Arid Land Ecosystems: Volume 1


Book Description

This comprehensive account of arid-land ecosystems will be of importance to university teachers and professional ecologists throughout the world.




The Delicate and Noxious Scrub


Book Description

Semi-arid woodlands are an important part of the Australian landscape and they have been the focus for scientific research by CSIRO since the 1960s. This book reviews that research and sets it in a historical perspective. It examines the development of pastoral science, with particular reference to the farming frontier in western New South Wales, as well as research conducted by CSIRO over the past thirty years aimed at helping manage increasing shrub densities while improving productivity. The author discusses past, current and future research directions and looks at how management perceptions and approaches continue to change as understanding of ecological processes and new strategies evolve.




Dust Bowl


Book Description

This book takes the Dust Bowl story beyond Depression America to describe the ‘dust bowl’ concept as a transnational phenomenon, where during World War Two, US and Australian national mythologies converged. Dust Bowl begins with Depression America, the New Deal and the US Dust Bowl where massive dust storms darkened the skies of the Great Plains and triggered a major national and international media event and generated imagery describing a failed yeoman dream, Dust Bowl refugees, and the coming of a new American Desert. Dust Bowl traces the evolution of this imagery to Australia, World War Two and New Deal-inspired stories of conservation-mindedness, soil erosion and enemies, sheep-farmers and traitors, creeping deserts and human extinction, super-human housewives and natural disaster and finally, grand visions of a nation-building post-war scheme for Australia’s iconic Snowy River‒that vision became the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme.




Agrindex


Book Description







Australian Vegetation


Book Description

Australian vegetation has interested botanists and naturalists since Europeans first encountered Australia and its plant life. This 1994 edition of Australian Vegetation reviews the vegetation of the continent as a whole. In the introductory section, chapters on phytogeography, vegetation history and alien plants set the scene for further sections covering all the major vegetation types. The plant life of extreme Australian habitats is also discussed, and the book closes with a chapter on the conservation of Australian vegetation. Each chapter, written by experts on each particular habitat type, will inform and stimulate the interests of students and professional botanists, especially those fortunate enough to see for themselves the unique vegetation and flora of Australia.










Land Degradation


Book Description

This book presents a broad multi-disciplinary perspective on the challenge of problems of degrading land.




Interpreting Soil Test Results


Book Description

Interpreting Soil Test Results is a practical reference enabling soil scientists, environmental scientists, environmental engineers, land holders and others involved in land management to better understand a range of soil test methods and interpret the results of these tests. It also contains a comprehensive description of the soil properties relevant to many environmental and natural land resource issues and investigations. This new edition has an additional chapter on soil organic carbon store estimation and an extension of the chapter on soil contamination. It also includes sampling guidelines for landscape design and a section on trace elements. The book updates and expands sections covering acid sulfate soil, procedures for sampling soils, levels of nutrients present in farm products, soil sodicity, salinity and rainfall erosivity. It includes updated interpretations for phosphorus in soils, soil pH and the cation exchange capacity of soils. Interpreting Soil Test Results is ideal reading for students of soil science and environmental science and environmental engineering; professional soil scientists, environmental scientists, engineers and consultants; and local government agencies and as a reference by solicitors and barristers for land and environment cases.