| 7
May 2006 - The Australian Government will fund research
into the impacts of dense mulga regrowth that has
occurred because of changing fire patterns and vegetation
clearance controls in Queensland.
Visiting the rangelands
of western Queensland this week, Australian Minister
for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell,
and Leader of The Nationals in the Senate, Ron Boswell,
saw many examples of stations affected by significant
mulga regrowth.
The Senators saw
first hand that these rangeland environments are
complex systems, particularly where climate events
- such as the recent record drought - interact with
plant growth, grazing and human management.
"While vegetation
clearance controls mean to some that the rangelands
will stay the same, such a view overlooks the dynamic
nature of the land systems where cyclical change
is an on-going landscape phenomena," Senator
Campbell said.
"Changed fire
patterns, for example, have contributed to mulga
regrowth to such an extent that stock grazing is
now very difficult in some areas, taking increasing
areas of stations out of grazing production."
Senator Boswell said there is a poor understanding
of the broader social and economic impacts of these
vegetation changes and its impact on pastoralists.
"Understanding
these changes and their impacts on greenhouse gas
emissions and native biodiversity requires active
research so we can get the management of these landscapes
right," Senator Boswell said.
Senator Campbell
announced the Australian Government's Natural Heritage
Trust would fund a project that will assess the
biodiversity and greenhouse impacts of mulga regrowth
associated with varying fire and grazing regimes,
and the benefits and costs of mulga harvesting and
regeneration.
He said the research
would also be linked to economic analysis of agricultural
production, and would use models to test and refine
understanding of greenhouse gas impacts.
Senator Campbell
said the integrated study could provide a three-way
win for the management of mulga grazing lands -
improved biodiversity outcomes, better understanding
of associated greenhouse impacts, and improved sustainable
production.
Welcoming the initiative,
Senator Boswell said Agforce and the Shire of Quilpie
would be invited to partner the research and assist
in field trials if required. He said the engagement
of these key organisations in western Queensland
will be important to the success of the project. |
