scholarly journals Changes to land tenure and pastoral lease ownership in Western Australia’s central rangelands: implications for co-operative, landscape-scale management

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie J. B. van Etten
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Mining Companies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pastoral Lease ◽  
Management And Conservation

The majority of arid and semiarid land in the Western Australian pastoral zone has a long history of livestock grazing within an extensive network of predominantly family-held pastoral leases. A variety of different groups have purchased pastoral leases in the last five decades and, for many, making a profit from pastoralism is no longer a priority. For the central rangelands of Western Australia, these groups have included: government agencies, who have purchased some 9% of pastoral leases by area; private conservation organisations (<1% purchased); aboriginal communities and groups (~7%); and mining companies (~13%). The purchases of pastoral leases by government agencies was designed to improve the conservation status of arid-zone ecosystems, and is the first step in a process of changing land tenure to a conservation reserve. This paper summarises the extent and other characteristics of these changes in land tenure and ownership of pastoral leases, and explores the implications for land management and conservation, stemming from these changes. It demonstrates that large areas of contiguous land with no or reduced domestic stocking can now be found in many parts of these rangelands, particularly in the Coolgardie, Yalgoo and Pilbara bio-regions, with some leaseholders actively managing land for the conservation of biodiversity and restoring sites degraded through past over-grazing. In some bio-regions, such land covers considerable proportions of sub-catchments, suggesting that broad-scale conservation management and restoration objectives may be realised. It is argued that to fully realise these objectives requires effective communication and co-ordination between land managers, including sharing of ideas, view-points and resources. In particular, mining companies, now major holders of pastoral leases in Western Australia, can play an important role in contributing to and even facilitating such objectives.

scholarly journals Genetics and ecology of plant species occurring on the Banded Iron Formations in the Yilgarn, Western Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Margaret Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Banded Iron Formations ◽  
Topographic Complexity ◽  
Granite Outcrops ◽  
History Of ◽  
Iron Formations

Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) are a distinctive feature in the Yilgarn craton of southern Western Australia occurring as geographically isolated ranges within a mosaic of alluvial clay soils interspersed with sandplains and occasional granite outcrops. They are prominent features across a flat, highly weathered plateau, forming unique geologically stable components in an unglaciated landscape. The topographic complexity of BIFs provides areas of key environmental heterogeneity in a subdued landscape, offering a mosaic of habitats and abundance of niche microhabitats that support unique plant communities with high species diversity including many narrowly endemic species and those with distributions centred on these banded iron formations. Genetic and ecological studies have been undertaken on several species that are endemic to, or have distributions centred on, the banded iron formations of the Yilgarn. These studies provide a basis for understanding the diversity and evolutionary history of the plant communities that occur in these diverse environments. This Special Issue brings together studies on several these species to complement studies already published, and this overview provides a summary of the genetics and ecology of 21 species that are restricted to, or have distributions centred on, BIFs. Many of these species have conservation status under national and state legislation and understanding of genetics and ecology of these species assists with conservation strategies. A range of genetic patterns was identified among these species making generalisations difficult and indicating analysis of individual species is required in order to provide information for conservation and management decisions.

The life history of Pseudocheirus occidentalis (Pseudocheiridae) in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Wayne ◽  
J. F. Rooney ◽  
C. G. Ward ◽  
C. V. Vellios ◽  
D. B. Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Jarrah Forest ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ringtail Possum

Life-history attributes are described for the threatened ngwayir or western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) in inland jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest east of Manjimup, south-western Australia. Data on 81 individuals were collected over 18 months. There was no sexual dimorphism and body size was similar to that found in other P. occidentalis populations, but larger than the closely related P. peregrinus in eastern Australia. Breeding at Chariup was more strongly seasonal than that of coastal populations, with 77% of births in May–June and the remainder in October–November. All neonates were singletons except for one instance of non-viable twins. No females bred twice in the same year. The growth rate of the head length of pouch young (<5 months of age) was 0.245–0.362 mm day–1 and curvilinear toward an asymptote thereafter. Temporal variations in body condition, coat condition and ectoparasites were significant. Mortality was highly seasonal (84% of deaths were April–September) and predominantly caused by predation, mainly by fox (Vulpes vulpes) and cat (Felis catus). More effective and strategic control of introduced predators prior to and during autumn/winter, could therefore improve the viability of jarrah forest populations. Nutrition appears to influence many of the life-history traits of P. occidentalis. Nutrition also may partly explain the differences in size, life history and conservation status between P. occidentalis and P. peregrinus.

Mission Tracks in the Bush

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 103-124
Author(s):  
Gemma Tulud Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Cultural Encounters ◽  
History Of

Christian missionaries played an important role in the Australian nation building that started in the nineteenth century. This essay explores the multifaceted and complex cultural encounters in the context of two aboriginal missions in Australia in the nineteenth century. More specifically, the essay explores the New Norcia mission in Western Australia in 1846-1900 and the Lutheran mission in South Australia in 1838-1853. The essay begins with an overview of the history of the two missions followed by a discussion of the key faces of the cultural encounters that occurred in the course of the missions. This is followed by theological reflections on the encounters in dialogue with contemporary theology, particularly the works of Robert Schreiter.

Monitored Lives: Writing Indigenous Land Management and the State (Part One)

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-35
Author(s):  
Jim Birckhead
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Contract Work ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Processes ◽  
Indigenous Land Management ◽  
Expert Input ◽  
Management Issues ◽  
Indigenous Land

Anthropologists in Australia are becoming increasingly involved in government contract work on Indigenous land tenure and management issues, most of which require some ‘expert’ input to help authenticate cultural identity and establish connection to ‘country’. In this paper I have reviewed some issues and themes drawn from my uneven and serendipitous work as an anthropologist. This work has been done as both an academic and practitioner, over the past couple of decades on Indigenous land tenure, hunting, management, and ranger training at this dynamic and contentious interface between Indigenous cultural processes and government agencies. My aim is to raise questions of both ethics and epistemology and to reflect on the work of the anthropologist in these domains, without attempting to systematically cover all of the possible issues.

Biology and natural history of Caladenia

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kingsley Dixon ◽  
Raymond L. Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Secondary Infection ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Cortical Cells ◽  
Herbaceous Perennials ◽  
Terrestrial Orchids ◽  
History Of ◽  
Soil Wetting

The genus Caladenia comprises species that exhibit remarkable consistency in terms of growth form and phenological patterns. All taxa are herbaceous perennials, with the shoot arising annually from a single, usually spheroid, tuber and producing a single, hairy leaf. The tuber is annually replaced either side-by-side with the parent tuber or terminating a descending structure known as a dropper. The dropper is a depth-seeking mechanism that enables placement of the tuber at depth in the soil as a means to avoid predation by surface-foraging native mammals or away from the high temperatures and desiccating conditions during summer dormancy. The 3--5 attenuated roots produced at the junction between the tuber and shoot and produced late in the growing cycle and devoid of mycorrhiza suggest their functional significance may relate to water uptake. Mycorrhizal endophytes are confined to a hypertrophic stem region at the soil surface (collar) subtending the leaf that positions the collar directly in the organically rich zone at the soil surface. This morphology is a unique characteristic of several Australasian orchids in the tribe Diuridae. Mycorrhizal infection occurs rapidly, with maximum colonisation in concert with the onset of breaking rains. Pelotons are restricted to cortical cells, with fully developed pelotons throughout infected tissues within a week or so of soil wetting. Infection occurs as a ‘once-off’ event, with little evidence of secondary infection later in the growth cycle and no evidence of peloton digestion. Some taxa utilise vegetative propagation, often leading to localised clustering as for taxa in the ‘filamentosa’ complex or, extensive clonal mats as found in Caladenia flava and C. latifolia where daughter tubers are produced at the end of extending horizontal outgrowths. For the majority of taxa, plants remain dry-season (summer) dormant from a few months up to 7 months for arid-zone taxa, with shoot emergence from the tuber of temperate species thought to occur in response to a drop in the mean minimum temperature. Pollination biology of Caladenia is apparently through a process of deception, either as food or sexual mimics, with some taxa engaging in self-pollination. Here we review the natural history of Caladenia and acknowledge that much of our understanding is based on assumptions of the biology of terrestrial orchids in general and emphasise areas of research and biological enquiry that will be critical in the development of an effective conservation program for the genus.

Podospora excentrica. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Minter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
South America ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
New South ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
South Wales

Abstract A description is provided for Podospora excentrica. Some information on its associated organisms and substrata, dispersal and transmission, habitats and conservation status is given, along with details of its geographical distribution (South America (Venezuela), Atlantic Ocean (Portugal (Madeira)), Australasia (Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia)), New Zealand, Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK)).

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