Browsing by Browse by FOR 2020 "300203 Agricultural land planning"

The last ten decades has seen a slow, but steady decline in the amount of land used for agriculture in Australia and a shift towards more intensified production. The loss of agricultural land in Australia is a key concern as the world aims to feed a growing population on both a domestic and international level. As a key driver of economic growth, especially in rural and regional communities the recent 'Roadmap' released by the National Farmers' Federation aims to make agriculture the next $100 billion industry in Australia. It is therefore vital that land use planning mechanisms in Australia recognise the value of the sector.

Best practice land use planning is essential to balancing a growing population and their food and fibre needs, with housing and infrastructure requirements. In summary, this report:

examines current land use planning laws in Australia reviews past research on land use planning and highlights recommendations that have previously been made presents a series of case studies from various agricultural industries and the challenges they face and how they are being addressed looks at international jurisdictions and how other countries are dealing with land use planning issues, and presents a series of evidence-based, best practice recommendations for land use planning regulation and recommendations for future research and development activities that look at best practice land use planning in Australia.

A series of interviews with key stakeholders involved in land use planning contributed to the development of recommendations for best practice land use planning regulation and future research and development. These recommendations are hypotheses based on the information available and require more in-depth research including an economic analysis before being implemented.

Rice-based cropping systems (RBCS) cover the majority of cultivated land in Bangladesh and are the country's primary source of food security. To bolster food security, cropping intensity has increased by 192% in the last 30 years. Concerns have been raised about the sustainability of such cropping increases, particularly for soil pro-ductivity and resilience, with many areas reporting low soil organic carbon (SOC). The research assessed the levels of SOC, total nitrogen (TN) and soil pH in RBCS to identify relative importance of the land resource, cropping and management settings on these soil properties and to determine options for sustainable land use intensification. Soil samples (0–30 cm) were collected following stratified random design from a range of RBCS and analyzed for SOC, TN and soil pH. These soil properties were interpreted against previously developed farming system typology of Soil Carbon Improvement Likelihood (SCIL) and the legacy soil datasets. SOC was recorded higher in the stop-go triple cropping (12.00–16.33 g/kg) compared to the triple and double cropping intensities (6.90–8.30 g/kg). The crop-diversified and mustard-rice cropping systems of High SCIL, where there is crop rotational diversity and high residue retention, recorded a higher SOC. However these systems were also located on inherently fertile soil (Floodplain medium highland) compared to the less diverse cropping systems (wheat-rice, veg.-rice and rice-rice) of Medium and Low SCIL. The wheat-rice system had the lowest SOC (5.46 g/ kg), which is considered to be a consequence of low crop residue retention and reduced periods of inundation in highland on the Piedmont plain or Terrace. However, the build up of SOC and TN was linked to soil acidification associated with altered fertilizer regime and crop residue removal. Cropping intensity, and in particular, the associated cropping systems and management, were determinants of SOC, depending on which land resource setting and cropping systems were practiced by the smallholders. The types of cropping systems and management options in land resource settings were identified that have the potential for sustainable land use intensification. The implications would be to ensure these cropping systems are conserved, and trade offs contemplated to meet the rising food demand and carbon sequestration goals to counteract smallholder vulnerability to climate change in Bangladesh and South Asian countries.

This data was collected for the thesis entitled: Prospects of cattle integration in plantation systems: lessons learnt from Indonesian and Australian case studies.

Interview Data: Current Indonesian beef production only meets 45% of local demand. Increasing local beef production through integration of cattle production in pre-existing oil palm plantations is a possible solution to meeting this shortfall. The oil palm understorey provides feed, alleviating the need to convert additional land to agriculture. Smallholders are important contributors to both Indonesian cattle and palm oil production. This case study research seeks to understand key aspects of smallholder cattle management in palm oil production areas, to highlight both opportunities and barriers to cattle integration. Thirty-nine smallholder cattle farmers from four villages in South Kalimantan were individually interviewed.

Files: The questionnaire is attached (word document titled 'Questionnaire_SHInterviews', and the interview outcomes are available in the excel file 'SH_Interviews_Data'. The numbers in the questionnaire correspond to the answers available in the excel file (in the field many of the questions included in the questionnaire ended up not being addressed).

All activities in this research were approved by the University of New England Human Research Ethics Committee (approval HE19-156). A research permit (342/E5/E5.4/SIP/2019) and visa (VITAS No: 2A1311EB0365-T) were obtained for research in Indonesia.

Chapter 6:

Context: Most knowledge on grazing management originates from homogeneous pastures. Information on cattle behaviour in silvopasture systems would allow land managers to get a better understanding on forage utilization and vegetation changes, in order to avoid negative impacts on trees and soils and to formulate improved animal management practices promoting weed control and reducing fire fuel loads.

Aim: This study explores the role of manageable landscape elements (presence of open areas, proximity to tracks and the availability of seeded understorey) in determining cattle distribution, in a mixed-species eucalyptus silvopasture system seeded with a broad-leafed paspalum understorey.

Methods: Cattle were tracked with GPS collars set to record locations at 15-minute intervals. A Brownian Bridge Movement model was run using the GPS locations, used to calculate Ivelv's Electivity Index to determine cattle preference and avoidance of specific areas.

Files: A word file is included which describes how the data was collected. The GPS locations for every collar, for each of the three grazing deployments is attached in separate CSV files.

All animal research activities in this study were approved by the University of New England Animal Ethics Committee (approval AEC20-59).

Chapter 5: Silvopasture is the integration of trees, understorey and cattle co-located on the same land management unit, thereby sharing land and producing two commodities. The growing area under eucalyptus plantations in Australia is an opportunity for cattle grazing but there is a dearth of knowledge on suitable understorey forage species that can provide high quality feed and can be sustained underneath eucalyptus trees.

This study examines persistence, palatability and productivity under different tree species of broad-leafed paspalum in a cattle-eucalyptus farming system, and explores associated effects on cattle productivity. Broad-leafed paspalum presence was mapped eight years after seeding in a 184 ha eucalyptus plantation in Northern New South Wales (Australia). Samples were harvested four times over a nine-month period, pre- and post- cattle grazing. Broadleafed paspalum productivity was recorded next to tree trunks and in-between tree rows, for three eucalyptus tree species (red mahogany, tallowwood, ironbark and a mixed species tree stand). The nutritional content of broad-leafed paspalum was analysed, cattle weight change was studied from summer to autumn and the calving rate was recorded over the study period.

Files: the 'Key_Excel_Files' has all the information to be able to understand the individual excel files and contains information on the methodologies. The following excel files are included: 'BiomassData', on the dry weight of broad-leafed paspalum harvested, 'N_Content', the crude protein content of harvested samples, 'NDF_ADF', with results on NDF and ADF content of harvested samples, and finally the excel file 'Visual Soil Assessment', with the results of the site visual soil assessment.

Cattle grazing in plantations is a possible solution for increasing beef production while reducing the conversion of additional land to agriculture. Integrated cattle-plantation farming systems aim to achieve both environmental services and economic benefits, which is especially relevant to the increasing global demand for both beef and tree products to be produced in a sustainable manner.

Integrating tree, livestock, and forage management requires considerable planning and technical expertise, to maximise facilitation and minimise competition between farming system components. This research focuses on reaching a better understanding of understorey productivity, grazing management, and the implications for sustainable silvopasture practices, by carrying out research activities in three case studies. The first case study examines smallholder cattle management in Indonesian oil palm producing regions through smallholder farmer interviews. The second case study assesses tree and cattle productivity in a large-scale, integrated cattle-oil palm plantation by analysing secondary production data. The third case study measures understorey productivity and cattle distribution in an Australian mixed-stand eucalyptus plantation, through biomass harvests and cattle GPS tracking.

In the smallholder system, cattle management was determined by labour availability and the lack of alternative feed sources, with the majority of smallholders adopting freegrazing for cattle management. In the large-scale Indonesian oil palm plantation, cattle management was the most intensive of the case studies, with a rotational grazing system adopted. This system resulted in beef production, while concurrently improving oil palm yields and reducing weeding costs. The Australian case study showed tree species choice affected understorey productivity and distance from tree-trunks was positively associated with understorey productivity. Cattle preferred areas in proximity to vehicle tracks, with high understorey forage availability (in the open areas if available, otherwise under treed stands).

The Australian case study showed the importance of tree species selection and spacing on understorey productivity. A balance should be found between tree and understorey production, in line with the stakeholder's priorities. Broad-leafed paspalum was persistent and productive understorey species well-suited to the conditions of the Australian case study, but in new situations a risk assessment should be applied because of its invasive nature.

All case studies had positive outcomes in terms of beef production, although the magnitude was not assessed. Equally as important is the income diversification offered by beef production, leading to more resilient farming systems in the face of fluctuating palm oil and timber prices.

The socio-economic context and stakeholder priorities were instrumental in determining the intensity of cattle management. When beef production was the sole priority it was associated with lower investment in cattle management, whereas more intensive cattle management was associated with the dual aims of beef production and reduced weeding costs. Increasing grazing hours resulted in increased oil palm yields in the large-scale Indonesian plantation. Experiments under a wider range of tree and cattle management regimes (e.g. older or younger palms and grazing intensity or frequency) are required to extrapolate these findings. Vehicle tracks, fencing and understorey sowing are tools that can be used by stakeholders to attract cattle to target grazing areas. An avenue for future research is fine-tuning the 'optimal cattle distribution' for the most advantageous productivity and economic outcomes and the greatest co-benefits of weeding cost reduction and reduction of fire fuel loads.