Other Forestry and Forest Sciences Commons^™

Rex ' 96 : An Expert Guide To Revegetation, David Bicknell

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Agriculture Western Australia has provided coordination and technical input to a powerful source of information on plants for Australian conditions. David Bicknell outlines some of its features and uses.

Farmers, local government, advisers and even gardeners often have trouble finding the right plant for the right place for a given purpose. Rather than spend a lot of time, money and effort looking through scattered sources of information, many people stick with a limited number of species year after year. This neglects plants that may be much better suited to the purpose, and also fails to develop Australia's huge range of …

Merging Conservation With Production In Remnant Bush, Anne Morgan, Alison Fuss

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Exports of cutflowers and foliage from Western Australia are now worth about $17 million a year. A third of this is picked from the bush, either on Crown Land or areas of remnant bush on private property. While the industry's future lies in cultivation, bush picking is likely to remain important for some years. This can provide both extra income for farmers and benefit the environment - as long as care is taken

Alley Farming : New Vision For Western Australian Farmland, Ted Lefroy, Phil Scott

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Alley farming is a system where crops and pastures are grown in the alleys between rows of trees and shrubs. The concept is new to Western Australia but one that is likely to become more familiar over the next few years. The objective is to use trees and shrubs to decrease the environmental side effects of agriculture, such as erosion and salinity while increasing farm profit through the direct and indirect value of the trees.

This article describes some examples of alley farming in Western Australia and discusses the challenge of getting the right tree species and layout to maximise …

Bluegum Timberbelts For Profitable Landcare, Peter Eckersley

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Revegetation with tasmanian bluegums in wide-spaced timberbelts appears to offer high returns, especially in areas where high winds cause crop and stock losses and where land can be saved from salinity and wwaterlogging.

In the South Coast and South-WestRegions, timberbelts will complement existing enterprises and so optimise overall land use. Graziers should be able to maintaine their stock numbers while creating an on-farm superannuation package.

The Department of Conservation and Land Management has been a major player in the development of bluegum timberbelts, but a few farmers are now adapting this concept to better suit their needs. Initial results are …

Variable Quality Of Saltbush Seed Influences Establishment, Stephen Vlahos, Donald Nicholas, Clive Malcolm

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Farmers are using niche seeders to direct-seed saltbushes (Atriplex spp.) cheaply on large areas of salt affected land. While many factors influence successful establishment of these shrubs, fanners can control the quality of the seed they use. Too often, the lack of knowledge of saltbush seed quality has resulted in extremely poor establishment. The importance of seed quality is well recognized in the establishment of grain crops and pastures, but it is often overlooked when farmers buy or select seed of saltbush. If farmers know the quality of the seed they buy, they can make appropriate adjustments to the sowing …

Protecting The Remnants, Glenis Ayling

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Our native flora and fauna do best in their own environment, so one way of protecting them is to conserve and maintain areas of remnant vegetation throughout our farmlands. This is the aim of the Remnant Vegetation Protection Scheme in which the State Government helps private landholders to voluntarily fence off and manage areas of native vegetation on farms.

Ornamental Trees For The Farm Garden, P Luff

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE need for trees in the farm garden is being realized by many people.

Trees around the homestead are required to give such features as shade, colour, fragrance and many other advantages to generally make an area more livable.

Besides these advantages, trees appear to help smaller plants flourish by increasing the humidity and providing various degrees of shade and sunlight.

Bee Farming : Honey Flora Of Western Australia, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

A GOOD knowledge of the nectar producing plants of the State is essential for success in commercial beekeeping.

The beekeeper who has a good knowledge of which plants produce good flows, when the flows might be expected, and where good stands of those plants may be found is the one who has the best chance of success.

Wild Life In A Modern Age, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE present human population of the earth is estimated at about 2 1/2 thousand million, and reliable sources consider that this figure will be doubled by the year 2000.

Although the pessimistic forecasts of Malthus have not yet come true, it is obvious that the world's food requirements, must lead to increased exploitation of land and other primary resources, with consequent repercussions on all forms of wild life.