Satellite Symposium 3: Pastoral Systems
Description
Since European settlement of the Upper South-east of South Australia, the distribution and abundance of much of the native flora and fauna of the region has been affected by clearing of native vegetation and drainage of wetlands to facilitate agricultural production. Only 8.3% of the original vegetation and less than 7% of the original swamps now remain in the region and much of what is left exists as small isolated remnants (Croft & Carpenter, 1996). Furthermore, as a consequence of the demise of large areas of agriculturally productive lucerne in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the rise of saline groundwater has resulted in the deterioration of some of this remnant vegetation. A key question being addressed in a major research project into the productive use of saline farming land is “How do saltland pastures influence ecosystem function?”. This paper reports some preliminary observations from this assessment.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
The Biodiversity Value of ‘Improved’ and ‘Unimproved’ Saline Agricultural Land and Adjacent Remnant Vegetation in South Australia
Since European settlement of the Upper South-east of South Australia, the distribution and abundance of much of the native flora and fauna of the region has been affected by clearing of native vegetation and drainage of wetlands to facilitate agricultural production. Only 8.3% of the original vegetation and less than 7% of the original swamps now remain in the region and much of what is left exists as small isolated remnants (Croft & Carpenter, 1996). Furthermore, as a consequence of the demise of large areas of agriculturally productive lucerne in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the rise of saline groundwater has resulted in the deterioration of some of this remnant vegetation. A key question being addressed in a major research project into the productive use of saline farming land is “How do saltland pastures influence ecosystem function?”. This paper reports some preliminary observations from this assessment.
