Monitoring Western Australia's rangelands

Authors

Ron HackerFollow
David Beurle
George Gardiner

Keywords

Rangelands, Monitoring, Environmental assessment, Western Australia

Disciplines

Desert Ecology | Plant Biology | Weed Science

First Page Number

33

Last Page Number

38

ISSN

0021-8618

Abstract

Rangelands, native pastures used for grazing domestic livestock, occupy about 100 million hectares or 40 per cent of Western Australia, extending from the tropical grasslands of the Kimberley to the arid shrub steppe of the Nullarbor Plain.

The rangelands are characterized by highly variable seasonal conditions. Carrying capacity can fluctuate dramatically from year to year. Grazing management requires a tactical approach from one season to the next because of the great variation in the capacity of the land to support stock.

Rangeland monitoring provides pastoralists with objective information on these changes to assist their management decision making. The Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS) is being developed for this purpose.

Recommended Citation

Hacker, Ron; Beurle, David; and Gardiner, George (1990) "Monitoring Western Australia's rangelands," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4: Vol. 31: No. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture4/vol31/iss1/9