Land and Water Link
Issue No. 12, May 2002
Australian Land Use Defined
Australia is a continent of changes. Wherever you travel in Australia,
you will see different landforms and land uses, notice different geology
– even experience vastly different climates. The way we use the land
has developed over time and is influenced by its intrinsic productivity.
To understand the ecology and productivity of Australia's natural resources,
it is helpful to define and identify different regions. A new book released
by CSIRO Land and Water sets out a simple but sound description of Australia's
major ecological regions together with the agricultural systems associated
with them, linking population data to biophysical data for the first time.'
Agro-ecological
regions of Australia: Methodologies for their derivation and key issues
in resource management provides natural resource managers and
agriculturalists with a straightforward identification of regions with
common features such as soils, landscape features, climate, vegetation
and agricultural land use. Dr John Williams, one of the authors of the
book and Chief of CSIRO Land and Water, says that the regions are based
on original definitions that were proposed in 1991 by himself and fellow
authors Anne Hamblin and Rosemary Hook.
'The book Agro-ecological regions of Australia lays down not only the
regions themselves, but also describes the history of how and why these
definitions were proposed', says Dr Williams. 'The aerial units are also
based on local government boundaries – linking population data to
biophysical data for the first time.'
'The sustainability of agriculture in Australia is linked to population
as much as it is to climate and land features. Data collected on a census
basis that uses these boundaries can also be used when mapping ecological
and agricultural regions.'
Agro-ecological regions of Australia is available on the CSIRO
Land and Water website.
For further information:
Contact
Dr John
Williams
Ph: 02 6960 5940
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