Agricultural Landscapes
Agricultural Landscapes' research is focused on the interface between agriculture and the environment. In partnership with rural industries, communities, and governments, our research aims to improve ecological integrity and economic performance of agricultural landscapes.
The challenge
Large areas of land in Australia have been substantially
transformed by broadacre agriculture. This includes
the grain-grazing lands stretching from Central Queensland
through the Murray-Darling basin of SE Australia, across
to the wheat belt of Western Australia.
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These landscapes include a mix of cropping and grazing enterprises
together with smaller areas of irrigated crops, horticulture
and forestry. The future and on-going sustainable management
of these lands is the focus of the Agricultural Landscapes
Program.
The Program works in partnership with rural industries, communities,
and governments towards improved ecological integrity and
economic performance of agricultural landscapes. This is achieved
through research projects operating from laboratories in Brisbane,
Toowoomba, Canberra
and Perth focused
on applied systems analysis and design, and predictive understanding
of biophysical and ecological processes. Our work is relevant
at paddock, enterprise, and landscape scales, and includes
spatial and temporal analyses.
The Program's core business is the complex interface between
agriculture and the environment (see diagram below). Our expertise
in ecology and farming systems provides a unique capacity
to help address the issues and challenges encountered in this
area.
Some key challenges
Some key challenges facing Australia's agricultural landscapes
include:
- Low profitability of many broad-acre agricultural enterprises;
- Degradation of the natural resource base;
- Land clearing and habitat fragmentation/damage, leading
to the loss of biodiversity; and
- Uncertainties generated by climate change.
Finding solutions
Our research projects focus on four key result areas:
- Improved farming practice leading to enhanced economic
performance of agricultural lands for the long term benefit
of landholders and their communities.
- Landscape designs and management guidelines that enhance
the natural resource base and protect native biodiversity.
- Explicit integration of economic and ecological imperatives
increasingly evident in farmland management decisions.
- Enhanced capability in research, industry, communities
and government to address profitability and ecological performance
in agricultural lands.
Current Research Projects and Web Resources
Research Achievements and Past Projects
>> Natural Resource Management
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Research 
