This study evaluated support for adaptive capacity in Western Australian rangelands. Eight indicators of adaptive capacity were used to evaluate publicly available documents. Progress towards adaptive capacity was classified as ‘aspirational’, ‘in action’ or ‘assessed’. Institutional support for adaptive capacity was evident. However, questions, such as whether the largely aspirational nature of documents reflect actual adaptation, and the extent to which stakeholders perceive that institutional support exists remain unanswered.

Rangeland degradation and vulnerability of livelihoods are two major challenges faced by rangeland managers and policy-makers in arid and semiarid regions. Through a comprehensive literature review, this paper argues that sustainable rangeland management cannot be achieved if sustainable livelihoods of rangeland users are neglected. As a result, to achieve sustainable rangeland management, we introduced a set of appropriate livelihood alternatives and drew a framework for their evaluation.

The population dynamics of some perennial arid zone plants were studied over 46 years on Mileura Station, Western Australia. Individual plants were counted in permanent quadrats, which had been grazed by livestock and wildlife, in two separate land systems in 1967, 1976, 1990 and 2013. The results demonstrated that regeneration of many perennial species can occur under commercial grazing conditions and without the exclusion of kangaroos, goats, rabbits and other grazing animals, but regeneration is slow.

Carbon sequestration in reforestation, revegetation and pasture soils in Australian wool-producing regions was quantified in a life cycle assessment study using a combination of case-study farm and regional survey data. Enhanced woody vegetation and pasture management were estimated to offset greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram of greasy wool by 2–10% providing potential additional value to the productivity and agro-ecosystem benefits of shelterbelt trees, browse shrubs or improved pasture soils.

A 5-year sheep grazing experiment was conducted on a semi-arid grassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that, after 5 years of grazing, the grassland productivity decreased significantly under all grazing treatments compared with the no grazing control treatment, whereas plant diversity increased under the low and moderate grazing treatments. The changes in plant diversity and productivity were mainly derived from changes in plant community composition under grazing.

A moratorium promulgated in 2003 failed to effectively regulate land-clearing for agricultural development in the Douglas-Daly catchment. The moratorium was not the subject of legislation and was based on broad principles of environmental management, causing uncertainty that consequently promoted clearing. Accordingly, the policy did not adequately serve the aims of the moratorium and reinforces the principle that policy is only as good as its level of implementation.

Serrated tussock is a highly invasive grass with significant potential to spread in the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. A survey of rural landholders in the region has revealed that many have not adopted a preventative approach towards managing this species, and are often unable to identify the grass – a problem that could prevent its early detection, particularly on rural lifestyle blocks.

To improve the ability of livestock producers to adapt to climate variability, the past effects of droughts were modelled to understand the dynamics of droughts at the level of the production unit through the development of an interactive agent-based simulation model. With 82 livestock producers and development actors, outputs of simulations were explored in five workshops with 82 livestock farmers. In these workshops, both biophysical models and those related to farm management were recognised as valid, and the typologies used were identified as realistic.