Pasture Pests

Abstract

Transformation of enormous areas of natural, grassland and other ‘open ground’ savanna systems to support domestic or semi-domestic livestock is the foundation of major agricultural changes as a core of local and national economies based on pastoral activity. As McIvor (2005) noted, ‘grazing’ is the most widespread land use in Australia, with much of its importance due to the prevalence of alien pasture species used to ‘improve’ the production and nutritive qualities of forage but as a consequence of which many of the native plants that evolved under conditions of light or less intensive grazing regimes have become increasingly scarce. McIvor commented on ten of the 13 groups of Australian grazing land distinguished by Moore (1970), to demonstrate the wide variety of broadly grassland systems present, and that necessitates a corresponding variety of management regimes if their values and productivity are to be sustained.