Environmental management and wildlife in Queensland : a review of Queensland mammal species designated as scarce

From 19 authoritative lists with 164 entries of ‘endangered’ Australian mammal species, 39 species have been reported as extinct. When examined in the light of field conditions, the 18 of these species thought to be from Queensland consist of (a) species described from fragmentary museum material collected in the earliest days of exploration, (b) populations inferred to exist in Queensland by extrapolation from distribution records in neighbouring States or countries, (c) inhabitants of remote and harsh locations where search effort is extraordinarily difficult (especially in circumstances of drought or flooding). and/or (d) individuals that are clearly transitory or peripheral in distribution. ‘Rediscovery’ of such scarce species - a not infrequent occurrence - is nowadays attracting increasing attention. Management in respect of any scarce wildlife in Queensland presently derives from such official lists. The analyses here indicate that this method of prioritizing action needs review. This is especially so because action then tends to be centred on species chosen out of the lists for populist reasons and that mostly addresses Crown lands. There is reason to believe that the preferred management may lie private lands where casual observation has provided for rediscovery and where management is most desirable and practicable.

Measurement of the net environmental benefit of offsetting in Queensland

The process of offsetting land against unavoidable disturbance of development sites in Queensland will benefit from a method that allows the best possible selection to be made of alternative lands. With site selection now advocated through a combination of Regional Ecosystem and Land Capability classifications state-wide, a case study has determined methods of assessing the functional lift – that is, measures of net environmental gain – of such action. Outcomes with potentially high functional lift are determined, that offer promise not only for endangered ecosystems but also for managing adjacent conservation reserves.

Adverse possession and Crown Leasehold in Queensland

The decision of Eckford v Stanbroke Pastoral Co Pty Ltd [2012] QSC 48 ,although a decision refusing summary judgement raises a very important question of the ability to claim adverse possession of a pastoral lease issued in 1956 under the Land Act 1962 (Queensland).Division 5 of Part 6 of the Land Title Act 1994 (Qld) which guarantees registered freehold title expressly deals with the right of adverse possession however, there is no such provision in the present Land Act 1994 unlike s 170 of the Crown Lands Act 1989(NSW) which expressly precludes claims for adverse possession of specified non freehold land. There is no mention of adverse possession in any version of the Queensland Land Acts and only s 6(4) of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 makes it clear that “the right, title or interest of the Crown” in or to any land is not affected by any adverse possessor.It is against the background that the Court considered the right of an adverse possessor to a Crown lease.

Assessing the long term viability of leasehold rural land in Queensland

Rural land holdings in a number of states in Australia can be freehold or leasehold. The actual type and tenure of the leasehold varies according to each state, but the underlying principles of ownership, transferability and farming and grazing rights are reasonably similar. There are rural areas that are all leasehold title such as the western lands in NSW, while rural land in some states and areas can be a mix of both freehold and lease hold rural property. Over the years many rural farming areas that were originally developed or granted as leasehold land have been converted to freehold title. In many instances the cost of purchasing perpetual leasehold property is similar to the equivalent freehold property despite the fact that an additional rental charge is applied to this form of ownership. Many of the current leasehold rural holdings are located in the more arid regions of the state and the prevailing agricultural farming system is either cattle or sheep grazing.

The impact of 'doomed race' assumptions in the administration of Queensland's Indigenous population by the Chief Protectors of Aboriginals from 1897 to 1942

This thesis researched how the anthropological claims of the Aborigines as a 'doomed race' in the decades between 1850 and 1870 became embedded and manifested in pervasive ideologies forming the racist protectionist policies framed in Queensland's Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act - 1897. Administering the Act was the government appointed Chief Protector of Aboriginals. Conferred with extraordinary powers, Chief Protectors acted and made decisions on behalf of successive governments who displayed little interest in Aboriginal affairs. Amendments to the Act between 1897 and 1939 reflected personal agendas and attitudes towards Aborigines by respective Chief Protectors. Conclusively, the research outcomes show that the 'doomed race' theory became a subterfuge for governments to mask society's racial prejudice against Indigenous peoples and allowed governments to dispossess the Indigenous people of their traditional lands without question from white settlers.

Early childhood education for sustainability : Queensland and Australian perspectives

Introduction Early childhood education for sustainability is an emerging field within education – a synthesis of early childhood education and education for sustainability. As a distinct field of educational inquiry and practice, it is less than 20 years old in Australia. My personal story is one that emerged from a background in primary school teaching where I worked in an Indigenous community teaching Aboriginal children. These experiences made me question the marginalization of Indigenous peoples in Australian society, the colonizing impacts of education, gave me deeper understandings of human-environment interactions, and the effects of poverty and powerlessness on options for Indigenous people both in Australia and elsewhere where peoples and their lands have been exploited. These teaching experiences took me back to university to undertake a degree in environmental studies to help me to better understand the nexus between society, environment and economy. Hence my background in education for sustainability comes as much from the social sciences as from the biological/ecological sciences...

Achievements in forest tree improvement in Australia and New Zealand 6: Genetic improvement and conservation of Araucaria cunninghamii in Queensland

Araucaria cunninghamii (hoop pine) typically occurs as an emergent tree over subtropical and tropical rainforests, in a discontinuous distribution that extends from West Irian Jaya at about 0°30'S, through the highlands of Indonesian New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, along the east coast of Australia from 11°39'S in Queensland to 30°35'S in northern New South Wales. Plantations established in Queensland since the 1920s now total about 44000 ha, and constitute the primary source for the continuing supply of hoop pine quality timber and pulpwood, with a sustainable harvest exceeding 440 000 m3 y-1. Establishment of these managed plantations allowed logging of all native forests of Araucaria species (hoop pine and bunya pine, A. bidwillii) on state-owned lands to cease in the late 1980s, and the preservation of large areas of araucarian forest types within a system of state-owned and managed reserves. The successful plantation program with this species has been strongly supported by genetic improvement activities since the late 1940s - through knowledge of provenance variation and reproductive biology, the provision of reliable sources of improved seed, and the capture of substantial genetic gains in traits of economic importance (for example growth, stem straightness, internode length and spiral grain). As such, hoop pine is one of the few tropical tree species that, for more than half a century, has been the subject of continuous genetic improvement. The history of commercialisation and genetic improvement of hoop pine provides an excellent example of the dual economic and conservation benefits that may be obtained in tropical tree species through the integration of gene conservation and genetic improvement with commercial plantation development. This paper outlines the natural distribution and reproductive biology of hoop pine, describes the major achievements of the genetic improvement program in Queensland over the past 50+ y, summarises current understanding of the genetic variation and control of key selection traits, and outlines the means by which genetic diversity in the species is being conserved.

Tree growth relationships and silvicultural tools to assist stand management in private native spotted gum dominant forests in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Spotted gum dominant forests occur from Cooktown in northern Queensland (Qld) to Orbost in Victoria (Boland et al. 2006) and these forests are commercially very important with spotted gum the most commonly harvested hardwood timber in Qld and one of the most important in New South Wales (NSW). Spotted gum has a wide range of end uses from solid wood products through to power transmission poles and generally has excellent sawing and timber qualities (Hopewell 2004). The private native forest resource in southern Qld and northern NSW is a critical component of the hardwood timber industry (Anon 2005, Timber Qld 2006) and currently half or more of the native forest timber resource harvested in northern NSW and Qld is sourced from private land. However, in many cases productivity on private lands is well below what could be achieved with appropriate silvicultural management. This project provides silvicultural management tools to assist extension staff, land owners and managers in the south east Qld and north eastern NSW regions. The intent was that this would lead to improvement of the productivity of the private estate through implementation of appropriate management. The other intention of this project was to implement a number of silvicultural experiments and demonstration sites to provide data on growth rates of managed and unmanaged forests so that landholders can make informed decisions on the future management of their forests. To assist forest managers and improve the ability to predict forest productivity in the private resource, the project has developed: • A set of spotted gum specific silvicultural guidelines for timber production on private land that cover both silvicultural treatment and harvesting. The guidelines were developed for extension officers and property owners. • A simple decision support tool, referred to as the spotted gum productivity assessment tool (SPAT), that allows an estimation of: 1. Tree growth productivity on specific sites. Estimation is based on the analysis of site and growth data collected from a large number of yield and experimental plots on Crown land across a wide range of spotted gum forest types. Growth algorithms were developed using tree growth and site data and the algorithms were used to formulate basic economic predictors. 2. Pasture development under a range of tree stockings and the expected livestock carrying capacity at nominated tree stockings for a particular area. 3. Above-ground tree biomass and carbon stored in trees. •A series of experiments in spotted gum forests on private lands across the study area to quantify growth and to provide measures of the effect of silvicultural thinning and different agro-forestry regimes. The adoption and use of these tools by farm forestry extension officers and private land holders in both field operations and in training exercises will, over time, improve the commercial management of spotted gum forests for both timber and grazing. Future measurement of the experimental sites at ages five, 10 and 15 years will provide longer term data on the effects of various stocking rates and thinning regimes and facilitate modification and improvement of these silvicultural prescriptions.

Quantifying the impacts of rehabilitating degraded lands

Quantifying the impacts of rehabilitating degraded lands on soil health, pastures, runoff, erosion, nutrient and sediment movement.

Objective `Safe' Grazing Capacities for South-West Queensland Australia: Model Application and Evaluation

This paper describes the employment of two experienced graziers as consultants to apply and evaluate a model for calculating 'safe' long-term grazing capacities of individual properties. The model was based on ecological principles and entailed estimates of average annual forage grown (kglha) on the different land systems on each property and the calculation of the number of livestock (dry sheep equivalents, DSE) required to 'safely' utilise this forage. The grazier consultants applied and evaluated the 'safe' grazing capacity model on 20 properties of their choosing. For evaluation, model results were compared with; (a) the Department of Lands rated carrying capacities for those properties and (b) the grazing capacity assessed independently by the owners of those properties. For the 20 properties, the average 'safe' grazing capacity calculated by the model (21.0 DSE/kmZ) was 8% lighter than the average of the owner assessed capacities (22.7 DSE/kmZ), which in tum was 37% lighter than the average of the pre-1989 Department of Lands rated carrying capacity (31.0 DSE/kmZ). The grazing land management and administrative implications of these results and the role graziers played as consultants are discussed.

Economically viable land regeneration in Central Queensland and improved water quality outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef

The impact of excessive sediment loads entering into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon has led to increased awareness of land condition in grazing lands. Improved ground cover and land condition have been identified as two important factors in reducing sediment loads. This paper reports the economics of land regeneration using case studies for two different land types in the Fitzroy Basin. The results suggest that for sediment reduction to be achieved from land regeneration of more fertile land types (brigalow blackbutt) the most efficient method of allocating funds would be through extension and education. However for less productive country (narrow leaved ironbark woodlands) incentives will be required. The analysis also highlights the need for further scientific data to undertake similar financial assessments of land regeneration for other locations in Queensland.

Driving better vegetable irrigation through profitable practice change

The availability and quality of irrigation water has become an issue limiting productivity in many Australian vegetable regions. Production is also under competitive pressure from supply chain forces. Producers look to new technologies, including changing irrigation infrastructure, exploring new water sources, and more complex irrigation management, to survive these stresses. Often there is little objective information investigating which improvements could improve outcomes for vegetable producers, and external communities (e.g. meeting NRM targets). This has led to investment in inappropriate technologies, and costly repetition of errors, as business independently discover the worth of technologies by personal experience. In our project, we investigated technology improvements for vegetable irrigation. Through engagement with industry and other researchers, we identified technologies most applicable to growers, particularly those that addressed priority issues. We developed analytical tools for ‘what if’ scenario testing of technologies. We conducted nine detailed experiments in the Lockyer Valley and Riverina vegetable growing districts, as well as case studies on grower properties in southern Queensland. We investigated root zone monitoring tools (FullStop™ wetting front detectors and Soil Solution Extraction Tubes - SSET), drip system layout, fertigation equipment, and altering planting arrangements. Our project team developed and validated models for broccoli, sweet corn, green beans and lettuce, and spreadsheets for evaluating economic risks associated with new technologies. We presented project outcomes at over 100 extension events, including irrigation showcases, conferences, field days, farm walks and workshops. The FullStops™ were excellent for monitoring root zone conditions (EC, nitrate levels), and managing irrigation with poor quality water. They were easier to interpret than the SSET. The SSET were simpler to install, but required wet soil to be reliable. SSET were an option for monitoring deeper soil zones, unsuitable for FullStop™ installations. Because these root zone tools require expertise, and are labour intensive, we recommend they be used to address specific problems, or as a periodic auditing strategy, not for routine monitoring. In our research, we routinely found high residual N in horticultural soils, with subsequently little crop yield response to additional nitrogen fertiliser. With improved irrigation efficiency (and less leaching), it may be timely to re-examine nitrogen budgets and recommendations for vegetable crops. Where the drip irrigation tube was located close to the crop row (i.e. within 5-8 cm), management of irrigation was easier. It improved nitrogen uptake, water use efficiency, and reduced the risk of poor crop performance through moisture stress, particularly in the early crop establishment phases. Close proximity of the drip tube to the crop row gives the producer more options for managing salty water, and more flexibility in taking risks with forecast rain. In many vegetable crops, proximate drip systems may not be cost-effective. The next best alternative is to push crop rows closer to the drip tube (leading to an asymmetric row structure). The vegetable crop models are good at predicting crop phenology (development stages, time to harvest), input use (water, fertiliser), environmental impacts (nutrient, salt movement) and total yields. The two immediate applications for the models are understanding/predicting/manipulating harvest dates and nitrogen movements in vegetable cropping systems. From the economic tools, the major influences on accumulated profit are price and yield. In doing ‘what if’ analyses, it is very important to be as accurate as possible in ascertaining what the assumed yield and price ranges are. In most vegetable production systems, lowering the required inputs (e.g. irrigation requirement, fertiliser requirement) is unlikely to have a major influence on accumulated profit. However, if a resource is constraining (e.g. available irrigation water), it is usually most profitable to maximise return per unit of that resource.

What determines soil organic carbon stocks in the grazing lands of north-eastern Australia?

This study aimed to unravel the effects of climate, topography, soil, and grazing management on soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in the grazing lands of north-eastern Australia. We sampled for SOC stocks at 98 sites from 18 grazing properties across Queensland, Australia. These samples covered four nominal grazing management classes (Continuous, Rotational, Cell, and Exclosure), eight broad soil types, and a strong tropical to subtropical climatic gradient. Temperature and vapour-pressure deficit explained >80% of the variability of SOC stocks at cumulative equivalent mineral masses nominally representing 0-0.1 and 0-0.3m depths. Once detrended of climatic effects, SOC stocks were strongly influenced by total standing dry matter, soil type, and the dominant grass species. At 0-0.3m depth only, there was a weak negative association between stocking rate and climate-detrended SOC stocks, and Cell grazing was associated with smaller SOC stocks than Continuous grazing and Exclosure. In future, collection of quantitative information on stocking intensity, frequency, and duration may help to improve understanding of the effect of grazing management on SOC stocks. Further exploration of the links between grazing management and above- and below-ground biomass, perhaps inferred through remote sensing and/or simulation modelling, may assist large-area mapping of SOC stocks in northern Australia. © CSIRO 2013.

Identifying risk-efficient strategies using stochastic frontier analysis and simulation: An application to irrigated cropping in Australia

In irrigated cropping, as with any other industry, profit and risk are inter-dependent. An increase in profit would normally coincide with an increase in risk, and this means that risk can be traded for profit. It is desirable to manage a farm so that it achieves the maximum possible profit for the desired level of risk. This paper identifies risk-efficient cropping strategies that allocate land and water between crop enterprises for a case study of an irrigated farm in Southern Queensland, Australia. This is achieved by applying stochastic frontier analysis to the output of a simulation experiment. The simulation experiment involved changes to the levels of business risk by systematically varying the crop sowing rules in a bioeconomic model of the case study farm. This model utilises the multi-field capability of the process based Agricultural Production System Simulator (APSIM) and is parameterised using data collected from interviews with a collaborating farmer. We found sowing rules that increased the farm area sown to cotton caused the greatest increase in risk-efficiency. Increasing maize area also improved risk-efficiency but to a lesser extent than cotton. Sowing rules that increased the areas sown to wheat reduced the risk-efficiency of the farm business. Sowing rules were identified that had the potential to improve the expected farm profit by ca. $50,000 Annually, without significantly increasing risk. The concept of the shadow price of risk is discussed and an expression is derived from the estimated frontier equation that quantifies the trade-off between profit and risk.

Fertilising for yield and quality in sown grass pastures and forage crops

Sown pasture rundown and declining soil fertility for forage crops are too serious to ignore with losses in beef production of up to 50% across Queensland. The feasibility of using strategic applications of nitrogen (N) fertiliser to address these losses was assessed by analysing a series of scenarios using data drawn from published studies, local fertiliser trials and expert opinion. While N fertilser can dramatically increase productivity (growth, feed quality and beef production gains of over 200% in some scenarios), the estimated economic benefits, derived from paddock level enterprise budgets for a fattening operation, were much more modest. In the best-performing sown grass scenarios, average gross margins were doubled or tripled at the assumed fertiliser response rates, and internal rates of return of up to 11% were achieved. Using fertiliser on forage sorghum or oats was a much less attractive option and, under the paddock level analysis and assumptions used, forages struggled to be profitable even on fertile sites with no fertiliser input. The economics of nitrogen fertilising on grass pasture were sensitive to the assumed response rates in both pasture growth and liveweight gain. Consequently, targeted research is proposed to re-assess the responses used in this analysis, which are largely based on research 25-40 years ago when soils were generally more fertile and pastures less rundown.