scholarly journals Phyllode fall and nutrient content in a mulga (Acacia aneura F.Muell. ex Benth.) community in central Australia in response to rainfall

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Turner ◽  
M. H. Friedel ◽  
M. Neumann
1963 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 30 ◽  
Author(s):  
GM Chippendale

A system of recording grazing effects on edible trees and shrub is described. Results of observations using this method are recorded. Acacia aneura and Atalaya hemiglauca are the topfeed species most grazed in Central Australia, but several less common species, Ventilago viminalis, Eremophila longifolia and Santalum lanceolatum are more palatable. A pat soft leaf is preferred by graying cattle, but spines and viscid or oily leaves are deterrents.


1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
DMJS Bowman ◽  
PK Latz ◽  
WJ Panton

The environmental correlates of a mosaic of Acacia aneura F.Muell. ex Benth. shrublands and Triodia hummock grasslands on rolling conglomerate hills in central Australia were explored by indirect gradient analysis. A non-metric multidimension scaling ordination, based on the presence or absence of plant species, clearly separated the A. aneura shrubland from the Triodia hummock grassland; there were few intermediate quadrats. The A. aneura shrublands occurred on relatively deeper skeletal soils than the Triodia hummock grasslands. Unlike unidirection successional gradients from frequently burnt, treeless vegetation to very infrequently burnt forest vegetation, the ordination presented here is unusual because the quadrats with the greatest cover of A. aneura and Triodia occur on the poles, and quadrats from the most recently burnt vegetation and with the least cover of A. aneura and Triodia occur in the centre of the ordination. Interpretation of aerial photography taken in 1950 and 1987 showed that there has been no statistically significant change in the coverage of these two communities over that time period. Some quadrats that contained Triodia on the boundary of A. aneura shrublands had numerous charred A. aneura stumps which was interpreted as indicating some retreat of the shrublands. Experimental studies are required to determine the stability of the current pattern. Biogeographic evidence, however, shows that the spatial distribution of both communities has fluctuated at a continental scale through geological time.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Leavesley ◽  
Geoffrey J. Cary ◽  
Glenn P. Edwards ◽  
A. Malcolm Gill

The principal ecosystem driver in arid Australia is unpredictable rainfall, but it is hypothesised that fire also plays an important role in determining the distribution of animals. We investigated the effect of fire on birds in mulga (Acacia aneura) woodland in the central Australian arid zone. The study was conducted at Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park using 63 sites classified into one of three time-since-fire classes: burnt 2002; burnt 1976; and long-unburnt. Birds were sampled in the winter and spring of 2005 and 2006 and vegetation structure was measured at all sites. Vegetation structure varied with time-since-fire. The burnt 2002 treatment was an early seral stage of mulga woodland and effectively a grassland. The burnt 1976 and long-unburnt treatments were both woodland, but the long-unburnt treatment had greater canopy cover and height. The bird community in the burnt 2002 treatment was characterised by granivores, whereas that in the burnt 1976 and long-unburnt treatments was characterised by foliar insectivores. All species showed monotonic responses to time-since-fire (i.e. none were at significantly highest density in the burnt 1976 treatment). Fire in mulga woodland changed the vegetation structure and consequently also changed the composition of the bird communities.


2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine A. Schlesinger

Pitfall traps are commonly used to capture terrestrial vertebrates, but it is not known whether differences in vegetation structure affect the efficiency of these traps. Studies that investigate the effects of fire, grazing or vegetation rehabilitation on faunal populations usually compare sites that differ in vegetation structure and the validity of using pitfall traps to sample populations under these circumstances is open to question. This study tests whether vegetation structure affects the rate at which lizards are captured in pitfall traps by cutting ground vegetation in a controlled experiment conducted in field enclosures. The study was undertaken in an area of mulga (Acacia aneura) shrubland in central Australia. Ground cover, consisting of grasses and forbs, was reduced from ~27% to 10% in treatment enclosures. These levels of cover correspond broadly to the range of ground covers encountered in this habitat, including areas with high and low levels of grazing. No difference was detected in the rate at which lizards were captured in enclosures where grass was cut compared with the control enclosures or rates of capture before grass was cut. These results indicate that pitfall trapping is a valid technique for comparing lizard populations in arid mulga shrublands within the range of vegetation covers used in this study, including areas that are subject to different levels of grazing.


1986 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
NP McMeniman ◽  
IF Beale ◽  
GM Murphy

The botanical composition and nutrient content of diets selected by sheep grazing Mitchell grass (Astrebla spp.) and mulga (Acacia aneura)/grassland pastures in south-west Queensland were studied during a four-year period. Forbs, when present in the sward, contributed significantly to the diets on both grassland types. Under drought conditions grasses were the major components of the diets of sheep grazing Mitchell grassland pastures, while under similar conditions on the mulga/grassland pastures at least 35% of the diet was mulga (Acacia aneura); some mulga was present in the diet at all times. In general, the nutrient content of the green leaves of grasses and forbs growing on the mulga/ grassland association was similar, whereas on the Mitchell grass association green forbs had a higher nutrient concentration than did the leaves of green grasses. Both the grasses and forbs on the mulga/ grassland site had lower P and sodium concentrations than those on the Mitchell grassland site. When seasonal conditions were average to good the concentrations of all nutrients in the diets of sheep grazing the Mitchell grass association were judged to be adequate. However, when the pastures dried out the diets contained low concentrations of N (7.0 g/kg DM), P (0.9 g/kg DM), sodium (O.lg/kg DM) and copper (3.8 mg/kg DM). On the mulga/grassland site dietary concentrations of P and sodium were low at all times and under drought conditions the N:S ratio fell to 16.8:1. The concentrations of other nutrients in the diets were high enough to provide the sheep's theoretical requirements at all times.


2008 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M.J.S. Bowman ◽  
G.S. Boggs ◽  
L.D. Prior

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Bell ◽  
Heikki Pakkala ◽  
Michael P. Finglas

Food composition data (FCD) comprises the description and identification of foods, as well as their nutrient content, other constituents, and food properties. FCD are required for a range of purposes including food labeling, supporting health claims, nutritional and clinical management, consumer information, and research. There have been differences within and beyond Europe in the way FCD are expressed with respect to food description, definition of nutrients and other food properties, and the methods used to generate data. One of the major goals of the EuroFIR NoE project (2005 - 10) was to provide tools to overcome existing differences among member states and parties with respect to documentation and interchange of FCD. The establishment of the CEN’s (European Committee for Standardisation) TC 387 project committee on Food Composition Data, led by the Swedish Standards Institute, and the preparation of the draft Food Data Standard, has addressed these deficiencies by enabling unambiguous identification and description of FCD and their quality, for dissemination and data interchange. Another major achievement of the EuroFIR NoE project was the development and dissemination of a single, authoritative source of FCD in Europe enabling the interchange and update of data between countries, and also giving access to users of FCD.


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