Evaluating the risks of pasture and land degradation in native pastures in Queensland

Abstract

The objective of the project was to develop an approach to quantify the risks of land nd pasture degradation. This objective was achieved by developing an operational model of the condition of native pastures in Queensland.

The results of the project showed that:
1) historical and current pasture data can be used with models to simulate grazing lands in near real-time;
2) spatial models of production can be developed and validated with existing spatial data and monitoring systems;
3) data from graziers indicate that safe utilisation rates are 15-25% of average pasture growth;
4) relative risks of land and pasture can be quantified from simulations using actual numbers compared to safe stocking rates; and
5) case studies using the pasture growth model and models of grazing feedback on pasture and land degradation to evaluate the economic consequences of stocking rate strategies have been used in other projects (e.g. DroughtPlan: McKeon et al. 1996, Stafford Smith et al. 1996).