Discrimination of arid vegetation composition with high resolution CASI imagery.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Resolution ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
High Spectral Resolution ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Mixed Pixel ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Arid Vegetation

CASI (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager) airborne imagery, with high spectral and spatial resolution, was evaluated for the discrimination of composition and variation in arid vegetation at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station in western New South Wales. The imagery was calibrated to surface reflectance using field reference spectra collected near the time of the overflight, and analysed in relation to reflectance spectra of plants at Fowlers Gap. Maps showing abundance of total perennial vegetation, chenopod shrubs and trees, were produced using methods that separated the vegetation contribution from mixed-pixel responses. Results of these analyses were compared with field data on percentage ground cover for 85 one hectare sample plots, collected within four weeks of the overflight. In all cases, the cover of vegetation that was discriminated and mapped was less than 25%. The study demonstrates that high-spectral resolution imagery, combined with new approaches to image analysis, offers considerable scope for discrimination of vegetation variation in arid landscapes. It is possible to spectrally discriminate and map the abundance of several functional vegetation components, even in sparse vegetation, and this information is particularly relevant for management applications. As imagery from high-spectral resolution sensors, both air- and satellite-borne, becomes more readily available in Australia, the benefits to be derived from these data will be more widely applied. Key words: arid vegetation, species composition, hyperspectral imagery, remote sensing, vegetation spectra

Geoarchaeology of Aboriginal Landscapes in Semi-arid Australia

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Holdaway ◽  
Patricia Fanning
Keyword(s):  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽  
The Past ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Arid Zone Research

This book provides readers with a unique understanding of the ways in which Aboriginal people interacted with their environment in the past at one particular location in western New South Wales. It also provides a statement showing how geoarchaeology should be conducted in a wide range of locations throughout Australia. One of the key difficulties faced by all those interested in the interaction between humans and their environment in the past is the complex array of processes acting over different spatial and temporal scales. The authors take account of this complexity by integrating three key areas of study – geomorphology, geochronology and archaeology – applied at a landscape scale, with the intention of understanding the record of how Australian Aboriginal people interacted with the environment through time and across space. This analysis is based on the results of archaeological research conducted at the University of New South Wales Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station between 1999 and 2002 as part of the Western New South Wales Archaeology Program. The interdisciplinary geoarchaeological program was targeted at expanding the potential offered by archaeological deposits in western New South Wales, Australia. The book contains six chapters: the first two introduce the study area, then three data analysis chapters deal in turn with the geomorphology, geochronology and archaeology of Fowlers Gap Station. A final chapter considers the results in relation to the history of Aboriginal occupation of Fowlers Gap Station, as well as the insights they provide into Aboriginal ways of life more generally. Analyses are well illustrated through the tabulation of results and the use of figures created through Geographic Information System software. Winner of the 2015 Australian Archaeology Association John Mulvaney Book Award

scholarly journals Short-Beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) Home Range at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, NSW

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia J. Badgery ◽  
Jasmin C. Lawes ◽  
Keith E.A. Leggett
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Arid Zones ◽  
Research Station ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Tachyglossus Aculeatus

ABSTRACTEchidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are found Australian-wide and appear to be remarkably well-adapted to arid zones, yet, nearly all echidna research has been conducted in temperate, tropical and alpine zones. This study investigated the home range and movement of echidnas in western New South Wales. Radio telemetry tracking was used to locate the echidnas daily during the study period (March-May 2019 and August 2019); the home range was 1.47± 1.21 km2. This is over twice the reported home range of temperate environments (>0.65 km2) suggesting that echidnas exhibit larger home ranges in arid zones. This study provides insight into the movement and home range of echidnas in arid zones, revealing that desert echidnas have large home ranges, dependent on the availability of resources.

Rediscovery of the plains mouse (Pseudomys australis) (Rodentia : Muridae) in New South Wales

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith E. A. Leggett ◽  
Thanuri Welaratne ◽  
Michael Letnic ◽  
Steven McLeod ◽  
Terence Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Research Station ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Rare And Endangered

We report the rediscovery of the rare and endangered native rodent, the plains mouse (Pseudomys australis) in New South Wales (NSW). Two plains mice were trapped in the far west of the state at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station and another in the NSW section of the Strzelecki Desert. Until these captures, the plains mouse was thought to have been extinct in NSW. Subfossil records indicate that these observations are within the pre-European settlement range of the species. It is uncertain whether these captures represent a range expansion from known populations in northern South Australia or reflect a local refuge population. Ensuring the conservation of P. australis in NSW requires further study to determine its distribution and the factors influencing its abundance.

Population Maintenance of Lucilia-Cuprina (Wiedemann) in the Arid Zone

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Anderson ◽  
E Shipp ◽  
JME Anderson ◽  
W Dobbie
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
Lucilia Cuprina ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Merino Sheep ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Population Maintenance ◽  
The University

For 3 years numbers and species of blowflies breeding in carcasses and on live merino sheep were studied at the University of New South Wales Arid Zone Research Station at Fowlers Gap, to determine which species initiated blowfly strike on sheep and how Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) maintained its population throughout the year; particularly whether it could complete its life cycle on carcasses. Larvae taken from struck sheep showed L. cuprina to be the dominant species in >87% of strikes. Native calliphorids, Calliphora nociva Hardy, Calliphora augur (Fabr.), and Calliphora stygia (Fabr.) were present in about 7% of strikes sampled, usually in association with L. cuprina. In a regularly inspected small mob (c. 70) of sheep, incidence of covert strike was higher than incidence of overt strike, supporting the view that a grazier's estimate of flystrike in the flock would almost always be an underestimate. On carcasses, the secondary strike native blowfly, Chrysomys rufijacies (Macquart), was produced in very large numbers. Some native primary strike Calliphora spp. were produced from some carcasses in the colder months, but no L. cuprina was produced from either small or large carcasses (sheep, kangaroos, rabbits) at any time. However, larvae of L. cuprina were recovered from live sheep at all times of the year, indicating that L. cuprina is an obligate parasite of live sheep in the arid zone.

Wool production, ground cover and botanical composition of pastures grazed by Merino wethers in central western New South Wales. 2. Barrel medic pasture

1973 ◽  
Vol 13 (64) ◽  
pp. 510 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Brownlee
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Research ◽  
New South ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Additional Treatment ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Stocking Rate ◽  
Barrel Medic ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Pasture Area

Two grazing experiments were performed between 1965 and 1969 at the Agricultural Research Station, Condobolin, to determine the carrying capacity of Jemalong barrel medic (Medicago truncatula) pasture. In each experiment the pasture was set stocked with Merino wethers at 3.1, 4.1 and 6.2 ha-1. An additional treatment stocked at 6.2 ha-1 was included in which two-thirds of the pasture area was saved during autumn or periods of feed shortage while stock were confined to the other one-third. In both experiments the pasture supported 3.1 wethers ha-1 under set stocking for three years with little supplementary feeding and regenerated successfully each year. No major changes in botanical composition were recorded, and Jemalong medic remained the major component of the pasture. Autumn saving at 6.2 ha-1 mitigated the effects of the high stocking rate on both animal and pasture, but did not result in worthwhile animal production increases.

scholarly journals Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) home range at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, NSW

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0242298
Author(s):  
Georgia J. Badgery ◽  
Jasmin C. Lawes ◽  
Keith E. A. Leggett
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Small Degree ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Arid Zones ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Tachyglossus Aculeatus

Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are found Australia-wide and appear to be remarkably well-adapted to the arid zone, yet nearly all echidna research has been conducted in temperate, tropical and alpine zones. This study investigated the home range and movement of echidnas in western New South Wales. Radio telemetry tracking was used to locate the echidnas daily during the study period (March-May 2018, November 2018, March-May 2019 and August 2019); the observed home range was 1.47± 1.21km2. This is over twice the reported home range of temperate environments (<0.65km2), suggesting that echidnas exhibit larger home ranges in arid zones. The home range of individual echidnas ranged from 0.02km2 to 3.56km2. Echidnas exhibited a small degree of overlap (6.6%± 19.8%) but this varied considerably between individuals (between 0 to 84.2% overlap.) Four out of the thirteen echidnas died during this study, likely due to the severe drought that occurred during the study. This study provides insight into the movement and home range of echidnas in arid zones, revealing that desert echidnas have large home ranges, probably dependent on the availability of resources.

Effect of Presowing Treatments on Seed and Seedling Quality Attributes of an Endemic Agroforestry Tree Acacia nilotica subsp. cupressiformis (J.L. Stewart) Ali and Faruqi

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.B. Noor mohamed ◽  
A.K. Shukla ◽  
R.S. Mehta ◽  
A. Keerthika ◽  
D.K. Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Seed Coat ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Acacia Nilotica ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Hard Seed ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Randomized Block Design ◽  
Presowing Treatment ◽  
Arid Zone Research

Background: Acacia nilotica var. cupressiformis is an evergreen multipurpose leguminous tree species which is suitable to agroforestry purposes and mainly distributed in Western parts of Rajasthan in India particularly Pali and its adjoining areas. The species has many advantages, however the natural germination in wild is very limited due to its hard seed coat dormancy. Methods: The experiment was conducted to study the effect of presowing treatment on seed coat of A. nilotica var. cupressiformis seeds with ten treatments in Completely Randomized Block Design at ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali Marwar. The treatments were replicated thrice. Result: Among the treatments, maximum germination and higher values was obtained in sand paper scarification with water soaking for 12hrs (T2) followed by mechanical scarification with sand paper (T1), acid scarification (50% for 20 min) (T7) and acid scarification (98% for 10 min) (T5). Further, the present study aims to initiate the research areas for conservation and utilization of A. nilotica var. cupressiformis in Western parts of Rajasthan and other parts of India.

Kangaroo-vehicle collisions in Australia's sheep rangelands, during and following drought periods.

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 215 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Lee ◽  
U Klöcker ◽  
DB Croft ◽  
D Ramp
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Source Population ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Vehicle Collisions ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
The Road ◽  
Arid Zone Research ◽  
Surrounding Areas

The effects of roads on wildlife behaviour and ecological function are poorly known in arid Australia. The most obvious impact is roadkill from wildlife-vehicle collisions. Therefore we collected statistics on kangaroo-vehicle collisions, investigated the causal factors of these collisions, and related roadkill mortality to the population structure, size and distribution of four kangaroo species in two intensive six month studies during and following drought. The research was conducted along a 21.2 km sealed section of the Silver City Highway between Broken Hill and Tibooburra that passes through the University of New South Wales (NSW) Arid Zone Research Station at ‘Fowlers Gap’ in north-western NSW. The rate of roadkill was higher during drought (20.8 roadkills month-1) than non-drought (2.6 roadkills month-1). Affected species were red kangaroos (Macropus rufus), euros (Macropus robustus erubescens), western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) and eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). During drought, M. fuliginosus and M. giganteus were killed in lower proportions than their proportion in the source population, otherwise species were killed in proportion to their density along the road. There were no sex biases but male M. r. erubescens were much more likely to be beside the road than females and thus were killed more often during drought. The majority of roadkills were young individuals around 2 years old. Curves and stockraces along the road significantly increased the likelihood of roadkills. Likewise the frequency of roadkills was a function of the kangaroo population density along the road, night time traffic volume, low rainfall and higher vegetation cover and greenness along the road relative to surrounding areas. We evaluate the relationships between these causal factors and kangaroovehicle collisions, and discuss the possible effects of these collisions on kangaroo population structure under drought and post-drought conditions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document