Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sustainable agriculture (Australia)'

During the past 36 years, the Author has contributed to the science and practice of agriculture in tropical and subtropical Australia, in the areas of crop improvement and sustainable agricultural production. These contributions were made during three phases of activity (i) through postgraduate studies at the University of Queensland (M Agr Sc, 1968-1971) and at the University of Minnesota (Ph D, 1971-1973); (ii) as a research scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (1973-1994); and (iii) through leadership of the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Sugar Production (CRC Sugar) and its education program, and concurrently as professor of tropical crop science at James Cook University (1994-2003). Contributions during the period 1968-1994 focussed heavily on developing a scientific understanding of the physiological basis of genotype X environment (g X e) interaction effects on the phenology, growth and yield of tropical grain legume crops. The main target crops were soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.), mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) and black gram (V. mungo L. Hepper), and to a lesser extent cowpea (V. unguiculata (L.) Walp.), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh) and minor pulses in the Vigna group (rice bean, adzuki bean). Particular emphasis was placed on elucidating the physiological basis of adaptation of these legumes in tropical and subtropical environments, and the implications for crop improvement. The physiological processes of main interest were phenological development, crop growth, yield and its components, seed quality and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Environmental factors of main interest were day length, temperature, and water supply (both in excess and deficit), with some lesser focus on biotic factors such as insects and crop diseases. It was established that differential genotypic responses to photo-thermal regime contributed to variation in phenological response, with major implications for crop growth and yield potential and adaptation to the environment with respect to latitude and sowing date. These in turn interacted with agronomy and influenced optimal management. In the process, genotypic relations between rate of development and photoperiod and temperature in the field were described and quantified, as were the relations between crop duration, harvest index, biomass accumulation and seed yield. Interaction effects between varietal duration and sowing density were explained and the implications for optimal sowing density established for both irrigated and rain fed crops. Advances were made in understanding the effects of host plant physiology on nitrogen fixation. Relations between harvest index and nitrogen harvest index in different legumes and their implications for crop improvement were described. Differences in drought stress response strategy among tropical grain legumes were discovered and described. The ability of soybean to acclimate to saturated soil was described and the novel saturated soil culture system developed. Advances were made in understanding the physiology of weathering in mungbean and black gram, and genotypic differences in resistance were identified. Studies were extended beyond the cultivated germplasm to explore the natural genotypic variation for traits of agronomic and/or adaptive significance in related wild Vigna and Glycine species found in Australian and nearby islands. In the process, a unique collection of more than 400 native legume accessions was assembled and described, and seed committed to long-term storage in a national germplasm collection. Cross-fertility between cultivated and wild Vigna species was explored and the inheritance of key traits documented. The research findings on the tropical grain legumes were synthesised into a more coherent generalised understanding of their physiology, and the potential application of physiological knowledge in crop improvement was explored using the tropical grain legumes as a model. The then-novel idea was advanced that the most effective use of physiology in crop improvement was in developing a biological understanding of g X e to augment the statistical models used by breeders. It was also argued that crop improvement should concurrently involve breeding better adapted crop varieties, and developing agronomic practices that best enabled the genetic potential of crop varieties to be exploited. Among the areas where these concepts were applied was the novel concept of using the long-juvenile gene to ‘convert’ high-yielding, lodging resistant, temperate soybean germplasm to tropical adaptation. During the period 1994-2003, scientific contributions focussed on improving the sustainability of sugar production systems in northern Australia, with emphasis on three broad program areas: enhancing crop productivity, sustaining soil and water resources, and protecting the wider environment. Contributions included a leadership role in the development in collaboration with others of novel approaches for fostering team-based, multi-disciplinary research and postgraduate research training on complex sustainability issues. At a personal research level, the focus was on the application in the context of student training projects of physiological concepts to improve sugarcane productivity in the wet tropics. Advances were made in identifying the effects of harvest timing and other management practices on cane yield and CCS, in quantifying the effects of lodging on productivity and in elucidating environmental stimuli of suckering. The improved scientific understanding of soybean and mungbean provided the basis for undertaking, in collaboration with others, improvement programs on these legumes for northern Australia, and in Thailand and Vietnam. Recommendations for agronomic management of these crops were promulgated in collaboration with industry, and three cultivars (1 tropical soybean, 1 mungbean and 1 black gram) were released for commercial production. These outputs contributed to the establishment and subsequent development of soybean and mungbean cropping in northern Australia. In the case of sugar cane, the strategic research on low productivity in the wet tropics focussed attention on lodging and suckering as key constraints in the wet tropics, while the research on sustainable sugar production more generally has helped map the path for a sustainable future for the sugar industry. In the research on both grain legumes and sugar cane, innovation was demonstrated in the contributions that were made, and in the processes whereby they were accomplished. The research on new grain legume crops for Australian agriculture was by definition novel, as was the early focus on using physiological understanding of these species to develop biological explanations for g X e. The use of contestable industry research funds to support postgraduate research training pre-dated the formal introduction of postgraduate research training scholarships by the rural industry research and development committees, while the extensive supervision of postgraduate students was then unprecedented for a CSIRO scientist. Also demonstrated was leadership in fostering team-based, multi-disciplinary collaborations, often in the context of joint projects supported by national and international agencies, and in developing countries where the tropical crops of interest were widely grown. The research was also usually undertaken in close collaboration with relevant industry interests, which facilitated uptake of the outputs. At the time, these collaborations, which included students, colleagues and industry end-users, initially with funding support from industry and later from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and then the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Program, were at the forefront of the development of team-based R&D models in Australia. The synergies from these collaborations with colleagues, students and industry stakeholders enhanced the contributions that were able to be made. They also enabled initial discoveries to be explored and elaborated in ways that otherwise would not have been possible.

The focus of the thesis is a critique of the form and function of the federal institutions governing the development of Rural Australia. In undertaking this study two cycles of a systemic action research were followed, the first to explore the policy development environment and the second to validate and expand on findings of the first cycle of enquiry. The thesis follows the historical development of policy institutions and the deliberations of poicy actors that have lead to normative, strategic and program change within these institutions. These institutional changes have then been critiqued from theoretical perspective of governance for sustainable development. Conclusions from this critique indicate that that the pace of policy change is very slow and after 20 years from the Rural Policy green paper of 1974 the federal institutions have taken on board a rhetoric of sustainable rural development that encapsulates much of the principles espoused in the Green Paper.This includes principles that aim to empower rural communities to find local solutions to their natural resource management and local economic development problems. The downside is found in institutional conflict over resource dependencies and spheres of responsibility and an apparent lack of community economic development facilitation skills within the service organisations of rural institutions.
Master of Science (Hons)

This thesis develops two related themes.The first is that participatory approaches to agricultural research and extension can provide a sound process for all stakeholders to learn how to develop more sustainable agriculture. The second is that appropriate levels of participation can be used to link knowledge from three important sources: local knowledge, scientific knowledge and experiential knowledge.The thesis develops these two related themes by examining the inconsistencies between esposed theories of participatory approaches (i.e.intended behaviour) and theories in action (i.e. what is actually practised).The study was based upon the work of a major research, development and extension (R, D and E)project known as the Western Farming Systems Project (WSFP),which was concerned with the development of sustainable rotations and cropping practices in south western Queensland and north western N.S.W. between 1994-1999. The study was conducted in the Balonne Shire, centred on the town of St. George, Queensland, Australia.
Master of Science (Hons)

The focus of the thesis is a critique of the form and function of the federal institutions governing the development of Rural Australia. In undertaking this study two cycles of a systemic action research were followed, the first to explore the policy development environment and the second to validate and expand on findings of the first cycle of enquiry. The thesis follows the historical development of policy institutions and the deliberations of poicy actors that have lead to normative, strategic and program change within these institutions. These institutional changes have then been critiqued from theoretical perspective of governance for sustainable development. Conclusions from this critique indicate that that the pace of policy change is very slow and after 20 years from the Rural Policy green paper of 1974 the federal institutions have taken on board a rhetoric of sustainable rural development that encapsulates much of the principles espoused in the Green Paper.This includes principles that aim to empower rural communities to find local solutions to their natural resource management and local economic development problems. The downside is found in institutional conflict over resource dependencies and spheres of responsibility and an apparent lack of community economic development facilitation skills within the service organisations of rural institutions.

Diverting urine from faeces or mixed wastewater and reusing it to fertilize crops, is a traditional method used in Asia. It is also a contemporary approach to sustainable nutrient and water management in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe. Urine diversion and reuse is a proven socio-technical system that has significant potential benefits on both a local and global scale, such as recirculating scarce plant nutrients like phosphorus back to agriculture, reducing eutrophication of waterways and improving water and sanitation systems. This thesis explores the nature of these benefits in Australia and the global context and what barriers would need to be overcome if a urine diversion and reuse system were implemented in Australia to achieve significant environmental benefits. These questions are investigated through stakeholder interviews in Sweden, to identify the ‘lessons learnt’ from the Swedish experience with urine diversion and reuse, and, through interviews with relevant stakeholders in Australia to identify possible barriers and opportunities, costs and benefits, and roles and responsibilities in the Australian context. Findings from both the stakeholder interviews are triangulated with other sources of knowledge, such as the literature, personal communications and a qualitative assessment of costs and benefits.

This thesis found that while urine diversion is likely to benefit the Australia situation and warrants further research, these benefits are fragmented and spread across a range of discourses and separate institutions. Its acceptance and effective introduction into Australia might therefore be challenged by its lack of a single obvious organisational home. To overcome this and other identified challenges, several recommendations are made. For example, an Australian demonstration trial of urine diversion and reuse is recommended where clear drivers and opportunities exist, such as: in new developments adjacent to agricultural land; in regions where algal blooms are a critical problem and are predominantly caused by municipal sewage discharges; and where synergies with waterless urinals are being considered for water conservation value. This thesis does not promote urine diversion and reuse as the ‘silver bullet’ to Australia’s water and nutrient problems, however it does recommend that it be considered on an equal basis next to other possible options. For example, if reducing nutrient loads on receiving water bodies is a key objective, then a cost-effective analysis of urine diversion and reuse, compared to other options to reduce nutrient loads, could be undertaken, ensuring all relevant costs and benefits to the whole of society are included in the analysis.

This thesis develops two related themes.The first is that participatory approaches to agricultural research and extension can provide a sound process for all stakeholders to learn how to develop more sustainable agriculture. The second is that appropriate levels of participation can be used to link knowledge from three important sources: local knowledge, scientific knowledge and experiential knowledge.The thesis develops these two related themes by examining the inconsistencies between esposed theories of participatory approaches (i.e.intended behaviour) and theories in action (i.e. what is actually practised).The study was based upon the work of a major research, development and extension (R, D and E)project known as the Western Farming Systems Project (WSFP),which was concerned with the development of sustainable rotations and cropping practices in south western Queensland and north western N.S.W. between 1994-1999. The study was conducted in the Balonne Shire, centred on the town of St. George, Queensland, Australia.

This study posits a model of 'rural extension' which begins from humans, not from technology or information. The model has been used to facilitate community development at the village level. The research illustrates the potential of drama and participative forms of theatre as empowering 'action' learning/researching tools to reach people in rural communities, and as a means of involving those communities in creativity and learning about themselves and their environment collaboratively. The writer seeks to integrate participatory approaches with community development and human inquiry, humanistic approaches to education, experiential learning theories, and drama education theories and methods. The central questions which this research addresses are : 1/. What are the functions and the methods of participative theatre (as systemic communication) in the process of social change and development? and 2/. How can these participative forms of theatre elicit whole aspects of local knowledge, that is, tacit/explicit knowledge, facilitate learning and foster critical thinking through grass-roots participation? The ideas were formulated and tested through intensive field experiences with Iranian nomads, Iranian farmers, immigrant farmers in NSW, Australia, and within a number of workshops with different groups of students at Hawkesbury. This includes a critique of rural development in Iran, examinations of rural extension from a critical perspective, drama and theatre as process, learning and conscientization, personal construct psychology, systems thinking, learning through metaphor, action theory, Boal's participative forum theatre theory, and action research. Finally, the study explores drama as a form of systemic communication (that is, dialogue through a number of group activity techniques)

In the Western Australian agricultural region, an area of approximately 14 million hectares (70,000 square miles), widespread areas of native vegetation have been cleared and replaced with annual cropping systems, predominantly wheat. Only 1.3 million hectares (10%) of small and scattered native vegetation remnants remain. By 2000 16% of land in the region was at risk from soil salinity and was largely unproductive for commercial agriculture. A new hydrological equilibrium affecting 33% of the Western Australian agricultural region is predicted to be reached between 2050 and 2300. The starting premise of this dissertation is that normal disciplinary science was adopted as the dominant intellectual influence on natural resource management policy and thus natural resource degradation was treated as a problem for science, extracted from its social, economic and historical contexts. The second premise of this dissertation is that natural resource problems are not isolated scientific or technical problems, and are exacerbated by human failure to predict the complex inter-relationships among the social, ecological and economic systems. This dissertation initially provides an analytical narrative on the Western Australian agricultural region between 1889 and 2003 (114 years) with the main finding being that in the years pre-1970 a development-driven Western Australian Government was responsible for extensive land clearing for agriculture, often contrary to scientific advice. In the 1980s and 1990s the severity and extent of soil salinity and the prognosis of future negative trends in other natural resource indicators caused a rapid proliferation and evolution of Federal and State policies designed to 'solve the problem'. Nonetheless many natural resource problems remain intractable. The second part of the dissertation investigates the epistemology of the normal science paradigm as it was applied to natural resource management problems in the 20th century as a potentially contributing cause. The evolution of an alternative epistemology, post-normal science paradigm, is then examined for explicating our current understanding of 'reality'. A research framework was constructed which defines the post-normal science paradigm; the systemic approach; the bodies of theory-organisational, ecology, resilience and system dynamics theory; the social-ecological system perspective; and the methods-resilience analysis and system dynamics. This framework provides a novel way in which to gain a greater understanding of the fundamental or root causes of natural resource management problems. Using the case study of the Western Australian agricultural region a dynamic model was constructed based on descriptive information. An examination of the historical events and processes of the Western Australian agricultural region reveals that over a 114-year history it has evolved through two interactions of the adaptive cycle. Further investigation reveals these two cycles were synchronous with the second and third economic long-wave cycles or Kondratiev Cycles, that show the behaviour over time of the evolution of modern industrial societies. The model suggests that the reasons for the dynamic behaviour of the Western Australian agricultural region lie in the interaction of the three production growth drivers of the international commodity system, which have resulted in a pathological system, the 'Lock-in Trap'. Increased total commodity production, reinvestment and declining prices in real terms have tended to produce the unintended negative impacts of resource decline, environmental pollution and rural population decline. I suggest that the expansion of thresholds through the reinvestment in technology is a principle reason why there has not yet been a profound collapse of exploited renewable resources in the Western Australian agricultural region. Regional natural resource management strategies will need to take account of not only spatial cross-scale issues, in particular the linkages between the individual farmer and the international commodity system, but also the temporal variables, in particular the slowly emerging changes in ecological/physical variables, such as the hydrological cycle. This research can help to provide the information and heuristic metaphors to encourage natural resource policy makers to take long-term and whole system perspectives. It includes a powerful set of tools for communicating dynamic processes in an integrated method to inform policy and management decisions. The ideas in this interdisciplinary research are essential for making science relevant within a social and ecological context.

Salinity, waterlogging and drought are major causes of land degradation and serious threats to sustainable agricultural productivity in the south-west agricultural region of Western Australia (WA). The spectral signatures of pasture plants under drought, waterlogging and nutrient deficiency were examined in a greenhouse study using both a field and an analytical laboratory spectrometer (400 to 2,500 nm wavelength). Drought stress group (RWC, 39.9%) has the highest reflectance of 48.2%, waterlogging group (RWC, 49.7%) with a magnitude of 43.1% reflectance and control group (RWC, 61.5%) has the lowest of 41.9%. The highest separability based on magnitude among control, waterlogging and drought stress groups is located at reflection band at 1,666 nm, 1,818 nm and 2,216 nm and at 1,450 nm absorption bands. Remote sensing and GIS techniques were used to predict risks of soil salinity and waterlogging in the study area. Time-sequenced Landsat TM satellite data and groundwater data were analysed to delineate areas where major changes in soil salinity, waterlogging have taken place before and after engineering interventions of deep drains.The rainfall data analysis of all cities in the south-west of Western Australia indicate that annual rainfall has been decreasing since 1969 for some cities in the region and rainfall is decreasing in some cities since 1975. The winter season rainfall shows a downward trend and summer season rainfall shows an upward trend linked to an increase in the frequency of summer storm events in the south-west, in the Wheatbelt and in the east of Western Australia. The annual rainfall and summer season rainfalls have been increasing in the north of Western Australia and both annual rainfall and summer season rainfalls show an increasing trend. Climate change was studied for northern, eastern, Wheatbelt and south-west of WA and its impacts of on surface runoff, groundwater recharge, and land degradation were studied.Deep open drains were monitored in the two major drainage districts of Narembeen and Dumbleyung in Wheatbelt of Western Australia. The efficacy of drains in mitigating the problems of waterlogging and salinity in the area was studied. Information on monitoring of drains in six coastal districts in Western Australia, from Australia and other countries was collated and a coastal drainage best management practices ‘BMP Toolbox’ has been developed.

In the semi - arid Mediterranean - type environments of southern Australia, soil and water resources largely determine crop productivity and ultimately the sustainability of farming systems within the region. The development of sustainable farming systems is a constantly evolving process, of which cropping sequences ( rotations ) are an essential component. This thesis focused on two important soil resources, soil water and nitrogen, and studied the effects of different crop sequences on the dynamic of these resources within current farming systems practiced on the upper Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. The hypothesis tested was that : continuous cropping may alter N dynamics but will not necessarily alter water use efficiency in semi - arid Mediterranean - type environments. Continuous cropping altered N - dynamics ; increases in inorganic N were dependent on the inclusion of a legume in the cropping sequence. Associated with the increase in inorganic N supply was a decrease in WUE by the subsequent wheat crop. Overall, estimates of water use efficiency, a common index of the sustainability of farming systems, in this study concur with reported values for the semi - arid Murray - Mallee region of southern Australia and other semi - arid environments worldwide. Soil water balance and determination of WUE for a series of crop sequences in this thesis suggests that the adoption of continuous cropping may increase WUE and confer a yield benefit compared to crop sequences including a legume component in this environment. No differences in total water use ( ET ) at anthesis or maturity were measured for wheat regardless of the previous crop. Soil evaporation ( E [subscript s] ) was significantly affected by crop canopy development, measured as LAI from tillering until anthesis in 2002, however total seasonal E [subscript s] did not differ between crop sequences. Indeed in environments with infrequent rainfall, such as the upper Eyre Peninsula, soil evaporation may be water - limited rather than energy limited and the potential benefits from greater LAI and reduced E [subscript s] are less. Greater shoot dry matter production and LAI due to an enhanced inorganic N supply for wheat after legumes, and to a lesser degree wheat after canola, relative to continuous cereal crop sequences resulted in increases in WUE calculated at anthesis, as reported by others. Nonetheless the increase in WUE was not sustained due to limitations on available soil water capacity caused by soil physical and chemical constraints. Access to more soil water at depth ( > 0.8m ) through additional root growth was unavailable due to soil chemical limitations. More importantly, the amount of plant available water within the ' effective rooting depth ' ( 0 - 0.8m ) was significantly reduced when soil physical factors were accounted for using the integral water capacity ( IWC ) concept. The difference between the magnitude of the plant available water capacity and the integral water capacity was approximately 90mm within the ' effective rooting depth ' when measured at field capacity, suggesting that the ability of the soil to store water and buffer against periodic water deficit was severely limited. The IWC concept offers a method of evaluating the physical quality of soils and the limitations that these physical properties, viz. aeration, soil strength and hydraulic conductivity, impose on the water supply capacity of the soil. The inability of the soil to maintain a constant supply of water to satisfy maximal transpiration efficiency combined with large amounts of N resulted in ' haying off ', and reduced grain yields. A strong negative linear relationship was established between WUE of grain production by wheat and increasing soil NO₃ - N at sowing in 2000 and 2002, which conflicts with results from experiments in semi - arid Mediterranean climates in other regions of the world where applications of N increased water use efficiency of grain. Estimates of proportional dependence on N₂ fixation ( % N [subscript dfa] ) for annual medics and vetch from this study ( 43 - 80 % ) are comparable to others for environments in southern Australia ( < 450mm average annual rainfall ). Such estimates of fixation are considered low ( < 65 % ) to adequate ( 65 - 80 % ). Nevertheless, the amount of plant available N present at sowing for subsequent wheat crops, and the occurrence of ' haying off ', suggests that WUE is not N - limited per se, as implied by some reports, but constrained by the capacity of a soil to balance the co - limiting factors of water and nitrogen.
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2005.

In the semi - arid Mediterranean - type environments of southern Australia, soil and water resources largely determine crop productivity and ultimately the sustainability of farming systems within the region. The development of sustainable farming systems is a constantly evolving process, of which cropping sequences ( rotations ) are an essential component. This thesis focused on two important soil resources, soil water and nitrogen, and studied the effects of different crop sequences on the dynamic of these resources within current farming systems practiced on the upper Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. The hypothesis tested was that : continuous cropping may alter N dynamics but will not necessarily alter water use efficiency in semi - arid Mediterranean - type environments. Continuous cropping altered N - dynamics ; increases in inorganic N were dependent on the inclusion of a legume in the cropping sequence. Associated with the increase in inorganic N supply was a decrease in WUE by the subsequent wheat crop. Overall, estimates of water use efficiency, a common index of the sustainability of farming systems, in this study concur with reported values for the semi - arid Murray - Mallee region of southern Australia and other semi - arid environments worldwide. Soil water balance and determination of WUE for a series of crop sequences in this thesis suggests that the adoption of continuous cropping may increase WUE and confer a yield benefit compared to crop sequences including a legume component in this environment. No differences in total water use ( ET ) at anthesis or maturity were measured for wheat regardless of the previous crop. Soil evaporation ( E [subscript s] ) was significantly affected by crop canopy development, measured as LAI from tillering until anthesis in 2002, however total seasonal E [subscript s] did not differ between crop sequences. Indeed in environments with infrequent rainfall, such as the upper Eyre Peninsula, soil evaporation may be water - limited rather than energy limited and the potential benefits from greater LAI and reduced E [subscript s] are less. Greater shoot dry matter production and LAI due to an enhanced inorganic N supply for wheat after legumes, and to a lesser degree wheat after canola, relative to continuous cereal crop sequences resulted in increases in WUE calculated at anthesis, as reported by others. Nonetheless the increase in WUE was not sustained due to limitations on available soil water capacity caused by soil physical and chemical constraints. Access to more soil water at depth ( > 0.8m ) through additional root growth was unavailable due to soil chemical limitations. More importantly, the amount of plant available water within the ' effective rooting depth ' ( 0 - 0.8m ) was significantly reduced when soil physical factors were accounted for using the integral water capacity ( IWC ) concept. The difference between the magnitude of the plant available water capacity and the integral water capacity was approximately 90mm within the ' effective rooting depth ' when measured at field capacity, suggesting that the ability of the soil to store water and buffer against periodic water deficit was severely limited. The IWC concept offers a method of evaluating the physical quality of soils and the limitations that these physical properties, viz. aeration, soil strength and hydraulic conductivity, impose on the water supply capacity of the soil. The inability of the soil to maintain a constant supply of water to satisfy maximal transpiration efficiency combined with large amounts of N resulted in ' haying off ', and reduced grain yields. A strong negative linear relationship was established between WUE of grain production by wheat and increasing soil NO [subscript 3] - N at sowing in 2000 and 2002, which conflicts with results from experiments in semi - arid Mediterranean climates in other regions of the world where applications of N increased water use efficiency of grain. Estimates of proportional dependence on N [subscript 2] fixation ( % N [subscript dfa] ) for annual medics and vetch from this study ( 43 - 80 % ) are comparable to others for environments in southern Australia ( < 450mm average annual rainfall ). Such estimates of fixation are considered low ( < 65 % ) to adequate ( 65 - 80 % ). Nevertheless, the amount of plant available N present at sowing for subsequent wheat crops, and the occurrence of ' haying off ', suggests that WUE is not N - limited per se, as implied by some reports, but constrained by the capacity of a soil to balance the co - limiting factors of water and nitrogen.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2005.

This study presents a phenomenological exposition of Hawkesbury Harvest (Harvest), a community‐based, not‐for‐profit that formed in the year 2000 to address the systemic threats to farming in the Sydney Basin, threats to farm viability, and community health issues related to changes in the food system. Revealed from the perspectives of its four longest‐serving actors and taking a grounded inductive stance within an emancipatory research paradigm, the study documents and interprets Harvest’s archeo‐legacies in the Sydney development dialogue. Within institutional settings there were no linkages between policy and action and the challenges Harvest actors recognized affecting agriculture, food, farming and health. The ‘panacea’ that tourism is promoted to be by government gave Harvest access to neo‐liberal programs of support capable of creating the links, the nexus between Sydney’s future and a future for farming, and so Harvest’s first funded initiative was a Farm Gate Trail. Harvest began a process of communicative action expressed through a range of economic initiatives which created agri‐tourism, open farms, farmer markets and food events. These engaged the wider Sydney community through experiential animations in a critical and paradoxical dialogue about urban development, food, health and farming with a core message that farming in the Sydney Basin needed to be retained and protected, for the sake of both rural community and city dwellers. A repertoire of messages developed that are contingent on a dynamic engagement with Sydney’s development discourse, messages that have evolved and self‐reference Harvest in the prosecution of its dialectic. This phenomenology presents empirical evidence for Harvest as a ‘carrier’ (after Weber) of moral imperatives in support of agriculture in the Sydney Basin. As a place‐based reaction to global forces it made possible the expression of its actors’ personal ‘calling’ into service for a greater good and mobilized discourses about local food systems, regional identity, cultural landscape and local farming mythology as components in its agri‐cultural economic initiatives. This placist dialectic activated and harnessed the classic Weberian conundrum of formal versus substantive rationality, and gave expression to Weber’s own concession about rationality, that without a teleology, a values‐informed rationality, it simply reinforces what he famously described as the Iron Cage of modernity. Harvest’s mechanisms make available the expression of a spirit in capitalism, one Weber believed would be snuffed out in a secularized world, but one which we can still find in the small places that throw up resistance to the Iron Cage in forms like Hawkesbury Harvest.

Food and water are at the heart of every community, form significant aspects of cultural identity, and must be in good supply for healthy and sustainable development. Not surprisingly, food and water feature directly as part of the recent UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) as Goal 2, Zero Hunger, and Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation. Household agriculture (HA) and rainwater storage systems (RSS) have grown in popularity in recent years and have the potential to increase yields and supplement household nutrition. Yet there is a significant lack of research into this potential. Domestic RSS studies usually focus on water savings rather than on crop production. There is also little research on the economic analysis of RSS systems in developing countries where home gardens often fail due to insufficient rainfall and water supply. Promoting green cities in general, begs the question of whether there is enough water available to support it. The recent COVID-19 crisis and keeping safe by isolation at home only strengthens the argument for HA. This study investigates the potential of using RSS in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and particularly for HA. It also looks at economic issues associated with RSS, which are particularly relevant to developing countries. The work focuses mainly on Australia, Bangladesh, and Kenya, but is relevant to most other regions. The findings of this study, and the consequent publications are intended to serve as a key reference on modelling and economic aspects of RWH in urban agriculture and greening of cities. They are expected to be useful to modellers and researchers, water engineers, environmentalists, town planners, and policy makers concerned with sustainable development and dealing with integrated water management and the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus by bringing together knowledge gaps and potential solutions. It is hoped that the challenge of providing food and water for all be met with the same vigour as was the space race, circumnavigation of and landing on the moon.

The Wybong Creek catchment is located in the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia, and contains award winning beef and wine producing operations. Solute concentrations in Wybong Creek are often too high for irrigation use, however, with previous research showing that the saline and Na-Cl dominated water discharged from Wybong Creek decreases water quality in both the Goulburn and Hunter Rivers into which it flows. This study therefore aimed at identifying the source of solutes to the Wybong Creek catchment and the processes which cause salinisation of surface water, soil (regolith) and groundwater. Surface water was sampled at ten sites along Wybong Creek over three years, while groundwater was sampled from most of the bores and piezometers occurring in the Wybong Creek valley. Surface and groundwater in the upper catchment were dominated by Na-Mg-HCO3. Ratios of 87Sr/86Sr and cation/HCO3 indicated these facies were due to silicate weathering of the Liverpool Ranges, with localised groundwater bodies recharging in the Liverpool Ranges and discharging in the upper Wybong Creek valley. Wybong Creek became saline, and Na-Mg-Cl dominated in the mid-catchment area, with salinity doubling between the 55 and 60 km sample sites on some dates. Changes in surface water chemistry occurred independently of surface water input from tributaries, with abrupt salinity increases within a pool between these sites attributed to groundwater input via fractures beneath the Creek. One of two salt scalds in the Wybong Creek catchment also occurs adjacent to this stretch of river. A field site was established at the mid-catchment locality of Manobalai, therefore, in order to constrain the relationship between surface water, regolith and groundwater salinity. Ten piezometers were established at Manobalai, including three piezometer nests. Most regolith at Manobalai was found to be non-saline, including that within the salt scald, with the most saline and Na-Cl dominated regolith samples occurring in some of the most moist and coarse sandy/gravel layers. Groundwater sampled from piezometers installed in the holes drilled for regolith samples had salinities up to 20 times higher than the regolith on a per weight basis, and were similarly dominated by Na-Cl. A lack of carbonate and sulfate minerals within the soils and no indication of Ca-Mg/HCO3- SO4 dominated facies within alluvial soil solutions indicated groundwater did not evolve from rainwater to Na-Cl dominated facies while infiltrating the regolith. Groundwater samples from Manobalai were instead found to be amongst the most fresh and the most saline within the Wybong Creek catchment, and changed salinity abruptly down-gradient along a transect. Groundwater flow occurred through fractures in the Narrabeen Group sandstones and conglomerates, with vertical groundwater flow via fractures causing abrupt changes in salinity. Ratios of Na/Cl, Cl/Br and 87Sr/86Sr indicated saline groundwater at Manobalai and in the lower catchment was influenced by a marine endmember and halite dissolution. A poor relationship between salinity and d18O indicated this marine endmember was not evapoconcentrated rainwater. The occurrence of saline surface and groundwater in the Wybong Creek catchment was instead attributed to discharge from the regional groundwater system occurring in the Wittingham Coal Measures, with the abrupt increases in salinity at Manobalai indicating mixing between local, intermediate and/or regional groundwater systems. Salinity is likely to function similarly to this in the rest of the Hunter Valley also. The occurrence of salinity in both the Hunter River and Wybong Creek catchments is a naturally occurring phenomenon with salinity mitigation difficult due to the regional extent of the saline groundwater systems. Living with salt strategies are therefore recommended, such as limiting irrigation using both saline and fresh water and continuing with restrictions on saline discharge from coal mines.
This work was supported by ARC Linkage grant number LP05060743. Scholarship funding was provided by The Australian National University Faculty of Science and Research School of Earth Sciences, with project funding and support also provided by Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority and the New South Wales Office of Water.

To incorporate concepts of sustainable agriculture into policy formulation, and decision making for ecosystem management there is a need to integrate social, environmental and economic objectives. This thesis explores a Social Benchmarking model for achieving this integration. The social benchmarking methodology has been designed to respond to complex ecosystem problems that are caused by diffuse source pollution. It is a multimethodology approach that develops qualitative and quantitative data for measurement of change over time, combined with participative processes for identifying best practices and developing tools for providing information to decision makers. The philosophy behind the process is to actively acknowledge that each stakeholder has a vested interest in their own future and that they need credible information to enable them to reach agreement on future ecosystem issues. The research was conducted in seven coastal catchments in New South Wales, Australia between 1998 and 2003. The case study explores the issues raised by problems from acid sulfate soils. Oxidation of these soils causes acidification of soils and diffuse source pollution of water. It is relatively simple to treat at source, but there are multiple sources and entry points from private and public land. The impacts can be a lowering pH to less than 3, affecting water quality, biodiversity and downstream industries. This has resulted in conflict between the multiple stakeholders. Such environmental problems are challenging much of the orthodox thinking and effectiveness of policies. To achieve sustainable development, government agencies need to change their operational ideas away from purely efficient use to include environmentally and socially acceptable use of resources by multiple stakeholders. The key themes of this thesis are using a benchmarking system to provide feedback to industry groups and the role and relationship between human and social capital for participatory and evidence based policy development. How to align education and regulatory policies with best practice standards and incentives so that institutions support building adult skills and community capacity to change. Thus, this thesis develops social indicators of human and social capital for stakeholders associated with acid sulfate soils, along with environmental and economic indicators. The benchmarking system provided feedback to the industry groups (beef, cane, dairy and tea tree landholders) about where their industry was positioned relative to others in the industry, identified best practices and provided the mechanism for triple bottom line reporting. There are three reports within the scope this thesis. The first report ‘Farming community ideas about the way forward’ in 1998 described the industry, provided baseline data and introduces major issues, such as how there is considerable concern about developing a balance between education and regulation within stakeholder groups. Using participatory research to validate the survey results, the best management practices were identified. One industry, the sugar cane industry, was tackling managing acid sulfate soils and felt they were in control. This was due to their emphasis on building human and social capital. They had developed a soil sampling program and aligned their best practice standards and regulatory policies. The soil sampling program was investigated and guidelines developed to enable sharing of this knowledge in other industries. “Keys to Success” is best practices guidelines about how to sample for acid sulfate soils. The last report in the series “Four years on: What Changed?” looks at these same four industries and the changes that have occurred, while also exploring in more detail the policy implications including: Investing in adult education policies to increase adult skills over 4 years resulted in 25% increase in knowledge and behavioural change (sustainability performance indicators). Access to strong social capital, increases likelihood of life long learning and accounts for variation in human capital and behavioural change. Number of information resources accessed was highly correlated with positive attitude to behavioural change. Lack of equity between institutional and civil stakeholders undermines belief system and social capitals by causing conflict and loss of trust in institutions. These books form the basis of a social/sustainability reporting system, they also provided the basis of the communication strategy to build human capital within the stakeholder groups. One final contribution to the communication facet of this thesis is the proceedings from an OECD funded workshop, Agriculture and Ecosystems Management. These proceedings were aimed at policy and academic stakeholders and attempt to investigate the relationship between the divergent viewpoints held by social, environmental and economic researchers. Building human capital and thereby capacity of individuals and groups to move beyond agricultural production and to become natural resource managers requires alignment of policies and ongoing support and change in institutional thinking. Building strong social capital is the key to facilitating change particularly where collective action is required, but contradictory information and policies can rapidly undermine social capital. Within the context of the acid sulfate soils case study, results from this research indicate that communication of information about change in society through reporting mechanisms is an important facet of facilitating sustainable development that requires more attention in policy and institutional frameworks.

Climate change culminating in increased temperature, sea-level rise, flooding amidst strong winds and heavy rainfall cause mechanical stress (MS) that affects the habitat of several plant species. In response, plants activate a plethora of molecular and physiological processes that alter their architecture causing a phenomenon referred to as thigmomorphogenesis. Plants develop thicker stem, smaller leaves, reduced height and overall increased in tensile strength. These alterations facilitate forest trees to survive windthrows and mitigate subsequent stress. Plants can desensitise their molecular response to repetitive MS, as an adaptive mechanism to prevent unwanted thigmomorphogenesis. Plants may want to ‘remember’ MS since it is natural ubiquitous stress stimuli that occur daily, be it from insect feeding, high winds, animal stamping or heavy rainfall. For more than a century, in Japan and China, stamping on crops, as a form of MS has been used to harden crops against extreme weather changes, pathogens, insect herbivory and to increase yield, a practice known as ‘mugifumi’. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in MS-induced morphological changes, phytohormone regulation and gene regulation that promote stress acclimation are unclear. In this thesis, I unraveled how MS regulates the cross-talk between Jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA) and gibberellic acid (GA) to affect thigmomorphogenesis and plant immunity. I showed that epigenetic processes such as permissive histone lysine methylation, DNA methylation, and RNA dependent DNA methylation pathways can mediate thigmomorphogenesis. Understanding these mechanisms can help farmers adopt MS as a sustainable agricultural practice to harden crops in modern agricultural systems (glasshouses and in commercial farms) in light of changing climatic conditions and to reduce the effect of pesticides on the environment.

A comprehensive and rigid analysis of Chinese investment in Australia for the past four decades is an under-researched topic, though there had been sporadic treatments of this subject matter from the perspective of single institutions in economics, politics, and culture. The neoliberalism era marked a honeymoon between China and Australia, which boosted the Chinese investments in Australia, marked by the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement and the ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ Agreement, signed by the Victorian Government and the Chinese Development and Reform Commission. Recent years witnessed a deterioration of the Australia and China relationships and the “tit-for-tat” strategies and racism movements which discourage the Chinese investments in Australia. This study has developed a conceptual framework consisting of economic, political, cultural and institutional factors that may explain the Australian government’s decision of rejecting certain Chinese investments in recent years. Case studies were employed to illustrate the application of the conceptual framework. The findings suggest that the conceptual framework can be utilized to explain why the Australian government rejected certain Chinese investments. This research aims to analyze the determinants of Australia Government’s rejection of Chinese investment in Australia. Case studies in the field of the Australian mining sector, agriculture and agribusiness, and infrastructure unveil that political distrust towards Chinese investment in Australia is a major source of refusing Chinese investment. This led to continuous reduction of Chinese investment in Australia since 2016. Such political distrust which works against the national interest of the respective countries, may also drive the decline of Chinese investment in Australia. This research contributes to the literature by examining the factors which lead to the Australian Government’s decision to reject certain Chinese investments based on in depth analysis of case studies. This will be useful for understanding how to enlarge shared interest for policymakers, businessmen and academic researchers.

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Science.
Sustainable agricultural production on drylands faces challenges from increasing food demand and climate change. The interrelated issues of production instability, vulnerability to climate change and the need for effective adaptations require a comprehensive and integrated ecological-economic assessment. Accordingly, this thesis examines two key dryland agricultural regions, the Australian Wheatbelt and the Chinese Loess Plateau, to provide new insights and improved approaches for dryland agricultural management. Decomposition analysis was undertaken to identify the driving forces in growth and instability of Australian wheat production from 1900-2010. Results show that instability of Australian wheat production has not been reduced significantly in the past century. The increasing trend of wheat production was mainly due to sowing area increases whilst the yearly fluctuation of production is mainly caused by variable yields. A focus on yield alone may therefore bias assessments of the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change. A conceptual framework was developed to assess the agricultural vulnerability of 243 rural counties on the Chinese Loess Plateau. A vulnerability index for each county was calculated from statistical indicators. Within the 49 most vulnerable counties, 42 were characterised by high exposure and sensitivity but low adaptive capacity. The most vulnerable area was found to be located in the central northeast-southwest belt of Loess Plateau. Upon identifying vulnerable areas, the effectiveness of the regionally significant adaptation, plastic film mulching, on maize growth was assessed in the Loess Plateau. The APSIM model was calibrated and validated using field experiment data, then applied to simulate maize growth during 1961-2010 at Changwu station. Plastic film mulching could significantly increase maize yields by an average of 15.3%, and increase the cumulative probability at mid-range yield levels at Changwu. The advantage was found to be more pronounced in dry years than wet years. Geostatistical analysis was used to extend the modelling across the Loess Plateau to identify areas with climate favourable for adopting plastic film mulching. The central south presented high and stable production while the northwest showed the greatest potential in yield increase and variability reduction. The multiscale studies concern both developing and developed counties, can be referenced to location-specific information for policy makers and researchers. The principles, frameworks, technologies and tools can be modified and adopted in other dryland regions.

The market gardening practices of Sydney’s culturally diverse inhabitants have long been neglected in the plans for growth of this aspiring global city. Yet in providing fresh food for the city and local employment such market gardens arguably contribute not only to Sydney’s globalising demographic and cultural fabric, but also to the city’s environmental sustainability. Encroaching urbanisation, however, currently threatens 52 percent of the (predominantly) migrant-run market gardens on Sydney’s peri-urban fringe. With a focus on economic and housing development, official plans for Sydney’s growth continue to deny the productive contribution that practices such as market gardening offer the city. These alternative land use practices are often (too easily) dismissed as the ‘cultural traditions’ of minority groups, separating them from the economic priorities seen as central to urban growth. The presence of multiple users and uses of land within the cityscape brings into question the narrow definition of ‘growth as development’ within urban planning – one that key urban scholars have recently and variously sought to critique and diversify. In thinking from and ‘with’ the urban ‘fringe’, this thesis argues for greater recognition in urban planning of the diverse groups who inhabit the conceptual and (often) physical periphery of the city. Through interviews with relevant migrant, Indigenous, Anglo-Celtic and governmental groups, this thesis examined the efficacy of sustainability and heritage discourses, mobilised by grower advocates, in protecting market gardeners against plans for urban development. Analysis of interview data and relevant governmental reports, plans and legislation found that within planning policy these discourses tend to figure the land uses of culturally diverse groups as marginal to the developmentalist agenda. More broadly conceived notions of ‘sustainability’ and ‘heritage’ are possible however, particularly ones that acknowledge that all inhabitants have a stake in the city – environmentally, economically and culturally. Taking this more comprehensive perspective on the land use values of market gardening, this research moves away from the narrow conceptions of diversity that are reproduced in multiculturalist and social cohesion discourses by noting the material contributions of the market gardeners livelihoods to Sydney’s character and future. This thesis suggests a way of re- conceptualising the common good of the city, viewing embodied practices such as market gardening as productive parts of a city seeking a sustainable future. ‘Thinking’ Sydney from its fringe, this thesis engages diversity in a vision for urban planning that is not just more inclusive in a standard liberal sense, but also more dynamic and alive to the challenges of 21st Century urbanism.

During the course of the Twentieth Century the Australian sugar industry became increasingly regulated to such an extent that by the 1980s it was the most highly regulated industry in Australia. Since the 1980s pressures, both internal and external to the industry, have resulted in significant deregulation and subsequent restructuring.

Internal pressures have resulted from the Australian government's adoption of economic rationalist polices in order to meet what it perceived to be the challenges of globalisation, as well as more localized factors such as prolonged periods of drought. Externally, declining terms of trade and increasing levels of competition are problematic.

This thesis seeks to determine whether or not the Australian sugar industry's restructuring exercises are sufficient to meet the challenges presented by an increasingly globalised economy and fiercer international competition. In so doing it considers the role of the state and transnational capital. It also reflects upon the sustainability of the industry.

In order to understand what is happening within the Australian sugar industry, the thesis engages the explanatory power of agricultural restructuring and globalization theory. Theoretically the thesis is informed but not determined by the globalization perspective developed by Le Heron (1993). It also incorporates insights derived from McMichael, Wiseman, and Lawrence. The thesis employs methodology derived from the combination of two different but complementary procedures, namely, commodity systems analysis as proposed and refined by Friedland (1984, 2001), and the commodity chain approach as described by Hopkins and Wallerstein (1986).

The thesis concludes that while the Australian industry appears to be deregulating and restructuring according to global logic, if fully enacted according to the trajectory implied by the deregulatory process, some portions of the Australian industry may be rendered unsustainable.

The relative importance of demographic or 'grower characteristics' as variables that influence adoption of environmentally innovative canegrowing practices is questioned in this thesis. Research, which involved a quantitative study of over 1000 sugarcane producers from Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, indicates that 'socio-cultural' factors are equally, and in some cases more, significant predictors of the adoption of environmentally innovative canegrowing practices than growers' personal attributes. The research indicates that the social, cultural and economic contexts that growers operate within considerably influence the extent to which knowledge is acquired and environmentally innovative canegrowing practices adopted. Analysis of the data utilises a range of demographic and property characteristics variables, and socio-cultural variables (such as group involvement, gendered division of labour and on-farm knowledge production) to determine their relationship to the adoption of environmentally innovative canegrowing practices.

Research and development into new and environmentally innovative canegrowing practices, as well as the transfer of such innovations, has primarily occurred through the medium of science and technology. Established methods of 'extension', which have previously been used to transfer knowledge in relation to new cane varieties and more productive means of producing sugarcane, are now being turned towards encouraging producers towards environmentally innovative agricultural practices. The degree to which scientific research and development, coupled with traditional methods of 'technology transfer' has been successful in promoting the adoption of environmental innovations is a topic that members of the sugar industry and the wider community have increasingly called into question. The adoption of environmental innovations has not been readily discernible at a ground level and has led to a belief that the extent of take-up of environmentally innovative canegrowing practices has been quite limited.

Scientific organisations involved with the sugar industry had expected that the adoption of new technology would relate in some way to the producer's age, level of education, years of experience or other 'personal' or demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the perceived low rate of adoption led industry personnel to believe that established methods of research and extension no longer had the support or confidence of sugarcane growers. To the contrary, the research for this thesis has found that growers do hold traditional methods of extension in high regard. This is particularly so in the case of advice received from the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES), the oldest and most established research, development and extension agency in the sugar industry.

This thesis is substantially based upon a 'materialist' premise and argues that knowledge in relation to innovative canegrowing practices is both produced and diffused through social relationships and social practices. A sociological approach, which brings the 'materiality' of human existence to the forefront of analysis, is used to argue that scientific and lay forms of knowledge are produced through the actions of and interactions between human subjects.

The research indicates that the adoption of environmentally innovative canegrowing practices is quite widespread but in the main does not bear sufficiently strong significant relationships to grower's personal (demographic) characteristics or socio-economic variables such as the size, productivity or profitability of the canegrowing enterprise. Moreover, while significant relationships have been found between adoption and various 'socio-cultural' variables such as 'group involvement', 'sources of information', 'attitudes to chemical usage' and 'attitudes to the current state of the industry', the relationships are also trivial in accounting for variance in the adoption variables.

Furthermore, while practices are assumed to be applicable across the sugar industry, adoption is found to be influenced by factors peculiar to local canegrowing areas. The research undertaken highlights the fact that activities, which occur at the farm level are imbued with a cultural complexity that goes beyond - the mere production of agricultural commodities for the sake of accumulation of an economic surplus.

It is apparent that a range of factors influence the extent to which environmentally innovative agricultural practices are adopted in the sugar industry. While demographic and farm characteristics go some way towards accounting for the adoption of environmental innovations in the sugar industry, the social and socio-cultural conditions under which growers operate must also be taken into consideration.