Enhancing Biodiversity in Agricultural Landscapes

Healthy habitats
Improving productivity and biodiversity

The challenge
Most traditional Australian Farming systems are based on European agriculture farming practices. Rather than integrate with the natural environment, they often alter the water balance, soil chemistry and native biodiversity in the landscape. The challenge is to design new farming systems and prove that they can use resources efficiently and be more environmentally and economically sustainable.

The strategy
To map farm areas according to land capability. To increase production in the responsive areas and develop the natural resource base (water harvesting, carbon sequestration, crop pollination, biodiversity and landscape appeal) of less productive or marginal areas.

The project

• Identify plant types - including indigenous grasses - that increase production in the meat and grain industries while reducing environmental impacts of farm production.
  
  
• Investigate agricultural systems that mimic natural ecosystems in selected high rainfall agricultural landscapes.
  
  
• Investigate ways of fast-tracking the expansion of native vegetation on land that is marginal or no longer productive.
  
  
• Develop a system to measure the benefits of native vegetation buffers to farm production.
  
  
• Establish experimental farms/demonstration sites to measure production and landscape gains from new agricultural techniques.