Australian Soils and Landscapes

Australian Soils and Landscapes

Author: Neil N. McKenzie

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2004-07-01

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 064310433X

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This essential reference provides an introduction to the remarkable soils and landscapes of Australia. It reveals their great diversity and explains why an understanding of soil properties and landscape processes should guide our use of the land. Using striking photographs of characteristic landscapes, it begins by describing the basic properties of soils and how Australia's distinctive soils and landscapes have co-evolved. We gain a greater understanding of why particular soils occur at certain locations and how soil variation can influence landscape processes, agricultural productivity and ecosystem function. The book explains the impact of various forms of land use and the changes they can bring about in soil. This is followed by an invaluable compendium that describes and illustrates over 100 of the more important and widespread soils of Australia, along with their associated landscapes. There is a brief account of each soil's environment, usage and qualities as well as details on chemical and physical properties so we can make more informed decisions about appropriate land-use. Australian Soils and Landscapes will be a valuable resource for farmers, natural resource managers, soil and environmental scientists, students and anyone with an interest in Australia's unique environment.


Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook

Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook

Author: National Committee on Soil and Terrain

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2009-03-31

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0643098615

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The Australian Soil and Land Survey Field Handbook specifies methods and terminology for soil and land surveys. It has been widely used throughout Australia, providing one reference set of definitions for the characterisation of landform, vegetation, land surface, soil and substrate. The book advocates that a comprehensive suite of land and soil attributes be recorded in a uniform manner. This approach is more useful than the allocation of land or soil to preconceived types or classes. The third edition includes revised chapters on location and vegetation as well as some new landform elements. These updates have been guided by the National Committee on Soil and Terrain, a steering committee comprising representatives from key federal, state and territory land resource assessment agencies. Essential reading for all professionals involved in land resource surveys, this book will also be of value to students and educators in soil science, geography, ecology, agriculture, forestry, resource management, planning, landscape architecture and engineering.


Landscape Logic

Landscape Logic

Author: Allan Curtis

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2012-04-11

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 0643103562

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In 2005, researchers from four Australian universities and CSIRO joined forces with environmental managers from three state agencies and six regional catchment management authorities to answer the question: 'Can we detect the influence of public environmental programs on the condition of our natural resources?' This was prompted by a series of national audits of Australia's environmental programs that could find no evidence of public investment improving the condition of waterways, soils and native vegetation, despite major public programs investing more than $4.2 billion in environmental repair over the last 20 years. Landscape Logic describes how this collaboration of 42 researchers and environmental managers went about the research. It describes what they found and what they learned about the challenge of attributing cause to environmental change. While public programs had been responsible for increase in vegetation extent, there was less evidence for improvement in vegetation condition and water quality. In many cases critical levels of intervention had not been reached, interventions were not sufficiently mature to have had any measurable impact, monitoring had not been designed to match the spatial and temporal scales of the interventions, and interventions lacked sufficiently clear objectives and metrics to ever be detectable. In the process, however, new knowledge emerged on disturbance thresholds in river condition, diagnosing sources of pollution in river systems, and the application and uptake of state-and-transition and Bayesian network models to environmental management. The findings discussed in this book provide valuable messages for environmental managers, land managers, researchers and policy makers.


Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Landscapes

Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Landscapes

Author: Mark Tibbett

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2015-08-05

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 0643106375

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Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Landscapes explores the interface between geology and botany, and mining and conservation. Many areas of unusual geology that contain ore-bearing bodies also support unique ecological communities of plants and animals. Increasing demand to exploit rich mineral deposits can lead to a conflict between mining and conservation interests in such landscapes. This book brings together experts in the field of mining and conservation to grapple with this pressing issue and to work toward a positive outcome for all. Chapters are grouped into four themes: Introduction, Concepts and Challenges; Endemism in Ironstone Geosystems; Progress in Bauxite Mining; and Ways Forward. The book focuses on natural and semi-natural ecosystems, where landscape beauty, biodiversity and conservation value are at their highest measure and the mineral wealth they contain can bring affluence of regional or even national importance. Examples of conflicts ranging from threatened floristic endemics to human ecology are included, from Africa, the Americas and Australasia. Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Landscapes is an important reference for environmental managers, NGOs, restoration ecologists, academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students of ecology and environmental studies, conservation biologists, as well as mine managers, mining environmental specialists, consultants, regulators and relevant government departments.


Australian Landscapes

Australian Landscapes

Author: P. Bishop

Publisher: Geological Society of London

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9781862393141

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Australian Landscapes provides an up-to-date statement on the geomorphology of Australia. Karst, desert, bedrock rivers, coasts, submarine geomorphology, biogeomorphology and tectonics are all covered, aided by the latest geochronological techniques and remote sensing approaches. The antiquity and enduring geomorphological stability of the Australian continent are emphasized in several chapters, but the cutting-edge techniques used to establish that stability also reveal much complexity, including areas of considerable recent tectonic activity and a wide range of rates of landscape change. Links to the biological sphere are explored, in relation both to the lengthy human presence on the continent and to a biota that resulted from Cenozoic aridification of the continent, dated using new techniques. New syntheses of glaciation in Tasmania, aridification in South Australia and aeolian activity all focus on Quaternary landscape evolution.


Soils of the Past

Soils of the Past

Author: Gregory J. Retallack

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 451

ISBN-13: 9401179026

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Landscapes viewed from afar have a timeless quality that is soothing to the human spirit. Yet a tranquil wilderness scene is but a snapshot in the steady stream of surficial change. Wind, water and human activities reshape the landscape by means of gradual to catastrophic and usually irreversible events. Much of this change destroys past landscapes, but at some times and places, landscapes are buried in the rock record. This work is dedicated to the discovery of past landscapes and their life through the fossil record of soils. A long history of surficial changes extending back almost to the origin of our planet can be deciphered from the study of these buried soils, or paleosols. Some rudiments of this history, and our place in it, are outlined in a final section of this book. But first it is necessary to learn something of the language of soils, of what happens to them when buried in the rock record and which of the forces of nature can be confidently reconstructed from their remains. Much of this preliminary material is borrowed from soil science, but throughout emphasis is laid on features that provide most reliable evidence of landscapes during the distant geological past. This book has evolved primarily as a text for senior level university courses in paleopedology: the study of fossil soils.


Campbell Biology Australian and New Zealand Edition

Campbell Biology Australian and New Zealand Edition

Author: Jane B. Reece

Publisher: Pearson Higher Education AU

Published: 2015-05-20

Total Pages: 1521

ISBN-13: 1486012299

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Over nine successful editions, CAMPBELL BIOLOGY has been recognised as the world’s leading introductory biology textbook. The Australian edition of CAMPBELL BIOLOGY continues to engage students with its dynamic coverage of the essential elements of this critical discipline. It is the only biology text and media product that helps students to make connections across different core topics in biology, between text and visuals, between global and Australian/New Zealand biology, and from scientific study to the real world. The Tenth Edition of Australian CAMPBELL BIOLOGY helps launch students to success in biology through its clear and engaging narrative, superior pedagogy, and innovative use of art and photos to promote student learning. It continues to engage students with its dynamic coverage of the essential elements of this critical discipline. This Tenth Edition, with an increased focus on evolution, ensures students receive the most up-to-date, accurate and relevant information.


Australian Planting Design

Australian Planting Design

Author: Paul Thompson

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2012-04-12

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 0643107037

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Australian Planting Design identifies and explores all aspects of developing better planting designs on any scale, raising awareness of the essential elements and encouraging readers to look with fresh eyes, to create anew. This new edition guides the reader through all the stages of designing a new garden and helps to visualise the garden through an understanding of space, light, earth form, structures and vegetation. It discusses the choosing of plants, their form and shape, balancing plant types, fire and vegetation, design and form. The final section of the book looks at the dynamic garden and the importance of designing for change. Australian Planting Design focuses on how Australian plants may be used in gardens, whatever their size, function or site. It shows the way to use our plants to form a variety of satisfying, interesting and purposeful areas for both people and nature. As the availability of a much wider range of Australian plants grows, so too does our understanding of their qualities and habits. Our changing ecological attitudes and broader understanding of local habitats have brought the Australian landscape into sharper focus and we have gained a new appreciation of its value for design expression. We are beginning to develop an urban landscape that belongs to the land, and garden designs that are more suitable to the environment of tomorrow. At last we have Australian plants for Australian places.


Regolith Science

Regolith Science

Author: Keith Scott

Publisher: CSIRO PUBLISHING

Published: 2009-08-18

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 0643099964

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This comprehensive reference on the fundamentals of regolith geoscience describes how regolith is developed from parental rocks and emphasises the importance of chemical, physical, water and biological processes in regolith formation. It provides details for mapping regolith landforms, as well as objective information on applications in mineral exploration and natural resource management. Regolith Science also provides a concise history of weathering through time in Australia. It includes previously unpublished information on elemental abundances in regolith materials along with detailed information on soil degradation processes such as acid sulfate soils. Written by experts in the field, Regolith Science summarises research carried out over a 13-year period within the Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration. This book will be a valuable resource for scientists and graduate/postgraduate students in geology, geography and soil science, professionals in the exploration industry and natural resources management. This paperback edition is a reprint of the original hardback published in October 2008.