Urbanisation of the cassowary: impacts and economics

source: Reef and Rainforest Research Centre
"The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii or 'cassowary') is a significant keystone species to the natural environment of the Wet Tropics. The cassowary is a major and often sole disperser of seeds for over one hundred species of rainforest trees and vines (BioTropica Australia 2005). Because of the importance of the cassowary to the overall biodiversity of the Wet Tropics, research into the refining, tailoring and application of a market based instrument (MBI) to manage for environmental conservation in developing areas will use a viable cassowary population as the objective of any instrument mix analysed."

Market segmentation study of rural landholders in relation to the promotion of natural resource management on private land in the Wet Tropics region

Source: Reef and Rainforest Research Centre
"This report describes a series of community sector or group profiles with varying levels of interest and engagement in natural resource management (NRM) activities, based on responses to a survey of rural landholders in the Wet Tropics NRM region of far northern Queensland. Indices were developed to represent landholders' interest in and concern about NRM issues and to represent their level of engagement with (i.e. adoption of) currently recommended practices (CRPs)."

Land management and farming in Australia 2007-08

Source: Aust. Bureau of Statistics
"This publication presents information on agricultural land management practices. Data were collected in the 2007-08 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) conducted by the ABS. The publication and related datacubes provide important information on a variety of management practices of Australian agricultural businesses, including cropping and pasture management, soil management, fertiliser use, surface water and effluent management, natural environment conservation protection and farm management. The estimates in this publication provide benchmark data on resource management practices for the Australian Government's Caring for our Country program. This program is a Commonwealth government initiative that seeks to achieve an environment that is healthy, better protected, well managed and resilient, and provides essential ecosystem services in a changing climate."

Rangelands 2008: taking the pulse

Source: National Land & Water Resources Audit
"This report, Rangelands 2008 - taking the pulse, is the first time that disparate datasets have been brought together at a national and regional scale to report change in Australia's rangelands. The rangelands cover some 81 per cent of Australia and are popularly known as- the outback."

Materials use across world regions: inevitable pasts and possible futures

source: J. of industrial ecology, vol.12, nos.5-6 (2008)
"In their contribution to Australia's resource use trajectories, Schandl and others portray the economic, social and environmental impacts of the Australian resource boom and discuss future pathways for Australia's resource use, patterns and policies."

Land cover change in Queensland 2006-07 report

Source: Dept. of Natural Resources and Water
"New figures released by the Queensland Government show the rate of tree clearing in the state fell by 37% in the six months following the introduction of a ban on broadscale tree clearing in December 2006. The Statewide Landcover and Trees Study shows a 140,000 hectare reduction in overall clearing from 375,000 hectares in 2005-2006 to 235,000 hectares in 2006-2007, when the ban applied for only the second half of the financial year. The figures are the first of their kind released by the State Government since the ban was introduced. The report also shows greenhouse gas emissions were down from 41.24 megatonnes in 2005-2006 to 31.55 megatonnes in 2006-2007. However, the data shows more than 100,000 hectares of regrowth was cleared in the year with twice as much of this occurring on freehold as is occurring on leasehold land."

Understanding land use change and U.S. ethanol expansion

Source:Renewable Fuels Association
"The amount of agricultural land required to produce 15 billion gallons of grain ethanol in the United States by 2015, as required by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), is likely to be less than 1 percent of total world cropland, according to a new report released today by the Renewable Fuels Association. According to the report, “Understanding Land Use Change and U.S. Ethanol Expansion,” gains in agricultural productivity, coupled with the contribution of feed produced as an ethanol co-product, are expected to significantly mitigate the need for conversion of non-agricultural lands to support expanded U.S. biofuels production."

Restoring landscapes with confidence

Source: Land & Water Australia
"In order to shed light on the key issue of landscape restoration, this project assessed the extent to which the research, tools and information that are currently available, are being used by regional natural resource management agencies to achieve on-ground outcomes. It examined how well the science that has been undertaken is embedded in day-to-day practical approaches, and investigated what makes esearch relevant, meaningful and able to be easily integrated."

Managing fire regimes in north Australian savannas: forum

Source:Tropical Savannas CRC
The forum held in Darwin in May featured a number of presentations covering the social and ethnographic history of the region; fire and carbon sequestration; fire and biodiversity; fire, fuels and greenhouse gas emissions; the policy environment and ecological thresholds associated with fire impact. Some powerpoints from the forum are available as PDFs.

A field manual for surveying and mapping nationally significant weeds

Source: Bureau of Rural Sciences
"This manual explains standardised, systematic procedures for collecting core weed infestation data for mapping of weeds of national significance."

Achieving sustainable land use on the Sunshine Coast former cane lands

Source: CSIRO
"This report presents options for achieving sustainable land use in the former canelands of the Sunshine Coast. Four future scenarios are presented, along with their implications for the community."