An evaluation of range regeneration programmes in Western Australia.

Abstract

Range regeneration programmes and related research are reviewed for three major project areas - the Ord River Catchment, the Fitzroy River Frontage and the Winter Rainiall Arid Zone. Successful regeneration techniques are well established for the Ord River Catchment although the ongoing management of treated areas presents a number of difficulties. Regeneration techniques for the Fitzroy Frontage have not been firmly established but, if economically justifiable, are likely to involve water ponding and the amelioration of soil conditions by organic mulch accumulation. It is argued that extension of the water ponding principle to areas of higher slope than those on which the technique is normally used is likely to be an important component of the development of regeneration procedures in the arid zone. Experience in all three environments suggests that a number of principles apply generally. Control of grazing by native and feral animals is a pre-requisite for successful regeneration in any environment. The rate of response to regeneration treatments seems to be inversely related to the degree of degradation suggesting that less severely degraded areas are likely to provide the best economic return from regeneration programmes. Processes of ecological succession seem important in all regeneration activities in the rangelands and cannot be entirely bypassed by cultural intervention.