Changing patterns of land use and tenure in the Dalrymple Shire, Australia

Abstract

Australia is the world's flattest continent, a testament to its ancient, wellweathered geological landforms, and consequently the associated soils are generally of low fertility (Flannery 1994). It is also the world's driest inhabited continent, a situation that is exacerbated by erratic rainfall and high evaporation. In comparison with other countries, agriculture in Australia is characterized by: dependence on low productivity environments that are prone to drought and degradation; the large scale of agricultural activities; concentration on a limited range of products; heavy dependence on overseas markets; and a relatively high standard of living in the agricultural community (Laut 1988). Almost three-quarters of the country is classed as rangelands, mainly arid and semi-arid lands that are not suitable for intensive agriculture. European settlement and agricultural development of the continent, and rangelands in particular, has been marked by bitter experiences of coming to terms with the climatic and edaphic constraints of this environment.