Poplar box (Eucalyptus populnee) woodlands mainly occuron duplex, clay and red earth soils between the 300 mm and
750 mm rainfall isohyets. The poplar box lands have been occupied for from 100 to 150 years and have been modified extensively
through tree felling, ringbarking, clearing, cultivation, burning and grazing by domestic livestock. The current land use is described
for six vegetation groups which together comprise the poplar box lands.
The eastern areas of the poplar box lands are mainly used for intensive agriculture based on wheat. barley and grain sorghum,
with small areas sown to c~ops of high water demand. Mixed farming involves dairying (in Queensland) and fat lambs (in New South
Wales) and broad-acre cereal and fodder cropping. Sheep and cattle grazing replace intensive crop production as the rainfall decreases.
In all areas used for cropping the stability and fertility of the soil are of paramount importance in maintainihg production.
The use of woodlands in areas of lower rainfall can lead to deterioration of the resource and to the encroachment of
woody native species into the grazing lands. Because cropping is unreliable the opportunity to use cultivation to control woody
regrowth is reduced.
In central areas much of the land can be sown to improved pastures, but in western areas diversification is limited by the low
rainfall and land use is restricted to grazing, initially only by sheep but now by sheep and cattle. Particularly in western New South
Wales the increase in unpalatable shrubs and the decrease in available forage has resulted in low stocking rates, and high grazing
pressure, making reclamation and pasture improvement difficult. In consequence many enterprises are becoming uneconomic.
Animals of Arid Australia: out on their own?