Publication Date

12-2023

Publisher

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

City

Perth

Abstract

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) monitors and reports on the vegetation condition of pastoral rangelands in Western Australia. This 2023 short report uses remotely sensed total cover data available to the end of October 2023, rainfall data to the end of November 2023 and Stock Return data reported in 2022 (the most recent available) to determine cover risk. Cover risk at the land conservation district (LCD) level is an indicator of the likelihood of total cover declining to, or remaining at, low or very low levels. Total cover and cover risk may not be indicative of vegetation condition and are best regarded as indicators of relative levels of groundcover and consequent susceptibility to erosion and the relative availability of stock forage. This report uses reported stock numbers relative to potential carrying capacity (PCC) as an indicator of grazing pressure and this may lead to underestimating cover risk because the current carrying capacity is often significantly less than PCC.

Total cover in June–August 2023 was strongly influenced by rainfall in the preceding 2 years. The risk of the total cover of a key pasture or vegetation functional group falling to or remaining at below-average or very much below-average levels was high or very high in 17 LCDs; this is up from the estimate of 11 LCDs in the 2022 annual report.

Number of Pages

41

Keywords

pastoral rangelands, vegetation cover, cover risk of decline, Western Australia

Disciplines

Agriculture | Environmental Monitoring | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Sustainability

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