The greening of Australia

Authors

Martine Scheltema

Keywords

Vegetation management, Nature conservation, Conservation, Tree planting, Site preparation, Australia

Disciplines

Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Forest Management | Natural Resources and Conservation

First Page Number

58

Last Page Number

61

ISSN

0021-8618

Abstract

Many urban Australians have little understanding of the problems of land degradation because it's an extremely slow process that doesn 't directly influence their day-to-day lives. Understandably, they would have trouble relating to sub-soil compaction, waterlogging, increased soil acidity and salinity. They also have trouble comprehending why fencing according to soil type is an important management tool for farmers, or what role contour banks, drainage systems, the addition of gypsum and planting trees have in reversing land degradation. But given that tree loss "has been at the core of almost every aspect of land degradation in Australia ", and that "tree replacement will be essential if we are to redevelop the fertility of many of our degraded soils and maintain sustainable systems of agriculture" (1), urban Australians do have a role in helping to revegetate our farm lands and in making 'growing trees' a community issue.

Recommended Citation

Scheltema, Martine (1991) "The greening of Australia," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4: Vol. 32: No. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture4/vol32/iss2/6