Issues of size and viability of pastoral holdings in the Western Division of New South Wales.

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
ND Macleod
Keyword(s):  
Public Involvement ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Economic Welfare ◽  
Future Scenario ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Division ◽  
Enterprise Size

Uany pastoral leases in western New South Wales are too small to ensure that viable pastoral enterprisu will persist in the medium to longer term. Apart from attendant welfare problems for leaseholders and their dependants, there is some evidence that this has exacerbated overgrazing problems which creates undesirable and potentially irreversible degradation of vegetation and soil resources. Arguably, the small size problem has sufficiently weakened the economic welfare of many lessees to make private acquisition of additional areas andl or adoption of conservation oriented management practices non-economic. The future scenario is then one of greater public involvement in property adjustment measures; or a growing population of non-viable pastoral enterprises with its attendant efficiency, welfare and resource conservation problems. The paper examines trends in property enterprise size, structure and concentration and the existence and extent of size economies for wool and livestock production in western New South Wales. Several issues are addressed concerning the economic viability of pastoral properties and several public policy prescriptions are presented for addressing the sizehiability problem.

Mapping and comparing the distribution of soil carbon under cropping and grazing management practices in Narrabri, north-west New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Miklos ◽  
Michael G. Short ◽  
Alex B. McBratney ◽  
Budiman Minasny
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Inorganic Carbon ◽  
High Spatial Resolution ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Fine Resolution

The reliable assessment of soil carbon stock is of key importance for soil conservation and mitigation strategies related to reducing atmospheric carbon. Measuring and monitoring soil carbon is complex because carbon pools cycle and rates of carbon sequestration vary across the landscape due to climate, soil type, and management practices. A new methodology has been developed and applied to make an assessment of the distribution of total, organic, and inorganic carbon at a grains research and grazing property in northern New South Wales at a high spatial resolution. In this study, baseline soil carbon maps were created using fine resolution, geo-referenced, proximal sensor data. Coupled with a digital elevation model and secondary terrain attributes, all of the data layers were combined by k-means clustering to develop a stratified random soil sampling scheme for the survey area. Soil samples taken at 0.15-m increments to a depth of 1 m were scanned with a mid-infrared spectrometer, which was calibrated using a proportion of the samples that were analysed in a laboratory for total carbon and inorganic carbon content. This combination of new methodologies and technologies has the potential to provide large volumes of reliable, fine resolution and timely data required to make baseline assessments, mapping, monitoring, and verification possible. This method has the potential to make soil carbon management and trading at the farm-scale possible by quantifying the carbon stock to a depth of 1 m and at a high spatial resolution.

Corrigendum to: Soil indicators and their use by farmers in the Billabong Catchment, southern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
B. Kelly ◽  
C. Allan ◽  
B. P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Health Need ◽  
Soil Indicators

'Soil health' programs and projects in Australia's agricultural districts are designed to influence farmers' management behaviours, usually to produce better outcomes for production, conservation, and sustainability. These programs usually examine soil management practices from a soil science perspective, but how soils are understood by farmers, and how that understanding informs their farm management decisions, is poorly documented. The research presented in this paper sought to better understand how dryland farmers in the Billabong catchment of southern New South Wales use soil indicators to inform their management decisions. Thematic content analysis of transcripts of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with farmers suggest several themes that have implications for soil scientists and other professionals wishing to promote soil health in the dryland farming regions of south-eastern Australia. In particular, all soil indicators, including those related to soil 'health', need to relate to some clear, practical use to farmers if they are to be used in farm decision making. This research highlights a reliance of the participants of this research on agronomists. Reliance on agronomists for soil management decisions may result in increasing loss of connectivity between farmers and their land. If this reflects a wider trend, soil health projects may need to consider where best to direct their capacity-building activities, and/or how to re-empower individual farmers.

Small-scale patterns of distribution and size-structure of the intertidal littorinid Littorina unifasciata (Gastropoda: Littorinidae) in New South Wales

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
MG Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Size Structure ◽  
New South ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Patterns Of Distribution ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Potential Factors

Within-shore and among-shore patterns of distribution, abundance and size structure of Littorina unifasciata Gray were identified on a number of shores in New South Wales. There was significant patchiness in distribution, abundance and size of L. unifasciata among patches of shore only a few metres apart, at different heights on the shore and from shore to shore. On a particular shore, the sizes of snails were strongly correlated with densities. In contrast, differences in densities at different heights from one shore to another were not correlated with mean size of snails. Density and size were each strongly correlated with the height on the shore at which snails were found. At any one height, differences in densities and size were also correlated with the distribution of particular microhabitat variables, such as the slope of the rock surface, the presence of pits and shallow pools and the presence of barnacles. Densities were also negatively correlated with densities of the large microalgae-grazing limpet Cellana tramoserica but were independent of other littorinids. A number of alternative models have been proposed to account for these patterns of distribution, abundance and size. Although processes that might account for these patterns were not investigated here, quantification of such patterns at a number of spatial scales is necessary before potential factors that might affect small-scale spatial variation in densities and sizes of L. unifasciata can be identified and investigated.

Simulation of the effect of chilling injury and nitrogen supply on floret fertility and yield in rice

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 921 ◽  
Author(s):  
DC Godwin ◽  
WS Meyer ◽  
U Singh
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
Chilling Injury ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
South Wales ◽  
High Yields

Evidence exists that night temperatures <18�C immediately preceding flowering in rice crops can adversely affect floret fertility and, hence, yields. It has been suggested that sterility induced by low temperature is also influenced by floodwater depth and nitrogen (N) rate. In southern New South Wales, low night-time temperatures are believed to be a major constraint to the achievement of consistently high yields. The availability of a comprehensive model of rice growth and yield that is sensitive to this constraint would aid the development of better management practices. CERES RICE is a comprehensive model that simulates the phasic development of a rice crop, the growth of its leaves, stems, roots, and panicles, and their response to weather. It also simulates the water and N balances of the crop and the effects of stresses of water and N on the yield-forming processes. The model has been extensively tested in many rice-growing systems in both tropical and temperate environments. However, the original model was unable to simulate the level of chilling injury evident from yield data from southern New South Wales. This paper reports modifications made in the model to simulate these effects and the evaluation of the model in environments of low night temperature. Inclusion of the chilling injury effect greatly improved the accuracy of estimated yields from treatments in an extensive field experiment. However, additional testing with a wider range of data sets is needed to confirm the international applicability of the modifications.

Do economic factors cause change in productivity and stability in the New South Wales arid zone?

1978 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
J.R. Anderson ◽  
PA Bruyn
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Division

A framework is suggested and explored for examining the influence of economic factors on changes in productivity and stability in the Western Division of New South Wales. The conclusion is reached that, excepting for an extraordinary peak of productivity around 1890, productivity continues to move up and down in a manner as unstable as ever. Economic factors seemingly play no clear role in influencing changes in productivity and only a slight and ambiguous role in influencing changes in stability.

An economic study of the Western Division of N.S.W.

1985 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
L Davies
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Parliamentary Committee ◽  
Economic Survey ◽  
Western Division ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
Made In

The Hassall Report was based on an economic survey of 150 landholders throughout the Western Division of New South Wales for the financial years 197711978, 197811979 and 1979/1980. The survey used taxation records, however. some attitudinal informa- tion was collected from face to face interviews with landholders. The survey examined the financial performance in relation to the carrying capacity of the property and in relation to five land- scape categories. The survey found that the financial performance of the landscape categorized as "tall dense woodlands with scrub" was significantly poorer than for other landscape categories. The report has been used as a major reference for the recently completed Joint Parliamentary Committee Enquiry into the Western Division of New South Wales and has influenced a number of the economic recommendations in this report. This paper gives a brief summary of the financial results, a comparison of these results to those of other agricultural areas and the major policy recom- mendations made in the report.

Fire in the Mallee Shrublands of Western New South Wales.

1980 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
JC Noble ◽  
AW Smith ◽  
HW Leslie
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Management Implications ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wildfire Hazard ◽  
Western Division

This article describes the effects of the 1974175 wildfires on the mallee vegetation in the Western Division of New South Wales using two properties as case studies. The management implications arising from these experiences are described in some detail, particularly the potential for some form of management based on periodic prescribed burning to promote herbage productivity and also to reduce any future wildfire hazard. The need for appropriate research to be undertaken in this field is also discussed.

Lakes and Lakebed Cropping in the Western Division of New South Wales.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
JA Seddon ◽  
SV Briggs
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Water Regimes ◽  
River Flooding ◽  
Local Structures ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Salinity Water ◽  
Western Division

We developed an inventory of all lakes 100 ha or greater in area in the Western Division of New South Wales including information on source of water, salinity, water regime, lake area, and presence of cultivation permits. Number, area and distribution of different categories of lakes were summarised, and the use of lakes for cropping (lakebed cultivation) and water storage were analysed by category of lake. There were 567 lakes 100 ha or larger in area in the Western Division. The majority of these were mainly dry (includes dry lakes) (56%) or filled intermittently (40%), usually from river flooding. Just under 5% of lakes were perennial. Water regimes in most perennial lakes were controlled by local structures. Seventy lakes had lakebed cultivation permits. Twenty per cent of fresh lakes that filled from a river, rather than from local rainfall, in the Western Division of New South Wales were cultivated (i.e. cropped). Eighty per cent of fresh, riverine lakes larger than 2000 ha which flood and dry intermittently were cultivated. Lakebed cropping in the Western Division of New South Wales has focused on large, fresh, lakes which fill intermittently from rivers. Use of lakes as water storages has also focused on large, fresh lakes. Conservation strategies are recommended for large, fresh lakes that flood intermittently from a river, and are not cropped or used as water storages. These strategies should be directed towards developing voluntary conservation agreements with landholders. Key words: lakes, cropping, GIS, water regimes, conservation

Large-scale patterns in habitat structure on subtidal rocky reefs in New South Wales

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Andrew ◽  
A. L. O'Neill
Keyword(s):  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Subtidal Rocky Reefs ◽  
A Site

Aerial photography was used to estimate the representation of shallow subtidal habitats in New South Wales. Sixty sites, each between 4 and 5 hectares, were mapped with Geographical Information Systems software using ortho-rectified images digitized from 1:8000-scale photographs and ‘ground truthed’ in the field by divers. Barrens habitat covered an estimated 50% (s.e. = 3.9) of nearshore reefs between Port Stephens and Disaster Bay. Coverage of barrens habitat was greatest in Disaster Bay (68%, s.e. = 6.7) and least south of Disaster Bay (1%, s.e. = 0.3). There were clear differences among localities in the area of reef within the mapped sites; those at Cape Howe, Nadgee, and Turingal were significantly smaller in area than all others. There was no clear latitudinal trend in these differences but there was evidence of sand inundation at a site at Nadgee, where the reef was small. Differences in the densities and size-structure of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersiiat 27 of the mapped sites provide a basis for testing relationships between the demography of this species and the persistence of the barrens habitat. The extensive coverage of the barrens habitat in New South Wales is likely to limit the productivity of the abalone industry. The development of a sea urchin fishery may have large impacts on habitat representation on nearshore reefs.

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