The role of land use planning in semi-arid areas
Worldwide, the semi-arid grazing and cropping regions are being subjected to severe overuse. Australian semi-arid regions have been cleared on a vast scale for marginal cropping. Grazing land has been overused and shows widespread signs of vegetation and soil degradation. Ecological realism on land capability based on objective condition monitoring, is essential to land management if sustainable production is to be achieved. The Land Care Movement can markedly influence this achievement. The margins of semi-arid cropland and the application of ecologically-based animal stocking rates require attention in several States. Drought assistance policy requires amendment to safeguard natural pastures. Lease covenants have a potentially central role to play in land administration.
Environment and Housing
Housing performs a number of functions. Among the more obvious are protection from heat, cold, rain, snow, sleet, wind, and extremes of noise, light, and darkness. Houses also protect birds from predators and theft and make it easier to control diseases and parasites. From a management point of view houses keep birds assembled together in one unit in which the manager handles the birds as a single group. All birds are subjected to the same environment, feed, water, medication, and management.
The value of climate forecasting
A short survey is given of the concepts associated with meteorological forecast verification and value. Apart from matters of mathematical detail the field has not advanced greatly over the last thirty years. If significant skill develops in long-range (i.e. climate) forecasting, it will be more than ever necessary for the general user to understand the possible consequences—in particular that there can be many circumstances where some forecast skill is worse than none at all. Some highly idealized agricultural examples are used to illustrate the point. It is emphasized that some numerical measure of ‘confidence’ will have to be associated with (or be built into) probability precasts of climate.