Academic literature on the topic 'Range management Victoria Mallee'

Fire is a widespread disturbance and an important ecological process in semi-arid mallee ecosystems of southern Australia. Understanding the effects of fire on plants and animals is a key challenge for the conservation and management of biodiversity in this ecosystem. Commencing in 2006, the Mallee Fire and Biodiversity Project is investigating the effects of fire on a range of taxa (vascular plants, invertebrates, reptiles, birds and mammals), with a focus on the influence of the properties of ‘fire mosaics’ on biota. A ‘whole of landscape’ design was employed, in which the flora and fauna were sampled in 28 study landscapes, each 4 km in diameter (12.5 km2) across a 104, 000 km2 area of the Murray Mallee region of Victoria, SA and NSW. Here, we summarise some key results and outputs from this project to date. These include: detailed maps of fire history and major vegetation types; a method for predicting the age of mallee vegetation; novel information about the distribution of fire age-classes in the region; and changes to vegetation structure and in the occurrence of reptile, bird and mammal species over a century-long post-fire time-frame. We also present an overview of the effects of fire mosaics (extent of particular age classes, diversity of fire age-classes) on the richness of some mallee fauna. A wealth of knowledge has been developed through the Mallee Fire and Biodiversity Project that will assist the management of mallee ecosystems in southern Australia for the future.

Crop yield and profitability in the dryland production systems of southern Australia are directly affected by the application of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilisers. How efficiently a crop utilises applied fertiliser is affected by several factors that interact in a complex way, including: nutrient mobility, soil type and soil physicochemical and biological factors, season (including rainfall amount and distribution), and crop physiology. In addition, nutrient supply and crop demand need to synchronise both temporally and spatially if nutrient use efficiency is to be optimised. In this study, the mechanistic simulation model, ROOTMAP, was used to investigate and generate hypotheses about the implications of a range of fertiliser management strategies on the nutrient utilisation of wheat. A range of seasons and 2 commercially important soil types (a Wimmera Vertosol and a Mallee Sodosol) were considered. Simulation results showed a strong interaction between the timing and placement of N and P fertiliser, soil type, seasonal conditions, root growth, and nutrient uptake by wheat. This suggests that region-specific recommendations for fertiliser management may be superior to the ‘one size fits all’ approach typically adopted over the Wimmera/Mallee region. Fertiliser use efficiency differed between the 2 soil types, primarily because physicochemical subsoil constraints were present in the Sodosol, but not the Vertosol. These affected rooting depth, total root system size, and root distribution—notably root growth and hence foraging in the topsoil layer. The root growth response to fertiliser management strategies and seasonal rainfall was also reduced on the Sodosol compared with the Vertosol. Simulated fertiliser uptake was responsive to the placement strategy in a dry year characterised by small rainfall events, typical for the Wimmera and Mallee regions. Shallow placement (0.05 or 0.025 m) of N and P in the topsoil utilised topsoil moisture from these small rainfall events, improving crop N and P uptake. The degree of benefit differed between the 2 soil types, and placement of fertiliser was more effective than topdressing. The simulation approach used here provides a preliminary assessment of a range of fertiliser strategies for different soil type and seasonal conditions. However, because ROOTMAP does not provide direct predictions of grain yield response, simulation results need subsequent validation under field conditions before they can be used by growers.

The central issue for species that are highly localised habitat specialists and occur in relatively small numbers is vulnerability to extinction processes. The heath skink, Liopholis multiscutata, is considered Critically Endangered in Victoria, in part because it is restricted to essentially four small and highly disjunct populations in semiarid mallee dunefields. It provides an example of a rare and cryptic species that is especially vulnerable to decline and consequently provides management challenges. Here, we crystallise available information on the ecology and life history of this threatened lizard, and review monitoring data to evaluate population status, primary threats and management imperatives. There has been a substantial decrease across the known range of the lizard in Victoria, most likely due to predation and fire. Recent monitoring of the four potentially viable populations revealed a general trend of decline. Recommendations for research and management priorities for the lizard in Victoria are provided; generally, these include further exploration of the lizard’s phylogeny and ecology, and ongoing monitoring of the trajectory of the lizard’s population status, threats to the lizard’s persistence and the effectiveness of management actions employed to ameliorate extinction threats.

The western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, typically occurs at highest population densities in areas of greatest habitat heterogeneity. Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, in semiarid north-western Victoria, supports a relatively high density of this species, and has a mosaic of four major vegetation associations: mallee, woodland, lake bed and grassland. The patterns of habitat use by western grey kangaroos at Hattah-Kulkyne were examined from March 1983 until May 1985 using line-transect surveys to estimate population density in each habitat, and radio-tracking to estimate home range. The population was not dispersed randomly, but generally exhibited either positive or negative preferences for each of the four habitats in early morning and at midday, and on different bimonthly surveys. These preferences often reversed between times of day and between surveys. Home ranges of individuals ranged from 221 to 459 ha (asymptotic MAP[O.95] estimates), each encompassing three or four habitat types, and there was extensive spatial and temporal overlap between individuals. Kangaroos at Hattah-Kulkyne thus alternated between adjacent habitats that offered a range of forage conditions and shelter.

The agronomic implications of substituting mustard (Brassica juncea) for long (winter) fallows were investigated in a 6-year field experiment by comparing 2 cropping sequences (fallow–wheat–pea v. mustard–wheat–pea) in the semi-arid Victorian mallee. Production and water use of wheat, pea and mustard were measured. Grain yields ranged from 0.1 to 2.4 t/ha for wheat (mean 1.72 t/ha after fallow and 1.22 t/ha after mustard); from 0 to 0.6 t/ha (mean 0.22 t/ha) for mustard and from 0 to 1.4 t/ha (mean 0.8 t/ha) for field pea, strongly reflecting variable seasonal conditions (in-crop rainfall range from 84 to 231 mm). Mustard was shown to be a potential replacement for long fallow producing additional yield benefit (mustard + wheat) in one year. However, under drought conditions it introduces severe penalties to wheat growth and yield compared with the traditional fallow cropping system. Further, mustard did not affect water use, growth, or yield of the second crop after wheat (in our case field pea). This study highlights a conflict between developing farming systems that are productive, environmentally and socially acceptable under variable weather conditions and yet uphold the regional need to reduce dependence on fallowing. Further analyses of weather patterns and other crop choice strategies are needed to help develop better management strategies for the mallee region of Australia.

A major barrier to the adoption of precision agriculture in dryland cropping systems is our current inability to reliably predict spatial patterns of grain yield for future crops for a specific paddock. An experiment was undertaken to develop a better understanding of how edaphic and climatic factors interact to influence the spatial variation in the growth, water use, and grain yield of different crops in a single paddock so as to improve predictions of the likely spatial pattern of grain yields in future crops. Changes in a range of crop and soil properties were monitored over 3 consecutive seasons (barley in 2005 and 2007 and lentils in 2006) in the southern section of a 167-ha paddock in the Mallee region of Victoria, which had been classified into 3 different yield (low, moderate, and high) and seasonal variability (stable and variable) zones using normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and historic yield maps. The different management zones reflected marked differences in a range of soil properties including both texture in the topsoil and potential chemical-physical constraints in the subsoil (SSCs) to root growth and water use. Dry matter production, grain yield, and quality differed significantly between the yield zones but the relative difference between zones was reduced when supplementary irrigation was applied to barley in 2005, suggesting that some other factor, e.g. nitrogen (N), may have become limiting in that year. There was a strong relationship between crop growth and the use of soil water and nitrate across the management zones, with most water use by the crop occurring in the pre-anthesis/flowering period, but the nature of this relationship appeared to vary with year and/or crop type. In 2006, lentil yield was strongly related to crop establishment, which varied with soil texture and differences in plant-available water. In 2007 the presence of soil water following a good break to the season permitted root growth into the subsoil where there was evidence that SSCs may have adversely affected crop growth. Because of potential residual effects of one crop on another, e.g. through differential N supply and use, we conclude that the utility of the NDVI methodology for developing zone management maps could be improved by using historical records and data for a range of crop types rather than pooling data from a range of seasons.

Population density and habitat structure have been identified as influencing grouping patterns in kangaroos, but the separate contributions of each factor have rarely been distinguished. Grouping was examined in the western grey kangaroo, Macropus fuliginosus, at Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, north-western Victoria, where the population exhibits marked changes in density throughout habitats that provide a range of cover. Group size and population density in each habitat were surveyed at two times of day and at roughly 2-monthly intervals from March 1983 until December 1985. Of the four major habitats, mallee and woodland offered moderate cover, whereas grassland and lake bed gave sparse cover. Visibility of kangaroo groups was highest in the sparse habitats, and was positively related to the size of the group, at least in the lower range of group sizes. At densities up to 40km-2, groups that formed in the sparse habitats were larger than the groups in the two habitats that offered moderate cover. Three habitats (lake bed, grassland and woodland) had more smaller and more larger groups than expected if group formation was a random process. Large males were seen alone more often than expected by chance in lake bed, and less often in moderate cover; females with young-atfoot were over-represented as singletons in all four habitats. The size and composition of groups recorded in this study suggest that the basic components of the social organisation of kangaroos are best discerned in habitats that carry a low population density, but that also provide the most cover.

Movement analyses were conducted for 50 goats across southern Australia using GPS satellite collars. A radio or satellite-tracked animal used to direct culling operations is generally called a ‘Judas’ animal. Goats used as ‘Judas’ animals in control operations were compared with non-‘Judas’ goats in the states of South Australia and Victoria, respectively. Their movement in two land systems were also compared. Dynamic Brownian Bridges Movement Models were used to calculate home ranges (95% utilisation areas). Changes in movement behaviour were identified to partition sedentary behaviour from long-distance movement events, defined here as ranging. Eleven goats exhibited ranging behaviour and moved from 9 to 33 km between their home ranges. After partitioning, their home ranges varied from 1.97 to 223.8 km2. In this study in the Southern Australian Mallee regions, non-‘Judas’ goats had significantly smaller home ranges than ‘Judas’ goats. However, no significant differences were found in the ranging distances between non-‘Judas’ goats and ‘Judas’ goats. Understanding these two distinct forms of goat movement is important in the planning and budgeting of removal operations. To demonstrate this a simple goat management decision tool is used to illustrate the biases that can result in the expected hours of removal operations when the assumptions about goat movement are ill-defined.

The responses of wheat grain yield to soil properties, weather, root diseases, and management practices were investigated in 75 grower-managed crops in the Mallee region of South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales during 3 growing seasons. Fourteen cultivars were represented in the sampled crops, with Frame being the most common (56%). The most widespread crop sequence was wheat after pasture (43% of wheat crops), followed by wheat after fallow or cereal (both about 20%); 12% of the wheat was sown after legumes. Wheat after cereal was more common in drier sites, and wheat after fallow in wetter sites. Wheat yield was proportional to Fischer’s photothermal coefficient around flowering, and ranged from nil to 4.7 t/ha. On average, wheat crops sown after cereals yielded 0.4 t/ha less than their counterparts sown after fallow, and 0.7 t/ha less than those after legumes. Sowing date ranged from 24 April to 21 July; yield declined with delayed sowing at an average rate of 17 kg/ha.day. Growing season rainfall (April–October) ranged from 111 to 266 mm, and accounted for 27% of the variation in grain yield. Soil water content at sowing (0–1 m) ranged from 32 to 330 mm; yield increased with initial soil water at an average rate of 6 kg/ha.mm. Grain yield per unit growing season rainfall was generally low, with 75% of crops producing <12 kg grain/ha.mm; the maximum ratio was 21 kg/ha.mm. Soil constraints, including sodicity, alkalinity, salinity, and boron toxicity, reduced yield in part by reducing availability of stored soil water. Owing to severity of chemical constraints increasing with soil depth, grain yield and yield per unit growing season rainfall were both inversely related to the proportion of water stored deeper in the soil (0.5–1 m). Yield was unrelated to nitrogen, both initial and applied. Larger amounts of nitrogen accumulated in soils with more severe constraints partially accounted for the lack of association between yield and nitrogen.

Subsoil physicochemical constraints can limit crop production on alkaline soils of south-eastern Australia. Fifteen farmer paddocks sown to a range of crops including canola, lentil, wheat, and barley in the Wimmera and Mallee of Victoria and the mid-north and Eyre Peninsula of South Australia were monitored from 2003 to 2006 to define the relationship between key abiotic/edaphic factors and crop growth. The soils were a combination of Calcarosol and Vertosol profiles, most of which had saline and sodic subsoils. There were significant correlations between ECe and Cl– (r = 0.90), ESP and B (r = 0.82), ESP and ECe (r = 0.79), and ESP and Cl– (r = 0.73). The seasons monitored had dry pre-cropping conditions and large variations in spring rainfall in the period around flowering. At sowing, the available soil water to a depth of 1.2 m (θa) averaged 3 mm for paddocks sown to lentils, 28 mm for barley, 44 mm for wheat, and 92 mm for canola. Subsoil constraints affected canola and lentil crops but not wheat or barley. For lentil crops, yield variation was largely explained by growing season rainfall (GSR) and θa in the shallow subsoil (0.10–0.60 m). Salinity in this soil layer affected lentil crops through reduced water extraction and decreased yields where ECe exceeded 2.2 dS/m. For canola crops, GSR and θa in the shallow (0.10–0.60 m) and deep (0.60–1.20 m) layers were important factors explaining yield variation. Sodicity (measured as ESP) in the deep subsoil (0.80–1.00 m) reduced canola growth where ESP exceeded 16%, corresponding to a 500 kg/ha yield penalty. For cereal crops, rainfall in the month around anthesis was the most important factor explaining grain yield, due to the large variation in rainfall during October combined with the determinant nature of these crops. For wheat, θa in the shallow subsoil (0.10–0.60 m) at sowing was also an important factor explaining yield variation. Subsoil constraints had no impact on cereal yield in this study, which is attributed to the lack of available soil water at depth, and the crops’ tolerance of the physicochemical conditions encountered in the shallow subsoil, where plant-available water was more likely to occur. Continuing dry seasonal conditions may mean that the opportunity to recharge soil water in the deeper subsoil, under continuous cropping systems, is increasingly remote. Constraints in the deep subsoil are therefore likely to have reduced impact on cereals under these conditions, and it is the management of water supply, from GSR and accrued soil water, in the shallow subsoil that will be increasingly critical in determining crop yields in the future.

The Otways and Shipwreck Coast is known for its natural beauty and attracts millions of visitors each year, particularly along the Great Ocean Road. The value of the region's rich biodiversity is recognised at the national and global level and its wildlife is markedly different to other regions, including eastern Victoria which supports similar vegetation types. Wildlife of the Otways and Shipwreck Coast is a photographic field guide to the vertebrate wildlife of Victoria’s south-west. It covers all the mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs that occur in the region, including on land and in coastal waters. Each of the 288 species profiles includes a description and information on identification, range, conservation status, habitat use and ecology and is complemented by an exquisite colour photograph and a detailed distribution map. The book also includes chapters on habitat types, conservation and management, and on 14 key places in the region to view wildlife. This book will allow those interested in wildlife, including residents and visitors, to identify vertebrate animals found in the region. Readers will also become more familiar with the distinct role the Otways has in conserving Australia’s biodiversity.

Accounting for multiple changing systems in environmental decision making is challenging and requires balancing several competing priorities. In fire risk, one approach which is increasingly used to capture uncertainty within multiple systems and to prioritise management efforts is Bayesian Network analysis. Here, we have used a Bayesian Network to understand the interactions between ignition likelihood, containment probability, fire behaviour, and fire weather, alongside the subsequent risks to people and property. We developed, populated and tested a Bayesian Network (BN) which classifies the likelihood of outcomes for each of these systems. We then apply this BN to grid of 72,000 potential ignition locations accross Victoria to predict house and life loss values under conditions capturing the top ten worst ranked weather days in the history of each location. We use Phoenix fire behaviour simulations and landscape scale raster data to populate the parent nodes for each ignition and extract the expected values for predicted nodes under different weather scenarios and varying levels of suppression. We found values predicted by the BN broadly matched the spatial patterns of risk produced in Phoenix i.e., areas where risk was highest and lowest in terms of fire area and house loss aligned. However, the values are rescaled by the BN as it takes into account the influence of ignition likelihood and containment probability on risk estimates. The BN is also able to capture uncertainty around the values presented from across the top ten Phoenix simulations, so the recorded values represent the likely outcome for each node given the range of potential weather conditions in those scenarios. We show that BNs can be a useful management tool for estimating fire risks across a range of weather scenarios and locations while still considering ignition likelihood and suppression effectiveness.

Governments provide a wide range of services, and the digital economy provides both threats and opportunities in this sector. The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) is a compulsory, government owned and operated insurance scheme for third-party, no-fault liability insurance for transport accident victims, operated in Victoria, Australia. E-business has now been widely used in all sectors from small business (Loane, McNaughton, & Bell, 2004) to emerging economies (Li & Chang, 2004), and in very different industry sectors (Cagno, Di Giulio, & Trucco, 2004; Golden, Hughes, & Gallagher, 2003). Major steps forward and applications have occurred in retailing (Leonard & Cronan, 2003; Mackay, Altmann, & McMichael, 2003; Starr, 2003). Applications need to be highly customized as the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) environments are very different, and requirements of industries such as retailing and mining, and indeed government, differ substantially (Carter, 2003; He & Lung, 2002; Rotondaro, 2002). Government provides a particularly different environment for e-business applications because government services are often delivered in monopoly circumstances, with no real profit motive behind them. At the height of the technology boom in October 1999, Tony Marxsen joined the TAC as head of IT to develop a new IT outsourcing contract for the organization as the current 5-year contract was due to end in July 2000. He quickly realized that the TAC IT systems were out of date, lacked IT process integration, and were constraining improvement in business processes, and that no significant investments had been made for some time. Renewing or redesigning the outsourcing contract, the basis for which he had been employed, would only be a short-term solution. The problem was that the cost of new infrastructure would be high, and return on technology investment would mainly be realized from redesigned business processes enabled by the new technology. Tony wanted to propose a business transformation, with process changes as well as significant investment in IT infrastructure. Together, these would take the TAC from 1970s technology into the 21st century. The problem was that their (investments in such transformation) payoffs are not easily and quickly achieved. Their value does not come from installing the technology; it comes from changing both operating and management processes—perhaps operating and managing cultures too. (Ross & Beath, 2002, p. 53) Tony knew he would have to win the support of the board and senior management, but he could not immediately give them a concrete business case for the investment. He also knew that any infrastructure investment had to be linked with a major process-improvement initiative from the start to avoid the double investment of building new applications to support old processes, and then undertaking major modifications or even replacement when the need for improvement became obvious to the board and management team. He compared investing in IT infrastructure to rewiring and replumbing your house: as far as visitors are concerned, there’s no visible difference, everything’s behind the walls, but as the owner you get the benefits of things like cheaper electricity and water bills because of efficiencies in the new redesigned systems. The problem is convincing people that they will get these results in the future, but that they need to hand over the money now, when there’s no hard evidence for the benefits they’ll get, just a bunch of assumptions and no guarantees. It’s a big ask for any Board. (Marxsen, personal communication, September 4, 2003) Tony knew that the first hurdle he would have to overcome would be getting the board to agree to give him the opportunity to put together a team to develop a business case for the board’s further consideration.

Bendigo, where the traditional owners are the Dja Dja Wurrung people, has capitalised on its European historical roots. Its striking architecture owes much to its Gold Rush past which has also given it a diverse cultural heritage. The creative industries, while not well recognised as such, contribute well to the local economy. The many festivals, museums and library exhibitions attract visitors from the metropolitan centre of Victoria especially. The Bendigo Creative Industries Hub was a local council initiative while the Ulumbarra Theatre is located within the City’s 1860’s Sandhurst Gaol. Many festivals keep the city culturally active and are supported by organisations such as Bendigo Bank. The Bendigo Writers Festival, the Bendigo Queer Film Festival, The Bendigo Invention & Innovation Festival, Groovin the Moo and the Bendigo Blues and Roots Music Festival are well established within the community. A regional accelerator and Tech School at La Trobe University are touted as models for other regional Victorian cities. The city has a range of high quality design agencies, while the software and digital content sector is growing with embeddeds working in agriculture and information management systems. Employment in Film, TV and Radio and Visual Arts has remained steady in Bendigo for a decade while the Music and Performing Arts sector grew quite well over the same period.