soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

4. Ensure that toxic chemicals do not build up to levels
harmful to microbes, plants or animals.
Most producers would agree to this theory of sustainability,
but the problems of defining when practical situations meet
these requirements, are complex and full of uncertainty. In
other words where do we draw the line in defining the
following as suitable for clearing:
Minimum rainfall.
Slope.
Soil type.
Soil depth.
Size and shape of retained timber.
Distance from water courses.
Density of pasture cover.
Management to maintain cover.
Role of Trees: Some Fallacies
As the level of political awareness of the environment has
increased, so the importance of trees has been emphasized.
The result has been a generalization which highlights trees as
beneficial and clearing as harmful - usually without
qualification. As with issues such as the use of fire or urea
licks, unless proper use of these management tools is spelled
out, no credible judgement can be made on their dangers or
benefits. Because of the widely accepted benefits of trees,
such as shade, shelter, habitat and aesthetic appeal, trees
have been accorded the universal ability to stabilize land,
increase fertility, control erosion and salinity, increase
organic matter and generally improve productivity.
It has
become apparent to all who have attempted to apply land care
in practice, that these benefits are not automatic and that
the role of each species in each habitat needs to be
understood before the most appropriate management can be
developed for the land concerned. Examples abound of timbered
country suffering from extreme erosion and instability -
portion of the Burdekin catchment is a case in point (Roberts,
1987). Similarly examples of dense permanent pastures on well
managed cleared country have been repeatedly documented
(Roberts, 1989a) . So there is a case for well planned
clearing- and the practical question becomes one of deciding on
the. appropriate process to be used in ensuring that further
developments are ecologically sound.
Who should decide?
In an era when the independence of landholders is being
reduced, the appropriate roles of the manager, the local
group, the departmental authorities, the Crown Land
administrators and the community at large in, contributing to
land use decisions, come into potential conflict. All are
generally agreed that sustainable production, stability of the
landscape and aesthetic values must be the prime objectives
and the decision-making. However, we must first ask: