Improved grazing management practices in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: does climate variability influence their adoption by landholders?

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Star ◽  
John Rolfe ◽  
Peter Long ◽  
Giselle Whish ◽  
Peter Donaghy
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Expected Returns ◽  
Economic Modelling ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Financial Returns ◽  
Risk And Uncertainty ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Climate Cycle

The declining health of the Great Barrier Reef from diffuse source pollutants has resulted in substantial policy attention on increasing the adoption of improved management practices by agricultural producers. Although economic modelling indicates that many improved management practices are financially rewarding, landholders with dated management practices remain hesitant to change. This research involved bio-economic modelling to understand the variance in private returns for grazing enterprises across a climate cycle. Results show that financial returns to landholders can vary substantially across different 20-year periods of a climate cycle, demonstrating that the variability in expected returns may be an important reason why landholders are cautious about changing their management practices. Although previous research has separately identified financial returns and attitudes to risk and uncertainty of landholders as key influences on decisions concerning adoption of improved management practices, this research demonstrates that it is the interaction between these factors that is important to understand when designing policy settings.

scholarly journals Can changes to pasture management reduce runoff and sediment loss to the Great Barrier Reef? The results of a 10-year study in the Burdekin catchment, Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Bartley ◽  
Jeff P. Corfield ◽  
Aaron A. Hawdon ◽  
Anne E. Kinsey-Henderson ◽  
Brett N. Abbott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Bank Erosion ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Hill Slope ◽  
Sediment Loss ◽  
Catchment Runoff

Excess sediments from agricultural areas are having a detrimental impact on the Great Barrier Reef, and threaten the long-term viability of rangeland grazing. Changes to grazing management have been promoted as a mechanism for reducing excess sediment loss from grazed rangelands. This paper summarises the results of a 10-year study (2002–11) on a property in the Burdekin catchment that investigated the role of reduced stocking rates and rotational wet season resting on hill-slope and catchment runoff and sediment yields. Ground cover and pasture biomass were evaluated using on-ground surveys and remote sensing. During this study, average ground cover increased from ~35 to ~80% but pasture biomass was low due to the dominance of Bothriochloa pertusa (77% of composition). The percentage of deep-rooted perennial species increased from ~7% of pasture composition in 2002 to ~15% in 2011. This is still considerably lower than the percentage that occupied this property in 1979 (~78%). The increased ground cover resulted in progressively lower hill-slope runoff coefficients for the first event in each wet season, but annual catchment runoff did not respond significantly to the increasing ground cover during the study. Hill-slope and catchment sediment concentrations did decline with the increased ground cover, yet catchment sediment yields increased proportionally to annual runoff due to the contribution of sub-surface (scald, gully and bank) erosion. This study has demonstrated that changes to grazing management can reduce sediment concentrations leaving B. pertusa-dominated pastures, as B. pertusa is an effective controller of surface erosion. To further reduce the runoff that is fuelling gully and bank erosion, the proportion of deep-rooted native perennial grasses needs to be increased. It is argued that more than 10 years will be required to restore healthy eco-hydrological function to these previously degraded and low productivity rangelands. Even longer timescales will be needed to meet current targets for water quality.

Corrigendum to: Can changes to pasture management reduce runoff and sediment loss to the Great Barrier Reef? The results of a 10-year study in the Burdekin catchment, Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Rebecca Bartley ◽  
Jeff P. Corfield ◽  
Aaron A. Hawdon ◽  
Anne E. Kinsey-Henderson ◽  
Brett N. Abbott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Bank Erosion ◽  
Grazing Management ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Hill Slope ◽  
Sediment Loss ◽  
Catchment Runoff

Excess sediments from agricultural areas are having a detrimental impact on the Great Barrier Reef, and threaten the long-term viability of rangeland grazing. Changes to grazing management have been promoted as a mechanism for reducing excess sediment loss from grazed rangelands. This paper summarises the results of a 10-year study (2002–11) on a property in the Burdekin catchment that investigated the role of reduced stocking rates and rotational wet season resting on hill-slope and catchment runoff and sediment yields. Ground cover and pasture biomass were evaluated using on-ground surveys and remote sensing. During this study, average ground cover increased from ~35 to ~80% but pasture biomass was low due to the dominance of Bothriochloa pertusa (77% of composition). The percentage of deep-rooted perennial species increased from ~7% of pasture composition in 2002 to ~15% in 2011. This is still considerably lower than the percentage that occupied this property in 1979 (~78%). The increased ground cover resulted in progressively lower hill-slope runoff coefficients for the first event in each wet season, but annual catchment runoff did not respond significantly to the increasing ground cover during the study. Hill-slope and catchment sediment concentrations did decline with the increased ground cover, yet catchment sediment yields increased proportionally to annual runoff due to the contribution of sub-surface (scald, gully and bank) erosion. This study has demonstrated that changes to grazing management can reduce sediment concentrations leaving B. pertusa-dominated pastures, as B. pertusa is an effective controller of surface erosion. To further reduce the runoff that is fuelling gully and bank erosion, the proportion of deep-rooted native perennial grasses needs to be increased. It is argued that more than 10 years will be required to restore healthy eco-hydrological function to these previously degraded and low productivity rangelands. Even longer timescales will be needed to meet current targets for water quality.

scholarly journals Can extension programs improve grazing management in rangelands: a case study in Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 447
Author(s):  
John Rolfe ◽  
Megan Star ◽  
Adam Curcio
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Sediment Runoff ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Extension Programs ◽  
Management Change

A key challenge in reducing sediment moving from grazing lands into the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is to encourage beef cattle producers to improve management practices. Excessive grazing pressures cause land degradation, leading to both increased sediment runoff and lower future profits. Although higher grazing rates may be possible (and profitable) in better seasons, slow rates of adjustment to poorer seasons can lead to overgrazing and negative impacts on land condition. For policymakers the challenge is to find mechanisms that encourage or signal producers to be more precise in their management and avoid overstocking. Some of the most common options include extension programs, grant programs that use financial incentives, and regulation. In this paper we outline a conceptual framework that shows why extension may be a more powerful driver of management change than incentive programs, and then test this through an evaluation of a case study program conducted with beef cattle producers in catchments of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The pathway involving landholders to implement management change was through improved efficiency and productivity, as these are the issues that drive ongoing participation in broader environmental programs. The results present multiple lines of evidence to infer positive outcomes of an extension program in terms of changed management practices, which may be expected to generate improved productivity and better water quality outcomes. These can be grouped into three key areas. First, outcomes show positive improvement relative to the Grazing Water Quality Risk framework for the Great Barrier Reef catchments, which is designed to assess the links between land management and water quality. This indicates that resource condition is likely to improve and sediment emissions should be reduced over time. A second outcome is increased landholder engagement and improved understanding of their business and engagement in future programs, which should underpin ongoing adoption. A third outcome is improved management of risk and developing the skills to do this through data collection and monitoring, which should improve management responses in drought years.

scholarly journals Far North Queensland

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitta Flick ◽  
Nerina Caltabiano ◽  
Joan Bentrupperbaumer
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Far North ◽  
Reef Lagoon

Landowners (100 males and 21 females) within the catchment of the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon located between the Barron and the South Johnstone Rivers responded to a postal survey assessing attitudes towards their streamside forests. 121 useable questionnaires were used to identify the underlying components within landowner's attitudes. Factor analysis revealed two components, namely, awareness of human impact on local streamside forest, and appreciation of environmental benefits and functions of streamside forest. Only factor 2, appreciation of environment benefits and functions of streamside forest, was found to significantly predict good streamside forest management practices as self-reported by landowners. There is a need to understand the human impact on streamside zones.

A Guide to Planting Wildflower Enhancements in Florida

EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Bammer ◽  
Josh Campbell ◽  
Chase B. Kimmel ◽  
James D.. Ellis ◽  
Jaret C. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Control Techniques ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
The Right

The establishment of native wildflower plantings in Florida can benefit agricultural producers as well as native pollinators and other beneficial insects (predators and parasitoids). The plantings do this by:  providing forage and nesting sites for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, increasing wild bee numbers possibly across the farm, and increasing natural enemies of insect pests (that also depend on forage and nesting sites). This document discusses choosing the right mix of native plant species to benefit many pollinator species, as well as proper site selection, planting practices, and weed control techniques. Wildflower plots should be practical to manage, maximize benefits to wildlife, and fit into the overall management practices of the property. 

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