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Historical perspectives on some vegetation and soil changes in semi-arid New South Wales

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Vegetation and climate interactions in semi-arid regions

Part of the book series: Advances in vegetation science ((AIVS,volume 12))

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Abstract

The history of settlement of the semi-arid rangelands of western New South Wales is reviewed with respect to changes in the vegetation and soil which occurred under a regime of european land management. Simple dynamics of the vegetation response to grazing are illustrated and primary archival data is explored to verify the status of traditional wisdom about three examples of perceived change; the extent of the pioneers knowledge of land degradation, the timing and causes of nineteenth century Callitris pine regrowth events, and the importance of soil compaction. In each case it is shown that the traditional wisdom surrounding these issues is partly erroneous and that folklore is in danger of becoming accepted fact. Such errors must be avoided if we are to improve range dynamics models and management.

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  1. School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia

    P. B. Mitchell

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A. Henderson-Sellers A. J. Pitman

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Mitchell, P.B. (1991). Historical perspectives on some vegetation and soil changes in semi-arid New South Wales. In: Henderson-Sellers, A., Pitman, A.J. (eds) Vegetation and climate interactions in semi-arid regions. Advances in vegetation science, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3264-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3264-0_13

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-3264-0

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