have been localised occurrences related to
very high populations of mistletoes and or arborealwildlife such as brushtail possums (Pitman et al.
1977; Nadolny 1984; Loyn & Middleton 1981;Statham 1992; Voller & Eddie 1995).
planting ofexotic pastures
fertiliserapplication
ringbarkingand poisoning
increasedlivestock
production
improved
soil nutrition
loss of habitat
for predatorsand parasites
climaticfluctuations
soil
acidification
physical
damage tostems and roots
deterioration of
soil physicalstructure
increasedgroundwater
salinity
productionof epicormic
foliage
improvednutritionalquality oftree foliage
increasedpopulations
of root-feedinglarvae
increasedexposure ofremaining
tree canopies
sunlitfoliage
physicaldamage
chronic defoliation
competition
increased localpopulations of tree
feeding insects
dieback
intensification of land management
tree stress tree death
pathways based onthe results of research
more speculative
feedback pathways
feedback pathways
Figure 4.4 A conceptual model of the complex interaction of factors generally associated with tree death and decline. Adaptedfrom Landsberg & Wylie (1991).
Waterlogging
Waterlogging has also been posed as a cause of
initial tree decline, again facilitating insect attack.However, this theory has not been experimentally
tested, and evidence is mostly anecdotal (Reid &
Landsberg 1999). For example, tree decline has
been observed on the New England tablelandsfollowing tree ringbarking during the mid–late
1800s (Norton 1886, as cited in Reid & Landsberg1999) and tree death occurred following the 1974
Brisbane floods (Wylie & Bevege 1981). Reid andLandsberg (1999) suggest that, in the case of the
New England tablelands, tree clearing for pasture
improvement may have led to increases in soil
moisture where subsurface water flow created byan impermeable B-horizon in duplex soils resulted
in water saturation at lower slopes and valley
floors. In some cases, flooding increases the
establishment of woody species (e.g. coolibah andthe exotic weed Parkinsonia aculeata).
4.2.2 Pest invasionsThe management of woody vegetation has adramatic impact on associated organisms. (The
impact on native flora and fauna is generally
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considered in section 4.1.) In this section, the
relationships between woody vegetationmanagement and the occurrence of undesirable
plants and animals (pests) are considered.
The best strategy to reduce the impact of pests is to
prevent their establishment initially. This requires
recognition of pest organisms, and action to removeany of these before establishment of a self-
sustaining population. The use of washdownfacilities for vehicles and machinery moving from
parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus) areas isa good example of the prevention approach being
implemented in Queensland (Walton 1999).
The cost of rehabilitating areas infested with weeds
is often very high and, in many cases, the costs
exceed the value of the land on which the pests arelocated (Scanlan 1986). In some cases, attempts in
rehabilitation are sound and justifiable on simple
economic grounds, while in others it is not. For
example, the recent efforts in controlling Quilpie
mesquite (Prosopis velutina) can be justified on thebasis of protecting large areas lower in the
catchment, whereas it would never make economic
sense to control mesquite solely on the basis ofrecovering lost productivity (B. Toms 2000, pers.
comm. 21 February). At the other extreme, it is not
justifiable to make a large scale effort to control
Lantana camara in Queensland (other than bybiocontrol), because it has largely reached its
potential distribution (Swarbrick et al. 1995).
However, in many areas, the recovery of lost
production may exceed the cost of treatment and
could be justified.
Plants
Even apparently undisturbed native vegetation has
generally been disturbed to some degree or another.
The disturbance could take an indirect form (e.g. a
change to historical patterns of fire), or a moredirect form (e.g. grazing by domestic livestock). In
either case, a change in the composition of the
understorey vegetation may occur. For example, the
reduction in fire can lead to an increase inunderstorey Acacia spp. and an increase in size of
Eucalyptus spp. saplings (Burrows et al. 1990).Grazing can lead to a reduction in ground cover and
a great increase in the opportunity for herbaceousand woody species (either native or exotic) to
establish. The importance of grazing management
in the control of parthenium weed, an introduced
herbaceous species, has been acknowledged(Navie et al. 1996).
Managed forestry areas would initially appear to be
areas that do not have serious weed problems.
However, this is not necessarily the case,
particularly when there is not a full tree canopy. Insouth-east Queensland, areas of Pinus spp.
plantations are a major reservoir of the introduced
woody weed Baccharis halimifolia (Armstrong &
Wells 1979). However, dense shade under fully63
developed canopies can inhibit the development of
this weed (Panetta 1977).
Integrated management of native vegetation toreduce its susceptibility to invasion and enhance its
regeneration is required (Humphries et al. 1991).
Total clearing of tree cover provides an excellent
opportunity for weeds to establish. For this reason,many landholders have planted exotic pasture
species in an effort to get a rapid cover ofcompetitive species that are useful for grazing
purposes (DPI 1976). Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris)is perhaps the most widely planted pasture species
that fits into this category. In cases where pasture
species have not become established, herbaceous
weeds can be serious (Anderson et al. 1983). Oneof the best examples was the dense stand of
parthenium weed that established in pulled
blackwood (Acacia argyrodendron) and gidgee
(A. cambagei) scrubs in the Clermont region ofcentral Queensland in the 1980s in cases where
buffel grass was not planted or did not establish(Anderson et al. 1984).
The planting of pasture provides another possible
source of weeds. There are two aspects of pastureplanting that must be considered—contamination by
known weeds and planted species becoming weeds.
Contaminated pasture seed brought into Australia
from the USA was the source of parthenium weed in
central Queensland (Navie et al. 1996). Currently,the federal legislation dealing with contaminants
specifies zero tolerance for seeds of plants known to
be weedy elsewhere or under active control in
Australia. Control of the movement of weeds inpasture seed is currently under consideration in the
review of the Rural Lands Protection Act 1985 (Qld).
Among the proposals being considered is that the
sale or movement of any product containing aserious weed that is not currently established in
Queensland will be prohibited. Also, the sale of
products containing an established weed will be
prohibited for selected weeds. There is also aproposal for a general duty of care to prevent the
establishment and spread of pests. Note that if
pasture seed is purchased interstate, the sale mustconform to the rules that apply within that State.Thus it is possible for seed to be purchased from
another State that has seeds of weeds that are
declared in Queensland, in it, provided it is legal to
sell the seed (with its contaminants) in that State.
A number of pasture introductions have becomeserious weeds, either in the agricultural sector
(Lonsdale 1994) or in natural ecosystems
(Humphries et al. 1991; Lonsdale 1994). Since
August 1998, all species proposed for importationinto Australia have been subjected to the Weed Risk
Assessment (WRA) system by the AustralianQuarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). The
WRA utilises a series of questions to assess theweed potential of a species on the basis of
available information on its current weed status in
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Pest management and tree clearing
Clearing of trees can alter the presence, absence
and demographics of individual faunal populations,creating pest problems. For example, the removal of
trees along watercourses and from the general
landscape has allowed grass to thrive in many
sugarcane growing areas. An unintendedconsequence of this has been that the cane rat
(Rattus sordidus) has greatly increased. The slashingof all accessible grassy areas and the replanting of
trees in such areas is being promoted as aneffective means of reducing the numbers of cane
rats. The removal of harbourage for rabbits (hollow
logs, blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)) is a vital aspect
of controlling their numbers in the Stanthorpe–Wallangarra area of southern Queensland.
Trees may also have to be cleared to assist in
removal of some pest weeds. Rubber vine
(Cryptostegia grandiflora) is a serious weed from both
production and environmental perspectives
(Humphries et al. 1991). This scrambling orclimbing shrub can grow up and over large trees
along watercourses in north Queensland (Tomley
1995). In some cases, the only practical controlinvolved clearing some of the native trees over
which it climbs. This may be by clearing or by
burning these areas at a time and in a manner that
can damage the trees amongst which rubber vinegrows (Vitelli 1992).
The management of pest plants and animals may
involve planting trees or the removal of trees and
shrubs. The complexities of each organism andeach vegetation–environmental combination mustbe considered before designing management
practices aimed at reducing or preventing the
impact of pests (Commonwealth of Australia 1997).
4.2.3 Tree removal: implications forsoil processes and acceleratedsoil loss
There is much anecdotal evidence to suggest that
the removal of trees results in the large-scale loss
of soil, or decline in soil processes. However,
evidence in the scientific literature is oftenconflicting with regard to these processes. There is
considerable evidence that tree clearing in itself
does not necessarily initiate the degradation cycle,but rather that inappropriate land management
practices are often the causal factors (e.g. Scanlan
et al. 1992). Quantifying and/or qualifying the rates
of soil loss or soil degradation across the State isvery difficult due to the complexity and diversity of
soil and plant interactions
Impact of trees on soil processes
Vegetation has an impact on soil fertility anderosion, along with other long-term processes such
as salinity and soil acidification. Vegetation
influences the soil fertility through nutrient releasevia litter fall and organic matter decomposition,64
other parts of the world, climate preferences and
biological attributes. Proponents are encouraged tosupply this information for their candidate species.
A generally increased awareness of unintended
consequences of plant introductions should greatly
reduce this avenue of weed introduction.
An area that is often overlooked is the impact ofinfrastructure development and housing on the
establishment and spread of pests. Weeds like theexotic creeper Thunbergia grandiflora, grow up trees
on the edges of rainforests in northern Queensland.This plant can smother crowns of trees up to 40 m
high and can progressively destroy rainforest,
moving from the edge inward (Humphries et al.
1991). These edges commonly occur along roadsthat have been built through the rainforest. In
south-east Queensland, there are woody vines
(e.g. cat’s claw creeper (Macfadyena unguis-cati) and
Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) (Swarbrick 1999))that thrive on ‘edge vegetation’ caused by
infrastructure development. Invasive trees, such ascamphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) and
Chinese celtis (Celtis sinensis) may also gainfootholds on the edges of clearings.
An emergent effect of the clearing of vegetation has
been the increased fragmentation of remnant
vegetation, which increases its vulnerability to weed
invasion. While most weeds may be restricted tothe outer edges of remnants, edge effects are
particularly prominent in small remnants that have
high edge:area ratios (see section 4.1.2). Vegetation
corridors are particularly difficult to protect from
weed invasion (Panetta & Hopkins 1991). Remnantsclose to population centres may be subjected to
high levels of disturbance from human activity
(Matlack 1993), which can lead to degradationabove and beyond what occurs at remnant edges.
Animals
Animals (e.g. pigs) can become pests as a direct
result of land management in a similar manner as
weeds, but usually less dramatically. Some
introduced animals appear to have established andspread rapidly, irrespective of the type of land
management, for example rabbits (Oryctolaguscuniculus) (Williams et al. 1995) and cane toads
(Bufo marinus). Also, many introduced herbivorousmammals have become feral (goats, deer and horses
(Braysher 1993)), especially in semiarid areas where
large property sizes preclude their removal.
Land management practices have increased the
numbers of some native species although, ingeneral, the impact of European settlement has
been to greatly reduce native mammals. An oft-
quoted example is that of macropods in inland
areas. Their numbers are generally acknowledgedas having increased due to the provision of
permanent water and the encouragement of good
pastures for domestic livestock (Newsome 1975;
Poole 1978).
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addition of nitrogen through fixation, acidification
via the secretion of acids from roots, and thedepletion of soil nutrients via plant uptake
(Anderson & Bell 1995). Enhanced soil fauna
populations associated with vegetation roots
perform a critical function in the cycling ofnutrients. Both macrofauna and micro-organisms
play a critical role in organic matter decomposition,
mineralisation and subsequent release of nutrients
(Swift et al. 1979; Morgan et al. 1989). Debateexists as to whether the soil fauna populations vary
between pasture and natural forested ecosystems.
Erosion of soil occurs as a result of a transport
agent (wind or water) passing over or imparting a
force on the soil surface, or indirectly when waterhas weakened the soil structure resulting in mass
movement (landslides and mudflows) (Rose 1993).
Tongway and Ludwig (1997) suggest that the
spatial redistribution of materials across thelandscape is influenced by terrain and vegetation.
Greater soil surface roughness (in the form ofperennial grass and hummocks) may allow greater
storage of soil water than smooth sites dominatedby ephemeral vegetation. Slope also influences the
transporting capacity of overland flows, with a
sudden decrease in slope causing slowing and
ponding of water and subsequently deposition ofmaterial. Sudden increases in slope will increase
flow and mobilise soil particles. Aeolian (wind)
erosion is minimised with the presence of a
vegetative cover. A cover in the form of trees,pasture and/or a litter layer, increases the surface
roughness resulting in an increased friction velocityof wind (McTainsh 1993). This creates a boundary
layer that pushes the erosive wind higher from thesoil surface. In mulga lands, cover levels above
34% reduced wind erosion losses to 0.2 mm of soil
per year compared with bare trampled ground
which suffered from wind erosion losses exceeding6 mm per year (Miles 1993). Thus the extent of
wind erosion is closely related to residual grass
cover levels.
Important factors controlling fluvial (water) erosion
at a point-scale are soil moisture status, amount
and intensity of rain, the soil’s water holdingcapacity and infiltration rate, and the level of
surface cover. Management practices such as
grazing, fire and vegetation clearing can affectsurface cover and soil properties (e.g.
macroporosity) that control infiltration rate, thereby
potentially changing run-off. Also, changes to
vegetation can change the water use (e.g. timepattern and depth of drying) and soil moisture
status, potentially affecting run-off. At a landscape
scale (e.g. hillslope and stream) run-off may be the
product of the point-scale run-off, and/or ofinfiltrated water that returns to the surface/stream
via lateral subsurface or groundwater flow. Lateral
subsurface flow or groundwater may also create
wet zones in the lower parts of the landscape,which then produce run-off during rain. 65
In their natural condition, most landscapes are
covered by vegetation that protects the soil fromerosion. Bache and MacAskil (1984) identify the
principal effects of vegetation in reducing erosion as:
• the interception of the raindrops so that their
kinetic energy is dissipated by plants, rather thanimparted to the soil
• increasing the frictional losses associated with
surface flows, and thereby reducing the erosive
potential and the transport capability• increasing the infiltration capacity of the soil,
thereby reducing the probability of overland flow
• the physical restraint of soil movement.
Despite these protective mechanisms provided by
vegetation, few studies in Queensland haveinvestigated comparisons between uncleared and
cleared land systems. Data that is published
highlights the spatio-temporal variation
encountered by researchers. Those thatinvestigated the effects of removal of trees generally
found an increase of run-off as a result of theclearing. However, researchers who investigated the
run-off rates of a forested block compared to apasture block often found that the pastures were
more efficient in minimising run-off.
Measurements of small catchments in Gayndah in a
silverleaf ironbark – black speargrass community
on a granite duplex soil showed no significantdifferences in run-off following clearing (Prebble &
Stirk 1988). Yet in small catchment studies of a
brigalow community in central Queensland,
clearing of brigalow scrub on fertile clay soils and
establishing buffel grass pasture was demonstratedto increase run-off by 21 mm/year. Using historic
rainfall data in the PERFECT simulation model,
Littleboy et al. (1992) estimated that run-offdoubles from 3 to 6% of the annual water balance
with clearing (Lawrence et al. 1993).
A combination of neutron moisture meter studies
and simulation modelling by Williams et al. (1993)
predict that there would be an increase in run-off iftrees were cleared on neutral red duplex and red
earth soils in north Queensland. This is supported
by Dilshad and Jonauskas (1992), working onsimilar soils in the Northern Territory. However, itis contrary to the data collected by McIvor et al.
(1995), and the simulations of Scanlan and
McIvor (1993).
In a study of small plots in semiarid tropical
savannas of north Queensland, McIvor et al. (1995)showed that soil loss from areas with native
pastures under trees was higher than for other
pasture systems (cleared areas, with or without
sown pasture). The soil loss from these pasturesystems were from 13 to 56% of that measured
from native pastures with live trees. Scanlan andMcIvor (1993), in simulation studies in the same
area, showed a reduction in soil loss of between53% and 85% when trees were removed from
native pastures, with the actual figure being
dependent on stocking rate.
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Investigating cover percentages as a controller of
erosion, Miles (1993) found that the average soilloss due to water erosion for soft mulga was
4.16 t/ha/yr with 20% cover, compared with
1.1 t/ha/yr when cover was 40%. Comparable
figures for hard mulga were 6.57 t/ha/yr and0.65 t/ha/yr.
A large proportion of rainfall intercepted by trees is
released again as large ‘gravity drops’. Moss andGreen (1987) found that these drops average about
5 mm in diameter making them more erosive thanalmost all raindrops. Gravity drops from a height
range of 1.0 to 2.5 m reach a potential to cause
erosion with a gradual increase in erosive power
occurring up to 6 m of free fall. Protection fromgravity drops is best provided by vegetation on the
soil surface. Under natural conditions, forested
areas have a proportion of ground cover and forest
litter that minimise overland flow and enhancerainfall infiltration. Pressland et al. (1991), Scanlan
et al. (1996), and Silburn et al. (1992) showed thatcover was able to reduce both run-off and soil loss
in grazed woodlands of north and centralQueensland respectively.
Soil cover, be it leaf litter or low vegetation, is
accepted by researchers as an important
component in minimising fluvial erosion. Soil
erosion and deposition models such as UniversalSoil Loss Equation (USLE) (Rosewall 1993)
incorporate surface cover as a subfunction of the
model. The USLE computes estimated soil loss from
a given site as the product of six factors whose
values at a site can be expressed numerically. Theequation is as follows:
A=RKLSCP
Where
A = Average annual soil loss in tonnes per hectareR = Rainfall erosivity factor
K = Soil erodibility factor
L = Slope length factor
S = Slope steepness factorC = Management factor
P = Support practice factor
The model demonstrates the interaction of thesedifferent factors in soil loss. Table 4.2 highlights
how changes made in the percentage soil coveralters the level of management control (C factor)
required to minimise soil losses. The C factor is
defined in the USLE as the ratio of soil loss from
land managed under specified conditions to thecorresponding loss from continuous tilled bare
fallow cultivation (Roswell 1993).
Slope also has a dominant influence on
susceptibility to erosion. Mass movement or
landslips may occur on steep slopes. Soil erosionbegins when intense rainfall breaks down
aggregates on the soil surface into small particles.
These small particles may be splashed into the air,
and on steep slopes this results in a net movementof soil downslope. The steeper the slope, the
greater the risk of erosion. Velocity of overland flow
increases on steep slopes, and run-off is more
likely to concentrate and increase its erosive power.In addition, the run-off rate is likely to be higher on
steep land. Slope length and slope gradient have
substantial effects on soil erosion by water. In some
landscapes, the slope steepens adjacent to drainagelines, making such areas especially vulnerable to
soil erosion. Using the USLE, recommendations for
slope limits on development can be made to avoidexceeding an acceptable level of soil loss (forexample, table 4.3 provides slope limits based on
the USLE to avoid average losses greater than
12 t/ha/yr).
The effect of trees on soils and pasture produce
contrasting effects on run-off and erosion inwoodland situations. The reduced pasture
production observed in eucalyptus woodlands of
northern (Gardener et al. 1990), central (Scanlan &
Burrows 1990), and southern Queensland (Walker
et al. 1972) would suggest that run-off and erosionmay be higher in grazed woodlands than in cleared
areas. This may be due to the lower pasture cover
in the former areas; however, the presence of treeleaf litter can complicate this, as there tends to be
some buffering of the system. More trees may lead
to less pasture but increased leaf litter (Burrows et
al. 1990). Silburn et al. (1992) and Yee Yet et al.(1999) found run-off was similar from pasture with
good cover and from under trees where cover was
mainly leaf litter. The surface porosity and depth of
the A horizon also tends to be higher under trees
(Dowling et al. 1986). Infiltration rates also tend toincrease below tree cover (Johns 1981), increasing
the amount of rainfall held in the soil, and therefore
not contributing to run-off.
Some researchers have found that it is the level of
litter cover that is important, and not tree cover
that minimises fluvial erosion. In central
Queensland (Silburn et al. 1992), run-off and soilloss were both highly related to the proportion of
on- or near-ground cover, decreasing exponentially
with increasing cover, with only minor differences
between cover types (e.g. grass or tree litter) or soiltypes studied. Annual soil losses from degraded
pasture were 15–25 t/ha, equivalent to about 2 mm
depth of soil lost per year. Silburn indicated that
dense tree cover greatly reduced grass growth andfavoured poorer, shorter grasses that were not
favoured by stock. This absence of grazing enabled
soil cover to remain greater than 50%, thereby
offering protection to the soil. The tree canopycover of 20–40% offered by the dense groves of
ironbarks was not considered to reduce erosion as
a result of gravity drops. Ironically, the 50% soil
cover that offered the erosion protection was due toleaf litter from the trees. Tree litter may not persist
under heavy grazing. Simulation studies by Scanlan
and McIvor (1993) indicated that run-off was
reduced by between 37 and 60% when trees were66
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cleared from native pastures (at the same stocking
rate). The stocking rate had reduced the soil coverin the simulations with trees to the point where
removal of gravity drops reduced erosion.
By contrast, in the Upper Burdekin River catchment,
McIvor et al. (1995) found that stocking rate had
little effect on reducing run-off. They demonstratedthat run-off was 50 to 70% lower under treatments
that were cleared (with either native or sown
pastures) compared with timbered areas (with
Eucalyptus crebra and Eucalyptus erythrophloia).
Mass movement can be triggered by such activitiesas road works in mountainous regions or by
removal of trees from steep land, thus influencing
the water balance. Once the soil profile becomes
wetter than normal, the strength of the soil isreduced, resulting in either a slow creep or rapid
movement of potentially vast quantities of soil
downslope (Rose 1993). Removal of trees from theseland systems can also result in long-term hazardssuch as salinity and acidification. These issues are
dealt with in more detail in subsequent sections.
Management influences on trees andsoil loss
The method of clearing will affect the susceptibility
of soil to erosion. If trees are thinned by chemical
treatment, there will be minimal disturbance to thesurface vegetation thereby minimising the erosion
risk. Clear felling, however, initially exposes the
soil surface to higher surface temperatures thatbreak down organic matter and reduce aggregatestability. Any associated mismanagement (such as
overgrazing), combined with raindrop impact, may67
lead to high surface strength of soils impeding
seedling establishment (Arndt 1965; Bridge et al.1983).
Heavy grazing may cause sheet erosion irrespective
of the presence of trees (Gardener et al. 1990), as
soil erosion in pasture land is greatly influenced by
the extent of surface cover on or near the ground
(Ciesiolka 1987; McIvor et al. 1995). The treecanopy (>1–2 m high) does not necessarily
provide good cover for erosion control, due to the
formation of gravity drops (Moss & Green 1987).Densely timbered areas may have either more or
less total cover of understorey plants and tree leaf
litter than a cleared site, depending on the species
involved (see figure 4.5). Trees compete directlywith grass for water and nutrients and, in all but
the monsoonal zones, this usually results in less
herbaceous cover under trees than in cleared areas
(Mott & Tothill 1984). Tree litter complicates this
effect. For example, in Eucalyptus populneawoodlands (see figure 4.5a), there is a decline in
total ground biomass (tree leaf litter plus pasture),
as tree density increases due to the overridingnegative effect of increasing tree density on grass
cover. In Acacia harpophylla communities (see figure
4.5b), however, the highest total ground biomass is
at the highest tree densities due to the higherrelative production of tree litter. Ground cover is
further modified by the interaction of grazing
pressure, tree cover, use of fire and rainfall amount,
intensity and distribution, and the interactions
between these create a complex set of erosionresponses. Therefore, generalisations about tree
cover and surface soil erosion are not possible.
4.2.4 Soil structure
The physical condition of soil is a major
determinant of land condition, with immediate,
direct and indirect impacts on the potentialproductivity of land for cropping, grazing and
timber production. Maintenance of soil physical
condition is vital if the productive capacity of land
is to be maintained.
The principal determinant and descriptor of soilphysical condition is soil structure. The negative
state of structure condition is structure
degradation, often termed ‘soil compaction’.
Table 4.2 Hypothetical example of management factors (C) for pasture lands with varying levels of canopy and surface coverbased on the USLE.
Canopy cover Cover in contact with soil surface
Per cent soil cover
Type and height Per cent 0 20 40 60 80 95+cover C factors
No appreciable canopy cover 0 0.45 0.20 0.10 0.042 0.013 0.003
Tall weeds or scrub. Average drop fall height of 0.5 m 75 0.17 0.10 0.06 0.032 0.011 0.003
Appreciable scrub. Average drop fall height of 2 m 75 0.28 0.14 0.08 0.036 0.012 0.003
Trees with no understorey. Average drop fall height of 4 m 75 0.36 0.17 0.09 0.039 0.012 0.003
Note: Assumes that cover at the surface is grass or a compacted organic layer.
Table 4.3 Slope limits (percentage) on pasture developmentto avoid average soil loss rates exceeding 12 t/ha/yr basedon the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Source: Roswell (1993).
Rainfall erosivity 9000 7000 4000 2000 850
Low soilerodibility K=0.015 18% 20% 30% 11% 19%
Medium soil
erodibility K=0.03 12% 14% 20% 7% 13%High soilerodibility K=0.055 8% 9% 14% 4.5% 8%
Soil cover Pasture Pasture80% cover 40% cover
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Structure degradation is one of a recognised suite
of land degradation types, commonly considered
ubiquitous to the world’s cropping and grazinglands. Structure degradation has been ranked as
the greatest problem in terms of damage to
Australia’s soil resource (Williams 1998). It has avery real impact on land profitability. As a cost
example, Fray (1991) states that soil structure
degradation alone has caused $144 million worth
of damage in the Murray–Darling basin.
Soil structure refers to the size, shape and degree ofdevelopment of soil units that are composed of
primary soil particles (sand, silt and clay), and the
arrangement of these units with the spaces (pores)
within and between them. Good soil structure,typified by many interconnected spaces, is
important for the movement of water and gases in
the soil system and the proliferation of plant roots,
and is the prime regulator of water and nutrientsupply to plants. It is the loss of this pore space,
especially the interconnected pores, through
compression and shear, that best defines soil
structure degradation.
Soil structure degradation, as discussed here, solelyconsiders human-made degradation caused by
machinery and animals. Some soils do naturallyself-compact with no (or little) additional human
input, for example, hardsetting and crusting soils.McGarry (1993) presents a schema of differences
between human-induced and inherent structure
degradation. Because of the inherent, negative
physical properties of the hardsetting and crustingsoils, the historical intensity of their use, and the
expectations of their cropping or grazing potential
have been relatively low (McGarry 1993, 1997).
Vegetation clearing, however, will put physicalpressure on these soils that are inherently,
physically fragile. So the potential for degradation,
even from low intensity usage, is high.
In terms of vegetation clearing, there are two
distinct management areas with strong potential tocause soil structure degradation. The first is the
actual clearing process, most often with bulldozers
pulling either chains or subsoiling tines (for sucker
and root cutting). Then, the subsequent increasedstocking rates of sheep or cattle will give far greater
pressure on the soil physical environment,
particularly the all important topsoil layer. With
each, the level of negative effect is determined bythe soil water content at time of trafficking,
cultivating or trampling; moist to wet soil beingmost vulnerable to structure degradation.
Though tree clearing will continue for land
development, sufficient knowledge on the causesand processes of structure degradation exists that
preventative management strategies can be
implemented.
Considerable literature exists on the recognition
and management of soil structure degradation.Most is from cropping land and timber plantations,
rather than native timbered land. However, the
underlying processes, effects, recording and
monitoring techniques, and preventativemanagement techniques are common.
Identification, diagnosis and rationalisation of
structure degradation are firmly based on the
description and measurement of soil structure
through soil profile description. The same set ofdescriptive and/or quantitative assessments can be
employed to monitor and define subsequent
improvements in soil structure state with altered,
better management systems.
Extent and locationDifficulties surround the precise definition of theextent and location of structure degradation. The
reason is that structure degradation principally
occurs in the upper subsoil and is hidden from view.
As a result, structure degradation is blamed formany soil and crop problems that have no
immediately obvious cause. Conversely, many crop
failures due to structure degradation are wrongly
blamed on other factors, for example, root diseaseand soil pathogens. With structure degradation,
most crops fail because their roots are unable to
penetrate a physical barrier. There may well be rootdisease, but it is caused and exacerbated by thewaterlogging and poor root performance from
structure degradation.
68
B i o m a s s ( k g / h a )
1500
00 100 200 400
Trees/ha
pasture
total
tree leaf
2500
1000
2000
500
300
B i o m a s s ( k g / h a )
4000
00 100 200 400
Trees/ha
pasture
total
tree leaf
6000
2000
300
a
b
Figure 4.5 Biomass of tree leaf and pasture within (a) poplarbox and (b) brigalow communities in Queensland. Source:Scanlan et al. (1992) with data from Burrows et al. (1990)and Scanlan (1991) respectively.
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In terms of data collection toward defining the
extent and location of structure degradation, thereis currently no better method than visual
recognition of the phenomenon in a spade or
backhoe pit. Such observations are the basis of
SOILpak, a soil management decision-supportsystem (Daniells et al. 1996; McKenzie 1998).
Contributing factors
Soil water content at the time of traversing orcultivating a soil is the principal determinant of the
severity and extent of soil structure degradation.
Tractor and caterpillar loads, implement design,animal stocking rates, speed, and tyre size, type
and inflation are all important, but soil water
content is the prime determinant (Kirby & Blunden
1992). Soil water content at key times isparticularly important, for example during tree
clearing and when stocking rates are high, and the
water content at those times depends on climate
and current weather patterns.
Soil type is important in determining andrationalising the severity of structure degradation.
This is for two different reasons. First, different
soils hold water for varying lengths of time. Some
soils remain more plastic, hence more degradable,than others at similar times after similar amounts
of rain or irrigation. Clay soils tend to stay wetter
for longer as their fine particles hold more water,
more tightly than a sand or loam. Critical to theinterrelation of soil type and the potential for
structure degradation is a soil’s plastic limit water
content (PL). PL is the water content of a soil abovewhich it will compress and shear when loaded, thatis, the soil is in a ‘plastic’ state and is prone to
structure degradation. Soil cultivated drier than PL
will fracture rather than smear so structure
degradation will not occur. Second, some soils areinherently, physically fragile. In particular, soils
with large proportions of fine sand (but still with
enough clay to bind them) and low organic matter
contents tend to naturally hardset and form surfacecrusts. With human inputs like tree clearing or
increased stocking rates, organic matter declines
further. Together with increased energy inputs(animal hooves) this causes bonds betweenparticles to disintegrate—leading to a worsened
physical condition.
The level of management awareness is potentially a
major contributor to the occurrence of structure
degradation. Imperfect understanding is the keyand occurs at many different levels. Especially up
to the late 1970s, primary producers lacked an
understanding and awareness of the physical frailty
of soil structure. There had been a Europeanparadigm for cultivation—repeated, deep,
cultivation of soil close to field capacity. Earlyfarmers, unknowingly, had assumed Australian
soils were as physically robust as European soils.
69
Adding to the problem, Australian farms are large.
This necessitates large machinery, gives inflexibilityin timing of cultivation, sowing and harvesting,
generally on a wide range of soils with different
levels of robustness. The problem is not that
farmers knowingly have over-used the soil, ratherthey were unaware of the high level of care needed
to maintain the resource.
Though best for the soil, there are severalconsiderations that preclude cultivating and
trafficking at optimal (i.e. sub PL) soil watercontents. Specific to vegetation clearing, if large
areas are to be cleared to tight schedules, then
clearing will continue even after rain, despite the
soil being in a most vulnerable condition. The sameis true if stocking rates are raised after clearing.
After rain, animals cannot be removed from wet
fields, so they trample and puddle the wet topsoil.
This not only kills pasture but also seriouslydegrades the physical condition of the topsoil,
causing problems with water infiltration andpasture regeneration.
The impact of structure degradation
Soil structure degradation only increases the
potential for productivity reduction. The wordpotential is stressed as crops and pastures can
grow well in structurally degraded soil, if there is
frequent irrigation or rainfall. The crop grows
almost hydroponically. However, when rain isscarce, crops in structurally degraded soil will fail
long before crops in well-structured soil.
There are potentially high costs involved in bothforming soil structure degradation and then
initiating repair and control strategies. Cultivation,traffic and animal hooves cause structure
degradation. Yet, on many occasions the aim of the
cultivation was to alleviate soil structure
degradation, or to open up land for improvedpastures. However, if the soil was too moist or wet
at the time of the cultivation, structure degradation
ensues. So the farmer is paying threefold: the cost
of the cultivation and traffic, and the cost ofnegative responses (yield loss, increased irrigations,
poor seedbeds, etc.) that then require morecultivation (with traffic) to repair—again running
the risk of producing more structure degradation.This is a typical ‘downward spiral’ associated with
structure degradation.
As with some other land degradation (e.g.
accelerated soil loss), post-clearing activities may be
more significant in contributing to soil degradationthan tree clearing per se. In the case of soil
structure degradation, the impact of animal hooves
in new pasture may cause structural degradation.
For example, severe degradation of the soil surfacewas located in a sown pasture on a shallow blackearth west of Moura in central Queensland (photo
in McGarry et al. 1999). The grazier reported poor
rain infiltration and poor pasture growth at this site,
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despite the deep chiselling operation that preceded
sowing of the pasture. The cattle had trampled therecently loosened soil by walking on wet or moist
soil, following rain. The outcome was poor water
infiltration and water ponding. In turn, this caused
the soil surface to remain wet for long periods oftime, so increasing the potential for structure
degradation as the cattle traversed wet soil.
A second example is presented in Proffitt et al.(1995), where the strong negative impact of sheep
trampling is shown (figure 4.6). Sheep tramplingeffectively reduced the aeration in the topsoil to
zero, as evident in figure 4.6a, where there is
massive soil structure degradation (white in the
image) to at least 100 mm. This, in turn, severelyreduced water infiltration and subsequent pasture
growth. Where the sheep were removed after every
rain event, there are many interconnected, faunal
holes to facilitate water infiltration (figure 4.6b).
Repair and prevention of structuredegradation
Once structure degradation is located, then repair
and control measures can commence. It isimperative that soil management and crop
problems are correctly linked to the recorded
presence of structure degradation before repair and
control practices are begun. Location, with spade-dug holes or soil pits, needs to be at different
scales: parts of fields, across fields, across farms,
etc. Location in the soil profile is also important to
correctly choose the best repair strategy. If the
problem lies in the top 0.1 m, there is no need tocultivate to 0.4 m. Deep cultivation is expensive
and has strong potential to produce adverse effects
by inducing deep-soil smearing and compaction,and bringing subsoil with poor chemical properties
to the soil surface.
Repair, where required, can either be biological or
mechanical, or a combination of both. Biologicalmethods are preferable, as they not only remove
the possibility of further damaging the soil by
mechanically removing the structure degradation,
but also are more sustainable and have minimum
costs. Current biological options include rotationcrops, pasture phases (with carefully controlled
stocking, especially in wet years), earthworms and
green manures. These activate natural soilprocesses of swelling and shrinking, the production
of natural soil pores, and organic matter
improvement. It is recognised that the potential for
these in grazing lands is minimal, but graziers needto be aware of potential repair strategies that may
be enacted when possible.
Different soils as well as different degrees of
structure degradation vary in their response torepair practices. Generally, cracking clays respondwell to repeated wet and dry cycles under rotation
crops (Pillai & McGarry, 1999), whereas non-
swelling soils react better to increases in earthworm
activity and root-hole formation (McGarry et al.
2000), and additions of organic matter. Mechanicaloptions of ripping and cultivating must only be
done after digging pits to ensure the soil (to a depth
below the intended cultivation zone) is drier than
PL. This will ensure brittle failure of the soil ratherthan plastic flow (which would give further
structure degradation).
Before initiating prevention practices, carefulconsideration should be given to repairing any
inherent soil structure degradation. The initialremoval of degradation is particularly important if
the degradation is severe or the soil has little,
inherent self-repair ability (it is not a cracking soil)
or if zero till will be practised in the new system.Under zero till, even a strongly cracking soil will
take several seasons to repair degradation through
biological means. Initial improvement of structure
degradation kick-starts the new prevention systemin which all future traffic is controlled, and the
need for future deep cultivation is removed.Subsoiling, deep ripping or square ploughing are
potential devices for the initial degradation repair,but must only be used in soil below PL, where a
problem has been identified (spade holes or
backhoe pit) and its location in the profile noted.
Currently, prevention measures include controlled
traffic, minimum tillage and flotation tyres.Vegetation clearance may be able to incorporate
flotation tyres (minimising tyre impact in wet soils),
but few other prevention strategies.
In the example described previously, the black clay
at Moura has potential for moderate swell/shrinkwith wet/dry cycles under a crop. However, the
immediate problem is the lack of a seedbed, as the
degradation occurs from the immediate soil surface.
Shallow cultivation in dry soil is needed to preparea seedbed, then subsequent crops should initiate
cracking of the compacted subsoil. Critical,
however, is that the soil must not be trampled
while moist or wet, or the problem will return.Fencing is required to better control stock
movement. Thought should be given to the creation
of a ‘sacrifice’ paddock where stock are kept andhand-fed in wet times, to save the soil structure onthe remainder of the farm.
Discussion
There are difficulties and challenges to the true
enactment of the above management strategies
across all cropping systems. With vegetation
clearing, in some years it will be difficult tocultivate and traffic only dry soil. There will also be
strong economic problems associated with moving
animals around to protect wet, fragile soils. Also,
certain soils, especially the hardsetting and crustingsoils, are so fragile that some degree of physical
damage and organic matter decline is inevitable.
The build-up of organic matter is vital to structure
optimisation in such soils, but even under optimal70
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conditions this can be a most slow process. Other
difficulties arise where several soil types occur inone field, as one part of the field is sufficiently dry
to traffic or graze without damage, but the other
soil remains too wet. If possible, fencing should be
used to separate such soils. The use of flotationtyres on tractors should also help reduce damage.
4.2.5 Nutrient cycling
For many years, scientific literature has recognisedthat vegetation exerts a considerable influence onboth the nature and amount of organic matter in
soils (Spain et al. 1983). Previous studies have
found that the processes whereby trees improve
soil fertility are numerous and difficult to separate,although the positive benefits of trees on nutrient
cycling processes are often reported in the
literature (Young 1989; Prinsley 1991; Noble and
Randall 1998).
The role of trees in influencing (generally
increasing) soil nutrient status has beendemonstrated for phosphorus in Eucalyptus populneacommunities (Ebersohn & Lucas 1965), nitrogen
and sulphur (Dowling et al. 1986). More recentstudies have shown that the nutrient availability is
improved beneath eucalypt canopies (Wilson et al.
1990a), giving rise to a heterogeneous soil nutrient
environment. Trees have been described as nutrientpumps, exploiting and redistributing nutrients from
depth in the soil profile and laterally from areas
beyond the canopy, depositing them via litterfall
and canopy leaching (Noble & Randall 1998). A
consequence of clearing is that this spatialvariability and patchiness is greatly reduced. This
can be attributed to the reduced size of the plant
patches that are using and redistributing the soilnutrients (grasses versus trees), which can
potentially have a large impact on nutrient losses
(Ludwig et al. 2000).
The relatively deep root systems of trees allow
them to access nutrients deep in the soil, bothlimiting leaching potential and making otherwise
unavailable nutrients accessible to shallow-rooted
pasture species. However, plants often compete by
depleting resources required by neighbours, andtrees must acquire water and nutrients that the
pasture understorey would otherwise attain.
Elevated nutrient status under trees generally does
not increase pasture productivity at the communitylevel (Beale 1973; Walker et al. 1986; Scanlan &
Burrows 1990), although exceptions exist (Christie
1975; Belsky et al. 1989, 1993). Belsky et al. (1989,
1993) found increased herbaceous-layer productionbeneath canopies associated with lower soil
temperatures and greater soil fertility. Work in low
fertility, semiarid areas indicates a growth response
in pasture under mature poplar box (E. populnea)(Ebersohn & Lucas 1965; Christie 1975; Silcock
1980). It is suggested that in these situations
enhanced pasture growth resulted from nutrient
build-up beneath older canopies. 71
Figure. 4.6 Binary images of topsoil structure condition inthree sheep grazing treatments: (a) traditional grazing—pasture grazed continuously for 17 weeks, (b) controlledgrazing—sheep removed after all rain events, and (c)ungrazed—where the pasture was mown only. All sampleswere taken at the end of the grazing period. In the images,black areas are the soil pores (air) and white is the soilsolid. All samples are 100 mm x 100 mm in real life. Source:Proffitt et al. (1995).
Sheep hoof imprint
Surface faunal pores
Faunal pores
a
b
cSurface faunal pores
Faunal pores
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and any decline in soil organic matter will impact
on nutrient availability. Gillman (1976) foundsignificantly higher carbon and nitrogen levels in
krasnozem soil types under rainforest in north
Queensland than under adjacent eucalypt forest.
Teakle (1950) suggested that after removing therainforest from north Queensland krasnozem soil
types, organic carbon content could be halved after
about 20 to 30 years under Paspalum dilatatum
pasture.
Graham (1978) found in studies of solodizedsolonetz and sodic soils that in 8 out of 17 paired
sites, a significant decrease in organic carbon
occurred post clearing. The period since clearing in
these instances ranged from 7 to 27 years with apercentage change from 17 to 41% of original levels.
Isbell (1966) found that brigalow (Acacia harpophylla)forests had substantially higher organic carbon than
adjacent grasslands in northern central Queensland,
both communities being on very similar grey and
brown clays. Recent observation of strip-clearedbrigalow confirm Isbell’s observation, with Chilcott
(forthcoming) finding five times higher soil nitrogen
in retained tree strip compared to adjacent treelessgrazed pastures. However, Ahern and Turner (1993)
showed that surface organic carbon and total
nitrogen were similar for vertisols of the Mitchell
grass downs and adjacent open gidgee woodlandsin western Queensland. Dowling et al. (1986)
showed that organic matter was much higher
beneath tree canopies than in associated grassed
interspaces in a brigalow–Dawson gum
(A. harpophylla–E. cambageana) woodland. However,in naturally fertile brigalow soils nearby, soil organic
matter did not decline in a five-year period after
clearing and planting to buffel grass (Cenchrusciliaris). An adjoining cropped catchment lost 19% of
soil organic matter over the same period. Total
nitrogen followed the same pattern. Data collected
by Lawrence et al. (1993) in these cleared brigalowcatchments showed a short lived flush of plant-
available nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and
potassium (K), but that within three years of
clearing, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen
under buffel grass had returned to preclearing levels.
Chilcott (2000) found significantly higher organic
carbon, soil nitrogen and plant available
phosphorus levels beneath trees than in interspaces
in eucalypt woodlands in the Northern Tablelandsof New South Wales. Associated with this was
higher microbial activity and biomass beneath tree
canopies in the woodland. A fertile island was
observed beneath tree canopies as a result ofhigher levels of organic inputs. Chilcott (2000)
attributed this to:
1) higher root and litter biomass pools resulting inan accumulation of organic matter on or nearthe soil surface
2) the presence of better quality substrate beneath
trees than in the canopy gaps.72
In the more fertile cleared brigalow communities,
there is also a reduction in the availability of soilnutrients as the time since clearing increases
(Graham et al. 1981). This can be related to the
increase in root biomass that tends to immobilise a
large proportion of the available nutrient pool(especially nitrogen). No measurable decline in the
total nutrient pool size has been recorded in these
circumstances.
Trees also contribute more above-ground litter than
pastures (Frost 1985), and soil fertility has beendemonstrated to improve through increased litter
and soil organic matter return beneath trees
(Christie 1975, Campbell et al. 1988). Litter
decomposition rates can be improved directly byproviding litter of better quality (higher in nutrient
content), and indirectly by altering the habitat for
the soil mesofauna and soil microbes (Chilcott
2000; Young 1997). Retention of a diversity ofvegetation promotes a range of different qualities of
litter through a mixture of woody and herbaceouslitter. This has direct consequences on the soil
biota that mediates litter decomposition processes.The presence of trees provides a steadily decaying
nutrient store of organic matter (Young 1997).
Trees may also enhance the nutrient status of soil
by providing shade for livestock camping (Chilcott
2000; Belsky 1994; Taylor & Hedges 1984) thatconsequentially concentrates nutrients from the
grazed paddock, and may enhance local nutrient
cycling (Georgiadis 1989).
Tree canopies can also act as an effective trap for
atmospheric dust, with the nutrients contained inthe dust being washed from leaves during rain,
and accumulating in the subcanopy soils
(Szott et al. 1991).
Leguminous shrubs (those that fix atmospheric
nitrogen, e.g. some Acacia spp.) have been found toincrease pasture production under canopies by
elevating soil nutrient status (Scrifes et al. 1982).
Some individual tree species are recognised as
providing functional roles in nutrient fixationthrough microbial associations. The genus
Casuarina has been documented to fix atmosphericnitrogen through bacterial nodulation (Torrey
1981). It is likely that most Australian plants,including acacia, eucalyptus, melaleuca and others,
are mycorrhizal. Most mycorrhizal studies have
pointed to the crucial role of mycorrhizas in
phosphorus uptake but they also appear to improvethe availability of poorly mobile ions of zinc,
copper, molybdenum, and possibly ammonium
(Turnbull 1986).
Effect of tree removal on soil nutrient
statusEvidence that trees are important in nutrient
cycling leads to concern about the removal of trees,nutrient losses and rundown (Ludwig et al. 2000).
Many nutrients are associated with organic matter,
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In the mulga lands, the concentration of topsoil
nutrients and organic carbon (from highest tolowest) is found under mulga, grass, turkeybush,
bare ground, and eroded ground (Miles 1993).
Chilcott (2000) found that clearing Eucalyptuslaeviopinea woodlands resulted in an initial flush
organic C and total N. Following clearing, a readilyavailable supply of organic carbon for microbial
growth resulted from decomposition of fine rootsand harvest trash. Increases in water availability
and temperature following clearing stimulateddecomposition, contributing to increased soil
organic C initially following clearing. However, soil
organic C and nutrient levels will decline in the
long-term if natural tree regeneration is suppressed,as readily available nutrients are leached from the
system. Kauffman et al. (1993) investigated effects
of deforestation on tropical dry forests and reported
significant losses of C, N and P from the soil,estimating that it would require a century or more
to reaccumulate those nutrients and carbon lost.Phosphorus is a very important element, but it is
not a mobile element within the soil profile. Losses
can be expected where soil erosion is significant. Ifleaching and soil erosion losses are excluded, then
the only loss from grazed communities will be in
the form of livestock (meat and wool). The amount
removed will depend on stocking rate and soilfertility level. Burrows (1993) asserts that the
removal of phosphorus by livestock is not a
significant contributor to phosphorus dynamics in
the medium- to long-term in grazed woodlands.
4.2.6 Soil acidification
In Queensland, more than 2 000 000 ha of
agricultural lands have soils that are naturally acidic(pH in water <6.5) as a result of leaching processes
in a humid environment, and from previous climatic
conditions (White 1997a; Aitken et al. 1998). Acid
enters the ecosystem naturally as carbonic acid inrainfall, sulphuric and nitric acids produced by
biological processes, and as organic acids (White
1997a). However, the development of a strongly acid
soil (pH in water <5.5) results in poor plant growth
as a consequence of one or more of the followingproblems: aluminium toxicity, manganese toxicity,
deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus
and molybdenum, and reduced microbial activityleading to a reduction in the cycling of nutrients
such as nitrogen. In 1998, 90 000 000 ha of land in
Australia was considered to be acidic, withapproximately 35 000 000 ha highly acidic and
55 000 000 ha moderately or slightly acidic (see
table 4.4). Queensland has the second highest rate
of highly acidic soils, with 8 400 000 ha affected.
Any change in land use may cause accelerated soilacidification, with the rate of acidification being
dependent on the particular land use and thesusceptibility of the soil. Accelerated acidification is
often associated with intensive agriculture andhorticulture, and in grazing lands where tropical
legumes have been introduced (Commonwealth of
Australia 1996; Aitken et al. 1998; Noble et al.
1997; Noble et al. 1998). Some soil types havebeen identified as being vulnerable to acidification.
Accelerated acidification of soils is due to increases
in the losses of products of acid reactions in the
biological carbon and nitrogen cycles (Noble et al.
1997). The main mechanisms of acidification of soils
in the agricultural setting have been identified as:• application of acidifying fertilisers (usually
nitrogen fertilisers) or elemental sulphur in
intensive agriculture• nitrogen fixation by legumes (in oversown
pastures) increasing soil nitrogen which is
subsequently nitrified and leached
• removal of plant and waste products higher inresidual alkalinity and redistribution of nutrients
through grazing animals (DEST 1996; Cregan &
Scott 1998).
Effect of clearing on soil acidificationUnder native vegetation, acidification is minimal
because nutrients are efficiently recycled from thesoil back through the vegetation, and there is no
removal of plant material off-site. Land clearing is
an acidifying process. Following clearing of trees,
there is a large release of nutrients as windrowedwoody vegetation decomposes (or is burnt).
Leaching of these released nutrients causes soil
acidification. Soil acidification is also caused by
removal of timber off-site, as occurs with logging.This occurs because the removal of vegetation that
has been produced on-site leaves behind residualacidity in the soil. Studies in Victoria showed that
50 years after clearing eucalypt forest for timberand allowing regrowth to occur, the amount of
acidity generated was equivalent to 2.25 t/ha of
lime (Prosser et al. 1993).
73
Table 4.4 Extent of acid soils in Australia (ha x 106).Extracted from Cregan and Scott 1998.
State Highly acidic Moderate acidity Slight acidity(pH Ca<4.8) (pH Ca<4.9–5.5) (pH Ca<5.6–6.0)
New South Wales 13.5 5.7 5.1
Victoria 3.0 5.6 5.5
Western Australia 4.7 4.7 n/a
South Australia 2.8 n/a n/a
Queensland 8.4 32.0 n/a
Tasmania 1.0 n/a n/a
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their liming program is counteracting the
acidification caused by their production system. Inparticular, light-textured soils should be targeted for
regular pH monitoring. It is likely that soil
acidification rates will be greater in areas receiving
more than 500 mm annual rainfall because of theenhanced possibility of leaching in this environment.
Planting perennial, rather than annual, grass and
legume species will reduce accelerated soilacidification by maintaining an established root
system throughout the year for nutrient and wateruptake, thereby reducing nutrient loss by leaching.
Reforestation of cleared areas will arrest further soil
acidification by re-establishing ‘closed’ nutrient
cycling, and reducing nutrient leaching by
increasing evapotranspiration.
In summary, the following management strategieswill minimise accelerated soil acidification:
• regular monitoring of soil pH, particularly that of
light-textured soils
• implementing a regular liming program• avoid clearing light-textured soils
• use of perennial pasture species
• reafforestation of cleared areas.
4.2.7 Hydrology
The removal of deep-rooted woody vegetation and
its replacement by shallow rooted grass species,
leads to alteration of hydrological relationshipswithin catchments. Generally, the removal of trees
increases the deep drainage component of the soil
water balance, while heavily grazed pasture
systems can result in large increases in surfacerun-off from cleared land systems (Miles, 1993;
Silburn, et al. 1992). If cleared land is then brought
into cultivation, further increases in drainage below
the root zone and surface run-off can be expected(Wockner & Freebairn 1991). Often, changes in
water-balance components are a result of changes
in water-use patterns as well as depth of water
extraction by plants. The mobilisation of saltpreviously distributed in deeper subsoil and
substrate layers that accompanies alteration of the
hydrology and the associated salinity problems isdiscussed in section 4.2.8. Specific studies of otherchanges relevant to Queensland follow.
It should be noted that for most parts of
Queensland (other than coastal and subcoastal
areas and high rainfall areas of Cape York),
potential evaporation exceeds precipitation by afactor of 2 in any month. As a result, groundwater
recharge is a small and irregular component of
water balance. This is in strong contrast with the
situation in southern and south-western Australia,where recharge is a regular feature of the water
balance, due to rainfall commonly exceedingevapotranspiration potential in winter months, and
resultant salinity problems are widespread.However, in Queensland, sporadic heavy rainfall
events are important in overall recharge rates.74
Effect of land use on soil acidification
Land uses which are particularly acidifying are
those where (a) there is a large removal of harvestedproduct (e.g. sugar cane), (b) large amounts of
ammonium-based fertilisers are applied (e.g. many
horticultural crops, dairy pastures), or (c)
introduced legumes are part of the land use (e.g.stylosanthes pastures). Unfertilised pastures of low
productivity cause minimal acidification. Noble etal. (1997) examined paired ‘developed’
(stylostanthes-dominated pasture) and‘undeveloped’ (grass-dominated pasture) between
Rockhampton, Queensland, and Katherine, Northern
Territory, to estimate the impact of stylostanthes on
rates of soil acidification. In this study the extent ofacidification, whilst significantly more acid in six out
of seven sites, ranged from no measurable change to
severe subsurface acidification extending to over
70 cm and demonstrated considerable variationamong sites. In a comparison of leucaena-based
and nitrogen fertilised and irrigated sites, Noble etal. (1998) found for both systems a decline in pH
since sampling was taken in 1960. However, theextent of acidification was much greater under the
more intensively managed fertilised and irrigated
sites than the leucaena system (Noble et al. 1998).
Management of soil acidification
Under extensive production systems where clearing
is to be undertaken to enhance pasture production,it is important that producers are aware of the
possible long-term consequences. Remediation of
acidification through conventional avenues (i.e.application of liming sources) is uneconomic inthese systems. Consequently, the producer is left
with assessing the potential risk associated with
clearing. On soils that have a high internal
buffering capacity (i.e. black alkaline crackingclays), the long-term impact of increased
acidification would be low, since the soil has the
ability to resist any downward pH trends. However,
on light texture sandy soils that have a low internalbuffering capacity, the consequences of accelerated
acidification associated with clearing may be
significant. Therefore, if tree clearing is to beundertaken for extensive pasture production, areasof high risk, as outlined previously, should be
avoided or appropriately managed.
In the intensively managed production systems,
landholders can initiate a liming program
appropriate to their production system. Such astrategy will minimise the risk of soil acidification
becoming a production constraint, and will protect
the long-term productivity of the soil resource.
Soil acidification is detected by a gradual decline in
soil pH. This decline will be more evident in light-textured soils than in clayey soils, because the
former have a low ability to ‘buffer’ or counteract
the effects of acidity on soil pH. Landholders should
monitor soil pH by annual sampling to ensure that
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Differences in water use can be demonstrated
between native grasses, introduced shrubbylegumes and Eucalyptus spp. in a north Queensland
red earth (Gardener et al. 1990). Trees extracted
water to a depth of at least 4 m, whereas grasses
mainly used water from less than 1 m of the soil. Adetailed examination of water use in a planted
flooded gum (Eucalyptus grandis) agroforestry
experiment showed that, at higher tree densities, a
greater proportion of soil water was extracted fromdeep within the soil profile (Eastham & Rose 1988,
1990; Eastham et al. 1988, 1990a, 1990b).
Impact of clearing trees
There is substantial evidence that removal of trees
disturbs the hydrological regime, often resulting in
expression of salinity (see section 4.2.8). A one-year study by Williams et al. (1993) in north
Queensland showed increased deep drainage once
trees were cleared—from 9 to 86 mm for a red
earth, from 118 to 238 mm for a sandy red earth,
and from 72 to 115 mm for a yellow podzolic.When these results were extrapolated for 100 years
using the PERFECT (Littleboy et al. 1989) and
SWIM (Ross 1990) models, increased deep drainagefollowing clearing was from 15 to 74 mm/year for a
red earth and from 1 to 8 mm/year for a neutral
red duplex soil. This change in groundwater
recharge, in conjunction with soil salt levels of0.4 mS/cm and groundwater salinity levels of
1500 to 5000 mS/L, present a potential salinity
hazard after clearing.
There are, however, some studies in Queenslandthat have presented different results. Lawrence andSinclair (1989) reported that the clearing of
brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) in central Queensland
and planting a crop or pasture did not alter the
annual catchment water balance. The meanrecharge rate measured by Lawrence et al. (1993)
rose from 7 mm to 28 mm per year after
establishing a buffel grass pasture, but this was due
to one very wet period (April–May 1983). Apartfrom this period, groundwater recharge had been
the same under buffel grass and brigalow. Clearing
Eucalyptus laevopinea woodlands (northern NewSouth Wales) caused a significant increase in soilmoisture profiles, with soils remaining saturated or
near-saturated for 12 months following clearing
(Reid et al. 1998). This (coupled with the clearing
disturbance) resulted in a substantial shift inpasture species composition from previously
palatable grasses to unpalatable sedges and rushes
(Chilcott 2000). Pressland (1976a) demonstrated
that cleared mulga areas had up to 77 mm lessevapotranspiration compared with an area thinned
to 640 trees/ha.
An important consideration in hydrology is thatwoody plants re-establish or regrow in areas that
are cleared, particularly when pulling, chaining orstem injection is the method of clearing. This is
reported for eucalypt (Walker et al. 1972; Anderson
et al. 1983; Burrows et al. 1988a), brigalow
(Anderson et al. 1984), gidgee (Reynolds & Carter1993) and tea-tree (melaleuca) communities
(Anderson et al. 1983). The regrowth may support
the same leaf area as uncleared woodlands, and
therefore the hydrological regime may not differgreatly between intact woodlands and ‘cleared
areas’ with woody regrowth. A factor of major
importance will be the depth of rooting of mature
trees versus regrowth. Unfortunately, no studieshave compared these aspects.
The return of woody vegetation (approximately
10% of total paddock area) into previously cleared
grazing lands resulted in more thorough and rapid
drying of soil profiles beneath five- to six-year-oldtrees. Reid et al. (1998) concluded that
appropriately located woody vegetation has a role
in mitigating waterlogging and dryland salinisation
in upland temperate pastures.
Catchment level effects of water-use patterns have
been difficult to detect in some short-term studiesdue to between-catchment variability and between-
year variation in rainfall in southern Queensland
ironbark–black speargrass woodland (Prebble &Stirk 1988). Changes in water balance components
have been clearly shown in studies at the 1 ha
scale on cultivated cracking clays (Freebairn et al.
1986; Wockner & Freebairn 1991). Maintenance ofhigh levels of stubble or crop cover reduced run-off
volumes by 40% and peak discharge rates by
70–85% compared to bare soil. These changes at
the small scale are not easily demonstrated at the
large scale (e.g. 1 000 000 ha) even when a largeproportion of a catchment is modified.
With the application of water-balance models and
appropriate physical measurements, we now have
the capacity to estimate changes in water-balancecomponents of different land uses and management
options. These models allow us to explore long-term
scenarios and alternative management options at
the point or paddock scale (PERFECT—Littleboy etal. 1992; APSIM—McCown et al. 1996). These tools
need to be linked to landform, land use, geology and
groundwater maps to determine risk profiles.4.2.8 Salinity
With dryland salinity reportedly affecting nearly
2 500 000 ha Australia wide in 1996, and potential
for this figure to grow to over 12 000 000 ha,salinity has become a major natural resource
management issue (Hayes 1997). Impacts of
dryland salinity include retarded plant growth,
degraded soil structure, limitations on water use byplants, subsequent loss of productivity,
infrastructure damage, loss of biodiversity, impacts
on water quality, and disruption of ecologicalprocesses in wetlands and riverine ecosystems(SalCon 1997; MDBC 1999). Estimates of the
known impacts (largely infrastructure damage) put
the annual cost at $270 million, including75
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and some of the issues involved in this are
discussed here. Considerable development in thedetection of salinity risk has emerged recently.
These tools are essential in Queensland in order to
plan for development and anticipate future salinity
risks, and will also be reviewed here.
Identification of salinity risk potential
Improvement of the predictive capability of salinity
hazard assessment to avoid inappropriate treeclearing or development requires a thorough
understanding of the processes contributing to
salinity and sodicity problems. SalCon (1997)identified the following factors that can provide
information on current and potential salinity levels
and processes:
• landform features and geology in the catchment• vegetation species and communities, and specific
responses to salinity or ion toxicity
• local climate and rainfall patterns
• soil properties, salinity and sodicity levels
• water characteristics, salinity and sodicity levels• land use records.
(For a comprehensive discussion of these
attributes refer to the Salinity Management Handbook, SalCon 1997.)
Methods to determine the risk or potential for
salinity problems usually involves a combination of
measuring and modelling a combination of these
characteristics to produce an informed prediction ofthe likely consequences of different management
scenarios. However, a major impediment to the
broader identification of salinity risk is thelimitation of existing spatial datasets. In areaswhere dryland salinity is an expression of localised
hydro-geomorphic features (such as the Eastern
Downs), datasets in the order of 1:100 000 scale or
better are required to fully delineate high-risksubcatchments.
Soil properties
Investigations of soil properties can be used to
determine hydrologic processes, history of
waterlogging and salting, and guidelines for the
potential of the soil under cropping, pasture ortrees (SalCon 1997). Properties such as soil pH,
concretions, clay content, mineralogy and soil
salinity can all indicate something about salts in
soils. Examination of the soil salinity profile can beinterpreted to determine whether recharge or
discharge may be occurring at a specific location
(SalCon 1997). Modelling software has been
developed to use a number of parameters of the soilprofile incorporated in SALF software. It predicts the
soil leaching fraction6 and salinity within the root
zone under different irrigation regimes, to then
predict the effect of growing different crops (SalCon1997). Utilising these techniques, Gordon and
Claridge (1997), in a recent investigation of the
Upper Dawson River catchment, combined soil
characteristics, SALF soil profile modelling software76
$130 million in lost agricultural production
(LWRRDC 1997; PMSEIC 1999).
The incidence of salinity-affected areas inQueensland is smaller and more scattered, with
10 000 ha5 of land estimated to be affected by
dryland salinity (Gordon 1991). However, salinity is
considered an emerging issue, with potential forsignificant areas of Queensland’s agricultural lands
to be affected over the next 10–30 years (Gordon1998).
Approximately 5.3% of Australian soils naturally
contain soluble salts (Northcote & Skene 1972).The presence of these salts is commonly attributed
to deposits of oceanic salts by rainfall or wind, but
may also result from chemical weathering of rock
minerals and marine sediments (SalCon 1997). It isgenerally accepted that the main cause of dryland
salinity is inappropriate clearing of deep-rooted
perennial vegetation and its replacement with
shallow-rooted crops or pastures or with urban
development (RIRDC 2000). The resulting alterationof the hydrologic regime increases recharge and
mobilises salt previously distributed in deeper
subsoil and substrate layers. These thenaccumulate in vulnerable parts of the landscape
(Loveday & Bridge 1983; SalCon 1997) accelerating
the salinity process (House et al. 1998). Because
the hydrological processes that affect ground watermovements are complex, it may take many years
before any evidence of salinity becomes apparent
(Oliver et al. 1996).
Although the proportional distribution of naturally
occurring saline and sodic soils in Queensland issimilar to other States (Shaw et al. 1994; SalCon
1997), current rainfall patterns, geology, soil types,
and extent and duration of land clearance result in
lower rates of saline-affected areas in Queensland(House et al. 1998). With the majority of
Queensland’s rain falling in summer, evaporation
mostly exceeds rainfall, so the soil profile is rarely
fully saturated and recharge only occurs where asuccession of wet periods prevent the soil from
drying out (Hobson & Carey 1994).
With high rates of tree clearing in Queenslandcontinuing for land development, there is an
opportunity to implement preventative managementstrategies to prevent expansion of salinity and
sodicity problems observed in other States (Gordon
1998). For example, there is some scope under the
recently enacted Vegetation Management Act 1999(Qld), for statutory controls on tree clearing to
strategically avoid the expression of salinity in the
landscape. The Act provides for the development of
Regional Vegetation Management Plans, whichpotentially may anticipate the long-term
consequences of tree clearing on groundwaterhydrology, and plan tree-clearing restrictions in
vulnerable catchment areas.
There is a considerable body of literature that
addresses management of saline-affected areas,
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and electrical conductance of the top 6.0 m of soil
to demonstrate the potential of a large proportion ofthe area studied for use in irrigated cropping. This
use, however, was conditional on following certain
criteria for selection of crops, and volume and
method of irrigation. The risk of developing asalinity hazard for areas where a highly permeable
soil exists above a less permeable soil (in this study
a light Sodosol above a heavier Vertosol were
highlighted).
Climate and rainfall
Certainly an important factor in predicting salinityhazard potential in Queensland is average annual
rainfall characteristics. In Queensland, watertable
salting is mainly restricted to areas with between
600 and 1500 mm per annum rainfall, and hencerestricted largely to the eastern and northern
portion of the State (figure 4.7). Further, use of
moving average rainfall pattern allows comparison
of historic rainfall patterns to determine whether acurrent expression of salinity may potentially
increase or decrease depending on predicted
rainfall trend (SalCon 1997).
Landform
Information about landform and geology can provide
useful information about sources of salt, areas likelyto be susceptible to salinity expression, and
geological structures controlling water movement.
77Figure 4.7 Zones of salinity hazard in Queensland, based on annual rainfall and evaporation patterns. Source: SalCon 1997.
salinity hazard
moderate 600–700 and 1100–1500 mm/yr
high 700–1100 mm/yr
low <600 and >1500 mm/yr
Brisbane
Cairns
Townsville
Rockhampton
Charleville
Mount Isa
Mackay
Emerald
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A number of recent Queensland studies have begun
using GIS to assist the process of developingsalinity hazard prediction (Bui 1997; Williams et al.
1997; Searle & Baillie 1998; Bourke et al. 1999) The
Queensland Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) adopted the HARSD (Hydrogeomorphicanalysis of regional spatial data) methodology to
quantify groundwater-level trends in the
Murray–Darling Basin (Bourke et al. 1999). These
trends have been used to predict the area ofgroundwater discharge over the next 100 years
(Bourke et al. 1999).
By classifying the landscape into discrete,
hydrogeomorphic units of similar aquifer properties
and recharge/discharge behaviour, a linearregressional relationship was developed to create a
baseline water elevation surface for each discrete
unit. From this, a groundwater level map for the
Queensland Murray–Darling basin was developedin a GIS environment. The predicted water
elevation surfaces for 2020, 2050 and 2100 weregenerated to determine salt loads, and estimates of
land area with high watertable, areas with salt loadmobilised to the surface, and river salinity for each
of the future years (Bourke et al. 1999).
Further pilot work by the Department of Natural
Resources has explored the use of a linear additive
method within a GIS framework to automaticallyidentify subcatchments at potential risk of salinity
(Searle & Baille 1998). GIS layers used in the
analysis included soils, geology, climate, vegetation
and topographic indices. Each data layer was rated
with a separate salinity hazard rating, based on adefined set of decision rules. When overlaid, the
total of assigned ratings were used to map areas
along a continuum from low to high salinityhazard. The results of the modelling were reflected
in the experience of field staff, and Searle and Baille
suggest this modelling represents a fairly accurate
means of assessing salinity hazard at the landscapelevel. They suggest that further development of this
model would necessarily include a more rigorous
method of ground truthing, testing the sensitivity of
the model to different weightings of the layers, and
improving the way in which conceptual landscapesalinity processes are represented in digital models.
Bui (1997) has similarly developed a GIS-based
salinity risk assessment model for north
Queensland. The risk of salinity hazard after treeclearing was assessed based on information about
climate, vegetation cover, position in the landscape,
depth to groundwater, rate of recharge and
presence of salt in the groundwater. As a result ofthis study, it was recommended for the study area
that recharge areas should not be cleared in
watersheds where unconfined aquifers are presentand where soils with per cent TSS>0.25 occur,although where intermediate recharge areas are
cleared, the introduction of deep-rooted improved
pasture species may control recharge (Bui 1997).
Bui identified the need for more detailed78
Vegetation
Observation of plant communities, as well as
specific physiological responses in individualplants, can indicate areas of current or recurrent
salinity, and demonstrate the need for more
comprehensive salinity investigation.
At a broader scale, vegetation patterns,
demonstrating variations in density, species
composition, and changes over time, using remotesensing images, can provide more detailed
information about salinity risk and expression.
Remote sensing methods can collate information ona number of the features reviewed previously in this
section (i.e. landform, soils, vegetation, and land
use) to estimate and map the mass and extent of
salt in the landscape. These methods of mappingcan be used to identify areas of potential salinity
hazard and salt loads likely to be mobilised under a
wetter equilibrium.
Salinity mapping can also be carried out using
ground-based geophysical methods. Mostcommonly, electromagnetic induction (EMI) is used
for site surveys and regional reconnaissance
(SalCon 1997). By inducing a magnetic field within
the soil, the electrical conductance of the soil (EC)can be measured at various depths. These
measurements are indicative values, as the readings
are of the bulk soil at given water content, and the
instrumentation is sensitive to clay content andmineralogy, soil water content, and the depth of
bands of more conductive material within the soil
profile (SalCon 1997). There is considerableinformation available in the literature thatquantifies the likely significance of EMI readings
with respect to different profile effects, and other
factors. SalCon (1997) recommends the use of
ground truthing by the taking of soil samples toverify EM readings.
Salinity hazard investigations inQueensland
An investigation of salinity hazard following tree
clearing in north Queensland (Williams et al. 1997)
using a simulation model, demonstrated asubstantial increase in deep drainage following thereplacement of woodland with native grassland
across a number of different soil profiles. Whilst
introduction of a perennial legume lessens the
increase in deep drainage, the effectiveness of thisvegetation is strongly dependent on nutrient status
and, subsequently, tree clearing may well release
water, but this may not be converted into dry
matter and water use if nutrient and other edaphiclimiting factors remain. Williams et al. (1997)
highlighted the need to develop routine tools for
assessing the risk of salinity hazard at sites wheretree clearing is planned, to predict ground waterresponse and hill-slope watertable developments
that can mobilise salt in the landscape.
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hydrogeological information to give more certainty
to the results.
It should be noted that most approaches tomapping salinity are ‘static’ tools and do not allow
an assessment of catchment water balance. Whilst
‘high risk’ catchments can be identified, the
number of trees that need to be retained cannot.Catchment characterisation and catchment water
balance (using flow tube modelling) is being testedwithin the National Land and Water Audit to
provide a quantitative framework for salinitymanagement (Coram et al. 2000). Unfortunately,
this work is focused on remedial action in southern
and western Australia.
Management
The management of shallow saline watertables to
reverse the process of secondary salinity isproblematic because of a number of factors. These
include:
• the complex interaction between land use andmanagement, landscape hydrology,geomorphology, historic salt loads, and
socioeconomic and environmental factors
• the slow hydrological response, that is,
secondary salinity often becomes worse before itgets better even where remediation is
implemented
• the cost to manage may be greater than the
economic benefit• and the site of the cause of salinity (recharge
areas) are often separated from the site of
expression.Direct management of saline-affected areas can be
carried out in a number of ways. Strategies includealtering hydrological processes, improvement of
water efficiency where irrigating, and direct
management of saline-affected land (SalCon 1997;
Thorburn 1999). Direct management of saline-affected land may include establishing salt-tolerant
plant species with production benefits. A
comprehensive review of management strategies
and their application is available in the Salinity Management Handbook (SalCon 1997).
Altering hydrological processes
Strategies to alter hydrological processes can
operate to reduce salinity by:
• reducing recharge
• intercepting water in transmission area• increasing water use in discharge areas.
This may be achieved in a number of ways,
including revegetating catchment areas to lower the
watertable and implementing engineering options
(drainage). Engineering solutions such as deep
drainage or pumping of saline-affected lands caninvolve the difficulty of disposing of saline water.
Traditional engineering solutions (pumps and
drains) are generally viewed as uneconomical, andare becoming less popular as the downstream
79
impact on other water users and the environment
are becoming more apparent. (Clarke et al. 1998;Thorburn 1999). Alternatively, manipulation of the
hydrologic cycle by revegetation strategies has
become increasingly popular. Revegetation can act
to reduce recharge or maximise discharge (RIRDC2000). Reduction of groundwater recharge is
achieved by interception of rainfall by vegetation.
Transpiration by the plants causes a water-
potential gradient throughout the plant, drawingwater from the soil. Selection of species with
appropriate leaf area and canopy structure are
important considerations for planting to reduce
recharge (RIRDC 2000). However, Scholfield (1990)argues that the effectiveness of trees in capturing
water in the unsaturated soil zone depends on
whether recharge occurs largely from the slower
matrix flow of soil water that trees can effectivelycapture or the faster preferential flow, which
recharges groundwater before trees are able to
transpire. There is some evidence to suggest native
vegetation is able to transpire significantly morerainfall than crops or pasture (McFarlane et al.
1995) because trees are able to use water from
deeper in the soil profile although again, leaf area,
canopy structure and physiological features areimportant (Morris & Thompson 1983).
Revegetation or regeneration to enhance
groundwater discharge has been widely promoted
since several studies demonstrated the reversal of
rising groundwater levels under these strategies(e.g. Bari & Scholfield 1992). It should be noted,
however, that as much as 70–80% of a catchmentmay need to be revegetated to significantly reduce
the level of the watertable and salinity (Bari &Scholfield 1992; George et al. 1999). A potential
limitation of the use of vegetation in saline areas is
the accumulation of salts in the root zone over
time, limiting transpiration and growth of theseplants (Thorburn 1996; Thorburn 1999). As plants
take up water from or near a watertable, the
groundwater flowing towards the roots carries
salts, which accumulate in this way. Evaluation ofthe effectiveness of such strategies has been
undertaken by:• direct measurement of uptake
• indirect measurement• predictive modelling.
Careful planning and knowledge of the catchment
hydrology, geology and so forth, is essential to
avoid these problems. House et al. (1998)
recommend planting concentrated on transmissionand recharge areas of the catchment. It should be
noted that a great deal of work has focused on
revegetation strategies and their effectiveness,
particularly in the southern States of Australia. Forthe Queensland situation, it may be possible to
derive some guidelines as to the appropriate
retention rates from this body of work (Ian Gordon
February 2000, pers. comm., 6 March).
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4.3 Management and production aspects
4.3.1 Crop production
Apart from naturally treeless areas (parts of Darling
Downs and central Queensland bluegrass), allcropping in Queensland is conducted on cleared
lands. These range from highly fertile alluvial soils
which may have been well-grassed, to rainforestareas to brigalow lands and poplar box woodlandsthat supported a high woody biomass before
clearing (see Weston et al. 1981 for assessment of
potential cropping in Queensland). Cropping has
been used as a means to control regrowth of treesand shrubs following clearing (Johnson 1964). This
was particularly used in the early phases of the
brigalow development (DPI 1976). Only a few
woody species can survive in a cropping situation,for example Alstonia constricta, Eremocitrus glaucaand Atalaya hemiglauca, because of their deep root
system and their ability to shoot from severed roots(Anderson 1984).
There is often a long-term decline in productivity asthe time since initial clearing and development
increases (Graham et al. 1981). Long-term
monoculture of grains leads to decline in yields and
grain protein content, with the rate of declinedepending on soil type (Dalal & Mayer 1996). This
occurs on naturally open clay soils as well as
cleared loam and clay soils. In part, this is due to the
high nutrient conditions that prevail in the first few
years after initial development. However, continualcropping will reduce soil organic matter, particularly
in light textured soils (Graham et al. 1981, Dalal &
Mayer 1996) and result in lower crop yields withoutthe input of fertilisers or ley pasture rotation.
High-value horticultural crops may require some
form of protection from wind, but this is usually
provided by planted windbreaks, rather than
natural vegetation. The use of shelter strips incropping systems is uncommon in Queensland, and
observations indicate that native vegetation on the
margins of cropped areas generally decreases crop
height, and presumably yield, around the perimeterof the cropped areas. This has resulted in many
cropping paddocks having any buffer strips of trees
removed. While this may have reduced the
competition with the crops, it may also haveresulted in loss of the benefits of having retained
trees (e.g. windbreaks).
Windbreaks can be particularly important in high-
value crops, where the physical damage due to
wind can be a source of serious production losses(Snell & Brooks 1999). Windbreaks may also help
control spray drift, which is becoming anincreasing concern where insecticides are used on
cotton farms adjoining beef production areas. Innorth Queensland the growth, morphology and
yield of maize, potatoes and peanuts were
measured over a four-year period at increasing80
Direct management of saline areas
In southern Australia, it is acknowledged that in
many catchments that are affected by salinity, totalremediation will not occur, and opportunities for
the productive use of saline land and water need to
be considered. Considerable efforts have been
directed toward improving the productive capabilityof saline lands, with vegetation such as grasses and
shrubs for grazing, and the use of trees and shrubsfor other wood and non-wood products (Barson &
Barrett-Lennard 1995; Marcar et al. 1995; House etal. 1998). Considerable effort has also been devoted
to determining suitable species to plant in saline
areas, particularly those that offer a production
benefit. The Queensland Forestry ResearchInstitute, in field trials, has tested the performance
of individual tree species for a range of salinity
classes and, subsequently, provided a guide to the
suitability, planting and management of thesespecies (House et al. 1998). Successful trials of a
number of native and exotic salt-tolerant forageplants for summer rainfall areas are summarised in
Fisher and Skerman (1986).
Various combinations of pasture and trees,particularly fodder trees, have been trialled to test
production and salinity management. Clarke et al.
(1998), in modelling revegetation strategies for the
Western Australian wheat belt, demonstrated thatreplacing annual pasture with deep-rooted
perennial pasture, or pristine native vegetation,
prevented the onset of salinity. However, by
combining remnant native vegetation, 60 m spaced
tree belts and deep-rooted perennial pasture(mostly in upper mid-slope bays), the expression of
salinity was reduced to 10% of the cleared area (as
opposed to 40% under the current land use)(Clarke et al. 1998). Alternative industries,
including salt harvesting, aquaculture and solar
ponds, are currently being investigated.
Most authors agree that, at the property level, a
whole-farm approach to salinity management isessential, with consideration of economic and
production issues, which are also consistent with
catchment hydrological behaviour (SalCon 1997;White 1999). By the nature of the hydrologicalimpact of activities that accelerate salinity, the
problems crossover property boundaries.
Consequently, management options are often
more successful where the expression of salinityis localised and only one or a small number of
properties form the ‘at risk’ catchment. Approaches
to dealing with salinity problems and potential
hazards must necessarily consider broader scaleplanning.
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distance from windbreaks (Snell & Brooks 1999).
The results suggest that windbreaks increased yieldof field crops such as potatoes and peanuts.
Increased potato yield was attributed to reduced
wind damage to leaves, while a combination of
lower water stress and leaf damage (during theinitial stages of crop growth) increased peanut
yield. Expected yield increases in high-value crops
(such as potatoes and peanuts) can offset the loss
of productive land on which the windbreak isgrowing, and yield reductions due to tree–crop
competition. Snell and Brooks (1999) suggest the
evidence pointing to reduced leaf damage by wind
can be extended to orchard crops (such asmangoes, avocados, lychees and macadamias),
where fruit quality may be improved by reducing
wind damage in orchards.
In southern Australia, shelter belts, while reducing
crop yields adjacent to the tree line, can lead toincreases in production to a distance of up to 25
tree heights, due to moisture savings, higher CO2,higher soil temperature and less wind damage (Bird
1984). In the temperate climates of the southernStates, pasture and crop yields were increased by
up to 30% in a downwind zone extending to about
ten times windbreak height (Breckwoldt 1986;
Bird 1984).
Recent simulations of crop performance behindwindbreaks by Meinke et al. (in press) used
micrometeorological data collected at Hermitage
(Queensland) and Esperance (Western Australia) to
predict yield improvements in wheat. They
predicted an average yield increase of between 3%and 13% for maximum shelter conditions. The
authors conceded the real impact of natural shelter
will be considerably less given the impossibility ofproviding maximum shelter to a field crop over a
large distance, and that most winds blow obliquely
to the shelter. Further simulations by Carberry et
al. (in press) at 17 sites across Australia predictedan average 10% yield advantage for protection from
winds in any direction, with the largest yield
advantage in Australia expected at Dalby. The
overall conclusion of the simulation experiments
was that for cropping ‘microclimate impacts alonecannot justify the planting or maintenance of tree
windbreaks on farms. Such justification needs to be
the result of a combination of benefits in additionto an expected crop yield increase, for example the
production of saleable wood, protection from
damaging winds, assistance in lowering
watertables, increasing the biodiversity or simplyvaluing the trees for their aesthetic appeal’
(Prinsley 1998).
4.3.2 Animal production
Tree clearing is listed as one of the main reasons
for increased livestock production in Queensland
(Gramshaw & Lloyd 1993). O’Rourke et al. (1992)
provide a detailed analysis of beef productionsystems in Queensland. In a review of the benefits
and problems arising from reducing woody plant
competition with pasture in savanna grazing lands,Burrows (1993), cites the following reasons for
clearing trees:
• improved livestock handling
• improved groundwater supplies• better dietary choice for animals
• improved habitat for some (author’s emphasis)
wildlife
• enhanced augmentation of pastures withlegumes
• the planting of useful fodder trees.
Burrows (1993) also lists the disadvantages of
removing trees and shrubs as:
• loss of browse and drought reserves• increased salinisation in susceptible areas
• increased erosion hazard in susceptible areas
• promotion and growth of undesirable woody
weeds and regrowth• reduced shade and shelter for domestic stock
• a more extreme microclimate• fragmentation of wildlife habitat
• less sequestration of carbon in long-lastingorganisms
• loss of useful timber.
Burrows (1993) notes the justification of tree
clearing must be economic and must allow for
greater production than would be achieved byalternative land-use practices.
Substantial production benefits to graziers have
been demonstrated over most of Queensland with
management of plant populations, especially in
southern and central parts of the State (Burrows1990). There can be financial benefits to individual
landholders, especially in the short-term, arising
from applying woodland management and control
of shrub species (Harrington et al. 1984b; Rolfe1999; Gillard et al. 1989). This has resulted in this
production practice being almost universally
implemented throughout the grazing lands as
evidenced by the high degree of clearing, especiallyin coastal and subcoastal Queensland (DNR 1999b).
In systems grazed by domestic livestock, animal
production is strongly related to the availability ofyoung plant material (e.g. Ash et al. 1982,
McLennan 1988) and controlled by environmentaland plant characteristics. Grazing history, burning
and tree management have a major impact on both
the quantity and quality of pasture production, and
hence on diet quality (Ash et al. 1995). Even inthose cases where management practices like tree
clearing produces more pasture of the same total
quality, animal production may increase due to the
enhanced ability of the domestic animals to select adiet higher in leaf and/or green material.
The whole basis of setting safe stocking rates in
Queensland is based on the principle of safe
utilisation (Wilson et al. 1984; McKeon et al. 1990;
Scanlan et al. 1994; Johnston et al. 1996). Underthis approach, the animal requirements on either 81
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when protected by an efficient wind break. Survival
rates of lambs and sheep were also higher duringextreme conditions (Breckwoldt 1986; Bird et al.
1984). The large increases in sheep production
were due to reduced stress and less energy
expenditure (Lynch & Donnelly 1980; Bird 1998).
Despite the introduction of heat tolerant cattle, mostlandholders see tree retention as desirable at least
for stock shade and shelter. Shade may enable cattleto graze longer during the day and may extend
pasture usage to areas well away from wateringpoints. At least half the calf losses in north-western
Queensland can be attributed to heat stress,
particularly in the first week of life and in calves
born away from shade. Heat stress also reducesfertility (Daly 1984). Dupont (1998) recorded an
average reduction in temperature of 1–2ºC with a
projected foliage cover ranging from 25% to 60% in
19 sites from Warwick to Quilpie. An increase inminimum temperatures was also observed. In areas
prone to frosting, tree retention results intemperatures 2–4ºC warmer than if vegetation had
been cleared (McIvor 1990a). Chilcott (forthcoming)observed a 4.5ºC decrease in summer maximum
temperatures beneath brigalow in central
Queensland compared with temperatures in an
open paddock during summer (December–March)1998. The difference was greater for days where the
temperature in the open was greater than 35ºC,
being 7.2ºC cooler on average. Lack of shade
causes increased lamb mortality in the naturallytreeless Mitchell grass land in north-western
Queensland. It has been reported that the provisionof shade during the last weeks of pregnancy and
during the lambing period increases lamb markingby 20% (Roberts 1984). Shade is required from an
animal welfare perspective as well as from animal
performance (e.g. Daly 1984).
In a study in the New England tablelands in New
South Wales, Reid et al. (in press) compared openfertilised paddocks, to treed, fertilised paddocks
and showed that there were significant gains in
sheep production with the presence of trees. Treed
paddocks had 34% more sheep, which grazed
more (and were heavier) and thus the paddocksustained a grazing rate 42% higher. As a
consequence, the paddocks cut 32% more wool,
the wool was of a higher quality and the paddockreturned 55% more income. Shelter from strong,
cold winds is a consideration in parts of southern
Queensland especially for newly shorn sheep.
Beekeepers are an active group in rural Queensland
who have pointed out the necessity to retain treesfor their industry. Some well recognised honey-
producing timbers, for example yellow box
(Eucalyptus melliodora) have largely been cleared insouth-east Queensland (Blake & Roff 1988), whileothers previously considered are under threat of
clearing, for example yapunyah (Eucalyptusochrophloia) in south-west Queensland.
82
an annual or seasonal basis are compared with the
growth over the same period. A number of studieshave shown that annual utilisation rates of 20%
(i.e. 20% of annual growth is actually consumed by
domestic livestock) of native pastures would result
in satisfactory production per head (compared withthe maximum possible from that pasture system in
that environment) and would ensure that pastures
were maintained in good condition. This system
forms the basis of restructuring in the South WestStrategy and has been shown to be appropriate for
the South Burnett and Upper Burdekin areas (Hall
et al. 1998).
Fodder
Retention of native vegetation for the provision of
fodder from trees and shrubs is often quoted as anexample of good management practice. Top fed
species are an important component of grazing
systems in western Queensland (Turner &
McDonald 1993). In Queensland, this applies
primarily to the mulga country ( Acacia aneura) asmulga leaf is an important dietary component
under all conditions, and is extensively used for
drought feeding. However, this has a downside inthat it enables stock to be retained in paddocks
long after the herbaceous species have been
severely grazed. During drought, when herbage and
grasses are absent, many other species such as Acacia stenophylla (belalie) and Acacia shirleyi(lancewood), which otherwise are seldom eaten,
become major components of the diet (Turner &
McDonald 1993). During the initial growth phasefollowing rain, the presence of high stock numbers
can result in severe damage to regrowing pasture
(Harrington et al. 1984a). Thus if livestock are
maintained on pasture during drought by using treefodder species, overgrazing of grasses occurs
following the first rains and long-term pasture
deterioration can occur.
The importance of forage supply on domestic stock
production was emphasised by Harrington et al.(1984a), who said that the two most important
factors in maintaining animal production in
semiarid woodlands of Queensland and New SouthWales were maximising forage potential andcontrolling the biomass of shrubs (for a discussion
on the impact of grazing on vegetation see section
4.1.4). Animal production was lower in areas with
a dense woody layer because of increasedpredation losses due to harboured predators,
especially feral pigs, and increased losses from
flystrike because of the difficulty of carrying out
complete musters under these conditions.
Benefits from tree retention
Livestock and crop production can be increased byusing remnant vegetation for shade and shelter in
some environments. In northern New South Wales,
wool production increased by up to 31% and sheep
were on average 6 kilograms per head heavier,
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4.3.3 Pasture production
Approximately 87% (173 000 000 ha) of
Queensland is covered by native pastures (Westonet al. 1981). There are about 60 000 000 ha of
grazed woodland communities (Burrows et al.
1988b) and about 16 000 000 ha of national parks,
State forests and timber reserves which supportmoderate to dense woodland or forest cover. The
original cover of forests, woodlands and shrublandsin the State is estimated to have been about
100 000 000 ha (Burrows et al. 1988a). Apart frommulga, the shrubby dominants in these
communities are generally not palatable to
domestic livestock.
Non-leguminous trees and shrubs normally
decrease pasture production within their projectedtree canopies and beyond (House & Hall 1999).
Documentation of higher pasture production in
open areas compared with woodlands of
Queensland include Eucalyptus crebra in north
Queensland (Gillard 1979; Gardener et al. 1990;McIvor & Gardener 1995); Eucalyptus spp. in central
Queensland (Walker et al. 1986; Scanlan & Burrows
1990); Acacia harpophylla in central Queensland(Scanlan 1991); Eucalyptus populnea (Walker et al.
1972) Callitris columellaris (Wells 1974) in southern
Queensland; and Acacia aneura (Beale 1973) in
south-western Queensland. Shrub species that havealso been reported as decreasing pasture production
include Acacia nilotica in north-west Queensland
(Burrows et al. 1990); Eremophila mitchellii in Central
Queensland (Scanlan 1991); and Eremophila gilesii in
south-western Queensland (Burrows et al. 1990).Dodonaea viscosa and Cassia nemophila in north-
western New South Wales also show similar trends
to shrubs in Queensland (Noble 1997b).
Detailed field experiments in the Charleville (Beale1973), Dirranbandi (Walker et al. 1972),
Mundubbera (Tothill 1983), Gympie (Walker et al.
1986), Dingo (W. H. Burrows 25 April 2000, pers.
comm.), Duaringa (Scanlan & Burrows 1990) andCharters Towers (McIvor & Gardener 1995) districts
have demonstrated that initial pasture production is
improved two- to four-fold when woody plantcompetition is removed from grazing lands (seefigure 4.8). These studies are generally conducted
over 5–10 years in southern and central parts of
Queensland. Much less is known about longevity of
responses in poorer areas such as those describedby Rae (1990). Some studies have indicated that
planting exotic pasture species may be more
economic than tree clearing (Gillard et al. 1989).
Safe stock-carrying capacity on treated areas can
be increased proportionately while still retainingthe same utilisation. Alternatively, the increased
pasture gives the landholder the flexibility to loweroverall property grazing pressure and so improve
individual animal performance. Increases of two tothreefold are recorded in cattle liveweight gain per
hectare after removal of eucalyptus species 83
competition (Tothill 1983; Rae 1990). The extra
pasture may also lower the risk of soil erosion (by
increasing ground cover), provided the overallutilisation levels (pasture eaten as a proportion of
pasture grown) are reduced. McIvor and Gardener
(1995) conducted a study on the effect of pasture
management options (including stocking rate) onyield and botanical composition of pastures.
Basically, they found that legume-based pastures
have a higher carrying capacity and support higher
annual growth rates than native pastures. However,productive native pastures that are predominantly
perennial grass could be maintained, providing
stocking rates were not excessive
(<0.2–0.25 steers/ha), so fewer destocking periodswould be required. Killing trees to increase herbage
production can increase carrying capacity of native
pasture and plots with live trees required
destocking for longer periods. Thus clearing mayincrease livestock numbers per unit area, but
decrease the impact of those animals on pasture.
However, when extensive clearing is undertaken,
consideration must be given to potential problemswith salinity, loss of habitat for wildlife, regrowth
and costs of clearing.The relative decrease in pasture production due to
the presence of trees is greatest in semiarid regions(Walker et al. 1972; Beale 1973). In mulga areas, a
tree basal area of only 1 m2/ha reduced pasture
yields by 50% (Beale 1973). In central Queensland,
Scanlan and Burrows (1990) showed that theimpact of trees on production was greatest in areas
with lower potential. In central Queensland, a
reduction in pasture production of 50% occurred at
5 to 15 m2/ha, depending on fertility (Scanlan &Burrows 1990; Walker et al. 1986). In the tropics,
soil fertility is relatively low, soil moistureavailability during the growing period is generally
high and the tree density is generally lower than insouthern parts of the State (Mott & Tothill 1984;
Holmes & Mott 1993). Under these circumstances,
G r a s s y e i l d ( k g / h a )
Narrowleaf ironbark—dry
Silver-leaf ironbark
Narrow-leaf ironbark—wet
Poplar box
1500
00 5 10 20
Tree basal area (m2/ha)
2500
1000
2000
500
15
2000
Figure 4.8 Relationship between tree basal area and grassyield in eucalypt woodlands of central Queensland. Providedby J. C. Scanlan, based on Scanlan & Burrows (1990).
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temperature, humidity, soil physical and chemical
properties, and infiltration properties of the soil.The tree also has competitive effects on the
understorey due to light interception, rainfall
interception, and soil, water and nutrient usage.
What is observed around and individual tree is thenet result of the counteracting effects. By
considering the relative strength of these
counteracting effects, the landscape-level
consequences of increasing tree density can besimulated. If the net result is a decrease in
understorey production due to the presence of a
tree, the landscape-level response is that there is a
negative concave relationship between understoreyproduction and tree basal area. This is the
commonly observed situation in most eucalypt
communities in Queensland. If the net result is
increased understorey production, the landscape-level response is an initial increase in understorey
production as tree basal area increases, followed by
a decline in production. At high tree basal area
values, the understorey production is less than theproduction in the absence of trees. The reason for
this is that the stimulation of understorey
production reaches a maximum (e.g. the maximum
possible nutrient-use efficiency) and the addition ofmore trees cannot increase production any more.
However, the competitive effect of trees (e.g. water
use) continues to increase. The overall effect is that
understorey production decreases from themaximum as tree basal area increases.
Trees generate islands of increased fertility beneath
their canopy (Scholes & Archer 1997), with thedegree of soil change related to the period that
trees have occupied the site. In some countries,human activity has caused woody composition
changes e.g. in Africa, areas of human inhabitation
during the Iron Age now support a woody
vegetation that is quite distinct from surroundingareas (Blackmore et al. 1990).
There are several important situations where trees
have been reported as improving pasture growth.
Christie (1975) noted that only 6% of an area was
covered by the canopies of individual Eucalyptus
populnea in central-western Queensland, but thatthis area produced about one quarter of the total
pasture growth if sown to buffel grass. Lowry
(1989) also noted increased growth beneath Ziziphus mauritiana in north Queensland, while
Cameron et al. (1989) claimed no effect of young
Eucalyptus grandis trees soon after establishment on
growth of setaria-based pasture. Where trees areplanted in existing cleared areas, there is often no
effect of these trees or even a slight improvement.
At least part of this is associated with the
disturbance and/or fertilisation of the young trees.When these trees increase in size (i.e. are no longer
seedlings), the competition they exert on pastures
increases (Cameron 1990). Some interesting results
are being obtained in areas where regrowth is beingleft in narrow strips during blade ploughing
trees appear to have less effect on pasture
production in north Queensland (Scanlan & McKeon1993). McIvor and Gardener (1995) reported large
increases in pasture production on fertile clay soils
in north Queensland for 12 years following the
removal of trees during a period of both belowaverage and above average rainfall years.
Moisture competition is the most often cited reason
for reduced growth of pastures within woodlands,and therefore Mott and Tothill (1984) suggest that
trees will have relatively less effect in areas wherethere are fewer dry periods (soil–water stress
conditions) during the growing season. Recent
simulations using GRASP (McKeon et al.1990) have
indicated that rainfall distribution and soil depthhave a large impact on the degree of competition
between pastures and trees (Scanlan & McKeon
1993). Arguably nutrient competition is also vitally
important and should be considered in anydiscussion of tree–grass interactions. The two
factors are very closely linked, as trees take upnutrients in the transpiration stream. The relative
contributions of these two factors can be examinedin models. However, the construction and
assumptions of models can have an impact on the
relative importance of these factors. See House et
al. (forthcoming) for a comparison of four modelsof tree–grass interactions.
An associated factor is that the total tree basal area
tends to be lower in northern parts of the State
than it is in comparable areas to the south. This
has been attributed to: the length of the dry season
causing mortality of young trees, leading to asparse woodland; and/or the widespread use or
occurrence of fire in tropical woodlands. Recent12C/13C ratio work suggests that the woodlands ofnorth Queensland were previously much more open
than at present (Burrows et al. 1998). The
reduction in fire frequency observed since the
1960s will tend to reinforce any long-term increasein density of these woodlands. However, Fensham
and Holman (1999) consider whether the fluxes in
woodland density are caused by a change in the
fire regime, normal climatic cycles, changes in
cattle grazing (hence changes in the proportion ofwood and grass) or to carbon dioxide fertilisation
(see section 3.3).
Individual trees can have a variety of impacts on
pasture growth beneath their canopy and beyond(Belsky et al. 1989; Belsky et al. 1993). These
effects vary from net increase, to no effect, to net
decrease (Scanlan 1992). When considering the
effect of trees at a landscape or paddock level,there are a corresponding variety of relationships
that would be expected. Simulations from a model
developed by Scanlan (1992) include the conceptsof the stimulatory and competitive effect of treesand produce the relationships shown in figure 4.9.
An individual tree produces some stimulation
effects on understorey species due to altered84
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85
operations (C. Chilcott 2000, pers. comm.,
12 January). In these areas, it will be important toseparate the direct effect of trees, the effects of the
disturbance during the ploughing operation and the
indirect effects of any management actions. It willalso be interesting to note any changes that may
occur as the regrowth increases in age and size
and requires more water and nutrients for growth.
Higher biomass yields under tree canopies than in
the open have been reported for Panicum maximum(Kennard & Walker 1973; East & Feller 1993) and
buffel grass (Christie 1975; Shanker et al. 1976). In
Africa, Stuart-Hill et al. (1987) believed that the
shade of the canopy and leaf litter compensated forboth reduced rainfall beneath trees and soil moisture
competition, so that the net effect was enhanced
grass production. Also in Africa, Belsky et al. (1989,
1993) found that increased herbaceous-layerproduction beneath canopies was associated with
lower soil temperatures and greater soil fertility.
It is undeniable that in most situations tree clearing
promotes increases in livestock production;however, the long-term effects (both on- and off-
farm) may not be apparent. The presence of
canopy cover can result in apparent lower levels ofpasture biomass, but this may not equate to loweranimal production (Walpole, 1999; Chilcott et al.
1997). Few studies have considered that shifts in
species composition towards more productive
grasses (higher digestibility and protein) may beinduced by trees. Canopy cover afforded by trees
reduces soil and air temperature, lowers
temperature extremes and reduces
evapotranspiration (Lynch & Donnelly 1980; Birdet al. 1984; Young 1989; Dupont 1998). The lower
light environment and increased soil fertility can
lead to shifts towards more productive species inthe composition of the herbaceous layer. Higherlevels of woody litter beneath trees may also act as
a physical barrier to growth of large tufted grasses,
to favour more prostrate, smaller grasses and herbs
(Chilcott et al. 1997). This was shown
experimentally where more favourable (higherprotein) grasses were found beneath trees when
compared to interspaces on similar soils in
eucalyptus woodlands in the Northern Tablelands
of New South Wales (Chilcott 2000).
Little is known of the effect of trees on understoreyplant nutrients or on plant digestibility. Reductions
in soil and air temperature through shading havebeen shown to increase growth and nitrogen uptake
of rundown, green panic pasture on brigalow claysoils (Wilson et al. 1986). Minson (1990) has
shown experimentally that grass quality (e.g.
digestibility) increases when temperature
decreases, while Wilson and Wild (1991) showshade effects on the nitrogen content of pastures.
Dupont (1998) found that 25% foliage projective
cover reduced air temperature by 1.30C across
central Queensland. This could lead to an increasein grass digestibility of 1.3% and protein by 0.3%,
which could equate to an increase in liveweightgain of approximately 30 kg/year (based on the
equations of Hendricksen et al. 1982).
Tree–grass interaction may vary with tree age andclimatic fluctuation. Therefore trees may have net
facilitative effect on grasses in some years and a
net competitive effect in other years (Scholes &
Archer 1997). Current tree–grass competitionmodels do not account for this, although the
capacity to predict variation in seasonal conditions
does exist. Predictions in GRASSMAN (Scanlan &
McKeon 1993) that estimate the impacts on grass
and animal production do not account for anygrass quality variation between wooded and
un-wooded systems. Further, benefits to animal
production from shade and shelter are notaccounted for, nor is the value of retaining timber
for harvesting and other environmental services.
Apart from increased animal production, advantages
from clearing woodlands and associated
management for livestock may include: lower overallgrazing pressure (lower stock numbers per unit of
forage produced); improved livestock handling
(Harrington et al. 1984a); and improved conditionsfor some wildlife, for example, kangaroos arebelieved to have increased since European settlement
(Newsome 1975; Poole 1978). There have been
substantial increases in pasture biomass production
from the introduction of exotic pasture species intocleared areas—especially cleared Acacia spp. scrubs
(brigalow, gidgee and blackwood).
4.3.4 Improved pastures
Native pastures occupy most of northern Australia’s
land area offering forage and protection against
erosion (Gramshaw & Lloyd 1993). Native grassesare suitable for extensive low cost production butmay be used in conjunction with another source of
feed to enable animals to meet increasingly strict
market specifications (Gramshaw 1995). In some
P a s t u r e p r o d u c t i o n ( k g / h a )
1500
0 0 10 20 50
Tree basal area (m2/ha)
1000
2500
500
30 40
2000
Figure 4.9 The herbaceous production (relative to that inopen areas) in simulated tree communities in which isolatedtrees have a net stimulatory effect (top line), no net effect(middle line) and a net competitive effect (bottom line).Adapted from Scanlan (1992). Note that at high tree basalareas, herbaceous production is reduced even whereindividual isolated trees would stimulate production underand near its canopy (top line).
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potential for expansion of these systems. They have
the added advantage of restoring most of theecosystem processes to levels analogous to those
originally in place in the original brigalow
community. Although it should be noted that
because they are expected to become naturalisedand self-sustaining populations under grazing
pressure, leucaena, as with other introduced
grass–legume pastures, is susceptible to becoming
weedy (Low 1999). While this is desirable forproduction purposes, it can have implications for
non-production areas (see also section 4.2.2).
Investigations have been made into planting
individual or scattered ‘useful’ trees such as Indian
siris ( Albizia lebbeck) into pasture land. Fodder treeslike these have potential for improving quality (e.g.
Lowry 1989). However, the scale of feasible
planting is limited and care must be taken to
protect individual young trees from stock or fire.
Augmenting native grasses with legumes
Cattle on native pastures grow rapidly in earlysummer for 2–4 months, until the grass starts to
flower or exhausts the available nitrogen in the soil
(McLennan et al. 1988). Thereafter, feed quality
declines rapidly and cattle frequently lose weightduring the winter. The animals’ diet can be
improved with protein-rich leaf from forage
legumes that may be oversown into the existing
native pasture after a fire (Miller et al. 1988).
The existing native pasture often occurs with intactwoodland in the north of the State, and where trees
have been thinned or removed in the south. Gillardet al. (1989) suggested that augmenting native
pasture with a legume was likely to produce greaterfinancial gains than tree clearing in north
Queensland. Cook and Grimes (1977) reported that
trees have a relatively minor impact on the
establishment and yield of introduced pasturespecies. By contrast, Cook and Ratcliff (1992)
showed that live trees depressed the establishment
of siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum) in south-east
Queensland.
Unlike the phosphorus-demanding temperatelegumes (Trifolium and Medicago species) used in the
southern states, those sown in the tropics and
subtropics are hardy species (especially Stylosanthesspp.) that can produce and persist in soils of low Pstatus (Partridge & Miller 1991). While they will
respond to the application of superphosphate, this
is rarely economical, and the cattle obtain the
mineral directly from supplements (McCosker &Winks 1994). Because the general fertility and
stocking rates are lower than in the south,
production of nitrous oxide by the legume is lower,
and less fertility is transferred to cattle camps undershade trees.
Nitrogen fixation by the legumes’ root nodule
bacteria can make soils more acid, especially on
light soils (Noble et al. 1998). This effect is likely to
regions, climate or soil are adequate for an
improved pasture based on replacement of theexisting species or augmentation with a legume
(e.g. McIvor et al. 1991).
Replacing species
GrassesIntroduced grasses generally need reasonable soil
fertility to persist, and the soil must be cultivated to
remove existing competition for satisfactoryestablishment (Partridge et al. 1994). This
competition would come from a dense tree
overstorey, for example, in the brigalow ( Acaciaharpophylla) lands or rainforest (DPI 1976), or from
established perennial native grasses, for example
black speargrass (Hacker et al. 1982).
Introduced grasses are planted in fertile soils, as in
the brigalow lands, or in soils of lower fertility butwith higher rainfall. In the latter case, high stocking
rates can be used to justify fertilising (Mott &
Tothill 1984). Historically, rainforest and softwoodscrub were cleared to establish oversown pasturesfor dairy production, as in coastal lands or on the
Atherton Tableland.
Similarly, most of the State’s brigalow lands have
been cleared, and introduced pastures such as
buffel grass, Rhodes grass and green panic sowninto the tree ash after a fire (Johnson 1964; DPI
1976). Following clearing, an influx of brigalow
regrowth can impact on pasture growth and may
make cattle management difficult (Anderson et al.1984). Most brigalow regrowth can now be
controlled by blade ploughing (Scanlan & Anderson1981). This has the added advantage of disturbing
the soil to release nitrogen and restore fertilitywhile allowing new pasture seed to be sown (e.g.
Blacket & Thompson 1992).
LegumesOn brigalow lands, soils have remained fertile
enough to maintain production of pure grasspastures even though at a reduced level (Graham et
al. 1981). Nitrogen run-down can be alleviated
temporarily with soil disturbance (Robbins et al.
1986), or more permanently, by sowing a legumeable to tolerate the heavier soils.
A more recent approach has been to replace the
original brigalow species that is unpalatable to
domestic livestock, with a productive palatable
species (Leucaena leucocephala subsp. globata).Leucaena is a tall shrub or small tree with foliage of
exceptional quality; its deep root system allows
green leaf to grow into the dry season, long after
the shallow-rooted grasses have ceased growing(Wildin 1986; Partridge 1989). Tens of thousands of
hectares of leucaena have been planted in rows in
brigalow and downs country in central Queenslandto provide one of the most productive grazingsystems in the State (Gramshaw & Lloyd 1993;
Pengelly & Conway 2000). There is considerable
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87
be most serious in legume-dominant paddocks and
least serious in unfertilised and grazedgrass–legume paddocks. Noble et al. (1998)
reported decreases in pH under Leucaena spp. over
a 20-year period, but the decrease was not as great
as that in nitrogen-fertilised pastures.
Coates et al. (1997) demonstrated a markedpreference by cattle for green grass in pastures
oversown with Stylosanthes spp. during the wetseason. They also demonstrated that while
increases in stocking rate (without loss of animalcondition) could be made on those oversown
pastures in some cases, (depending on initial
stocking rates), excessive pressure may be placed
on perennial grasses where the species (such asnative tussock grass) are not tolerant of heavy
grazing pressure. The loss of perennial grass invites
ecological instability and increases the risk of soil
erosion (Mott & Tothill 1984). The grass–legumebalance is influenced by management (McIvor &
Gardener 1998) such as the rate of stocking, use offire, fertiliser application and timber treatment.
4.3.5 Regrowth management
The method of clearing and the regenerative
mechanisms of cleared vegetation will influence the
consequences of clearing.
Acacia harpophylla is a vegetative reproducer, andthe most common method of initial clearing is by
pulling a chain between two bulldozers (Johnson
1964; Scanlan 1988). This snaps most plants off at
ground level (unless the soil was very moist)
resulting in regrowth from roots or broken-offstumps. If the initial clearing includes a ploughing
operation that kills most of the original plants, then
there is little regeneration in the future aspropagation from seed is uncommon among these
plants (Johnson 1964; DPI 1976).
Within eucalyptus communities, a common method
of tree treatment is to kill individual trees with stem
injection of a picloram-based aboricide (Scanlan1988; Robertson & Beeston 1981). This allows for
selective treatment and retention of desirable trees.
The understorey population of seedlings and multi-stemmed suckers are left untouched. Under thesecircumstances, there can be considerable growth of
these previously suppressed plants (see figure 4.10).
This may require a follow-up treatment on a regular
(10–15 year) basis to maintain pasture production(Burrows et al. 1988a). Increased use of chaining in
these communities can lead to rapid regrowth as
few, if any, plants are actually killed during the
chaining operation (Anderson et al. 1983).
The mulga lands of south-western Queensland area case where disturbance by grazing, mainly by
sheep, with some cattle, a period of rabbitinfestation, and a lack of regular fires have resulted
in a landscape that is becoming increasinglydominated by understorey shrubs (Burrows et al.
1985; Howden et al. 1999).
Any increase in woody plant density and biomass
in woodlands is potentially detrimental in pastoralproduction terms. This increase can arise from
‘disturbance’ to the ground layer in uncleared
woodlands, leading to an increased density
(‘thickening up’) of existing populations (Burrows etal. 1997); regeneration from seedlings and/or root
suckers, following mechanical or chemical control
of overstorey plants (Anderson et al. 1984); and
invasion of existing areas by native or exoticspecies which did not occur there naturally
(Scanlan 1988; Robertson & Beeston 1981;
Harrington 1979). Such increases in woody plant
cover alter the structure and functioning ofecosystems, for both production and conservation.
N u m b e r / h a
150
00 25 35
Size
50
200
55 65
100
4515S MS 5
Figure 4.10 Size class distribution (basal diameter cm) for aeucalypt woodland in central Queensland. (S=seedling;MS=multi-stemmed plant). Source: J. S. Scanlan.
Average basal area growth rates of 0.135 m2/ha/yr
in intact eucalypt woodlands (Burrows 1995) wouldhave little additional depressant effect on
understorey pasture production as it is already
greatly reduced by mature tree competition (see
figure 4.9 for greater than 10 m2/ha). Conversely,regrowth rates following tractor pulling
(0.46 m2/ha/yr for poplar box) can reduce pasture
production by 50% within 11 years (figure 4.11).
Untreated brigalow suckers can reduce pastureproduction to negligible amounts within 5 years of
pulling when tree basal area approaches 2m2/ha
(Scanlan 1984—figure 4.12).
The reduction in pasture production per unit of
regrowth tree basal area is greater than per unit ofmature tree basal area. This is related to tree
allometry, where more leaf is supported per unit of
tree basal area for small trees than for larger trees
(Scanlan 1991). The amount of tree leaf is directlyrelated to sapwood basal area—the cross-sectional
area of tree stems that is directly involved in
conducting water to the leaves. As trees mature,
the proportion of tree basal area made up ofsapwood decreases.
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88
G r a s s y i e l d ( k g / h a )
L o s
s o f p a s t u r e ( % o
f o p e n a r e a s )
4000
00 4
Tree basal area (m2/ha)
1000
5000
10620
20
40
60
80
100
% of open areas
pasture yield
2000
3000
8
Figure 4.12 Tree–grass relationships in brigalow regrowth ona clay–loam surfaced duplex near Theodore, Queensland.Data from Scanlan (1991).
G r a s s y i e l d ( k g / h a )
L o s s o
f p a s t u r e ( % o
f o p e n a r e a s )
1500
Tree basal area (m2/ha)
500
2000
1000
% of open areas
pasture yield
00 10 20155
0
20
40
60
80
100
Figure 4.11 Tree–grass relationships in mature woodlands incentral Queensland. Data for poplar box from Scanlan andMcKeon (1990).
4.3.6 Fire
Most vegetation communities in Queensland
experienced regular fires prior to the establishmentof a grazing industry, due to lightning strikes and
use of fire by Aboriginal people (Kimber 1983).
Bowman (1998) provides a good review on
evidence of Indigenous burning). Rainforests, andsome arid community types, would have been the
exceptions, but even in these cases, historically,high-intensity fires would have occurred
infrequently (Harrington et al. 1984b). Fire differsfrom many other environmental stresses in that it
can occur infrequently (e.g. 5–50 years apart) and
irregularly, for only a short period, is self-
propagating, and can also kill all above-groundparts of a plant. Fire has an effect on plant ecology,
the extent of which depends on fire intensity,
frequency and the season of occurrence. Individual
species may be adapted to particular combinationsof these three variables (fire regimes). The
interaction between an adaptive trait and a regimemay facilitate survival or reproduction (Gill 1975).
Fire is valued in different ways by the community.Scientists may be concerned with its effect on the
ecosystem, whereas the recreationist may be
concerned with amenity.
Fire can be a useful management tool in grazing
lands. Demonstrated benefits include:
• An increase in liveweight of stock of 0.3 kg/hacan be obtained initially after burning. This gain
may be lost later in the growing period as the
burnt pasture matures, resulting in a lowerdifference in liveweight gains between burnt andunburnt pasture overall (Ash et al. 1982).
• Determining pasture composition: it has been
long recognised that the black speargrass lands
of coastal and subcoastal Queensland are
encouraged or maintained by burning (Tothill1971). Recent studies by Orr and Paton (1997)
have shown the importance of the combination
of burning and grazing to the restoration of
species composition from Aristida- to Heteropogoncontortus-dominant pasture.
• Reducing the impact of native and exotic woody
shrubs and plants: these plants may be killed by
burning , for example, rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) (Vitelli 1992; Bebawi et al. 2000;Grice 1997) or scorched or burnt to ground level
by fire—most eucalyptus species (Scanlan 1988).
Landholders’ attitude to the use of fire as a
management tool changes over time, and varies
with vegetation community type. This has beennoted as follows:
• In semiarid areas, the standing fodder is
regarded as a ‘bank’ of forage, which can beconsumed until the next growth period (Partridge
1999). This attitude prevails even on propertieslarge enough to allow for a burning regime to be
implemented with little risk. There is a
reluctance to burn this forage as this could
impose ‘drought conditions’ if rain during thenext ‘growing season’ is minimal. A related
concern is that in some areas, once a fire hasstarted, it can be very difficult to stop. Both these
issues are a major factor in the Mitchell Grass
Downs communities of western Queensland
(Scanlan 1980). Furthermore, in the more aridlandscapes, the long-term effects of fire are
uncertain and it is believed fire could adversely
affect some vegetation communities (Turner &
McDonald 1993).
• In tropical parts of the State, where rainfall ismore reliable, burning is still a common feature
of property management (Partridge 1999).
Pasture growth is rapid and nutrient levels of
soils are often low and these combine to produce
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bulky, low quality feed for stock. Fire removes
the large bulk of dry matter and allows easieraccess to green feed.
• In coastal and subcoastal parts of the State, the
attitude to fire has changed considerably since
the 1960s. Prior to that period, fire was used
extensively to remove dry forage of low qualityallowing access to green feed; and to help
control ticks; to help keep regrowth in check(Mott & Tothill 1984). With the advent of
brahman-infused livestock and supplements, dryforage became a useable resource and the
frequency of burning decreased. A direct
consequence of this has been the increase in
density and size of native species that werepreviously controlled by regular burning regimes
(Anderson et al. 1988). An associated
consequence has been the increased survival of
cattle with increased body weight leading toincreased demand for dry matter (McKeon et al.
1990). This increases pasture usage, therebydecreasing the opportunity to burn off, even
when the landholder is not averse to using fire.
4.3.7 Timber production and farmforestry
Maintenance of a supply of useable timber is aconcern to many landholders in Queensland. Many
millions of tonnes of timber were burned during the
time of the Brigalow Development Scheme in central
Queensland, because at that time there was nocommercial use for the timber (Johnson 1964). The
same situation exists with much of the clearing ofeucalypt woodlands at present. The benefit of
retaining and managing native vegetation for itstimber and other commercial values is only now
beginning to be realised. Farm forestry has been
defined as ‘the growth and management of trees onfarms, as part of the farm enterprise, for the purpose
of producing wood and/or non-wood products’
(NAFI 1997). Farm forestry includes wood and non-
wood production from both native forests andplantations and offers a commercial incentive for the
sustainable management of this vegetation (Greening
Australia 1996). Investment in farm forestry hasbeen projected to provide a significant boost toregional economies. For example, in Victoria,
modelling studies estimated that farm forestry would
increase regional income by 4.8%, or $302 million,
and create 5748 new jobs (RIRDC 1998).
Based on the National Forest Policy definition of‘forest’7, Queensland has around 49 000 000 ha of
native forest, or 28% of the State’s total land area.
The vast majority of this area is in some way
managed by the private sector, where 49% is
private leasehold and 35% is privately owned. Theremainder of the State’s forest is about 8% public
forests that are managed for timber production, 6%
within conservation reserves, and 2% is otherCrown land (DPIE 1998a).
89
For timber management purposes, most
commercial native forests may be simply classifiedas wet or dry sclerophyll eucalypt or and cypress
pine forest (Taylor & Nester 2000). The commercial
log productivity of these forests ranges from less
than 1 m3/ha/yr for most cypress and drysclerophyll forest types, to more than 3 m3/ha/yr in
wet sclerophyll forests (Taylor & Nester 2000).
Across all private native forests this productivity
has a recorded yield of about 200 000 m3/year(Parsons 1999). This has declined from a peak of
about 600 000 m3/year since 1950 (Parson 1999).
Appropriate silvicultural treatment provides the
opportunity to increase the productivity rates in allforest types (Henry, in Taylor & Nester 2000). New
perspectives on commerciality, markets and
productivity are emerging as non-traditional
owners of wood and non-wood resources,particularly in western Queensland, begin to
develop new markets and products (Fairbairn
2000). The aim of the Western Queensland
Hardwoods project is to develop a new resourcefrom an area of native vegetation previously
regarded as having a lesser value.
The production of millable timber tends to
dominate discussions on forest management,
however, a substantial volume of other wood fibreproducts is harvested such as: sleepers, power
poles, landscape timbers, firewood, fencing timbers
and woodturning timbers (see Taylor (1994) for a
general coverage of forestry in Queensland, andsection 4.3.8 Alternative products). A significant
operation also revolves around honey productionand the flower, gumnut and leaf markets (Anderson
1993). For example, in the 111 000 ha of the DPIForestry Beerburrum district, foliage harvesting
licences return approximately $100 000 per annum
and the 523 registered apiary sites generate over
$27 000 annually. All of these products requireplanning for their sustainable use and management
to maximise grower returns. The use of farm timber
for fencing, yard building and other infrastructure
is an important use for tree products. Thisimportance is recognised in the Land Act 1994 (Qld)
(and its predecessor), where timber forconstruction purposes is regarded separately in
terms of the permit application process forleasehold land.
The wet/dry sclerophyll forest distinction also
indicates aspects of the ecology of the forest types
that influence native forest silvicultural practices.
These differences in species composition, seedgermination, seedling establishment, presence of
lignotubers, gap-phase behaviour, competition and
fire responses affect selective tree marking,
harvesting operations and stand-managementpractices employed in each forest type (Taylor &
Nester 2000). Early research in these forest types
on Crown land saw the development of ‘silvicultural
systems’ for their sustainable management. These
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Some research has been conducted into
agroforestry (e.g. Cameron et al. 1989), but only asmall area in the State is managed as agroforestry.
In grazing lands, there can be considerable damage
done to young tree saplings and this more than
outweighs the financial benefits of grazing theseareas while trees are young and are having a
relatively small impact on pasture production. Once
trees become large and the tree canopy approaches
closure, pasture production in the understorey isreduced and potential animal production decreases.
Farm forestry and the sustainable management of
native forests are supported at a State and national
level by various policy initiatives and funding
programs. International factors include:
• Global Markets—global market conditions seemto indicate a positive scenario for wood fibre
production (CIE 1997). Australia and Queensland
are both currently significant net importers of
forest products. In 1994–95 Australia’s net deficit
was about $1.7 billion and Queensland’s balancewas $287 million of which 47% was paper and
paper product imports (DPI 1998). In broad
terms, there may be opportunities to supplyinternationally competitively priced products to
meet the domestic demand for a range of
traditional forest products.
• Carbon Trading—there is some expectation that
carbon trading will provide additional income tosome areas of farm forestry with an as yet
indefinite value (Francis 2000). It is also possible,
but less certain, that these benefits will apply to
managed areas of regrowth native forest.
• Montreal Process—As a signatory to theMontreal Process Australia agreed, in 1995, to
adopt the use of a comprehensive framework for
monitoring the conservation and sustainable
management of its native forest (AFFA 1997).The Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management
principles used for this process are embodied in
Queensland in the Code of Practice for Native
Forest Timber Production (DNR 1999c).
systems have been refined over time to produce
‘multiple use’ management objectives. Theseprinciples of management, such as selective
harvesting and silvicultural treatment, have largely
been adopted on private land, however, with
varying results. The simplified aims of private nativeforest managers, of wood production principally,
have led to the development of more intensive
silvicultural regimes. The production of pasture in
association with timber, and landowners’requirements for a more regular income than the
State system delivers, has led to a shorter
harvesting interval and more intensive thinning.
With some selective overstorey removal, possible
regeneration fires and judicious removal of poorstems, the growth rates of selected retained stems
can be improved and hence the return period
shortened. In cypress pine (Callitris glaucophylla)
areas, seedling establishment can be at such adensity that some thinning should be carried out to
ensure that the remaining trees grow and formuseable timber (Johnston 1975). Cypress pine
seedlings may require only a low intensity fire tokill them, as they are particularly susceptible to fire
(Johnston 1987). In other woodland communities,
the unwanted timber may have to be removed by
chemical means in order to reduce competition andallow adequate growth rates. See table 4.5 for
spotted gum (Corymbia citriodora) and cypress pine.
Note that individual tree production is greatest at the
lowest density (widest spacing) but that productionper hectare is greatest at moderate to high tree
densities. Therefore, the appropriate density oftrees to retain will depend on the type of product.
These results show that by effectively managing a
forest, the volume of wood produced on a perhectare basis can be substantially increased. This
increase is then available for harvest to maintain
productivity.
90
Table 4.5 Effect of tree spacing on individual tree growth (dbh—diameter at breast height) and forest growth (volumeincrement per area). Data from Department of Primary Industries Forest Service western experiments.
Spacing regime Cypress pine Cypress pine Spotted gum Spotted gumdbh cm/yr m3/ha/yr dbh cm/yr m3/ha/yr
Unmanaged 0.07 0.17 0.18 0.3
Bulloak removal 0.21 0.87
4 x 4 0.23 2.4
5 x 5 0.27 2.2
6 x 6 0.28 2.0 0.41 0.7
7 x 7 0.31 1.8
8 x 8 0.57 0.710 x 10 0.59 0.5
12 x 12 0.74 0.5
14 x 14 0.83 0.5
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• Certification and Labelling of Forest Products—international pressure is growing for the
development of a certification and labelling
scheme that enables buyers of forest products to
be aware of how the sustainable production of aparticular product is in comparison to other
products on the market (Fortech 1997). These
developments may provide a useful marketing
opportunity for promoting products derived fromsustainably harvested and managed native
forests and plantations.
At a national level, a number of policy documents
may affect the development of farm forestry. In
1992, the Federal, State and Territory governmentssigned the ‘National Forestry Policy Statement—A
new focus for Australia’s forests’. This statement,
which describes a nationally agreed set of objectives
and policies for Australia’s public and privateforests, has been the founding policy document for
the development of farm forestry. Under 11 national
goals with numerous specific objectives, it has setthe development of public and private forests withinthe context of ecologically sustainable development
and recognises the need to develop the forestry and
wood production industry. It has seen the
implementation of the Comprehensive RegionalAssessment process and the development of a
number of Regional Forest Agreements, which aim
to provide resource security for native forest
dependent producers, while ensuring there is anecologically sustainable system of reserves
established (Commonwealth of Australia 1992a).
The South East Queensland Regional ForestAgreement was achieved in 1999. It is expected that
this agreement will promote the rapid expansion ofhardwood plantations in south-east Queensland.
Key elements of the agreement include:
• a transition to plantation forests for hardwood
supply over 25 years• no logging of old growth or wilderness and no
clearfelling
• an end to all logging in Crown native forests in
south-east Queensland by the year 2024• government will facilitate and provide incentives
for ecologically sustainable management of
forests and timber resources on private land.
In contrast to Western Australia, South Australia,
Victoria and southern New South Wales, the focusof plantation farm forestry in Queensland has been
on a range of local native hardwood species rather
than on exotic pine or non-local eucalypt species.
The Queensland Forest Research Institute (QFRI)lists 17 hardwood species for attention in their
Private Plantations Initiative (Lee et al. 2000) and
recent publications advocate the use of a range of
‘best bet’ species (Sewell 1997), most of which arelocally native species. If plantation farm forestry
does become a common land use on suitable
cleared land in rural Queensland using a wide
range of locally native species, this may help in the
partial restoration of threatened ecosystems andthe buffering of remnant vegetation.
Traditionally plantations in Queensland have been
government-owned and funded monoculture
plantings using exotic and native pine species. The
development of landholder-driven farm forestry, thescope of the Private Plantations Initiative (Lee et al.
2000) and expressed landholder preferences(Harrison et al. 1997) for mixed native species
planting, clearly indicate that a significantly largerrange of locally native species are likely to be used
in the future. The broadscale replanting of the
preclearing dominant tree species on cleared land
provides for a partial reintroduction of thevegetation communities of regional ecosystems.
This partial restoration can be enhanced by the use
of an appropriate range of mixed species in the
plantation or a number of small monoculture plotsof different locally endemic species.
The strategic placement of plantations adjacent orclose to remnant vegetation can remove or reduce a
number of the threats to remnant vegetation, such
as reduced edge effects and improved firemanagement. Long, thin or scattered remnants can
effectively be aggregated into much larger, less
vulnerable areas with sympathetically developed
and managed native hardwood plantations. Otherecological threats to remnants, such as weed and
feral animal pests, may not necessarily be reduced
by the proximity of such plantations.
Carr and Jenkins (2000) have presented a
revegetation model that includes plantations andargue that there are a range of compromises which
can be made to capitalise on the multiple benefits
of revegetation activities. Table 4.6 illustrates a
range of common revegetation activities practicedin Australia and shows some of the compromises
which can be made.
Lamb (1997) has identified several opportunities for
broadscale biodiversity restoration with long
rotation sawlog plantations:• use of native species instead of exotic species
• embedding of monoculture plantations in amatrix of intact or restored forest
• use of several species and creation of a mosaicof monocultures across the landscape instead of
a single plantation
• use of species mixtures instead of plantation
monocultures• fostering and management of the diverse
understoreys that often develop below the
canopy of plantations.
These more biologically diverse plantations can
continue to be managed for biodiversity beyond thelife of the first rotation. Management options
include:
• the use of selective harvesting to recover the
plantation cost and then manage for biodiversity91
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• Allowing the dormant understorey species to
grow and join the plantation canopy andmanaging the result as a mixed species forest
• Using the plantation as a means of accelerated
successional development—do not harvest and
manage for biodiversity (Lamb 1997).
While many private native forest areas areprincipally managed for wood, grazing or non-
wood production, there is also the potential for theapplication of ecologically sound remnant
vegetation management principles to maximise theconservation outcomes from the native forest area.
92
Lower establishmentcosts, cheaper fencing,better tree form, higherreturns, easier
management. Usuallylarge area >40 ha
Lower establishmentcosts, cheaper fencing,better tree form, higherreturns, easiermanagement andharvest. Usually largearea >40 ha
1. Exotic speciesplantation on farm (fortimber, fodder, firewoodetc.)
2. Native speciesplantation on farm(for timber, fodder,firewood, cut flowers,foliage, bushfood,oil, etc.)
Positive: greenhouse gasuptake, some habitat value,may reduce recharge ofgroundwater, may intercept
nutrients
Negative: may attract exoticfauna, may displace existingecosystem, temporary,suppressed understorey, weedpotential
Positive: CO2sequestration,
more habitat value thanmodel 1, corridor potential,may reduce recharge andintercept nutrients
Negative: may displace existingecosystem, risk of geneticpollution, temporary
Positive: some shelterand shade, lowestcrop–tree interface
Negative: reducedpasture, changes rurallandscape aesthetics
Positive: somewindbreak and shelterbenefit, lowest crop–treeinterface
Negative: reducedpasture, changes rurallandscape aesthetics
Use native or locallyindigenous speciesWide spacingIncorporate habitat
blocksPlace on cleared ordegraded land
Use locally indigenousspeciesWide spacingUse a mix of speciesPlace on cleared landPlant annually
Timber production maybe reduced, species bestadapted for localconditions, optimummethods applied forgrowth
3. Locally indigenousspecies plantation onfarm (for timber, fodder,firewood, cut flowers,foliage, bushfood, oil,etc.)
Positive: CO2 sequestration,greater habitat value thanmodels 1 and 2, corridorpotential, may reduce rechargeand intercept nutrients
Negative: may displace natural,age-diverse stands, temporary
Positive: somewindbreak and shelterbenefit, lowest crop–treeinterface, blends intorural landscape better
Negative: reducedpasture
Use best performing seedfamilies of localprovenancesPlace on cleared landWide spacing
Positive: quality timberproduction, able to coverlarge areas, lesscompetition betweentrees
Negative: compromise insilviculture (more
thinning and pruning),poorer tree form onedges
4. Timberbelts andshelter belts
Positive: corridor potential(depending on species), CO
2
sequestration, habitat potential,maximum nutrient andgroundwater interception
Negative: may draw wildlifeout of habitat areas, weed or
genetic pollution potential asfor plantations depending onspecies, increased edge effects
Positive: high windbreakand shade effect, utilisesexisting fences, followsnatural and man-madefeatures (creeks,contours, roads), spreadsrisk
Negative: high crop-treeinterface, high fencingcosts
Use temporary electricfencingUse local species forshelter and timber rowsPlant outer rows withshelter speciesChoose species whichcompete less withadjacent pastures andcropsCan have shelter ortimber emphasis
Table 4.6 The effects on commercial revegetation, natural resource conservation and farm enhancement in a range ofrevegetation models and some possible modifications to allow the capture of multiple benefits (Carr & Jenkins, 2000).
Revegetation model Commercial Natural resource Farm Possiblerevegetation conservation enhancement modifications
Positive: existingresource, large logs,lower managementrequirements, noestablishment costs
Negative: slow growthrates, compliance withnative vegetationlegislation, greaterharvesting cost
5. Managed nativeforest
Positive: high habitat andwildlife values, diversity ofspecies, can be managed toimprove biodiversity, forestmanaged, rather than cleared
Negative: management canreduce diversity and habitatvalues, increased fire frequency,spread of weeds throughdisturbance
Positive: blends intoexisting landscape,shelter and shade values,some grazing value
Negative: greater firerisk, pasture competition,potential for regenerationin agricultural productionareas
Remove less treesRetain understoreyManage for wildlifePrune best treesThin to increaseproductionFence out livestock
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4.3.8 Alternative products
Retaining, replanting or rehabilitating native
vegetation may offer ecological and economicbenefits through new crops, diversified agriculture
or alternative products such as:
• timber
• bushfoods
• ecotourism
• oils, gums and resins
• tannins and dyes
• medicinal and pharmaceutical compounds
• bee keeping and honey production• landscape and horticultural materials and
products
• native seed production
• integrated pest management agents
• gene improvement and breeding programs
• cultural and heritage products and services.
The incorporation of native vegetation alternative
products into production systems and practices
may simultaneously provide conservation benefits.
Table 4.7 summarises some of the current andpotential alternative products from nativevegetation. It is by no means exhaustive, but is to
be seen as a starting point.
93
Positive: noestablishment costs—turns a problem into aresource
Negative: no control onspecies, high
management costs, slowgrowth rates (depending
on species), large wastecomponent
6. Managed nativeregeneration
Positive: increased species andage diversity, can be managedfor increased understorey,regrowth managed, rather thancleared
Negative: seedlings not
naturally selected, decreasingtree density may disadvantagesome species of flora and fauna
Positive: can bemanaged for increasedpasture, increased shelteras stands are opened up,reduced clearing costs
Negative: thinnings may
be a fire hazard
Encourage diversityThin for timber orpastureAllow grazingExclude grazingFertilise trees
Positive: fast growthencouraged
Negative: not in optimalareas for timberproduction, pruning andthinning regime may bedifferent
7. Salinity or erosioncontrol planting
Positive: increased biodiversityand habitat, corridor potential
Negative: species variety maybe limited in discharge zones
Positive: cheapcompared withengineering solutions,long-term, slows thedecline of agriculturalland
Use salt tolerant speciesUse commercial speciesCan easily include localshrubs and trees
Positive: best trees canbe pruned for timber,seed source
Negative: slow growthrates, may not beoptimal timber species
Positive: low competitionbetween trees
Negative: high pruningcosts, no competition toforce trees to growstraight
8. Habitat planting
9. Wide-spacedagroforestry
Positive: CO2
sequestration,increase wildlife numbers andresilience, maintain biodiversity,
reverse tree decline, aestheticsNegative: may harbour feralanimals and weeds if notmanaged properly
Positive: CO2
sequestration,nutrient recycling, habitat forsome species
Negative: Poor habitat for mostspecies, relies on exotic species
Positive: Pest control,shelter for pastures,crops and stock,
contributes to stability ofagricultural ecosystems,aesthetics
Positive: highest pasturecomponent of all designs,good stock shade andsome shelter
Negative: high treeprotection costs
Incorporate some localcommercial speciesHarvest logs of high
value speciesManage weeds and feralanimalsSell seed
Utilise select plantingmaterial,Stagger plantingsFence whole paddockuntil trees establish
Table 4.6 Continued.
Revegetation model Commercial Natural resource Farm Possiblerevegetation conservation enhancement modifications
4.4 Other values of native vegetation
4.4.1 Non-value benefits
Benefits from retaining native vegetation clearly fallinto two categories—measurable shorter term
economic benefits to the landholder and the
community, and desirable medium to long-term
benefits that are not easily measured, or impacteither on the farm or beyond the farm gate.
Benefits to the whole of society include aesthetic
and amenity benefits. Little research has examined
these, although efforts to quantify such benefits are
discussed in section 5.2. Implicit to manyarguments for vegetation retention for this purpose,
are discussions on ecotourism (see section 4.3.8).
Section 4.3 examined in detail some of the on-farm
benefits of native vegetation for production,
including income diversification and alternativeproducts. Section 5.2 explores further economic
quantifications of these values. At the property
level, vegetation has a number of other values that
are more difficult to quantify, including ecosystemprocesses (nutrient retention, nutrient cycling, and
the maintenance or enhancement of soil fertility
and biological status; see also section 3.2) and
scenic and amenity values. Implicit in thearguments for retention of native vegetation in
agro-ecosystems, is the need to maintain ecosystem
services. Retention of vegetation provides benefits
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Table 4.7 Alternative products from native vegetation
Product Reference/s and resources Comments and uses
Timber
1) ‘wood’/timber, value-added resources
Forest Facts (2000) WA - CALM
Anderson (1993); Bulman et al. (1998);Fairbairn (1999): Australian NationalUniversity (1998); Sewell (1997)
1) Examples: timber, charcoal, fuelwoodbroombush (Melaleuca uncinata)
2) Specialty timbers 2) Fairbairn (1999) 2) Uses: fine furniture, cabinet making; parquetry flooring;veneering ; musical instrument/s or components ofmusical instruments; carbon-storage potential; decorativewooden objects (such as vases, lamp shades, pens,serviette holders, coasters, wine goblets, platters, bowls,potpourri bowls, wooden toys, canisters and clocks);gun-stocks, knife handles, lidded boxes; wood carvingsmade from western timbers; wood pieces for turning(hobby); architectural fittings and souvenir items
Oils, gums and resins Anderson (1993); Archer (1997); Murtagh(1998); Plummer & Considine (1997)
Essential oils (eg Backhousia citriodora andMelaleuca alternifolia)
Medicinal andpharmaceutical products
1) Herbal Medicines Research and EducationCentre, Sydney
other: Anderson (1993); Parnell (2000);Purbrick (1998)
1) Herbal medicines; anti-cancer drugs;antioxidant-action mechanisms;cardiovascular drugs
FloricultureWildflowersCut flowersFoliage etc.
1) Export Flora Australia2) Flower Export Council of Australia Inc.3) Other: Johnson (1996); KaringalConsultants (1994)Plummer & Considine (1997); Sedgley &Horlock (1998)
1) Australian native plants: products and services2) Fresh and dried native flowers, foliage etc.
Native/bushfood products
1) Bark and cork
2) Leaf
3) Flowers
4) Fruits
5) Nuts
6) Seeds
7) General8) Extracts, spices, foods
and oils
1) Anderson (1993)
2) Anderson (1993); Phelps (1999b)
3) Anderson (1993)
4) Anderson (1993); Flynn (2000) eg riberryPhelps (1999b)
5) Anderson (1993)
6) Anderson (1993); Phelps (1999b)
7) Anderson (1993); Flynn (2000)Graham & Hart (1998)
8) Rayner (2000); McCarthy (1995)Phelps (1999a)
Beekeeping and honeyproduction
Anderson (1993); CAST (1999); Parnell (2000)
Landscaping andhorticultural materials andsources
1) Eg ‘Blue Grass’ Themeda australis var.Mingo (Burke’s Backyard Fact Sheet 2000)
2) Rayner (2000)
1) Native gardens and groundcovers
Cultural and heritageproducts and services
1) Indigenous culture andheritage
2) Farm and home-staybusinesses
3) Historical and landscapeheritage
Schmitt (2000)
Integrated pest management Tilman and Duvick (1999)
Gene improvement, breedingprograms, scientific research
Brown (1997); Tilman & Duvick (1999)
Roadside revegetation,transport and utilitycorridor rehabilitationand revegetation
Brown (1997)
Tourism and ecotourism Industry Sciences Resources (1999)Queensland Tourism and Travel Corporation
(1998); Tilman & Duvick (1999)
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the introduction and spread of exotic species.
However, remaining remnant vegetation can behighly significant.
Management of the tree clearing issue in the south-
east Queensland coastal zone has been a
significant environmental issue for at least the last
decade (Catterall & Kingston 1993). Many parallelscan be drawn between the planning initiatives that
have been developed during the last ten years andthose being considered now in rural environments.
Analysis has shown that, while the south-eastQueensland region has not lost the same absolute
area of land from tree clearing as rural
environments, it has placed a considerable amount
of the region’s biodiversity values at risk and stillthreatens many of the more stable ecosystems,
species and populations that remain (see box 6.2).
Values of vegetation in urban areas can include
shade for public and private recreation areas,
landscape amenity, visual pollution barriers,
catchment protection and control of soil degradation.
for the conservation of biological diversity, for
example, through the provision of habitats absent intreeless landscapes (Chilcott et al. 1997).
The value of property may be enhanced with the
retention of remnant vegetation. Premiums of up to
20% on the value of properties in the central wheat
belt of Western Australia are expected forproperties with elaborate investments in
windbreaks, fodder shrubs and perennial pasturesfor wind erosion and salinisation control (Kubicki et
al. 1993). Similar premiums may be available forproperties with a high proportion of native
vegetation in over-cleared parts of south-eastern
Australia (Reid 1997).
Many desirable aspects of retaining natural
vegetation revolve around benefits to the whole ofsociety as well as to the long-term sustainability
and health of the property itself. In an environment
of economic survival, many landholders make
individual decisions that may be beneficial
(essential) to them in the short-term, but whichmay be disadvantageous on the property and to the
wider community in the longer-term. Salting from
clearing of vegetation in recharge areas resulting inrising watertables and expression of salinity, is an
extreme example in this regard. However,
landholders generally accept that these major
impacts are counter-productive (e.g.VirtualConsulting Group and Griffin nrm 2000).
The maintenance of species diversity (flora and
fauna), achieved by retaining native vegetation, is
highly desirable for bioregions, the community, and
as an essential element of State and nationalobligations. In some cases, landholders consider
that this has limited direct benefit for them
individually, and that, in fact, it may reduce
potential agricultural or grazing productivity in theshort term. Thus there is a perception that there is
little incentive to manage lands for biodiversity
purposes, especially if there is an associated
negative impact on production or management.However, some grazing companies are effectively
working with conservation agencies in a
cooperative, mutually beneficial manner (WimBurggraaf—keynote presentation at KatherineRangeland Conference 1994).
4.4.2 Urban and peri-urban
The primary focus of this review has been on ruralland use and management, but it is important to
note urban and peri-urban uses of vegetation.
Vegetation clearing in urban and peri-urban areas
is still a key threat to the State’s biodiversity. Many
urban areas are developed in highly diverse,productive areas, particularly lowland coastal
areas; and this can have devastating impacts onlocal fauna and flora. Urban development usually
involves complete destruction or high levels ofmodification and fragmentation of vegetation, and
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The following is a summary of the tree-clearing issue in Brisbane City over the past 100 years.
• Initial clearing of the central city and inner suburban area, followed by clearing of patches of rainforestalong the Brisbane River and waterways, for timber extraction and for agricultural purposes was mostly
complete by the 1870s. Most of Brisbane’s lowland rainforest (closed forest) was cleared by 1900 and
most of the lowland eucalypt open forest by 1946. Most of the melaleuca woodland/wetland was
cleared by the1960s.
• Clearing and thinning of eucalypt forests across the city for hardwood to be used in the construction ofnew homes was mostly complete by the 1930s. Facilitation of economic development and urban growth,
at the expense of natural area loss was to remain an overriding priority for the remainder of thecentury. There were some early examples of visionary thinking about the need to protect a ‘green belt’
around the city by individuals such as the former Lord Mayor, William Jolly.
• Expansion of the city and middle suburbs and the consequential clearing of intact and thinned forestsand further thinning of outlying areas was mostly complete by the 1950s. Clearing, draining and land
reclamation of much of the city’s low-lying areas containing most of the freshwater wetlands, melaleuca
woodlands and open forests (primarily for airport construction, but also housing and other
infrastructure) was mostly complete by the 1960s. Quarrying sites were developed across the city inforested foothill localities. At this time, a decline in the abundance and diversity of species and their
habitats was largely unrecognised by the community except for specialist interest groups and
individuals.
• Expansion of clearing into areas of steeper lands, such as Mt Coot-tha. Rapid expansion of the citynorth and south into areas of former cleared land and remnant bushland with few planning or otherconstraints. There was the growth of a high speed network of roads across and out of the city. The
introduction of new varieties of ornamental plants in gardens was strongly promoted, many with
unrecognised weed potential (‘sleeper weeds’), cane toad numbers were steadily increasing and the
growing of native plants in gardens was becoming popular, partly in response to rapid loss of bushland.There was growing community concern about the rapid loss of habitat in the Greater Brisbane area. All
this was well under way by the 1970s.
• Implementation of the Brisbane Wildlife Survey, Brisbane City Council (BCC) and community
involvement in 1981. Publication of the results and a book; the Brisbane Wildlife Survey represented amilestone in community environmental education. Clearing of 50% of koala habitat took place in the
Leslie Harrison Dam catchment during the 1980s for rural acreage development. BCC land with
bushland value was sold for residential development. Studies and reports by BCC all came to the same
basic conclusion: half the city’s bushland and wetland was in private ownership, none of the existingmeasures were likely to be effective in protecting it, and there was a strong community mandate to
introduce new bushland protection measures.
• There was strong community opposition to residential development pressure and clearing of privately
owned bushland on the face of Mt Coot-tha; Council refusal of development, and commencement of the
Bushland Acquisition Program (BAP) in 1989. Since 1991, there has been a progressive adoption ofelements of a comprehensive bushland protection strategy; the acceleration of the BAP, retention of
Council land with bushland value, strengthening of town planning measures and vegetation protection
laws, initiation of community participation in bushland management and environmental educational
programs, and introduction of initiatives and incentives for owners of privately owned bushland, a
combination which contributed to a slowing in the rate of bushland and habitat loss. Creation of anumber of major natural area reserves and achievement of interim planning protection goals by the end
of the 1990s.
• At present there is continuation of the above protection initiatives, mixed level of commitment by
different levels and sections of government and community to considering biodiversity beyond theimmediate, growing recognition of the need to coordinate efforts with south-east Queensland councils at
a regional level, monitor progress and anticipate emerging management issues (such as fire, ferals and
weeds), and apply the ‘precautionary principle’. There are changing conservation priorities including the
need to promote ‘duty of care’ by all landholders to better manage environmental values on ‘off-reserve’land with high habitat value.
Box 4. 2 Case study: history of tree clearing issue in Brisbane City
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5 Social and economic issues
Contributors
Rural social issues
Lyn Aitken, Department of Natural Resources
An economic analysis of broadscale tree clearing in Queensland
John Rolfe, Central Queensland University
return to contents
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Summary In this section, the social and economic dimensions
of native vegetation management are discussed.
Some of the most critical barriers to natural
resource management are social and these arediscussed under the headings of socioeconomic
issues, values, social issues and sustainability,
community involvement issues and communication
and partnerships in section 5.1. Section 5.2provides an economic analysis of broadscale tree
clearing in Queensland.
Social issues
1. Socioeconomic issues related to nativevegetation management include:
• the costs and benefits to society of differentmanagement options for remnant native
vegetation management
• identification of effective market and non-market
mechanisms or systems to assist landholders toretain native vegetation on private land
• off-site effects of clearing native vegetation and
on-farm effects of maintaining native vegetation.
2. Issues connected to values include:
• the role and importance of non-commercialvalues of remnant native vegetation in the
retention and management of vegetation
• the range of values—non-commercial forest
values include intrinsic values, spiritual values,ecological values, community values and
existence values.
Values must be considered if balanced decisionsabout natural resource management are to bemade. Such considerations can be complex, as
values can sometimes be a source of contradiction
and dilemma. For example, there are dilemmas
between a nation’s history of equating clearingwith development, and valuing the ethos and
features of the bush as intrinsic to our national
identity. Other apparent contradictions arise when
there is a disjunction between conservation beliefs,and pro-environmental behaviour, as some studies
suggest that pro-conservation attitudes were not
necessarily being translated into pro-conservation
behaviour on-farm (Goldney & Watson 1995).
3. Social issues and sustainability
As the topic of sustainability broadens, a greaterrange of social issues emerges. As a result, the
focus changes from individual landholder’s actions
to the links between the local and the global, and
from forest tenure to forest management.
4. Community involvement issues
• Policy and projects explore arrangements for
enabling community participation in naturalresource management generally, and in
vegetation management in particular. Such
arrangements, considered in consultation withlandholders, may include long- and short-term
leases, wardens, custodians, local and remote
management committees, conservationcovenants and heritage agreements.
• As the value of participation is largely accepted,
a contemporary issue is not whether it should be
sought or encouraged, but how it should be
achieved.
• Summits and strategy papers confirm that
sustainable resource management requires astrengthening of partnerships between all levels
of government, communities and individuals.
• An important issue centers on where support is
provided—whether to activities, or to thestructures that in turn would support activities.
5. Communication and partnerships
• Communication is needed to address the poor
understanding of the value of remnant vegetation
among land managers.
• A study of natural resource management
programs shows that partnerships areconsidered crucial to success. Community and
government partnerships are developing through
community-based natural resource management
programs and through the development ofregional strategies.
6. Other issues
• These concern the links between systems, for
example, those between remnant native
vegetation and agricultural production.
Economic issuesIn this section, the economic analysis of both thebenefits and the negative consequences of tree
clearing is discussed as one mechanism for
assessing the preferences of society between
development and preservation options. Points in thediscussion are:
• The analysis deals with both the direct and
indirect effects of clearing.
• Past difficulties in such analyses include limited
data on production gains and poor
understanding of the longer-term consequencesof tree-clearing activities.
• Net overall clearing benefits are outweighed in
some situations by the negative consequences
(e.g. salinity). Comparison of these costs
(marginal analysis) for different vegetation typeswill have varying outcomes.
• Cost–benefit analysis is commonly used in
economic analysis for assessing preservation and
production choices in determining likely trade-
offs.
• Historically, the emphasis has been on the socialbenefits of production. Greater emphasis is now
placed on social costs in assessing land
degradation issues. These social costs cannot be
priced through normal markets, and a range ofspecialised economic valuation tools are used.
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5.1 Rural social issues A major provider of natural resources management
research funds prefaces its new Social and
Institutional Research Program information with thestatement that:
More than ten years experience in funding naturalresource R&D has demonstrated to the Corporationthat the most crucial barriers to improved use ormanagement of natural resources are social and
institutional factors and not a lack of scientificknowledge. (LWRRDC 1999)
In the past, tree clearing was linked to productivity,and it followed that discussions about minimising
tree clearing considered whether production would
be adversely affected, and what the follow-on
effects would be for surrounding communities. Thecontemporary approach is to consider long term
maintenance, which means sustaining vegetation
while still sustaining agricultural industries and
rural communities. A number of issues arise, andwill be addressed in the following sections:
socioeconomic issues related to native vegetation
management; values; social issues and
sustainability; and community involvement issues.
5.1.1 Socioeconomic issues relatedto native vegetationmanagement
Many important social issues relating to native
vegetation management were identified by a Land
and Water Resources Research and DevelopmentCorporation (LWRRDC) project examining the
socioeconomic aspects of maintaining nativevegetation on agricultural land (Price 1995). The
project held a national workshop to consider thesocioeconomic, policy and related aspects of
managing native remnant vegetation, and the project
report records the background papers, discussions
and outcomes. The working group identified anumber of priority issues including:
The costs and benefits to society of differentmanagement options for remnant nativevegetation management.
A major concern for landholders is how to linkpreservation of native vegetation to agriculturalproductivity, as there are differences in
understanding the costs and benefits There are few
economic models available that include native
vegetation management, although Charles Sturt
University’s Johnstone Centre is making availablereports on the economics of conserving remnant
native vegetation management in the
Murray–Darling basin (Lockwood & Walpole 1999;
Walpole & Lockwood 1999).
Identification of effective market and non-marketmechanisms to assist landholders to retain nativevegetation on private land
The working group argues that landowners do notalways have the ability to take the long-term view
of economic benefit associated with nativevegetation management. They comment that there
is little analysis of the costs of clearance and the
establishment of farming systems, compared with
the profits and benefits of retention of nativevegetation. However, there are real costs in
managing native vegetation in terms of capital,
opportunity and recurrent costs. ‘Many farmers see
neither economic incentives to retain remnantnative vegetation nor effective ways to protect and
manage bushland’ (Price 1995). In the same vein,Hussey (1995) comments that ‘cost for no
perceived return’ is the most common reason citedfor clearing or not managing native vegetation, and
is therefore an important social issue.
If the idea of ‘cost’ and ‘return’ is broadened
beyond a narrow financial, market-related
meaning, then Furze et al. (1996) provide furthersupport for the necessity to positively link
conservation effort and benefit to achieve results.
They analysed 50 conservation and development
case studies from around the world and theycomment that their analysis
Highlights the importance of explicitly linkingindividual and local community benefit toconservation programs. If conservationists stick tothe old paradigm, that development andconservation are antithetical and natural resourcesare for preservation, not use, then our review ofcase studies holds out little hope for realconservation gain. (Furze et al.1996)
The LWRRDC project (Price 1995) also reports onissues not directly described as economic, such as
the clarification of the roles, rights andresponsibilities of stakeholder groups, and the
establishment of methods for collaboration betweentiers of government. Before such dynamics can be
worked out, it is important to identify scale
(national through to paddock) related to the
• Analysis of the on-farm benefits of tree clearing
in Queensland shows low returns from clearingand development. Clearing may be conducted to
maintain or improve viability levels for individual
producers.
• Estimates are made of the indirect external
impacts of tree clearing such as carbonemissions, although it is noted that more work is
needed to quantify carbon losses.
• Public values of vegetation are discussed, with an
example of the willingness of Brisbane householdsto pay for different preservation options.
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different tiers of government, rural industries,
community groups and landholders, to help identify
key stakeholders for each scale level.
At the biophysical and managerial level, theLWRRDC working group also comments on the
disparity between management units such as
paddocks and stands of trees, and the scale on
which action is needed to retain native vegetation
for ecological purposes, such as ecosystems andlandscapes. Another issue arising in this category
is the poor integration of native vegetation
management in catchment and regional planning.
Off-site effects of clearing native vegetation andon-farm effects of maintaining native vegetation
The social issues that arise in relation to native
vegetation management often involve a diversity of
interests in regional areas. For example, landmanagers may argue that their viability depends on
their capacity to increase their areas of production.
However, such an increase can have negative
effects on other regional interests. Tree clearing inone area can result in salinisation hundreds of
kilometres away on other properties and in regional
towns where buildings and roads become affected.
Increased soil and nutrient run-off, affectinginterests such as eco-tourism can also degrade
catchments.
Black et al. (1999), in their review of literature on
rural social issues, comment that ‘Land continues
to be cleared for agriculture in Australia as farmersrespond to new opportunities without having to
calculate the effects beyond their own enterprises’.
However, such information is being collected. A
recent report by Walpole and Lockwood (1999)
(table 5.1) lists the off-site costs of remnant nativevegetation clearance as:
• cost to local government
• cost to non-farm businesses
• costs to urban households• cost of carbon dioxide release following clearing.
ValuesA colloquium on Sustainable Forests—GlobalChallenges and Local Solutions (Bouman & Brand
1997) was held to identify non-commercial forest
values. The consensus was that they include
intrinsic, spiritual, ecological, community andexistence values. As an outcome of the colloquium,
the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources now
recognises the importance of non-commercial
values and that methods are needed to incorporatethem when making decisions about forests.
In the retention and management of remnant nativevegetation, the role and importance of its non-
commercial values are important issues. TheLWRRDC national working group (Price 1995)
identifies conflict over the intrinsic value of remnant
native vegetation. To some, the benefits of remnant
native vegetation are seen as symbolic rather thansubstantive. There are dilemmas between a nation’s
history of equating clearing with development, and
valuing the ethos and features of the bush as
intrinsic to our national identify.
Table 5.1 Summary of estimated off-site costs of land degradation associated with tree clearing. Walpole and Lockwood (1999).
Type of Location Cause of cost Year of Annual Referenceimpact estimate cost
Soil erosion Eppalock catchment, Maintenance costs for roads, 1974–75 $15 000– Dunn & Gray (1978)Victoria bridges and water supply $30 000
Stream Loddon catchment, Damage to household equipment 1980 $4.40/ha Greig & Devonshiresalinity Victoria (1981)
Salinity Victoria Downstream water quality effects 1990 $7.3m Dumsday & Oram (1990)
Salinity Northern and Damage to household equipment 1984 $2.9m Salinity Committee (1984)
western Victoria
Salinity South Australia Damage to household equipment 1984 $7.2m Peck et al. (1983)
Salinity Bendigo, Ballarat and Damage to roads 1983 $1.1m Salinity Committee (1984)Horsham area, Victoria
Salinity Public utilities in Damage to bridges and roads, 1983 $10.7m Barter (1986)New South Wales restoration of coastal sand drift
Soil erosion Coorong and district, Public infrastructure maintenance 1997 $0.4m CDLAPSC (1997)South Australia
Salinity/ Queensland Damage to urban water supplies, 1988 $31.3m Russell et al. (1990)soil erosion drainage maintenance, silt
removal, dredging
Soil erosion Murray–Darling basin Repairs and maintenance 1993 $8.2m Oliver et al. (1996)of infrastructure
Salinity Loddon and Campaspe Damage to household equipment 1995 $0.67/ Lubulwa (1997)catchments, Victoria household
Salinity Loddon and Campaspe Damage to non-farm business 1995 $26/ Whish-Wilson & Shafroncatchments, Victoria equipment business (1997)
Salinity Loddon and Campaspe Cost of reduced agricultural 1995 $19.6m Whish-Wilson & Shafroncatchments, Victoria production attributable to salinity (1997)
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The working group also considers there are
dilemmas between valuing the bush for what it is,
and what its use can be, or seeing it as an obstacleto other land uses. The failure to give remnant
native vegetation a ‘book value’ as an asset with
potential to change value, or generate income or
expenditure, in the way that an area of cleared landis given a book value for marketed properties, was
identified by the group as such an obstacle.
5.1.2 Social issues and sustainability
Framing the issues
The development of land for production was ofprime importance in earlier decades. Consequently,
decisions were made with the goal of getting
greatest use from the land, and that meant clear-
felling to increase areas for production. As manyare aware, such practices have led to major
problems. Rural producers often point to the
requirement by governments of the time, that land
be cleared (as a condition of occupancy), and thattherefore the State must take some of the
responsibility for past rounds of what is now
construed as ‘destruction’. But what of continued
tree clearing? Decisions are still often made withthe intention of getting greatest use from the land,
despite the fact that the goal of production is now
being challenged by that of sustainability.
As Furze et al. (1996) comment, the focus on
sustainability has broadened the focus from theindividual landholder’s actions to the links between
the local and the global. They note that Local
Agenda 21—from the Rio Summit—sets out a
framework for local government, recognising theneed to mobilise resources at all levels from the
local to the global, forging a partnership between
local, regional, national and international
stakeholders. In their view, the linkages are acritical focus.
No policy aimed to support localconservation/development initiatives can work if itignores the steamrolling impact of the globaleconomy. International trade, the growth imperative,global marketing and communications,
instantaneous pricing of commodities, bonds,currencies as well as the power of centralgovernments all provide a context for localprocesses. (Furze et al. 1996)
They agree with Scherl et al. (1994) who argue for
a pluralistic planning approach.
There is an urgent need to link local concerns, localneeds and local actions to the national andinternational government structures designed toconserve and manage the global environment.(Scherl et al. 1994)
Ensuring sustainability is a complex juggling act, as
indicated in the findings from a five-yearconsultation process to develop national guidelines
for rangeland management. The process began in
1994 with the release of the Rangelands Issues
Paper. Submissions were invited, with 182
responses received, and 30 workshops held around
Australia. The report, released in 1999, states
among its findings that
The challenge is to balance the diverse economic,cultural and social needs of rangelands residentsand users with the need to maintain [therangelands’] natural resources and conserve ourbiological and cultural heritage. (ANZECC &ARMCANZ, 1999)
Achieving sustainability involves keeping a numberof goals in mind, and in balance. In the past, the
economics were weighed to make decisions. Buchyand Hoverman (1999) note that until recently forest
conflicts centred on issues of forest tenure, rather
than forest management. In the present, and for the
future, as one of the principles for rangelandmanagement states:
A wide range of values (social, cultural, economic,aesthetic and ecological) needs to be considered inmaking balanced decisions about the rangelands;financial analysis alone is an inadequate tool for
this purpose. (ANZECC & ARMCANZ 1999)
The importance of aesthetic and other values was
recognized in the Regional Forest Agreement
process (Lennon 1998). The place given to
community involvement is an important part of thisbroadening of the issue of vegetation management.
5.1.3 Community involvement issues
Population diversity in relation toecological mapping
Social dynamics will differ according to the
ecological, political and socioeconomic context.The variety of ecological and social circumstancesand ownership has seen bodies such as the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN) develop six
classifications of protected areas; from strictwilderness reserve to managed resource protected
area. Additionally, UNESCO has proposed the
concept of a Biosphere Reserve—a protected area
with a core for conservation, a buffer zone forresearch, recreation and tourism, and a transition
zone for agriculture, settlements and other human
uses of natural resources (Borrini-Feyeraband
1996). Such artificial divisions (artificial becausethe lines often blur) give clues to the diversity of
populations in areas where natural resource
management issues become highly visible, and
such diversity is reflected in efforts towardcommunity involvement.
Community involvement in vegetation management
is a social issue that is gaining primary importance
in policy and practice. A number of research
projects have been exploring arrangements for
enabling community participation in naturalresource management generally, and in remnant
native vegetation management in particular. For
example, in the southern wheat belt, researchersare investigating community involvement in
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participation in decisions affecting regional
Australians and the broader Australian community.
The summit also recognised that the increasing scale
and scope of environmental challenges are beyondthe capacity of regional Australians alone to respond
to; sustainable resource management requires a
strengthening of partnerships between all levels of
government, communities and individuals. Morerecently, the discussion paper emanating from
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry–Australia entitled‘Managing Natural Resources in Rural Australia for a
Sustainable Future’ is replete with references to‘community’, ‘empowerment’, and ‘capacity
building’ as part of the emerging ‘self help’ approach
to regionally-based natural resource management.
Lawrence (2000) has argued that to ensure that
real empowerment occurs, a project of sustainableregional development should be enacted
throughout the nation. Permanent regional
structures with statutory powers are viewed by
Lawrence as being more effective in naturalresource management than the work of a plethora
of voluntary ‘self help’ organisations. He advocates
policies that provide strong economic incentives to
regional citizens to embrace sustainable regionaldevelopment, and for the Federal Government to
provide leadership in establishing new forms of
regional organisations with clear environmental
responsibilities. Currently, the Federal Governmentis viewed as having no overall ‘vision’ for regional
communities, with their fate being left up to
uncertain and polarising market forces—and to the
knee-jerk reactions of populist politics (Gray &Lawrence, forthcoming). The aim of the new
regional bodies would be to pursue the integration
of environmental management, social and
community development, and economic growth.Statutory powers would help to ensure that
regional structures are not controlled by the Federal
and State governments (Dore & Woodhill 1999;
Gray & Lawrence, forthcoming).
Communication and involvement
Partnerships require mutual understanding of the
problems being addressed. An issue identified bythe LWRRDC working group (Price 1995) involves
making available appropriate information for
remnant native vegetation management. A numberof issues connect with this identified need for
communication.
• There is a poor understanding of the value of
remnant vegetation among land managers andadvisers and inadequate communication of
knowledge about the status of remnant
vegetation. On the ground there is a paucity of
knowledge, skills and guidelines and a lack ofpersonnel for remnant vegetation management.
The range of stakeholders is also
underestimated.
managing remnant native vegetation through
arrangements such as short- and long-term leases,
wardens, custodians, local and remote management
committees and conservation covenants andheritage agreements (National Vegetation Initiative
1997). A Queensland government project is also
currently investigating appropriate arrangements
through workshops with regional communities.Collaboration between communities and
government agencies is considered to be the wayforward (see AFFA 1999).
Treeby (1999) notes in a paper presented to the
1999 Tsukuba Asian Seminar on AgriculturalEducation, that research is confirming that
participation is important to environmental
outcomes. He comments that, for instance, there
are indications that farms involved in broadercommunity and district approaches place a higher
priority on environmental outcomes than do
landholders who act in an individual capacity.
Participatory approaches are important to mostaspects of NRM, and some of these includeinstitutional issues such as the right mix of
decision-making powers and the integration of
disciplines; scales of decision making from the
national level to property and personal level, andthe integration of participation across scales.
There has been an increase in activity and interest
related to participatory approaches because
‘participation in natural resource management’ is
viewed by governments both as a means of
promoting greater democracy through community‘ownership’ of natural resource issues, and as a
means of generating ‘self help’ solutions to regional
problems. A contemporary issue is not whetherparticipation should be sought or encouraged, but
how participation should be achieved, as its value
is largely accepted.
There are a number of important imperativesdriving this increasing clarity of focus.
• International policy forums, research and local
on-ground experience tell us that our natural
resource problems are escalating, and that our
stewardship efforts must increase.
• Stewardship implies restoration, protection andmaintenance, and it is recognised that
stewardship cannot be left to one sector of
society alone. While
in the past, governments may have had primaryresponsibility for resource management, the
activity currently recognised as necessary for
effective stewardship also involves landholders
and communities.
The recent Regional Australia Summit held on 27–29
October 1999, confirmed the importance of thoseimperatives as it demonstrated the increasing call by
citizens for involvement in decision making through
partnerships based on respect. It was agreed thatsuch partnerships would involve comprehensive
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management for its conservation. This refers back
to the emphasis placed on linking production and
conservation.
Participatory approaches are important to mostaspects of NRM, and some of these include
institutional issues such as the right mix of
decision-making powers and the integration of
disciplines; scales of decision making from national
level to property and personal level, and theintegration of participation across scales.
5.1.4 Partnerships
In their in-depth study of three cases (includinglandcare), among other findings, Furze et al. (1996)
conclude that partnership is a crucial common
factor in the success of all three programs. Such a
finding accords with the call from the RegionalAustralia Summit: explicitly, a partnership based on
respect. Their work also accords with the LWRRDC
national working group study contributions that
highlight the need for a greater understanding ofthe links between conservation of native vegetation
and agricultural production.
Community and government partnerships have
been developing through programs such as
landcare and bushcare, and monitoring programssuch as Waterwatch, Pasture Watch, Saltwatch and
Grass Care. Other consultation mechanisms include
social impact assessment through the Regional
Forest Agreement process and the Water AllocationManagement Plans.
Consultation is also taking place through thedevelopment of regional strategies. Property
management planning is another forum for
developing partnerships between government andlandholders. Such developments are based on the
widespread realisation that sustainable production
is dependent on protection of our environment.
As regional communities become more diverse,production becomes a part of broader regional
activities. Sustaining the regions depends on
maintaining the diversity of communities, just as
sustaining the environment depends on maintaining
the diversity of its biology and ecology. The focus isnow on sustainable communities, with production a
significant part of community activity, but with
other interests also needing to be addressed (Dore& Woodhill 1998; Lawrence 1998).
5.2 An economic analysis of broadscale tree clearing in Queensland
5.2.1 Introduction
Broadscale tree clearing in Queensland has beenassociated with large increases in agricultural
production, particularly in the beef and grain
industries. However, clearing has also beenassociated with some negative consequences,
Other issues are concerned with the links between
systems, for example:
• between remnant native revegetation andagricultural production. The appreciation of this
linkage is considered by one of the authors to be
the key to assessing ecological values
• between remnants and the maintenance of bioticdiversity, and how communities are drawn into
understanding these linkages
• Thomas (1995), in a background paper for theworkshop, writes that ‘the first law of successfulnatural resource management is where
community interests and private interests
coincide’.
Changes in rural demographics
The demographic profile of farmers is changing
through ageing and structural adjustment. Thefarming population of the future needs to be
identified so that the fact that sustainable
management can be effectively integrated with
production systems can be demonstrated andcommunicated.
Partnerships and communication go some way to
involving rural communities in resource
management, including native vegetation
management. A benefit of such involvement is theincrease and exchange of knowledge, which is
important to enable informed, as opposed to
passive, vegetation management.
Many landholders and landcare groups areembarking on projects without the benefit of
scientific particularly ecological, input, which isprobably undermining considerable amounts ofwell-intentioned work. (Thomas 1995)
Goldney and Watson (1995) identify gaps in the
knowledge base such as ‘What is the optimal area
and positioning of bushland on farms, incatchments and across landscape to maximise
agricultural production?’ They also note a
disjunction between farmers’ pro-environmental
beliefs and their conservation action. They write:
Our survey suggests that, while farmers were indeedresponding positively to global environmental
concerns, including those that bear directly uponthe conservation of remnant bushland, they werenot translating those beliefs into action torehabilitate and conserve bushland on their farms,and a significant proportion were open to furtherclearing, should circumstance warrant.(Goldney & Watson 1995)
Goldney also comments that in Cary’s analysis,
farmers’ beliefs about remnant bushland for
farmers are best described as ‘symbolic’ and seemlargely unrelated to actual and intended
management behaviours. Their findings also
suggested that the establishment of moresubstantive beliefs about remnant bushland, onwhich behaviour would be based, might rely on
improved technical information about the
characteristics of remnant bushland and103
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including the loss of biodiversity, and in some
cases, indirect impacts such as salinity and land
degradation (Conacher & Conacher 1995; Gretton &Salma 1996). In the cases where environmental
damage leads to production losses, there is little
disagreement about the need for remedial action,
but there is wider disagreement about who shouldbear the costs of such action. There are other cases
where there are direct trade-offs between
production and environmental factors, and oftenmore substantial disagreements about resource use.
An economic framework offers one mechanism forassessing the preferences of society between
development and preservation options. In this
approach, the costs and benefits of different
options are assessed in monetary terms. Thesecosts and benefits can be classified into three broad
groups. The first relate to the direct uses attached
to production and conservation options. In relation
to tree-clearing activities, these are mainly
associated with commercial benefits from theincreased production of grain, beef and wool.
The second broad group is associated with the
indirect effects that might be associated with
clearing activities. Examples of these might bepotential losses from increased risks of salinity,
land degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. In
some cases there may also be benefits from
reduced erosion or land degradation impacts as aconsequence of development activities. The third
group are the preferences that groups in society
might hold for particular options, independent of
whether they bear any direct or indirect effects.These are the preferences that people might hold
for protecting biodiversity, and for protecting the
livelihood and ethos of people in rural regions, even
if they have no direct association. Suchpreservation values are termed non-use values.
It has been difficult in the past to conduct a full
economic appraisal of tree-clearing activities. This
is because of limited data about production gains, a
poor understanding of the longer termconsequences of clearing, and almost no
information about the protection values that thewider community might hold for vegetation
preservation and/or for rural communities. The lackof information about values that the wider
community might hold for protecting vegetation
(and biodiversity more generally) in regional areas
of Australia is a particular deficiency.
There is often confusion about the economicanalysis of natural resource management issues.
This is because an economic analysis is more
inclusive than one focusing on commercial viability.
As well as assessing the direct uses (commercial
benefits and costs), an economic analysis willinclude the various spillover effects that are
represented by the indirect and non-use costs
and benefits.
In economic terms, the major reason why
disagreements about tree clearing arise is that the
costs and benefits arising from vegetation clearing
fall unevenly across different groups in society. Theproduction benefits that result from clearing and
development are largely commercial benefits that
accrue directly to landholders. In making choices to
clear vegetation, landholders balance these benefitsagainst the financial costs that they will incur, as
well as their own perceptions about other costssuch as salinity risks and biodiversity loss.
Many of the potential losses that result fromclearing and development are borne by other
groups in society. If clearing results in indirect
losses, such as land degradation and salinity, these
costs tend to be borne by future generations oflandholders and those on downstream or
neighbouring properties. If clearing results in
biodiversity loss, the impacts will tend to be borne
by the wider State and national community who
place a value on preserving such factors. If clearingresults in increased levels of greenhouse gas
emissions, these impacts will have global effects.
Vegetation clearing activities that impose costs on
wider communities than the groups making theclearing decision are examples of what economists
term spillover effects, or externalities. In making the
decision to clear vegetation, landholders do not
always take into account the wishes of the broadercommunity. In a sense, the problem is one of a
missing market. Landholders receive signals from
society, in the form of prices and income, to
produce more beef and wool, and so they clearland to meet those needs, but do not receive
corresponding financial signals about the wishes of
society to preserve biodiversity and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Relying on commercialproduction benefits to allocate natural resources is
not always efficient because it does not account for
the broader wishes of society.
In recent decades, there has been a large shift in
community values associated with vegetationclearing. There is widespread knowledge now of
many of the indirect effects of clearing on landquality and greenhouse gas emissions. There are
increasing community values for vegetationprotection, partly because of rising income and
diminished levels of remnant vegetation (Hone,
Edwards & Fraser 1999). There is also awareness
by the community of subsequent impacts ofclearing on ecosystem functioning and other biota.
These impacts have meant that there is increasing
divergence between the commercial gains from
clearing and the associated community lossesrepresented by indirect and non-use values.
Governments generally have a role in correctingexternality problems, and there is increasing
recognition of externality issues in natural resource
management in Australia. There are a variety of
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Governments have traditionally acted to balance
the wishes of society in relation to both production
and preservation issues. The prime example of thisrole is where the Government has reserved some
land from production areas in the form of National
Parks. The complexity and diversity of natural
resource management issues means thatgovernments are involved on a number of fronts to
establish where trade-offs might occur and to set
the framework for production goals to be pursued.
The production benefits that can be gained from
clearing native vegetation are rarely uniform. Thebest quality agricultural land, with high production
benefits per hectare, tends to be cleared first. As
this land becomes scarcer, attention turns to lower
quality land where some commercial benefits arestill available from clearing. This pattern can be
seen in Queensland, where clearing activities have
moved from high rainfall and fertile soil areas,
westwards into the scrub and then to the woodland
vegetation types. Falling real costs of development,as well as new production techniques (e.g.
introduced pastures) have also aided this process.
The preservation values per hectare of native
vegetation are also rarely uniform. People in societygenerally place most importance on unique and/or
endangered species and ecosystems (Rolfe, Blamey
& Bennett 2000). As a species or ecosystem moves
from plentiful and widespread towards beingrestricted and endangered, the preservation values
attached to an average unit or hectare are likely to
rise substantially.
correction mechanisms available (AFFA 1999),
largely directed towards making those responsible
for resource use consider the wishes of a more
encompassing group in society. A first step is toquantify the differences that might exist between
commercial gains and other impacts on wider
groups in society. To develop some understanding of
how the benefits and costs relating to tree clearingin Queensland may be viewed in economic terms, a
number of different concepts are discussed below.
5.2.2 Marginal costs and benefitsof clearing
While many clearing activities have provided net
overall benefits to Australia, there are some
situations where the increased production andother benefits of clearing may be outweighed by the
negative consequences. There are examples in
Australia (Walpole & Lockwood 1999), where
clearing has continued past the point where the
benefits from increased production have beenbelow the subsequent environmental costs and
long-term production losses. In some cases, such
as in dry-land salinity areas, it has occurredbecause of limited knowledge about the long-term
and indirect effects of clearing actions. In other
cases, such as in endangered vegetation
communities, it occurs because landholdersrespond to the commercial pressures for increased
production and do not receive signals about the
wider community’s wishes for biodiversity
protection.
105
Table 5.2 Social costs and benefits of tree clearing.
Impacts Benefits Costs
Property level
Direct, medium term Income from increase in carrying capacity, animal Cost of clearing trees, cost of pasture establishment,performance OR Increase in land values as a result of maintenance of cleared land, extra investment inthe net increase in annual income livestock, extra investment in fencing, water, yards,
extra running costs such as labour and repairs
Indirect, longer term Savings in costs/increased output from possible reduction Increase in costs/decrease in output from reduced treein grazing pressure on rest of property cover (e.g. shade, shelter, nutrient recycling)
Savings in costs/increased output from improved access Increase in costs/decrease in output from on-propertyfor mustering salinity and erosion
Enhanced aesthetic value of cleared landscape Pastoralists own value for biodiversity lossDiminished aesthetic value because of reductionin tree cover
External impacts
Land quality Savings in costs/increased income from possible Increase in costs/decrease in output from off-propertyreduction in land degradation on some properties salinity, erosion
Cost of greenhouse gases Reduction in economic welfare from increase ingreenhouse gas emissions
Biodiversity Reduction in economic welfare from biodiversity loss
Aesthetics Non-pastoralists’ enhanced aesthetic value of Non-pastoralists’ diminished aesthetic value becausecleared landscape of reduction in tree cover
Rural communities Increase in welfare of rural communities frommore profitable agricultural sector
Source: ABARE (1995); Rolfe, Bennett & Blamey (2000).
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These changes in both the marginal benefits and
costs of vegetation clearing provide a powerfulexplanation of development history in Queensland.
When European settlement commenced and most
vegetation types were abundant, preservation
values per hectare would have been low, andpotential production benefits high. With the values
of (European) society at the time emphasising the
social objectives of closer settlement and
development, it was appropriate for the governmentto promote development outcomes. The arguments
about resources in the first 100 years of settlement
tended to be about competing uses (e.g. forestry or
agriculture), rather than development versusprotection.
As widespread clearing has occurred, particularly
over the last 50 years, governments have moved to
emphasis conservation and protection goals as well
as development ones. This has been partly becauseof rising concerns in the community about
biodiversity protection. It is also because, as clearingin vegetation communities extends towards the last
remaining units, the extra gains in production tendto fall below the values for preserving those
vegetation communities. As a vegetation community
becomes more extensively cleared, the additions to
total production tend to fall (because the betterquality land tends to be cleared first), while the
preservation values tend to rise (reflecting the
limited amount of biodiversity remaining).
When the costs and benefits of clearing are
considered for each additional area of a vegetation
type (marginal analysis), the overall outcome islikely to vary. At low levels of development, the
production benefits from clearing are likely to
outweigh other costs, such as biodiversity losses.At some more intensive level of development, the
additional production benefits from clearing may be
outweighed by the associated losses, particularly in
an affluent country such as Australia where valuesfor protecting biodiversity tend to be high. The
policy shifts at the Commonwealth Government and
State Government levels over the past 20 years
reflect this logical outcome.
5.2.3 Assessing the costs andbenefits of clearing options
The diversity of vegetation types and production
opportunities means that the balance betweenproduction and preservation goals might vary
widely across different vegetation communities and
choices. For example, society may benefit from
having high clearing rates in areas that have low
preservation values and high production values.This may help to explain past high clearing rates in
agricultural areas. The maximum benefits to society
might come from clearing vegetation types for highvalue uses (such as new roads or other
infrastructure developments) but preserving them
against other development opportunities (such as
low value agricultural development).
To minimise the decision costs (transaction costs)involved in establishing where the trade-offs should
apply in each case, it is generally preferable to
group the potential trade-off choices into easily
comprehensible and enforceable rules. Biologistsand ecologists advise on how risks of biodiversity
loss may be conveniently related to remnant
vegetation as a function of area, extent of clearing
and other factors. This advice may be codified intoguidelines for use by landholders, communities and
governments to help determine where the
appropriate trade-offs between production and
protection exist.
The standard tool that economists use for assessingpreservation and production choices is cost–benefit
analysis (CBA). This technique operates byassessing how people in society value the benefits
and costs that flow from a particular resource-usealternative. If the benefits outweigh the costs, the
project is assumed to be worthwhile or desirable
(economic), and vice versa. In this way, economists
can provide advice to decision makers in societyabout how the preferences of society sum-up over a
particular issue. While the technique relies on some
particular assumptions (notably accepting the
current distribution of income in society), it providesa powerful mechanism of assessing the weight of
preferences for particular resource-use alternatives.
Table 5.3 Individual business summaries by region. Source: DPI (forthcoming).
Northern Central Central west Maranoablack Queensland Mitchell grass brigalowspeargrass brigalow
Business assets (land, stock and equipment) $2 292 206 $3 628 100 $2 237 700 $2 056 200
Business liabilities $436 000 $544 215 $378 432 $185 000
Cattle sales $313 770 $342 261 $235 633 $149 000
Variable costs $87 487 $50 966 $49 309 $15 265
Total gross margin $226 283 $291 295 $186 324 $133 843
Fixed costs (including depreciation) $117 000 $114 600 $85 380 $53 250
Unpaid family labour $40 000 $40 000 $40 000 $40 000
Return to total capital $69 283 $136 695 $60 944 $40 593
Return on total capital 3.02% 3.77% 2.72% 1.97%
Asset turnover ratio 13% 9% 10% 7%
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There are a large number of factors that need to be
considered in a complete CBA approach. This is
because an economic analysis of a resource use
option is much broader than a correspondingfinancial summary. While estimates of potential
production benefits can usually be gained from
market data, indirect and non-use costs and
benefits have to be estimated in different ways.
Pastoralists generally respond to direct-use benefitswhen they clear trees, in the expectation that the
returns from increased carrying capacity will
outweigh the cost of clearing, pasture development
and subsequent maintenance. Pastoralists mightalso factor in their personal preferences for items
such as biodiversity conservation, the aesthetics of
tree cover, and the risks of longer-term impacts
such as salinity. However, there are a range of costsand benefits that may not be considered by
pastoralists, including community values for
biodiversity, indirect effects on greenhouse gas
emissions, and off-farm costs of land degradation.A summary of the costs and benefits of tree
clearing is presented in table 5.2.
In the absence of government intervention, tree
clearing occurs where landholders balance the
benefits and costs at the property level andperceive that higher returns are available from
pursuing clearing options8. Some landholders may
consider only the benefits and costs of development
in the short term, while others may be inclined tofactor in a variety of medium to longer term
considerations that they consider important. This
means that among landholders, there will be somediversity in the balance that they strike betweenproduction and preservation alternatives.
The external impacts of tree clearing activities can
be both positive and negative. In the past,
governments have emphasised the social benefits of
increased production and have encouraged treeclearing through taxation incentives, lease
conditions and other mechanisms. This has
occurred in part because there has been little
knowledge about some of the external and indirect
costs of clearing (such as salinity and greenhousegas emissions),and because when native vegetation
was in abundance, it is likely that the marginal
social benefits from further clearing outweighed themarginal social costs.
Social benefits are likely to be increased where
tree-clearing and production increases help to
address land degradation issues and enhance the
viability of rural communities. Social losses arelikely to result when tree clearing increases land
degradation, increases greenhouse gas emissions,
or reduces biodiversity.
The categorisation of costs and benefits outlined in
table 5.2 provides one framework for assessingwhere trade-offs between production and
preservation should be made at a regional or
property level. In summary, the issue to be 107
R a t e
o f r e t u r n
6
-6Years
-2
8
0
4
2
-4
1995 1996 1997
Cattle numbers vs rate of return
<300 cattle
300–550 cattle
550–1000 cattle
1000–2800 cattle
2800–5500 cattle
>5500 cattle
Figure 5.1 Rates of return by establishment herd size inQueensland. Source: ABARE (1998, 1999).
determined is whether the net returns from tree
clearing at the property level (the items in the first
half of the table) are outweighed by the net external
impacts (the items in the second half of the table).
The external (or off-farm) impacts of tree clearingare not priced in normal markets, in contrast to the
physical outcomes such as increased supplies of
beef or grain. A range of specialised economic
valuation techniques are available to estimate whatvalue may be placed on external impacts, (Sinden
1994). To assess the value of indirect impacts such
as salinisation and greenhouse gas emissions, cost
pricing and other techniques are available. Forexample, Walpole and Lockwood (1999) summarise
a list of Australian studies that estimate off-site
costs of land degradation associated with tree
clearing. The only Queensland example is fromRussell et al. (1990), who estimate that the annual
cost of degradation in damage to urban water
supplies, drainage maintenance, silt removal and
dredging costs is $31.3 million.
To assess the non-use values associated with theexistence and protection of biodiversity, and the
stated preference of rural communities, techniques
such as contingent valuation and choice modelling
need to be employed. These have not been widelyapplied in Australia, and there has been some
controversy about the use of the contingent
valuation method (Bennett & Carter 1993). There are
few applications of non-market valuation techniquesassociated with vegetation protection issues in
Australia, as the following summary illustrates.
Bennett (1984) estimated, with the use of theContingent Valuation Method (CVM), that the
average value per adult in Canberra for preservinga particular woodland area in the Australian
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Capital Territory was $20. Hundloe et al. (1990)
used CVM to report that the environmental benefits
of banning logging on Fraser Island were in excessof $5 billion. The Resource Assessment Commission
(1992) used CVM to estimate that in Victoria, New
South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory,
households were willing to pay $43.50 to preservethe south-east forests (Bennett & Carter 1993).
Windle and Cramb (1993) used CVM to estimate
values for preserving bushland in Brisbane, andconcluded that these were positive.
More recently, Lockwood and Walpole (1999) havereported on a benefit–cost analysis of remnant
native vegetation conservation in north-east
Victoria and the Murray catchment in southern
New South Wales. The costs of conservationoptions were first assessed in terms of the
economic costs to landholders in terms of
production foregone and other factors. This was
then compared with the benefits of conservation
options, which included impacts on mitigatingdryland salinity, reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, and the protection values held by the
State populations. These values, estimated usingthe Choice Modelling technique, were estimated at
$60.7 million for north-east Victoria, and
$75.6 million in the Murray catchment.
That study indicated that there were 113 313 ha of
remnant vegetation remaining on private lands innorth-east Victoria and 203 429 ha in the New
South Wales Murray catchment. The protection
values on a per hectare basis are thus $535/ha in
the Victorian area, and $372/ha in the New SouthWales Murray catchment. The study concluded that
the benefits of conservation outweighed the
opportunity costs, and that governments could
spend up to $29.8 million in north-east Victoria and$40.5 million in the Murray catchment on vegetation
protection to maximise community values.
5.2.4 Net on-farm benefits from treeclearing in Queensland
The draft Integrated Beef Industry Strategies (IBIS)
report (DPI, forthcoming), provides a summaryof financial returns and productivity indicators of
beef enterprises in four major regions (Tables 5.3
and 5.4).
Table 5.4 Productivity Performance Indicators. Source: DPI(forthcoming).
Performance Northern Central Central Maranoaindicator black Queensland west brigalow
spear- brigalow Mitchellgrass grass
Beef sold(kg/beast area) 106 132 86 142
Cost/kgbeef ($) 0.77 0.64 0.81 0.98
Gross margin($/ha) 7.54 40.06 10.34 38.24
Gross margins represent the difference between
gross income and variable costs. They aretraditionally used as an economic indicator to
compare enterprises because they minimise
comparative differences. The data in table 5.4
shows that the annual gross margins associatedwith beef production in brigalow country (which
has largely been cleared and developed) are much
higher than in speargrass or Mitchell grass country
(which is largely in its original state).
In Queensland, the commercial production benefitsavailable from tree clearing vary widely according
to the vegetation type and production
opportunities. After the initial clearing, there is a
spike in pasture production, followed by declinescaused by falling soil fertility and competition from
regrowth. ABARE (1995) quotes Burrows (1990) as
indicating that the removal of trees can increase
initial pasture production 2–7 times. Treatment ofregrowth can be used to maintain pasture
production above the preclearing levels.Burrows (1999) reports that the net present value
of clearing in the poplar box woodlands of central
Queensland ranges from $40–$64/ha, according todifferent timber treatments and allowing for a 20%
retention rate. In the Desert Uplands bioregion
further to the west, Resource Consulting Services
(RCS 1999) report from two case studies that thenet present value of developing ironbark and wattle
country is $12.34/ha, and $28.31/ha for ironbark
and box country.
In each of these cases, overhead expenses, unpaid
family labour and a return on capital invested inland and equipment have not been included in the
estimation of net returns per hectare. At the
property level, where landholders may be
considering additional clearing, this exclusion maybe commonplace. However, when these additional
costs are included to develop an overall picture of
net returns per hectare, the returns are likely to be
much lower. This is because these additional costsare a substantial proportion of inputs (see table 5.3).
Net property returns are analysed in Rolfe and
Donaghy (2000), who report that for many beefproperties across Queensland, net returns are very
low or negative. This is shown in figure 5.1, wherethe rates of return (incorporating overhead costs,
unpaid family labour and return on capital
invested) are reported by herd size over time. The
results show increases in the rates of return overtime (as seasons and market conditions improve),
but that, on average, enterprises running less than
1000 head do not meet long-term viability
standards. Approximately two-thirds of specialistbeef producers have less than 1000 head of cattle
(see table 5.5).
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Table 5.5 Queensland specialist beef producers by herd size.Source: ABARE (1998, 1999).
Herd size Number of Number of producers in producers in
1997–98 1998–99
<300 2 415 2 032
300–550 1 154 1 304
550–1000 787 804
1000–2800 1 131 1 2622800–5500 429 438
>5500 250 325
This summary shows that there are two importantreasons why beef producers are likely to be
involved in tree-clearing activities. The first is that
if only operating costs and returns are considered,
the returns from clearing and pasture developmentare attractive. If all costs and inputs are considered,
the returns from clearing and development are
lower. The difference between gross margins and
total returns suggests that landholders will oftenfind it profitable to develop an additional paddock
(on an ongoing incremental basis), but not
necessarily attractive to develop an entire property
immediately.
The second reason why clearing activities may beimportant to landholders is that they may be trying
to maintain or improve viability levels. Given the
substantial number of beef enterprises that fall
below long-term viability criteria (Rolfe & Donaghy2000), this may be a very important consideration
for individual producers. However, for a number of
smaller producers, it is very unlikely that clearingand development options on virgin vegetation areaswill be enough to redress viability issues.
5.2.5 Indirect external impacts fromtree clearing
There are several indirect impacts from tree
clearing that might be considered in a CBA
framework, such as those that reduce landdegradation. Examples of positive outcomes might
be clearing and pasture development measures that
reduce soil erosion, and that in some cases,address vegetation thickening and soil degradationimpacts. ABARE (1999) report that 63% of beef
producers surveyed in Queensland have declining
pasture productivity as a result of vegetation
thickening. This thickening is a widespreadphenomenon in Queensland, and in Australia more
generally, due to grazing pressure and suppressed
fire management since European settlement
(Flannery 1994; Burrows et al. 1997). The widercommunity may view favourably measures that
restore pre-European landscapes and production,
although as Burrows (1999) notes, there is somedebate about whether such clearing is restorationor development.
Clearing might also lead to land degradation
impacts, and thus invoke overall costs. In somecases, such as soil erosion, it is often not the initial
clearing that is directly responsible, but the
subsequent stocking pressures and management
activities. In other cases, such as impacts relatingto dryland salinity, clearing is directly associated
with indirect losses.
The impacts of many indirect effects of landclearing, such as dryland salinity, have been
generally poorly anticipated in Australia bylandholders, scientists and regulators. There is
increasing evidence that dryland salinity problems
associated with tree clearing may be more
substantial in Queensland than had previously beenconsidered (Williams et al. 1997; CSIRO 1999),
although areas affected by salinity remain at low
levels compared with those in States such as
Western Australia (Gretton & Salma 1996). Thissuggests that for some clearing options, the risks of
salinity impacts will need to be considered carefullyin any CBA.
One of the indirect impacts of tree clearing is the
subsequent release of greenhouse gases, principallycarbon in the form of carbon dioxide9. The major
release is likely to be from the burning and rotting
of above-ground vegetation once it has been
cleared. Other releases are likely to come from therotting and burning of below-ground biomass (e.g.
roots), and from changes in the organic carbon
levels in soils. At the same time, there may be
offsetting carbon sequestration effects, largely
through carbon taken up in increased pasturelevels, and in some cases, improvements in soil
carbon levels.
The overall loss of carbon from clearing activities is
difficult to quantify for a number of reasons(Burrows et al. 1997). The amount of biomass
varies across sites according to vegetation type, soil
type and climatic influences. The measurement of
carbon levels is imprecise because the developmentof the appropriate modelling relationships is in its
early stages and there is a limited amount of data
available. These difficulties are more pronounced forbelow-ground biomass and soil carbon levelscompared with those for above-ground biomass.
Carbon releases from different sources also occur at
varying rates, and both release and sequestration
patterns are confounded with seasonal fluxes. Theestimation of the actual areas of each vegetation
type is also imprecise, making it difficult to
extrapolate site data to aggregate amounts.
Given these uncertainties, some broad estimates ofthe amount of carbon that might be released from
tree clearing in some areas can be made. Burrows
et al. (1997) report that for the grazed woodlandsof northern Queensland, the average basal area ofall woody plants is 9.62 (+– 0.95)m2/ha. They also
report that the mean above-ground biomass of
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eucalyptus trees (the dominant genus type in these
woodland regions) is 4235 kg of matter per m2 ofbasal area, or approximately 40.74 tonnes/ha10. At
approximately 46% carbon, the total mass of
above-ground carbon is 18.7 tonnes/ha.
To this estimate for above-ground carbon must be
added the below-ground stock (approximately 30%of above-ground stocks to a one metre depth) and
soil carbon levels. (Burrows, W. H. 2000, pers.comm., 25 April) suggests that net below-ground
and soil carbon stocks remain relatively unchangedafter tree clearing because below-ground biomass
decays tend to be balanced by pasture and soil
carbon increases. If this is the case, then the net
carbon loss from tree clearing in the northerneucalypt woodlands can be estimated at the above-
ground biomass of 18.7 tonnes per hectare. While
this estimate, is approximate it will give some idea
of the external losses associated with this factor oftree clearing.
Trade in carbon offsets is an emerging market, withmany initial trades occurring in the region of
around $10 US/tonne of carbon. Rolfe (1998)
summarises a number of international forestrycarbon offset programs as costing between $1.50
and $12.50 Australian11. Within that range, the
indirect losses associated with greenhouse gas
emissions from tree clearing in woodland regionsappear to lie between $28 and $233 per hectare.
Lockwood and Walpole (1999) selected $10/tonne
of carbon dioxide as an appropriate benchmark,
which converts to approximately $2.70/tonne of
carbon. At this price, the value of the loss ingreenhouse gas emissions from tree clearing in the
northern eucalypt woodlands is approximately
$50.50/ha.
More work is needed to quantify carbon lossesfrom tree clearing at the property level and to
estimate appropriate price levels.
5.2.6 Non-use values
The other category of external impacts to consider
is public values for biodiversity protection and thehealth of rural communities. Data on the value of
these impacts in Queensland is limited, but Rolfe,
Bennett and Blamey (2000) report some exploratory
estimates within an economic analysis of treeclearing in the Desert Uplands bioregion of central-
western Queensland.In that study, the Choice Modelling Technique was
used to estimate the preservation values that
households in Brisbane had for protecting bothenvironmental factors and the livelihood of people
in rural communities. The results can be illustrated
in a number of different options for increasing
vegetation protection, as shown in table 5.6. Thisindicates how much Brisbane households are
willing to pay for further restrictions on tree
clearing with different policy outcomes.
The results indicate that there are substantialpreservation values associated with options givinggreater protection to biodiversity in the Desert
Uplands region. The values are sensitive to impacts
on regional income and job losses, but are not
completely negated by these effects unless they arevery high (as in option E). The preservation values
do not correlate linearly with increases in
protection levels, but are weighted heavily towards
some increase in protection levels above thecurrent standard, and towards the protection of
endangered species.
Rolfe, Bennett and Blamey (2000) compared thenon-use protection values with the production
opportunities in the Desert Uplands to concludethat for slight to modest increases in vegetation
protection, the values of biodiversity protection
would outweigh both subsequent social impacts
and potential production losses. For moresubstantial levels of protection, the latter tended to
outweigh the former. However, the value of possible
greenhouse gas emissions may still make many
tree-clearing activities in the region uneconomicfrom the viewpoint of society as a whole.
Table 5.6 The amount that Brisbane householders are willing to pay for different preservation options.Source: Rolfe, Bennett & Blamey (2000).
Attribute Change from Change from Change from Change from Change fromcurrent trends current trends current trends current trends current trends
Option A Option B Option C Option D Option E
Jobs lost in the region 10 30 50 50 180
Regional income lost $5 million $10 million $5 million $10 million $10 million
Additional speciespreserved in area 2 10 2 2 2
Additional % ofnon-threatenedspecies preserved 30% 45% 10% 10% 10%
Additional area of uniqueecosystems preserved 10% 20% 30% 30% 30%
Amount $76 $88 $80 $74.50 $0
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5.2.7 Measures to reduce tree-clearing activities
The evidence from the cost–benefit approach
outlined is that there are likely to be some
situations where tree-clearing activities are not
economic from a social perspective. However, theymay still be commercially attractive to the
landholder because landholders do not receive
signals about the indirect and non-use impactsof clearing decisions. In the presence of theseexternalities, policy makers have firstly to consider
whether the costs of those externalities outweigh
the production benefits, and secondly, whether it is
economic to change the situation.
It is not always worthwhile to correct externalitiesbecause of the administrative and transaction costs
involved, and the difficulties in achieving balanced
outcomes. For this reason, policy makers are
sensitive to the size of remedial costs, and to thesearch for the most efficient solutions to reduce
social losses. It is rare that a solution satisfies every
affected group in society, and more likely that a
solution (or group of solutions) will address only themajor losses caused by an externality. In applying a
potential correction measure, the policy maker has
to determine whether the benefits of the correction
outweigh the costs of the corrective measure.
There are a number of corrective measures that maybe employed to address externalities caused by
tree-clearing activities. Many of these have been
listed or reviewed by AFFA (1999). For example,
regulatory measures have advantages in that theyare compulsory, but may be inflexible, have high
compliance costs, and impose losses on some
groups. Improvements in knowledge can help
landholders to reduce short-term behaviour thatincurs long-term production losses, but may offer
little incentive to reduce public losses. Incentive
payments, in the form of biodiversity credits,
stewardship payments or carbon offsets may offersome flexibility in pursuing protection options, but
may be difficult to administer and audit.
The process of developing solutions to externality
problems can also be evaluated in economic
outcomes. Solutions that have low compliancecosts and are accepted by all affected groups tend
to minimise the transaction costs involved in
moving to different resource allocation rules.
Processes that give stakeholders and thecommunity some role in resource allocation may
appear expensive and difficult to develop, but
ultimately reduce subsequent transaction costs.
The involvement of stakeholder groups in regional
planning processes and negotiated settlements in
natural resource management often generatessubstantial economic benefits in terms of reduced
transaction and compliance costs. Among the
recommendations of AFFA (1999), are thatauthority relating to natural resource management
should be devolved to regional and catchment
areas, and that partnerships should be builtbetween all relevant parties to improve
management. There is an increasing role for social
scientists (e.g. economists, sociologists and regional
planners) in identifying and in negotiatingagreement between stakeholders about resource
management issues.
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6 Planning and monitoring native vegetation management
Contributors
Vegetation management planning
Sarah Boulter, Department of Natural Resources
Richard Johnson, Environmental Protection AgencyBruce Wilson, Environmental Protection Agency
Rod Fensham, Environmental Protection AgencyMonitoring
Peter Johnston, Department of Primary Industries
Andrew Franks, Department of Natural Resources
Anne Kelly, Department of Natural ResourcesTeresa Eyre, Department of Natural Resources
Geoffrey Smith, Department of Natural Resources
return to contents
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Summary • Planning is the process by which individuals or
groups determine outcomes and strategies. Early
planning theory advocates a centralisedapproach in which it is instigated by government
agencies. More recent approaches advocate a
political process of bargaining and negotiating
among competing interests.
• Planning activities occur in a range of contexts(e.g. catchment or rangelands), and in association
with other planning activities. Collectively, these
make up planning systems. The ability of asystem to achieve sustainability and equity
depends on the collective understanding of natural
resource management problems, institutional
support for stakeholders in negotiating the issues,and capacity of these groups to participate in
inherently political processes.
• Regional approaches to planning are suitable for
dealing with problems of environmentaldegradation, conservation and sustainability. Inparticular, planning at this level can use the
dynamic approach of landscape ecology, and its
description of flows in ecosystems.
• Regional ecosystems, which can act as a
surrogate for biodiversity, offer a system onwhich to base biodiversity planning approaches
to sustainable vegetation management.
Bioregional planning systems should include
ecological links that reflect natural processes.
• Problems identified in a review of currentregional planning methods were: difficulty of
integrating information; different approaches to,
and practicalities of, problems; failure of
technical information to meet decision-makingneeds; inability to achieve full public
participation; and lack of integration in policy
and legislation.
• There are many opportunities for integrated
planning and community participation ineffective regional planning. However, a number
of principles and guidelines are recommended
including: ensuring that all elements are adaptive
and adequate, and are applied in a way that issustainable, equitable, accountable, integrated,
effective and efficient.
• Regional vegetation management plans (RVMPs)may provide opportunities to plan for sustainable
native vegetation management and integrationwith other natural resource management
initiatives. RVMPs may be guided by the
principles of planning systems theory to
contribute to the development of an improvedregional planning system.
• Property planning is used by landholders to
achieve a variety of outcomes. It can be used to
secure the long-term viability of a property and
to maintain ecosystem health, integrated pest
management and production values. Applicationsfor tree-clearing permits must be accompanied
by a property management plan.
• Property planning should consider the retention
of remnant vegetation for biodiversity andproduction. Recommendations for the amount of
vegetation to be retained will depend on the
planned land use. Retained areas can be in the
form of strips and clumps.
• Monitoring and modification of managementstrategies help ensure that planning systems
remain robust. Monitoring requires effectiveindicators of sustainability, and can be
conducted at various levels for a variety ofpurposes. There are a number of monitoring
tools and resources available. It is essential that
the objectives of any monitoring program be
clearly defined at the outset.
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Marsh (1998) describes a number of activities that
are conventionally associated with environmentalplanning (see table 6.1). He notes that the methods
and techniques used in environmental and
landscape (regional) planning are no different from
those in other areas of planning. These categoriesof planning are currently used in a number of
aspects of vegetation management.
Why plan?Dale and Bellamy (1998), in their review of the
evolution of regional planning theory, highlight the
debate in the literature between those who viewplanning from a technical perspective and those
who view it as a forum for negotiating across
conflicting agendas. The former advocates a
centralised planning approach whereby planning isinstigated by government agencies, the latter a
political process of bargaining and negotiating
among competing interests (Dale & Bellamy 1998).
Dale and Bellamy (1998) highlight that the focus of
the literature revolves around physical factors (eg:infrastructure development), resolving intra- and
international economic inequities and the
application of GIS and decision-support systems bycentral planning agencies. More recent approaches
in planning theory acknowledge that the planning
environment can be better described as ‘a complex
web of bargaining and negotiation among pluralinterests (including community, industry and
government)’ (Dale & Cowell 1999). These more
recent approaches to planning offer an opportunity
to use planning as a framework for negotiationamong diverse interests in land-use outcomes.
Changes in the economic, ecological and
sociological disciplines have converged towards a
system view of interactions and the relationships
between system components—in essence, agrowing acknowledgment that nothing happens in
6.1 Vegetation management planning
Unprecedented population pressure and the
demands of society are increasing the degradation
of resources and threatening ecosystem stabilityand resilience. The role of integrated planning to
meet these pressures has been highlighted by the
Commission on Sustainable Development (ad hoc
Working Group on Integrated Planning andManagement of Land Resources and Agriculture
2000). Traditional planning theory has evolved from
rational approaches towards communicative and
adaptive forms of planning. Dale and Cowell (1999)suggest that emerging landscape ecology concepts
are based on systematic and adaptive perspectives,
and that this shift in theoretical perspective, if
combined with the recent emphasis onsustainability concepts, can refocus planning for
sustainability. Vegetation management is integral to
land use and environmental change. This reviewhas highlighted the functional role of vegetation inthe landscape. Planning has frequently been used
in the past to manage native vegetation sustainably,
both formally (e.g. Tree Management Plans under
the Land Act 1994 (Qld)), and less formally (e.g.landholder property planning). In this section, the
challenges and opportunities of planning for
sustainable native vegetation management at a
number of levels in Queensland are examined.
6.1.1 Planning defined
Planning may be defined as ‘the coordination ofhuman activities with both natural and humanresources’ (Ramsay & Rowe 1995). It can be a
process used by individuals, groups or collectives of
groups to determine an agreed vision, a set of
objectives, or to determine strategies and monitorand evaluate outcomes (Dale & Cowell 1999).
Table 6.1 Conventional activities associated with landscape planning. Adapted from Marsh (1998).
Activities of landscape planning Description
Environmental inventory catalogue and description of the features and resources of a study area
Discovery of opportunity and constraints searching the environment for those features and situations that wouldfacilitate/deter a proposed land use
Site assessment providing environmental profiles of site/s
Land capability, carrying capacity, determining what types of use and how much use the land can accommodatesustainability planning without degradation
Hazard assessment and risk management identifying dangerous zones in the environment and building strategies andcontingency plans for coping with hazards
Forecasting impacts identifying changes required and evaluating the type and magnitude ofenvironmental impact
Special environments analysing and evaluating special environments (e.g. wetlands)
Restoration and planning assessing environments that have been degraded and require restoration
Site selection and feasibility studies assessing locations usually based on economic, more recently environmentalconsiderations, or determining the most appropriate use for known site
Facility planning siting, planning and designing installations that depend on structural and mechanicalsystems (e.g. sewerage plants, airfields)
Master planning may include all of the above, providing a comprehensive framework to guide landchange
Management planning providing comprehensive ongoing control to ensure sustainability throughcompatibility with greater land use
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isolation and that activities are nested withincontexts, either biophysical or social. Brunkhorst
(1995) suggests that these areas of research have
identified a previous failure by planning and
management to ‘produce practical information fordecision making and planning that meets
socioeconomic needs while conserving and
respecting the limits of biophysical resources’
(Brunkhorst 1995).
The response in planning theory has been theexploration of planning systems. Planning has been
largely viewed as discrete activities undertaken by
an agency or organisation. However, in reality, in
any given region (e.g. catchment) or context (e.g.rangelands) there are many planning activities
occurring which collectively comprise the planning
system (Dale & Cowell 1999). The system approach
identifies which units in the landscape are linkedand what activities impact on others. Essentially,
planning systems are the sum of activities at
different times and spatial scales, involve multiplestakeholders and seek to achieve value-basedobjectives (Dale & Cowell 1999).
An important aspect of this developing body of
natural resource management planning theory is
the greater expectation by the community of public
involvement in decision making and greateraccountability for environmental protection (Dale &
Bellamy 1998). This has resulted in the emergence
of a resource management paradigm based on
integrated ecosystem management and collaborativedecision-making. The health of the planning system
(i.e. its ability to achieve sustainability and equity)depends on the collective understanding of natural
resource management problems, institutionalsupport for stakeholders negotiating the issues, and
the capacity of these groups to participate in
inherently political processes.
6.1.2 Regional approaches toplanning
In dealing specifically with questions ofenvironmental degradation, conservation and
sustainability, planning is often inextricably linkedto concepts of ecological theory. For example,
planning for ecological networks owes itstheoretical foundations to the island biogeography
theory (MacArthur & Wilson 1967) and
metapopulation theory (Levins 1969). A great deal
of current ecological study acknowledges the needto look at environmental processes at the landscape
level (Barbault 1995; Tongway & Ludwig 1997).
Landscape ecology is a recently emerging discipline
that looks at environments on a ‘whole landscape’
scale to develop an integrated understanding of
these systems. In essence, it recognises that alllandscapes are mosaics of different habitat types,
and focuses on spatial patterns within these
mosaics, the influence of these patterns on
ecological processes, and how landscape mosaics
change over time. It also acknowledges that the
movement of animals, plants, water and wind, and
the flow of materials, energy and nutrients that aretransported in this way, are all central to the
functioning of the landscape and to its ecological
sustainability (Bennett 1999). Importantly, it
acknowledges the impact of both human-inducedand natural changes (McAlpin 1999). Landscape
ecology attempts to couple biodiversity, ecosystemfunction and larger scale processes (Brunkhorst
1995) and allows an opportunity to explore theecological function of habitat fragments in
developed environments.
In the same way that modern planning theory takes
a systems approach, so too does the ecological
study of landscape ecology. The importance oflinking these two disciplines lies in ensuring
landscape or regional approaches. There is
increasing recognition that ecologically sustainable
management and conservation of natural resourcescannot be tackled on a ‘site-by-site’ basis, but
needs to be dealt with at the landscape scale
(Kitching 1996; Sattler et al. 1997). Regional
planning can utilise the dynamic approach ofecology to understand and plan for the variability
and change that landscape ecology emphasises.
Landscape ecology provides the concepts and
techniques for conserving biodiversity and solvingland-use management problems.
Landscape planning (cf: land-use planning) is
concerned with resource allocation at the macro
scale where it was previously based on politicalboundaries, watersheds or other landmarks(Cook & van Lier 1994). Landscape or regional
planning seeks to meet the goals of ESD, aesthetics,
recreation and tourism, economics, human health
and ecological conservation, while satisfying theneed for complex inter-agency, multi-level planning
and management strategies that cross
anthropogenic or political boundaries (Cook &
van Lier 1994).
Biodiversity planning requires information on the
distribution of ecosystems, species and geneticvariation (section 3.2). While all biological surveys
are expensive, species and genetic surveys are
particularly time consuming and typically sampleonly a very small proportion of the total area of a
region and its species or species groups
(e.g. mammals and birds may be relatively well
sampled, but not invertebrates or lower plantspecies). This patchy nature of species and genetic
data is often addressed by using surrogate
measures of species distributions (Resource
Assessment Commission 1993; Wessels et al.
1999). Types of surrogates used in Australia forbiodiversity planning include mapped land classes
(vegetation and land systems) environmental
classifications derived from numerical analysis of
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environmental attributes (e.g. terrain and soils) and
modelled species distributions. Recent work on theeffectiveness of surrogates for biodiversity suggests
that a range of the commonly used surrogates do
predict species distributions although the
effectiveness varies with type of surrogate, speciesgroups and regions (Ferrier & Watson 1997).
In Queensland, a system of defining regional
ecosystems has been developed (Sattler & Williams1999). They are defined as vegetation communities
in a biogeographic region, which are consistentlyassociated with a particular combination of geology,
landform and soil. They are widely used as a
biodiversity planning tool in Queensland in
conjunction with information on the distribution ofindividual species over much of the State. The
integrated nature of regional ecosystems is believed
to provide a robust classification for biodiversity
planning that maximises their use as a surrogate forother levels of biodiversity (Sattler & Williams 1999).
Regional ecosystems generally provide an effectivesurrogate for biodiversity. The use of this
classification can be justified on the grounds that
they are derived in a systematic way based onsound ecological principles and that they can be
mapped. Maps are advantageous in biodiversity
planning because the definition of the status (e.g.
intact or reservation ) and the distribution of ourbiota, are critical The regional ecosystem
classification is used to define the range of
ecosystems needed to provide habitat for the full
range of species-level biodiversity.
The use of the bioregional or regional classificationof ecosystems is often referred to in the concept of
‘bioregional planning’. Powell (1996) notes that the
application of the term ‘bioregional’ in the context
of planning in Australia ‘emphasises the supremacyof natural units over other jurisdictional areas,
including political divisions’. Powell maintains that
the process not only includes the importance of
ecological entities, but also expands spatial visionand promotes public participation in the process.
The Global Biodiversity Strategy defines a bioregion
as being:• large enough to maintain the integrity of itsbiological communities, habitats and ecosystems
• having cultural identity and a sense of home to
its local residents
• containing a mosaic of land uses• having components which are dynamic and
interactive (Lambert & Elix 1996).
Brunkhorst (1995) asserts that a strategic
bioregional framework for planning and
management should reflect nature and society. Hesuggests that it should be ‘multi-stakeholder groups
that are striving to establish cooperative programsthat address ecological, cultural and economic
issues at the scale of the regional landscape’. Healso recommends that the management paradigm
be ecologically sustainable use, strongly supported
by research and monitoring, core protected areas,
rehabilitation, and the reduction and managementof human impacts.
Historically, conservation of biodiversity has been
restricted to protected or reserve areas, but their
establishment has generally been opportunistic.
Such areas continue to play a role in conservation,but it is increasingly acknowledged that the reserve
system is not in itself the solution. Brunkhorst(1995) suggests that the function of reserves should
go beyond protection, as they represent areas forrehabilitation of environments, nutrient sinks,
landscape stability, and the replenishment of
species assemblages and recruitment. The
recognition of the need to connect these reserveswith outside areas has led to the inclusion of
ecological links in bioregional planning, and reflects
the concepts developed in landscape ecology.
Brunkhorst (1995) asserts that ‘these connectivitiesalready exist in nature—we need human
management systems which reflect these naturalprocesses—a bioregional planning framework could
help achieve these common goals.’ Dale andBellamy (1998) note however, that regions are far
more frequently based on administrative and
economic factors than bioregional considerations.
On a geographically lower level than bioregional
planning, there has been the evolution of strategicplanning, at metropolitan and local levels (Neilson
1996). Neilson defines strategic plans as a means
of addressing the broadly-based, forward planning,
economic, social, cultural and environmental
aspects of development as well as the social andeconomic infrastructure.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR
1999e), in providing guidelines for the development
of regional strategies, describes regional planningas the linking mechanism between bottom-up
community planning (i.e. property and catchment
planning) and top-down principle-based
institutional planning (e.g. internationalagreements, national and State-wide natural
resource management strategies). They emphasise
the need for this intermediate level to integrate wellwith surrounding levels of planning.
Opportunities and limitations of regionalplanning
Dale and Bellamy (1998) argue that while there hasbeen substantial regional planning, its effectiveness
has been limited. They note the following issues
hindering implementation of integrated regional or
landscape planning schemes or strategies:• The practical problems of integrating information
that is disparate across time, space and
academic boundaries, thus inhibiting theintegration and sharing of information.
• The difference in the character of the problem
and the available analytical approaches or
institutional arrangements.
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Box 6.1 Principles for regional resource-use planning.Source: Dale & Bellamy (1999).
6.1.3 Planning for vegetationmanagement
This review has examined in detail many of thescientific arguments for how and why native
vegetation in Queensland should be managed. This
section has demonstrated both the opportunities
and the limitations of planning in sustainablenatural resource management, particularly at
regional scales. In considering Queensland’s
substantial native vegetation resource, it is evident
that planning certainly has a role to play inaddressing the threats and opportunities involved
in securing its sustainable management. As
highlighted in section 2, a number of legislativeinstruments have adopted planning approaches tomanaging natural resources, for example in the
Integrated Planning Act 1997 (Qld) and in particular
managing native vegetation, for example, Tree118
• Sustainability—planning needs to achieve
sustainable outcomes in natural resource
management, although measurement anddefinition of sustainability are vexacious, and
there has been limited integration of economic,
social and ecological sustainability.
• Equity—is closely associated with an
individual’s overall judgement of the inherent
fairness of the planning process, and willdetermine willingness and commitment to the
outcome.
• Accountability—those planning activities must
be accountable to the stakeholders, and thisreflects governments’ accountability to their
constituents.
• Integration—poor integration between planning
disciplines, activities and institutional
arrangements has previously caused planningproblems This has resulted in inefficiencies and
inequities, favouring economic rather thansocial and environmental objectives.
• Adequacy—checks that negotiatory and
participatory elements are working, and askswhether interventions are being applied at
appropriate levels to get the job done.
• Effectiveness—means checking that planning
activities result in meaningful and effective
outcomes.
• Efficiency—represents outcomes achieved frominputs to the planning process, and must not
be considered in isolation from thoseoutcomes.
• Adaptiveness—planning systems must
demonstrate the capacity to make strategic andoperational change.
• The fact that there is often a mismatch between
the available technical information and decision-making needs.
• The inability to gain full public participation in
the decision-making process because of
ineffective institutional arrangements.• The lack of comprehensive integration of
legislation, administrative responsibilities and
operational management that would reflect the
complexities and interrelatedness of the variouselements of the natural and human resource
systems.
An integrated approach to environmental planning
and management is an important and emerging
element of regional planning. Dale and Bellamy(1998) report that much of the conceptual
development and experience in Australian regional
planning relates to catchment management.
However, these concepts have proved difficult toimplement in practice because integrated
environmental management is a developing conceptand lacks a well-defined body of guiding principles.
They also argue that ecological theory has beenpoorly integrated into the planning literature. If
resource use planning is to occur in Australia, then
facilitators will need to craft their own approach to
meet the political context. They recommend thatthe following three core elements are required for
regional planning:
• effective application of technical information (in
the biological, social and economic sciences) andappropriate information technologies to assist in
structuring frameworks for negotiation amongstakeholders and to better inform the negotiation
process• structuring, operating, institutionalising,
implementing and monitoring regional planning
in a way that facilitates active negotiation among
stakeholders within the planning arena• processes which ensure that stakeholder groups
involved in the planning negotiations are able to
represent their constituents through appropriate
participatory methods, giving credibility to theagreements negotiated as a result of the regional
planning process.Dale and Cowell (1999) argue that in order to
improve the health of the planning system at a
regional scale it is necessary to :• build regional sectoral capacity
• establish a better institutional basis for
structured negotiations at the regional scale
• ensure that each stage of the process is wellinformed by technical information.
Dale and Bellamy (1998) argue that there are key
principles that should underpin such activities, and
be used to assess the effectiveness of regionalplanning. These include ensuring that all elementsare adaptive and adequate, and are applied in a
way that is sustainable, equitable, accountable,
integrated, effective and efficient (see box 6.1).
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Management Plans under the Land Act 1994 (Qld).
With the introduction of the Vegetation Management
Act 1999 (Qld)12, there are further opportunities to
manage native vegetation through planning and
strategic processes both on the property and at
regional scale.
In particular, the Vegetation Management Act 1999
(Qld) provides for the development of regional
vegetation management plans (RVMPs) by regionalcommittees.
In essence these regional committees will:
1. Prepare a regional vegetation management plan
for a given region that will include:• outcomes for vegetation management
• a code for the clearing of vegetation on
freehold land under the Integrated Planning Act
1997 (Qld) which achieves the purpose of theState code
• local guidelines for tree clearing on leasehold
and State land under the Land Act 1994 (Qld)
• other actions proposed to achieve theoutcomes.
2. Formalise guidelines for achieving best practice
vegetation management in the region.
3. Prepare a spatial representation of the RVMP.
4. Develop and implement consultation and
communication strategies for the formulation ofthe RVMP.
It is possible that the RVMP process, or associated
regional strategies, may facilitate the following :
• the integration of the RVMP and vegetationmanagement with other natural resourcemanagement initiatives in the region
• monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the RVMP
• the regional delivery of sustainable native
vegetation management services, includingincentive programs for landholders
• the identification of areas to be declared as
having high nature conservation values or as
vulnerable to land degradation.
Development of RVMPs presents the opportunity touse the processes developed in landscape ecology
and the concepts of participatory approachesdeveloped in planning theory. Up-to-date
information on the extent and conservation statusof native vegetation is available through the
Queensland Herbarium’s Regional Ecosystem
Mapping project (see section 1.2) and offers an
ecological basis for vegetation planning, rather thanboundaries based on social or administrative
considerations. By basing plans on regional
information, generic State-wide guidelines can be
refined locally, and regional land degradation riskscan be assessed. It is important that these
opportunities and limitations are considered in
developing RVMPs. A planning systems approach
would specifically argue that RVMPs should not beexpected to solve a region’s problems, but could
constructively contribute to the development of an 119
improved regional planning system. It would thenrecommend some clear parameters for use in
conducting the RVMP process.
Lambeck (1999) has described an approach to
regional biodiversity conservation in agricultural
areas that uses an evaluation of the conservationneeds of at-risk plant and animal species as a
template for planning vegetation retention and
configuration. Information of this kind can be usedas a basis for regional vegetation planning.The challenge for government agencies and
community groups is how to develop methods of
implementing regional plans through actions at the
property level. While legislative changes willprovide an impetus, successful vegetation
management is likely to depend on fostering a
sense of ownership of the issue among landholders
and successful facilitation of an integratedecosystem approach.
6.1.4 Property planning
Landholders use a variety of formal and informal
plans to manage their properties for production.The Department of Land and Water Conservation,
New South Wales (1995) describes property
management planning as the process of analysis
and then planning property operation frompersonal, physical and financial perspectives.
Planning the management of vegetation in
particular can help to:
• secure the long-term viability of a property• protect biodiversity and prevent soil erosion and
salinity• protect catchments and keep them healthy
• control pests using integrated pest management• provide production values such as shade and
shelter.
Under both the Land Act 1994 (Qld) and theVegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld), applications
for a permit to clear trees must be accompanied bya property vegetation management plan (PVMP)13,
which details the type, area and location of
vegetation proposed to be cleared.
Formalising PVMPs may assist landholders byincreasing awareness of vegetation on the property,
identifying areas vulnerable to degradation that
should be retained and identification of areas of
degradation. The general principles of planningapply at this level of planning as they do to other
levels.
6.1.5 Configuration of remnantvegetation
The trend has been to clear the most productive
elements within a landscape completely and to
leave surrounding, less productive areas with thevegetation intact. While this may ensure that a
large area of the property or paddock remains
covered in woody vegetation, it reduces habitat
diversity. To maintain and conserve biodiversity it is
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recommended that 30% of each regional
ecosystem is retained (see section 4.1).Importantly, the mix of land uses should be
considered and threshold parameters taken into
account. For example McIntyre et al. (1999)
recommend a mix of 30% retention of woodyvegetation, 10% of the area managed specifically
for wildlife and a maximum of 30% used
intensively (cropping, exotic pastures). These, in
combination with other thresholds, are required tosupport the bulk of plant and animal species in
grassy woodlands in south-east Queensland.
The most appropriate configuration of retained
vegetation will depend on the planned land use.
For example, where potential salinisation is aconcern, intake areas should support native woody
vegetation; where shelter from cold winds is
required, south and south-western slopes should
be left covered by trees. Where trees encouragegrowth beneath their canopy, some scattering of
trees may be beneficial. Scattered trees may alsoreduce temperature extremes and in tropical to
subtropical environments this may be sufficient toprevent frosting of pastures (McIvor 1990a).
Retained vegetation can be in the form of strips or
clumps. Clumps are more effective in that a greater
proportion of the total retained area is natural
(minimal edge effect) compared with strips (seesection 4.1.2). The wider the strip, the larger the
natural habitat area for the same reserved area.
Strips should also interconnect with large
undisturbed or natural habitat (clumps or
reserves). Clumps must be large enough to supporta viable population of wildlife and should be joined
to other native vegetation areas to allow movement
between major reserved areas (Bennett 1999). It isimportant to diversify structure (i.e. a combination
of strips, clumps and patches) to allow greater
resilience to disturbances.
Another option for retaining some woody vegetation
and increasing livestock carrying capacity is to thinthe existing stand, leaving a savanna landscape.
This has aesthetic appeal, but in most situations a
savanna is undesirable. Problems may include: 1)the habitat for native fauna and flora isdramatically altered (unless the original vegetation
was a savanna and the density had markedly
increased); 2) that remaining trees are likely to have
a shorter lifespan, and are more prone to insectand disease attack, and to fire damage; (see section
4.2.1 Dieback); 3) that pasture production is often
lower from a savanna landscape than from an area
in which the equivalent number of trees wereretained in undisturbed habitat while the
complement of the area was cleared (Burrows et al.
1988a); and 4) the mature remaining trees are seedtrees that ensure a seed source to re-establish newtrees, thereby creating an inherent regrowth
problem. As few as 40 trees/ha, each 10 m high,
can result in three-quarters of an area being subject
to seed rain, whereas the same number of smallertrees potentially impacts a mere 10% of the area.
However, a savanna landscape can be desirable
where the canopied zone is more productive than
the interspaces. Reasons for this include increased
total soil nutrient levels (Dowling et al. 1986;Ebersohn & Lucas 1965), and indirect effects of
shade (Wilson et al. 1986; Wilson et al. 1990a).However, this situation occurs in very limited areas
within Queensland.
6.1.6 How do the different layers ofplanning relate?
The emphasis of these initiatives on decisionmaking at the property level is understandable,
given that the individual property is the unit for
resource use decisions. However, approaches to
resource management based solely at this level donot always adequately address the wider-scale
issues involved. The geophysical and ecologicalinfluences of soil, water and vegetation use operate
at scales well beyond the borders of individualproperties. Hence, a broader perspective is required
for long-term, ecologically-based, rational resource
use. Incremental degradation of resources is a well-
known phenomenon. At the same time, land tenureis a fundamental part of the management
environment and broader objectives cannot be met
without the involvement of all resource users.
There is a need to combine regional issues andmanagement strategies with the implementation of
actions at a property scale that collectively
addresses these issues. Over the last decade or
two, the development of the landcare movementand integrated catchment management has been a
positive response to this need. For example, the
goals of the Queensland Decade of Landcare (DNR
1997) include the minimisation of adverse effects ofland use and the integration of production and
nature conservation, assessing needs on a regional
rather than an individual farm basis. Similar
strategies have been identified by numerous other
community-based, resource management groups.Various legislative instruments (see section 2.0),
and other institutional arrangements (e.g.
catchment and property management plans)operate to provide a wide range of planning
activities in the regions. The Broadscale Tree
Clearing Policy (1997)14 incorporated regional
issues such as protection of riparian areas andconservation of threatened plant communities, but
still primarily addressed these issues through
prescriptions at the property level. RVMPs offer the
opportunity to plan ‘upwards’ from the property,
bringing the details and experience at this level upto the regional approach, and incorporate already
established regional strategies and plans to develop
an integrated, and improved planning system.
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6.2 Monitoring The use of adaptive management is an important
aspect of regional planning (Iles 1996; Dale &
Bellamy 1998). Adaptive management is anapproach to environmental policy that treats policy
measures as experiments to be learned from
(Iles 1996). By monitoring the results of policy or
planning, modification of management and
strategies can be made via a feedback loop. Thisapproach contrasts the traditional, centralised, top-
down, static framework for management and
acknowledges the dynamic nature of ecosystems.Monitoring requires that there be effective indicators
of sustainability to measure. These indicators may
monitor productivity and ecosystem health.
Medium to long-term monitoring of the effects ofmanagement is vital because:
• it is important to keep a record of impacts within
a remnant after any management action, so that
an understanding of the effect of a range ofmanagement prescriptions can be constructed
• repeated observations and monitoring are
necessary to assess whether adapted land-
management practises are having the desiredeffect. If not, they can then be altered accordingly
to allow for the amelioration of impacts.
Monitoring at the property scale includes those
managerial functions that are necessary to
measure the performance of a property withrespect to its progress toward achieving the goals
and objectives established during the planning
phase (Stuth et al 1991). There are two maincomponents to monitoring:• gathering and maintaining information
• analysis and interpretation of this information to
measure performance and diagnose problems.
The monitoring of livestock numbers, livestock
productivity (growth rates, wool returns,reproductive rate, livestock sales etc.) are generally
the most useful indicators of productivity and
economic status (Wilson et al. 1990b). However,
animal productivity is not always a good indicatorof resource condition, as animal production can be
maintained for some time after pasture
deterioration has occurred (Beale et al. 1984). It is
important to recognise that no single measure orstandard technique will describe the ‘condition’ of
the land resource. The type of land use and the
objectives of management will define the specific
attributes that should be measured and the way inwhich they are measured (Wilson et al. 1990b).
The purpose of monitoring land resources
For pastoral enterprises, the major source of
income is from the production of livestock. The
long-term viability of a property therefore depends
on maintaining the condition and vigour of thevegetation on which livestock graze (Muir 1992).
It therefore makes sound business sense to monitor
the condition of the major resources of theenterprise (vegetation, water and soils).
Monitoring the productivity of vegetation primarily
involves measuring changes in vegetation, and
subsequent effects on livestock production and soil
erosion. Vegetation is easier to measure, can beinterpreted in terms of its effects on potential
productivity and soil protection and is a moresensitive indicator of ecosystem change than
livestock are (Wilson et al. 1990b). Monitoringchange in vegetation condition can therefore
enable adjustment of land management practices
(Bonham 1989).
It is traditionally accepted that remnant size, shape
and proximity to other areas of native vegetation arecritical variables affecting the persistence of native
species and the invasion by exotic species (Saunders
& Hobbs, 1991). Other factors affecting the condition
and functioning of remnants include the type and
intensity of disturbances that the remnant has beensubject to, and the vegetation types, which vary in
their levels of natural resilience and resistance to
change. Despite these influences, degradedremnants are still valuable in the landscape in terms
of property productivity and regional conservation,
although it is assumed that remnants with a higher
degree of naturalness are better able to providethese values across the landscape.
Monitoring of remnant vegetation allows anevaluation of existing land-management practicesand assesses the potential impacts on the condition
and long-term viability of the remnant patch orstrip. (Dallmeier & Comiskey 1998)
At present there are few published studies in
Queensland that deal specifically with remnant
condition and function in terms of community
structure, impacts of disturbance and habitat values.
The effective long-term management of remnantvegetation requires adequate property-level,
baseline data to enable better informed
management decisions. From a landholder
perspective, the simplest and most effective method
of monitoring is to record all observations andmanagement actions affecting remnant vegetation.
Photographs of the remnant may be included for
future comparisons, especially as evidence ofthickening of the understorey shrub layer, or of
degradation of vegetation condition over time.
Photographic records are an effective means of
assessing change over time or as a means ofcomparing the condition of similar forest types that
have been subject to varying management
practices. A property map including locations of
remnant strips and patches of native vegetation will
be useful in providing baseline data.
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Endnotes1 Under the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld), ecosystem
status is assessed using criteria relating solely to habitat loss asindicated by the preclearing and remnant area. This differs fromthe ecosystem conservation status in Sattler & Williams (1999),which includes criteria relating to other threatening processessuch as grazing degradation. (See table 1.6.)
2 Note the impact of Mabo and Others v. Queensland (No. 2)175 CLR 1. Since European settlement, land administration inAustralia has been based on the traditional doctrine thatAustralia was terra nullius (land belonging to no one) at the timeof European settlement. The decision in Mabo (No. 2) establishedat common law that native title may have survived where it hadnot been lost or extinguished. Where native title has been lost orcompletely extinguished there are no rights remaining to berecognised. Where native title continues to exist, the commonlaw recognises the rights of the native titleholders in a similarway to the recognition of the rights of ordinary titleholders.
3 Note that this is currently under review.
4 Department of Primary Industries recommendations of 20% areretention levels beyond ‘vulnerable’ areas, (e.g. steep slopes,riparian zones etc.).
5 This estimate, made in 1991 (Gordon 1991), was based on asurvey of regional extension staff. At the time, Department ofNatural Resources extension staff estimated that 10 000 ha were
severely affected and approximately 75 000 ha were at risk. Thisfigure may now be an underestimate, as the area at risk in theMurray–Darling basin within Queensland has recently beenestimated at 600 000 ha (MDBC 1999).
6 This is the proportion of applied water required to drain throughthe root zone to maintain soil salinity at an acceptableconcentration.
7 ‘Forest’ is an area, incorporating all living and non-livingcomponents, dominated by trees having usually a single stemand a mature or potentially mature stand height exceeding twometres, and with existing or potential crown cover of overstoreystrata about equal to, or greater than 20%. It is also sufficientlybroad to encompass areas of trees that are described aswoodlands (DPIE 1998a).
8 Some clearing may also occur for other reasons, including
experimentation with pasture development on ‘new’ landscapetypes; making the area easier to muster; and responding to therisk that governments might impose further clearing restrictions.However, the dominant expectation is that clearing will increaseoverall returns.
9 The material in this paragraph and the following four paragraphson carbon emissions has been taken from Rolfe et al. (2000).
10 W. H. Burrows (2000 pers. comm., 25 April) reports thatestimates of above-ground biomass for eucalypts in northernQueensland are being revised upwards, and may beapproximately 6 tonnes per m2 of basal area.
11 Prices for carbon offsets are likely to fall further as newopportunities for offsets are found and markets continue todevelop.
12 Not yet proclaimed, at the time of publication.
13 Referred to under the Land Act 1994 (Qld) as a treemanagement plan.
14 Replaced in 1999 by A Broadscale Tree Clearing Policy forLeasehold Land.
There are many vegetation and soil monitoring
tools available in Queensland. These range fromintensive procedures used by researchers
examining specific ecosystem processes to simple
techniques used by land managers to visually
monitor trends in vegetation. Detailed descriptionsof the steps to consider when developing a
monitoring program can be found in Brown 1954;
Bonham 1989; Wilson et al. 1990b; DNR 1999d;
and Forge 1997.
For land administrators who are interested in aregional perspective, some major tools are
available. Firstly, the TRAPS and QGRAZE network
of vegetation monitoring sites established across
Queensland. Secondly, the remote sensingmonitoring conducted by the Department of
Natural Resources in the Statewide Landcover and
Trees Study (SLATS).
It is essential that the objectives of any monitoring
program be clearly defined at the outset. This will
greatly assist in determining what will be measuredand how it will be measured. It is essential to focus
on the plant, water and soil characteristics that can
be monitored to detect change at a scale relevant tothe level of management.
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Appendixes
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The dominant land use of the region is cattle
grazing on native pastures. The region is sparselypopulated. Pastoral leases cover most of the region
and stocking levels are reasonably low. The only
broadacre clearing has occurred in the south,
where gidgee ( Acacia cambagei) communities have
been cleared, mainly on clay soils.
3. Cape York Peninsula
The Cape York Peninsula bioregion extends fromthe northern tip of Queensland to Cooktown on its
southern border.
The region receives a high, though strongly
seasonal (summer) rainfall. Much of the region is
dominated by gently undulating plains and plateauswith sandy earth, relatively deep, but low nutrient
status soils. The dominant vegetation is ‘savanna’
woodlands; typically Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptustetrodonta) and related Eucalyptus spp. with a tallgrass understorey. Lower lying areas often support
paperbark (Melaleuca viridiflora) woodlands. Closer
to the coast there are estuarine and alluvial plains
supporting a range of mangroves, wetlands, vineforests, fringing woodlands, grasslands and a
diverse array of other coastal formations. Mainly
sandstone, but also older volcanic geologies form
ranges and low hills supporting various Eucalyptusspp. and Corymbia spp. woodlands and scattered,
mixed species vine forests.
Pastoral leases, conservation reserves and Deed ofGrant in Trust (Aboriginal land) cover most of the
region. The region is considered to be in a relativelynatural state with the dominant land uses being
cattle grazing on native pastures, tourism, nature
conservation, support for traditional Aboriginal life
and some mining. Broadscale clearing for moreintensive agricultural management is not
appropriate.
4. Mitchell Grass Downs
The Mitchell Grass Downs bioregion occurs in a
horizontal band across the largely semiarid centralwest of Queensland. The region is dominated by
undulating plains with deep, heavy, clay soils
formed from the underlying Cretaceous shales.These areas support mainly Mitchell grass ( Astreblaspp). tussock grasslands (the ‘downs’) sometimes
with a low tree layer of gidgee ( Acacia cambagei)and other species (the ‘wooded downs’).
The undulating plains are drained by several river
systems, south into the Channel Country bioregion
or north to the Gulf Plains and the ocean. The
associated floodplains support a range of coolibah(E. coolabah) woodlands and grasslands–forblands.
Low, dissected, deeply-weathered residuals with
shallow soils supporting a range of sparse acacia
or cassia shrublands are also scattered across theregion.
The bioregions of Queensland group the State into
areas with broadly similar landscape patterns.These areas provide a useful context for assessing
the natural resources of the State. Following is a
general overview of the regions including major
geology, landform, soils, the characteristic native
vegetation and ecosystems and the dominant landtenure and use that the regions support
(summarised from Sattler & Williams 1999).
1. Northwest Highlands
The NorthWest Highlands bioregion lies in the far
north-west of the State adjoining the Northern
Territory border. The region is characterised bystony hills and ranges, often formed from old,
heavily folded sediments or limestone. The
dominant vegetation type is the ubiquitous snappy
gum (Eucalyptus leucophloia) in open woodlands
with a spinifex Triodia spp. ground layer. Sandsheets overlying older rocks occur at the foot of the
ranges, particularly along the south-western edge
of the region. These areas support E. leucophloiaand other eucalyptus open woodlands. Rivers, and
associated sandy and clayey floodplains drain the
region south into the Mitchell Grass Downs, or
north into the Gulf Plains, and support a range ofopen woodland shrublands and open
grass–forblands. Areas of gidgee ( Acacia cambagei)shrubland occur scattered across the region on
alluvium or clay soils derived from underlying
Cretaceous sediments.
The major land uses within the NorthWest
Highlands are mining and extensive cattle grazing.
The region is sparsely populated. Due to the low
and erratic rainfall, trees are cleared mainly forroutine management purposes.
2. Gulf Plains
The Gulf Plains bioregion extends around the
southern and eastern shores of the Gulf ofCarpentaria, between the Northern Territory border
and the Mitchell River. The region is characterisedby the extensive alluvial plains of the large river
systems that drain the area to the northerncoastline. These areas support mainly blue grass
(Dichanthium spp). grasslands and various open
woodlands dominated by species such as coolibah
(E. microtheca), guttapercha (Excoecaria parviflora),Corymbia spp., gidgee ( A. cambagei), paperbark
(Melaleuca spp). and bauhinia (Lysiphyllumcunninghamii).
Along the coast are extensive estuarine areas and
floodplains supporting mangroves, sedgelands and
grasslands and providing important wetlandhabitat. Gently sloping sandstone tablelands along
the eastern margin of the region support a variety
of eucalyptus woodlands and lancewood( A. shirleyi) low, open forests.
Appendix 1 Overview of the bioregions of Queensland
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Most of the region is used extensively for grazing of
sheep and cattle production. Land tenure is mainlyleasehold, with freehold occurring commonly in the
south-east of the region.
5. Channel Country
The Channel Country bioregion occurs in the aridsouth-west corner of Queensland. The region is
characterised by the Channel Country—the vast
(often 10–50 km or more wide) braided floodplainsof the Georgina, Eyre, Cooper and Diamantinarivers and creeks, which supply most of the water
in the land locked Eyre Basin to the south-west.
These river systems support a range of herbfields,
grasslands, terminal swamps, claypans, lakes andfringing eucalypt woodlands.
Wetlands in these areas provide important
ephemeral habitat for enormous water-bird
populations. The floodplains are surrounded by
undulating gravel or stone (gibber) covered plains
supporting Mitchell Grass ( Astrebla spp.) grasslandand forblands. Further away are low dissected
residuals, which support a range of acacia–senna
sparse shrubland communities. In the south-westof the region, but also scattered across it, are sand
dunes and plains supporting sparse spinifex
hummock grasslands and an arid desert flora
and fauna.
The dominant industry in the region is cattlegrazing, with smaller areas used for mining and
tourism.
6. Mulga LandsThe Mulga Lands bioregion occurs in the semiarid
central south of Queensland. The region is
dominated by flat, to gently undulating plains, with
low nutrient status red earth soils derived fromQuaternary deposits. These areas support mainly
mulga ( Acacia aneura) shrubland and woodlands.
Low, dissected, highly-weathered hills with shallow
stony soils support Acacia spp. shrublands. Poplarbox (Eucalyptus populnea) woodlands occur on
lower-lying alluvial areas or in the eastern parts of
the region, across the surrounding plains as a
co-dominant with mulga. More fertile and moistareas supporting coolibah (E. coolabah) woodlands
and Mitchell Grass ( Astrebla spp.) herb grasslands
are scattered across the region, associated with the
floodplains of major rivers and smaller drainagelines. Brigalow ( Acacia harpophylla), in the east, and
gidgee ( Acacia cambagei) woodlands or shrublands
are also scattered across the region, occurring on
alluvial soils or soils produced from underlyingCretaceous shales.
Most of the land in the region is used for cattle and
sheep grazing. Intensive land clearing is morecommon in the eastern parts of the region. Land
tenure is mainly leasehold, although freeholdtenures are more common towards the eastern part
of the region and the Warrego River floodplain in
the central south.
7. Wet Tropics
The Wet Tropics bioregion is situated along the
tropical east coast of northern Queensland. Theregion is dominated by rugged mountain ranges,
which include the highest mountains in
Queensland. These areas are formed from granites
and other old sediments and meta-sediments. Themountains, and some of the associated lower hills
and undulating plains, which receive a high andconsistent rainfall, often support an extremely
diverse array of the lush, complex, tropicalmesophyll rainforest and vine forests which
characterise the region.
Above the mountains, along the western edge of
the region, are extensive plateau areas with basalt-
derived, fertile, soils that support both rainforestsand eucalyptus forests. Below the mountains are
low-lying coastal plains that support eucalyptus
and melaleuca woodlands. Mangroves, samphire,
beach vine forests and other communities occur on
the saline estuarine plains and adjacent coastallandscapes.
Clearing is largely restricted to the plateau areas
where small cropping and dairying are the major
land uses, and to the coastal lowlands, where sugarcane production is the major industry. Tourism and
nature conservation are major land uses for the
World Heritage listed rainforest areas of the region.
8. Central Queensland Coast
The Central Queensland Coast bioregion is centred
upon the high rainfall coastal lowlands, hills andranges around Byfield in the south, and
Carmilla–Proserpine in the north. Subcoastal andcoastal rugged ranges and lower hills support
broad-leaved evergreen, rain and vine forests or a
range of eucalyptus and corymbia forests and
woodlands. The lower-lying coastal and alluvialplains support a series of melaleuca and
eucalyptus dominated woodlands. Adjacent to the
coast, mangroves and samphire occur on saline
estuarine deposits. Eucalyptus, banksia andmelaleuca woodlands and wetlands occur on
coastal sand and dune complexes.The major land uses include sugar cane on the
lower lying alluvial and adjacent plains and cattle
grazing. Flatter parts of the region have beencleared extensively for agriculture.
9. Einasleigh Uplands
The Einasleigh Uplands bioregion straddles theGreat Dividing Range in inland north-east
Queensland. The region is mainly undulating to
hilly, with some rugged ranges and plateaus. Most
of the region is covered in eucalyptus woodlands;
common species include E. drepanophylla, E. crebra,E. microneura, E. cullenii and E. brownii. Low hills
and ranges support bendee ( A. catenulata)
lancewood ( A. shirleyi) open forest, or eucalyptus
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low open woodlands. Tertiary lava flows are a
distinctive and common component of the southernhalf of the region. These areas support ironbark
woodlands, vine thickets and smaller but distinctive
lake and seasonally flooded vegetation communities.
Most of the region is leasehold land, although areas
of freehold are widespread in some parts such asthe area near Charters Towers. The major land use
is extensive grazing, although cropping is locallysignificant. Clearing is largely restricted to freehold
land, usually for cropping or horticultural purposes.
10. Desert Uplands
The Desert Uplands bioregion lies in central
northern Queensland, straddling the Great Dividing
Range between Blackall and Pentland. The region isdominated by sand plains supporting eucalyptus
open woodlands; widespread dominant species
include E. similis, E. whitei, E. melanophloia and
E. populnea/brownii. Low sandstone ranges carry a
variety of eucalyptus woodlands and lancewood( Acacia shirleyi) and bendee ( A. catenulata) low,
open forests.
More fertile clay soils derived from alluvium,
Cainozoic clay deposits or underlying Cretaceoussediments support gidgee ( Acacia cambagei), black
gidgee ( A. argyrodendron) and some brigalow
( A. harpophylla) and Mitchell Grass ( Astrebla spp.)
grasslands. Large, ephemeral lake systems and theirassociated surrounding dunes support fringing
coolibah (E. coolabah) woodlands, shrublands,
sedgelands and grasslands. These wetlands provide
important seasonal waterbird habitat.
Extensive cattle grazing is the dominant land use of
this region, although clearing for more intensive
cattle production is becoming more widespread.
Clearing has focused on the heavier soils carryingacacia communities. However, clearing has recently
extended into the eucalypt woodlands on the
infertile sand plains in the south-east part of the
region.
11. Brigalow Belt
The Brigalow Belt bioregion covers much of the500–750 mm per annum rainfall country that runs
in a subcoastal belt between the Queensland–NewSouth Wales border and Townsville. The region
encompasses a wide range of geologies and
associated landforms. As its name suggests, the
region is characterised by the main area ofdistribution of the leguminous tree brigalow ( Acaciaharpophylla), which occurs on flat, to undulating
plains, with deep clay soils derived from Cretaceous
sediments, more recent Cainozoic deposits andolder volcanic rocks.
A wide range of other ecosystems and land formsalso occurs in the region. Ironbark (Eucalyptuscrebra) and a range of other species, and
bloodwood (Corymbia spp) forest and woodlandsoccur on the rugged ranges and hills formed from
sandstone or older folded sediments that crisscross
the region. Cypress pine (Callitris glaucophylla)woodland and/or poplar box (E. populnea), and
silver-leafed ironbark (E. melanophloia) woodlands
are common on slopes and plains with sandy or at
least texture-contrast soils. Grasslands occur onflat plains with clay soils derived from alluvium,
Cretaceous sediments or basalts. Alluvial plains
with clay or sandy soils support a range of
eucalypt woodlands. Softwood scrub (dryrainforest) communities and heathlands are found
in scattered pockets across the region. Estuarine
plains with mangrove forest and samphire
communities occur in parts of the region adjacentto the coast.
The Brigalow Belt is a major agricultural and
pastoral area and tree clearing has been a
widespread practice, particularly as part of land
development schemes since the late 1950s, and isstill substantial in the region (see section 2.0).
12. Southeast QueenslandThe Southeast Queensland bioregion extends from
the New South Wales border, north to Bundaberg.The region contains a wide range of habitat types.
Perhaps the most common are hilly to mountainous
areas supporting spotted gum (C. citriodora) and
Eucalyptus spp. open forests and woodlands.Basalt-derived rugged ranges and hills
characteristically support complex notophyll and
araucarian microphyll rain forests and tall open
forests. The lower lying coastal plains include large
areas of marine, alluvial and the very distinctivelarge sand areas (Fraser, Moreton etc). These areas
support a range of communities including
heathlands, banksia woodlands, mangroves andsedgelands, paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
open forests and blackbutt (E. pilularis), scribbly
gum (E. racemosa) and other eucalyptus woodlands
and open forests.
The region is highly populated and has been
extensively cleared for agriculture and urban
purposes. Most of the region is freehold. Small
areas of leasehold land used for agricultural
purposes occur in the north and west of the region.
13. New England Tableland
The New England Tableland bioregion is
distinguished by its high altitude (>800 m) andgeology (predominantly granite and ‘traprock’—
Devonian and sedimentary, often metamorphosed,
rocks). The main landforms are mountains,
tablelands and hills separated by broad valleys.Vegetation is mainly eucalyptus woodland and
open forest with localised montane heaths and
swamps. Common dominant tree species include
New England blackbutt (E. andrewsii), tumbledowngum (E. dealbata), New England peppermint
(E. noveahollandiae), yellow box (E. melliodora) and
ironbarks (E. crebra) and (E. sideroxylon).
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The major land uses of the region include fruit and
vegetable production, wool growing, cattle grazingand tourism. Horticulture has resulted in the
retention of a greater proportion of natural
vegetation cover. Most of the flatter country has
been cleared and much of the remaining naturalvegetation occurs along the ridgelines.
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Weston et al. (1981) have produced a map of native
pasture that is widely used in Queensland to make
general assessments about capability, degradationand other land resource related issues. A brief
statement is given here on each of the 14 nativepasture communities. The characteristic ground
cover grasses and the dominant tree species areindicated.
1. Pastures sparse or absent
Closed forests and two coastal communities,
namely rainforest, littoral and heath, are groupedtogether because they have limited usefulness for
animal production in the natural state. The total
area they cover is 4 400 000 ha. Rainforest has few
grasses until cleared when Melinis minutiflora,
Pennisetum clandestinum, Paspalum dilatatum and Axonopus affinis may become naturalised.
Although the littoral areas contain a rich ground
flora, pastures of Spinifex hirsutus have a low
productive value. The exception to this is on sometidal flats where valuable seasonal grazing is
obtained from Sporobolus virginicus. The sedge
Schoenus sparteus occurs as a characteristic species
on the heath of Cape York Peninsula.
Prominent soils in the rainforest areas are friableearths and fertile loams; in littoral zones they are
plastic clays and texture contrast soils with gleyed
clayey subsoils; and in heath areas, infertile earths.
2. Bladygrass
A composite of northern and southern sandy
coastal lowlands, these open forest and woodland
communities cover an area of only 2 700 000 haand generally receive more than 1100 mm of rainfall
annually. The major trees in the north are
Eucalyptus platyphylla, Corymbia dallachiana and
bloodwoods; and in the south, E. signata,bloodwoods and Melaleuca spp. The characteristic
grasses are Themeda triandra and Imperata cylindricawith Heteropogon triticeus associated in the north and
A. affinis in the south. Intensive use is not possiblein the absence of expensive land development.
Soils are infertile, mostly with a shallow A horizon
and an impervious B horizon in the duplex profiles.
3. Black speargrass
Black speargrass (Heteropogon contortus) is the mostextensive native pasture community in the humid
and subhumid zones. It occupies 25 000 000 ha
and for the most part receives between 700 mm
and 1200 mm of rainfall annually. Woodlands andopen forests of Eucalyptus spp. (E. crebra,
C. citriodora, E. tereticornis, and C. tessellaris) occur in
coastal and subcoastal areas along the eastern
seaboard from Cooktown to the Queensland–New
South Wales border. Induced by management
practices, H. contortus is the most characteristicspecies, although Bothriochloa bladhii and T. triandra
are dominant in some parts of the community.While black speargrass occurs on almost all soil
types, 70% of its area is confined to infertile
texture-contrast soils and earths. The remainderoccurs on more fertile soils (duplex, loam, and
clay) and is thus subject to replacement by sown
pasture species or crops.
Most areas in the south have been cleared to some
extent, some extensively, by tree ringbarking andpoisoning.
4. Queensland bluegrass
Dichanthium sericeum grasslands occur on limited(2 400 000 ha) areas of fertile cracking clays in
southern (Darling Downs) and central (Central
Highlands) Queensland. Rainfall averages between
600 mm and 700 mm annually.
Characteristic species in southern Queensland areD. sericeum, D. affine and Aristida leptopoda, while
Bothriochloa erianthoides, D. sericeum, D. affine, A. leptopoda, A. latifolia and Astrebla spp. occur in
the Central Highlands.
Much of this grassland community is cultivated
for crops.
5. Brigalow pastures
Flat, to gently undulating brigalow forests, and
open forests occupy 8 700 000 ha of largely fertile,sometimes gilgaied heavy clays that occur to the
west of the black spear grass in central and
southern Queensland. The dominant tree in this
area is Acacia harpophylla, which is associated withseveral other trees. Casuarina cristata is often
co-dominant and on some soils it may be
dominant. Although clearing by axe was started
around 1900, accelerated development hasoccurred over only the past 40 years with the use
of heavy machinery for land clearing.
Pasture species (Paspalidium spp.) were sparse before
clearing. Following tree removal, and in the absence
of species introduction, native pasture communitiesbased on Chloris, Paspalidium, Dichanthium,
Sporobolus and Eragrostis spp. developed.
Sixty per cent of brigalow pasture soils are uniform
clays of moderate to good fertility. A further 27%
are texture contrast soils of moderate fertility. Very
high levels of production immediately followingdevelopment have declined in brigalow pastures,
but these pasture systems remain productive
compared with others in the State. Long-term land-use trends in this native pasture community are
Appendix 2 Description of land types (native pasture communities)
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towards greater areas of cultivation at the expense
of sown and native pastures, especially on claysoils and in southern areas. The use of leucaena
(Leucaena leucocephala) is providing a significant
boost to animal production in the northern half of
the zone.
6. Aristida–Bothriochloa pastures
This community is a composite of eight types in
which either Aristid a or Bothriochloa spp. areprominent. It occupies 33 500 000 ha of semiaridwoodlands that surround, and in places form a
mosaic with brigalow in central and southern
Queensland. It occurs as an unbroken community
in north Queensland. Infertile earths, texture-contrast and sandy soils comprise 89% of the area.
In many pastures, Aristida has been a major
increaser. Land use is predominantly sheep and
cattle grazing at relatively low stocking rates,except in the granite–traprock area where rates are
higher. The small proportion of better soils (11%)
have potential for forage cropping.
The component vegetation zones are:
• Western slopes of Einasleigh uplands: woodlands
of E. microneura developed on infertile sandy soilswith Aristida spp. and Chrysopogon fallax prominent.
• Paperbarked tea-tree: (Melaleuca spp.) low
woodlands occurring on infertile earths andduplex soils with Aristida spp. and C. fallax as
characteristic grasses. Low grazing pressures
have left these pastures in good condition.
• Lancewood: woodlands of Acacia shirleyi with a
very sparse ground cover of Triodia pungens and Aristida spp. occupying dissected plateau areas
with skeletal soils. The level of use is low.
• Dissected sandstone hills: a range of forest or
woodland communities occurring on dissected
sandstone hills. Eucalyptus spp. form layeredwoodlands with grasses such as Cymbopogonrefractus, Aristida spp., Themeda triandra,
Arundinella spp. and Triodia mitchellii. Acacia open
forests with A. catenulata and A. shirleyi have
Aristida caput-medusae, Cleistochloa subjuncea,Dimorphochloa rigida, Cymbopogon refractus and
Arundinella spp. as characteristic grasses.
Aristida spp. increase with disturbance.
• Poplar box-mulga: woodlands of E. populnea withan understorey of Acacia aneura, Geijera parvifloraand sometimes Eremophila mitchellii occur on
deep red earth plains. Grasses commonly
encountered are Aristida spp. and Thyridolepismitchelliana. Sheep and cattle grazing have
promoted the increase of Aristida and probably
contributed to increased densities of woodyplants.
• Semiarid woodland plains and low hills:
woodlands of Eucalyptus populnea and Eremophilamitchellii with G. parviflora develop on alluvial
material and are often associated with drainage
lines. Soils are duplexes of moderate fertility.
Chloris spp. are important grasses, and withdevelopment and use, Bothriochloa and
Aristida spp. become prominent. Heavy sheep
and cattle grazing in the past has promoted
Aristida spp. and probably contributed toincreased densities of woody plants.
• Southern sandy country: there are two distinct
community types contained in this vegetation
zone. The first is the open forest of Callitriscolumellaris and Casuarina leuhmannii that occurson infertile sandy duplex soils (solodics) and
contains a native pasture of Aristida and
Eragrostis as characteristic genera.The second
is the temperate woodland community thatextends northward from New South Wales into
the southern Darling Downs and is locallyknown as the granite–traprock country. It
contains a large range of eucalyptus species.While subtropical woodland grasses such as
Bothriochloa decipiens and B. macra occur,
temperate grasses such as Stipa scabra and
Danthonia spp. are also prominent.
• Cypress pine: deep, sandy, duplex soils supportCallitris glaucophylla woodlands with a variety of
Eucalyptus spp. and sometimes with Allocasuarinaleuhmannii. Native pastures are very sparse and
contain Aristida spp. and Cymbopogon refractus as
characteristic grasses. Densities of cypress pinehave increased considerably in the absence of fire.
7. Gidgee pastures
A total area of 4 800 000 ha probably
underestimates the extent of gidgee ( Acaciacambagei) and Georgina gidgee ( A. georginae). As
rainfall decreases, gidgee replaces brigalow on theheavier soils and scattered occurrences on the
margins of both brigalow forests and Astrebla spp.
grasslands may not be recorded as distinct
communities. Gidgee stands in the latter grasslands
have increased in density and in area in recentdecades. Georgina gidgee is restricted to north-
west Queensland.
Dense stands of Acacia cambagei in the central west
had only a sparse ground flora until modified byland clearing. Subsequently, stands of Cenchrusciliaris thrive on high available nitrogen and even in
the long term appear well adapted. They support
greatly increased stocking rates of sheep and cattle.Characteristic native grasses are B. ewartiana and
Dichanthium affine while Astrebla spp., Eragrostis
setifolia, E. parviflora and Chloris pectinate occur inlow, open gidgee woodlands in the south-west.Woodland communities of Acacia georginae support
species of the astrebla grasslands.
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While most commonly occurring on clay soils,
gidgee pastures are also found on loams, earthsand duplex soils.
8. Mulga pastures
The semiarid woodlands give way to mulga ( Acaciaaneura) woodlands and shrublands on the poorerand lighter soils. Both summer and winter rainfall
appear necessary to maintain mulga and the plant
is absent from semiarid regions with regularsummer or winter drought. Structurally, mulgaassociations range from open forests to sparse, tall
open shrublands. They occupy 19 100 000 ha of
south-west and central western Queensland.
Characteristic genera are Aristida, Thyridolepis,
Eriachne, Digitaria and Eragrostis, not necessarilyoccurring in the same communities. The presence
of Acacia aneura as a drought fodder has been
invaluable for the maintenance of stock, but has
contributed directly to the over-utilisation of native
pasture species.Eighty per cent of soils are infertile earths, texture-
contrast soils, or sands.
9. Mitchell grass
The astrebla grasslands are the most extensive and
the most valuable of Queensland’s inland native
pastures. They occupy an area of 29 500 000 ha
between the 250 mm and 500 mm isohyets. Onsuitable soils receiving less than 250 mm of annual
rainfall in the far west, astrebla occurs only during
sequences of high rainfall years. These areas are
more frequently occupied by chenopod herbfields.In flooded areas, Eucalyptus coolabah and
E. camaldulensis fringe drainage lines.
Four Astrebla spp. ( A. lappacea, A. elymoides, A. pectinata, and A. squarrosa) are widespread and
occur as tussock grasslands of low basal cover(2–4%). The interspaces are occupied by a range of
annual grasses and forbs (Iseilema, Dactyloctenium,
Brachyachne, Amaranthus, Salsola, and Portulaca spp.).
The astrebla grasslands occur on heavy textured
soils, 90% being cracking clay and the remainder
fertile duplex soils. High temperatures and the lackof shade are husbandry problems. The spread of
the introduced woody weed, prickly acacia ( Acacianilotica) onto 6 000 000 ha of these grasslands hasled to serious management problems in northern
areas. Other species causing similar concerns
include mesquite (Prosopis) and parkinsonia
(Parkinsonia aculeata), and the native mimosa(Mimosa farnesiana) (Reynolds & Carter 1993).
10. Spinifex
Triodia, Eriachne and Zygochloa are characteristic
species of 21 200 000 ha of poor quality,hummockh native pastures occurring as grasslands
and under acacia and eucalypt (Eucalyptusmelanophloia and E. leucophloia) woodlands. Soils
are sands, loams and duplex soils and are
consistently infertile.
Many spinifex pastures are grazed only inconjunction with better-quality associated land
systems. Alternatively, they are reserved for
drought grazing with the aid of supplements.
11. Channel Country pastures
The broad network of channels and enclosed flatsof the Diamantina, Georgina and Bulloo Rivers and
Cooper and Eyre Creeks form the Channel Country
of the south-west. The area involved is5 400 000 ha of clay soils with Eucalyptus coolabahand E.camaldulensis fringing the main channels.
Muehlenbeckia cunninghamii is associated with
depressions.
Valuable forage appears after flooding of thechannels and flats. The genera Echinochloa,Chenopodium, Trigonella, Iseilema, Panicum,
Sclerolaena, Dactyloctenium and Atriplex are common
depending on when flooding occurs.
12. Bluegrass–browntop
The treeless plains of the lower Gulf of Carpentaria
support 5 600 000 ha of Dichanthium fecundum–Eulalia aurea grasslands. Associated
genera are Astrebla, Sorghum, Aristida, Chrysopogonand Iseilema. The community occurs between the
500 mm and 800 mm isohyets and rain falls mainlyin the summer. Cracking clays predominate, but
these differ from the fertile grey and brown clays of
the astrebla grasslands in their lower fertility and
low percentage of plant-available water capacity.
13. Schizachyrium
The lands of Cape York Peninsula are the least
developed for pastoral use in the State. This is a
reflection of the poor quality of the available forage.
Ground cover species vary throughout the area.The most widespread community is Eucalyptustetrodonta open forest that supports Heteropogontriticeus, Schizachyrium fragile, Panicum mindanaenseand Eriachne stipacea.
In the central north, woodlands of E. tetrodontasupport Sorghum plumosum pastures while
H. triticeus, Rhynchospora longisetis,Pseudopogonantherum contortum and Bothriochloabladhii occur, but are less abundant.
Melaleuca viridiflora is conspicuous in the lower treestratum in some forests and woodlands and is the
dominant tree species in low, open woodlands on
the western peninsula. In this community, the bulk
of the ground cover consists of annual grasses( Aristida spp., Eriachne burkittii, Schizachyrium spp.
and Ischaemum baileyi).
Low eucalypt woodlands on the eastern peninsula
have ground cover of H. triticeus, E. glauca, S. fragileand Thaumastochloa spp. or H. triticeus and Sorghum plumosum. The heath communities of the
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north–east have Schoenus sparteus as the common
ground species.
More than 90% of soils are infertile earths, duplexsoils, sands and loams.
14. Native sorghum
Extending over 1 000 000 ha of E. tetrodontawoodlands in the northern part of Cape York, the
native sorghum community provides one of thebetter grazing lands of the Peninsula. Annual
rainfall of 1200 mm is reliable.
Sorghum plumosum is the common grass species,
though H. triticeus, Rhynchospora longisetis,Pseudopogonantherum contortum and Bothriochloabladhii occur, but are less abundant.
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Area of Queensland covered byregional scale vegetation/ecosystemmapping
By June 2000, preclearing and 1995–1997 remnantecosystem mapping will be completed for most of
the Brigalow Belt, Desert Uplands, Queensland
Central Coast, Southeast Queensland, the south-
eastern Mitchell Grass Downs, Mulga Lands east ofthe Warrego River floodplain and some of the
Einasleigh Uplands bioregions. In addition,
preclearing vegetation and regional ecosystem
mapping is available for Cape York Peninsula, theChannel Country and most of the Mitchell Grass
Downs and the Mulga Lands regions.
Mapping Methods
Preclearing vegetation
Preclearing vegetation communities are delineatedon 1960s aerial photos with the aid of any available
land system, geology, soils and other land resource
mapping. These aerial photos are used as they
constitute the earliest uniform State-wide coverage.This lessens the amount of disturbance to photo
patterns compared with present day photos.
Photo interpretation is followed by extensive field
sampling, ground truthing and collection of
quantitative site data. This information is thencollated and analysed and photo patterns are
attributed with vegetation and ecosystem types.
Where it is evident from the aerial photography that
vegetation has been substantially cleared,extrapolations are made from remnant vegetation to
cleared areas using landform and photo patterns. If
available, other land resource maps, older air photos
and old land survey–property records held by theDepartment of Natural Resources are also used.
Remnant vegetation
An unambiguous definition of remnant vegetation isdifficult because there is a continuum between
remnants, regrowth, thinned and cleared
vegetation. For example, one definition of regrowthvegetation is ‘all lignotubers, suckers, re-sprouting
stumps, seedlings etc. of woody vegetation that
develops in response to removal of the woody
canopy by clearing and/or thinning by humans(i.e. not through storms, fires etc)’. This definition
would include areas that have received partial or
light thinning or logging, or areas that had been
cleared or thinned many years ago and which have
regrown to their original height and cover. Suchareas are likely to have biodiversity and other
values equal to those of ‘remnant’ vegetation that
has never been logged, thinned or cleared. Another
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definition (New South Wales Department of Land
and Water Conservation 1997) which uses set age
and/or height cut-offs to define remnant vegetation,
does not allow for the fact that different vegetation
types will regrow at different rates, and attaindifferent height canopies.
Therefore, the Queensland Herbarium has defined
remnant ‘intact’ vegetation as that which has at
least 70% of the height and 50% of the cover of thedominant stratum, relative to the normal height and
cover of that stratum. Normal vegetation is
generally considered to be vegetation that has not
been subjected to gross mechanical or chemicaldisturbance of the dominant stratum. These
threshold figures were based on the variation of
height and cover of remnant vegetation around the
mean height and cover figures (as indicated fromsite data and field survey). Vegetation that has
been cleared in the past, but now has canopy
height and cover above this threshold, appears to
generally possess much of the structural andfloristic diversity of other remnant vegetation that
has been subjected to an otherwise similar grazing
and management regime. However, it should be
noted that non-remnant vegetation may also havehigh habitat and biodiversity values (section 3.2).
Remnant vegetation is mapped using the latest
Landsat imagery (1997 at April 2000) supplied bythe Department of Natural Resources State
Landcover and Tree Study (SLATS) project, inconjunction with recent aerial photography and
ground truthing. In practice, remnant vegetation is
defined in the field by locating vegetation,
observation or quantitative survey sites inundisturbed areas, often on stock routes and
reserves or areas where there has been no obvious
mechanical or chemical disturbance to the
dominant stratum. These areas are used as abenchmark for determining remnant thresholds in
the field and are related to Landsat image andaerial photo patterns to enable extrapolation of
remnant vegetation within each vegetation typeacross the landscape. Areas that show as cleared
on 1960s photography and have subsequently
regrown, are also used to indicate non-remnant
vegetation, particularly in western Queenslandwhere growth rates are relatively slow. Mapping of
remnant and non-remnant vegetation is also
related to scale. Areas less than the minimum
mapped area (< 5 ha) mapped by the QueenslandHerbarium, which have less than 50% canopy
cover or 70% height, may be mapped as part of alarger remnant as the height and cover of the
overall remnant is greater than that of thethreshold.
Appendix 3 Queensland Herbarium vegetation and regionalecosystem survey and mapping program
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The finalised remnant map is overlaid with the
preclearing ecosystem map to attach the ecosystemtypes to the remnant cover. This is then inspected
by botanists to re-allocate proportions to each
component of mosaic polygons (areas mapped as a
combination of two or more ecosystems) to takeinto account clearing that has occurred
differentially across the components of a mosaic
(Fensham et al. 1998).
Limitations, ongoing refinement and useof survey and mapping
The ecosystem–vegetation maps are extrapolations
from site data, observations and remotely sensed
imagery. The line work is generally accurate to1:100 000 scale mapping that is within 100 m of
where it should be on the ground. For preclearing
mapping, the minimum size of an area mapped is
20 ha, while for remnant land cover mapping, theminimum size is generally 5 ha clumps or 100 m
linear features (except for south-east Queensland
where the minimum area mapped is 20 ha). In
addition, time and budget constraints mean thatdetailed sampling may be at 1:250 000 scale (about
100 detailed sites per map sheet). Variations in the
condition of vegetation within remnant areas are
not mapped.
The survey and mapping aims to achieve a greaterthan 80% accuracy of preclearing and remnant
coverage across Queensland. Accuracy will vary
from area to area and vegetation type to vegetation
type. While the mapping gives a good regional
perspective on the distribution and status ofecosystems, it is expected that property level
inspections and property vegetation management
plans will be used progressively to update themapping. This information will be combined with
monitoring of ongoing clearing to periodically
update ecosystem statistics, distribution maps and
the conservation status of regional ecosystems.
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