Taroom Shire Wanaringa, QLD. VAST-2: Tracking the Transformation of Australia's Vegetated Landscapes

The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about the Taroom Shire site in Queensland, Australia.

Pre-European benchmark-analogue vegetation: the site was originally a brigalow, Acacia harpophylla, mixed community associated with several overstorey species, including Eucalyptus coolabah, E. cambageana, Casuarina cristata, a range of understorey species, grassy woodlands and open forests.

Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:
1860: Area used for sheep grazing by shepherds
1870: Permanent fences established
1875: Start of continuous or set stocking with sheep
1880: Incursion of prickly pear started
1935: Prickly pear had been destroyed
1929-1932: Land clearance through ringbarking
1929-1932: Gradual increase in cattle numbers decline in sheep
1940-1955: Manual clearing of brigalow with axes issues with regrowth
1960-62: Brigalow pulled mechanically and soil ploughed
1962: Soil ploughed and sown to buffel grass pasture
1962-65: Continuous grazing with cattle on buffel grass pasture
1966-75: Soil ploughed and sown to wheat annually – cattle graze stubble
1976: Soil ploughed and sown to buffel grass pasture
1976-2000: Continuous grazing with cattle on buffel grass pasture
2001-10: Soil ploughed and sown to wheat annually – cattle graze stubble.