Arid Lands of Australia

+ 4] ARID LANDS OF * x 9? 2 - ~a > AUSTRALIA Pi h X ■< x pi Edited by *< x R. O. SLATYER & R. A. PERRY Three-quarters of the Australian continent is arid or semi-arid. History has shown that man’s utilisation of arid lands has, in general, caused progressive deterioration of the natural vegetation, the animal resources, and finally the landscape itself. Already settlement in Australia’s arid lands bears all too evident witness to damage and degradation. Each additional use of these lands—for grazing, farming, mining—tends to distort the extremely delicate ecological balance of most of Australia. In this volume eighteen experts discuss the, often competing, uses and needs of and for the land, the abuses of it, and some possible solutions. The problem is so vast and widespread that no single state could tackle the problems, let alone tackle them success fully. Before it is too late, the problems of preserving the arid lands for present and future generations challenge the nation and the national government. PRINTED IN AUSTRALIA $ 12.50 This book was published by ANU Press between 1965–1991. This republication is part of the digitisation project being carried out by Scholarly Information Services/Library and ANU Press. This project aims to make past scholarly works published by The Australian National University available to a global audience under its open-access policy. Proceedings of a Symposium held in the Academy of Science, Canberra May 1969 ARID LANDS OF AUSTRALIA Edited by R. O. SLATYER & R. A. PERRY n AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY PRESS CANBERRA 1969 © Australian National University 1969 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be repro duced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Registered at the General Post Office, Sydney, for transmission by post as a book. SBN 7081 0693 5 Library of Congress Catalog card no. 73-93688 National Library of Australia reg. no. AUS 69-2289 CONTENTS Preface page vii Notes on Contributors x RESOURCES 1 History of the World’s Arid Lands 1 Edwin S. Hills 2 Land forms of Arid Australia 11 J. A. Mabbutt 3 Meteorology and Climatology 33 W. J. Gibbs 4 Water Resources 55 N. H. Fisher 5 Vegetation Resources 73 J. H. Leigh and J. C. Noble 6 Native Animal Resources 93 A. R. Main 7 Land Use and Present Condition 105 J. C. N ewman and R. W. Condon UTILISATION 8 The Pastoralists’ Viewpoint on Rangelands 133 R. Caskey 9 The Role of Transport in the Utilisation of Arid Land Resources 142 W. J. Ricketts 10 Conservation and Recreation in Arid Australia 158 A. B. Costin and J. G. Mosley 11 The Impact of Capital Intensive Industries on Arid Australia 169 M. J. Webb 12 Land Tenure Systems: Past and Present 185 R. L. Heathcote v vi CONTENTS 13 Aspects of the Economic History of the Arid Land Pastoral Industry 209 A lan B arnard 14 Some Economic Aspects of the Pastoral Industry in Australia 229 E. J. Waring 15 Requirements of Financial Policies for Extensive Range Enterprises 258 James R. G ray 16 Research, Management, and Administration of the Range Ecosystem 272 C. Wayne Cook 17 Rangelands Research and Extension 291 R. A. Perry 18 Education and Training Programs for Manpower 303 Thadis W. Box Index 319 PREFACE H istory has shown that man’s utilisation of the world’s arid lands has, in general, caused progressive deterioration of the natural vegetation, of the animal resources, and finally of the landscape itself. In Australia, although little arid land settlement extends for much longer than 100 years, limited areas have already been seriously damaged, and signs of increasing degradation are apparent in most regions currently being grazed. There seems little doubt that progressive deterioration will occur if present practices are continued. In order to arrest this tendency and preserve the arid lands for the future in a manner which is consistent with non-destructive utilisation, it is clearly desirable that the national character of the problems should be recognised and steps taken to solve them. The problems are complex. They call for an assessment of the resources of the arid lands, the changes that have resulted from utilisation and the significance of those changes, and planning to assure long-term conservation of the arid lands. Differences of opinion as to the best means of arid land utilisation are inevitable. In particular, there is a conflict of interest between those whose primary concern is to conserve the arid land resource and those who wish to obtain an economic return from it. In this regard it is important to realise that, while utilisation can be con sistent with ecological principles and economic realities, the introduction of non-indigenous animals to any ecosystem must bring change to the ecosystem. Preservation, in the sense of avoiding other than natural changes, is therefore quite incompatible with utilisation. This is particularly true in arid eco systems where the plant, animal, and environmental factors associated with ecosystem stability are so delicately balanced. The introduced animals have different grazing habits from the indigenous species, different plants may be grazed and, in any case, the plants are likely to react differently to the altered character and pressure of grazing. The key factor on which stable, long-term utilisation depends is whether the change so induced represents progressive deterioration or is a shift towards a different but still balanced ecosystem. The criteria for this assessment are, as yet, poorly defined. However, change is acceptable, in ecological terms, as long as it is associated with a succession in which different species, better adapted to the altered herbivore component, become the dominant vegetation component; as long as the energy exported through the animal does not exceed that flowing into the vii viii PREFACE ecosystem, so that there is not a continuous run down in biomass, and as long as the stability of the landscape itself is not impaired. If criteria such as these are established, most contemporary grazing practices, in truly arid lands (where there is no well defined growth period at the same time each year), do not appear to meet them. Not only is there an absence of any definite succession of the type just mentioned, but the deliberate attempt, consciously or unconsciously, of the grazier to maximise production, at the expense of the other components of the ecosystem, clearly tends to cause progressive deterioration. If this is to be avoided, there is a challenge for research to develop management standards which maximise for long-term ecosystem stability rather than for short-term animal productivity. In some of the major com munities at present being grazed this objective may be inconsistent with any utilisation at all. The present species may be so vulnerable to grazing that, instead of natural succession, landscape deterioration occurs, and the deliberate introduction of new species, better able to withstand grazing, is impossible either because they are unavailable, or because of the cost of introduction, or both. In some other communities, it seems highly probable that the natural species can be utilised as long as the grazing pressure is carefully regulated. Before any such changes in property management could be introduced, it seems that many other changes would have to occur. Some of these are linked with the ecological principles of management already mentioned, which would require, for effective implementation, a larger and more suitably trained extension service than now exists. Others are linked with the whole economic climate in which management decisions must be taken. In turn, this has several facets associated with the flexibility of the grazier’s financial arrangements, and the number of alternative management practices he can pursue. Ecologically, the land tenure provisions, the ease with which the grazier can transport stock on to or away from his property, and the arrange ments by which he can borrow money from financial institutions are of primary importance. The interplay between these factors can be seen in a hypothetical situation where a region may be enduring a drought. Plant growth is at a standstill. Ecologically it is desirable that the grazier should reduce grazing pressure by reducing his stock numbers; therefore it is desirable that he should be positively motivated to do so, not only because of the condition of his range but also by other factors. Thus the transportation system should be such that he can quickly and economically shift his animals and the financial system should enable him to borrow money on a long-term basis. In addition, it would seem desirable that the land tenure system should be such that it is stock number and range condition, rather than property size, that should determine land rental. This volume deals primarily with the Australian arid land resources, with PREFACE ix the patterns of utilisation and management which have been developed since the date of initial stocking by domesticated animals, and with a number of the factors which affect these practices. Although some aspects have not been covered, the volume provides a comprehensive picture of the Australian arid zone both in historical and ecological perspective, and in terms of the socio economic environment in which utilisation is now carried out. Although this picture is not one of uniform optimism, it is clear that many of the problems which tend to mitigate against stable, long-term utilisa tion have been recognised and some are under study. However, much of this activity is superficial and geographically fragmented. Before it can be really effective the problems need to be looked at nationally rather than within the artificial confines of State boundaries.

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