Soil conditions the key to long-term productivity

摘要

In the third article reviewing the Ecograze Project, the impacts of different grazing management regimes are demonstrated. The only means of manipulating pasture composition are by grazing, spelling and fire. The ECOGRAZE study, initiated in 1992, looked at how these factors could be used to improve the condition of deteriorated pastures and prevent pastures in good condition from degrading. Its focus has been to understand how pastures in different conditions respond to grazing, spelling and fireand, from this understanding, to develop grazing management options. Pasture types vary considerably across the region. The region also experiences great variation in annual rainfall. Study sites were established on three important land types identifiedin northeast Queensland: the infertile and yellow earths (Lakeview/Allan Hills); the moderate-fertility goldfields country (Cardigan); and the fertile basalt soils (Hillgrove/Eumara Springs). Grazing plots were established on each of the three land typeswith land in condition States I and II. State I (good condition) was dominated by 3P (perennial, productive, palatable) grasses, such as black spear grass, desert mitchell grass, kangaroo grass and Queensland blue grass.