Carbon-neutral wool farming in south-eastern Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie A. Doran-Browne ◽  
John Ive ◽  
Phillip Graham ◽  
Richard J. Eckard
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Soil Carbon Stocks ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Ruminant livestock production generates higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) compared with other types of farming. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce or offset those emissions where possible. Although mitigation options exist that reduce ruminant GHGE through the use of feed management, flock structure or breeding management, these options only reduce the existing emissions by up to 30% whereas planting trees and subsequent carbon sequestration in trees and soil has the potential for livestock emissions to be offset in their entirety. Trees can introduce additional co-benefits that may increase production such as reduced salinity and therefore increased pasture production, shelter for animals or reduced erosion. Trees will also use more water and compete with pastures for water and light. Therefore, careful planning is required to locate trees where the co-benefits can be maximised instead of any negative trade-offs. This study analysed the carbon balance of a wool case study farm, Talaheni, in south-eastern Australia to determine if the farm was carbon neutral. The Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory was used to calculate GHGE and carbon stocks, with national emissions factors used where available, and otherwise figures from the IPCC methodology being used. Sources of GHGE were from livestock, energy and fuel, and carbon stocks were present in the trees and soil. The results showed that from when the farm was purchased in 1980–2012 the farm had sequestered 11 times more carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) in trees and soil than was produced by livestock and energy. Between 1980 and 2012 a total of 31 100 t CO2e were sequestered with 19 300 and 11 800 t CO2e in trees and soil, respectively, whereas farm emissions totalled 2800 t CO2e. There was a sufficient increase in soil carbon stocks alone to offset all GHGE at the study site. This study demonstrated that there are substantial gains to be made in soil carbon stocks where initial soils are eroded and degraded and there is the opportunity to increase soil carbon either through planting trees or introducing perennial pastures to store more carbon under pastures. Further research would be beneficial on the carbon-neutral potential of farms in more fertile, high-rainfall areas. These areas typically have higher stocking rates than the present study and would require higher levels of carbon stocks for the farm to be carbon neutral.

Pasture and sheep responses to lime application in a grazing experiment in a high-rainfall area, south-eastern Australia. II. Liveweight gain and wool production

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Li ◽  
K. R. Helyar ◽  
M. K. Conyers ◽  
L. J. C. Castleman ◽  
R. P. Fisher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rotation Period ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Lime Application ◽  
High Rainfall Area ◽  
South Eastern Australia

‘Managing Acid Soils Through Efficient Rotations (MASTER)’ is a long-term pasture–crop rotation experiment commenced in 1992. One of the objectives was to demonstrate the extent of crop, pasture, and animal responses to lime application on a typical acidic soil in the 500–800 mm rainfall zone of south-eastern Australia. Two types of pastures (perennial v. annual pastures) with or without lime application were established in 1992. Fifteen- to eighteen-month-old Merino hoggets were used as test animals and were changed annually. This paper reports the results of sheep responses to liming from the 4 continuous pasture treatments over 6 years from 1992 to 1997. The stocking rate was the same on all plots within a treatment during each rotation period, but was varied between treatments based on the pasture availability and sheep body condition. The most important findings from this study are that the limed treatments carried 29% and 27% more stock (up to 4 DSE/ha) than the unlimed treatments for perennial and annual pastures, respectively. As a result, the limed perennial pastures produced 27% more liveweight gain (62 kg/ha.year) and 28% more greasy wool (13 kg/ha.year) than unlimed perennial pastures, whereas the limed annual pastures produced 34% more liveweight gain (77 kg/ha.year) and 24% more greasy wool (11 kg/ha.year) than unlimed annual pastures. The significant responses to lime in liveweight and wool production were detected from the second growing season after the pastures were established. The increased sheep productivity on the limed treatment was due to a combination of increased pasture production and improved pasture quality. Perennial pastures showed a slight advantage in wool production, but not in liveweight gain. However, the seasonal variation of liveweight was greater on annual pastures than on perennial pastures. The larger variation in liveweight change could lead to more adverse effects on wool quality especially at high grazing pressures. Grazing management can be used to manipulate pasture and animal productivity to increase profits from lime use.

Opportunities and trade-offs in dual-purpose cereals across the southern Australian mixed-farming zone: a modelling study

2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Relative Reduction ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Dual-purpose cereals are employed in the high-rainfall zone of southern Australia to provide additional winter forage. Recently there has been interest in applying this technology in the drier environments of South and Western Australia. It would therefore be useful to gain an understanding of the trade-offs and risks associated with grazing wheat crops in different locations. In this study the APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems Simulator) crop and soil simulation models were linked to the GRAZPLAN pasture and livestock models and used to examine the benefits and costs of grazing cereal crops at 21 locations spanning seven of the regions participating in the Grain & Graze research, development and extension program. A self-contained part of a mixed farm (an annual pasture–wheat rotation plus permanent pastures) supporting a breeding ewe enterprise was simulated. At each location the consequences were examined of: (i) replacing a spring wheat cultivar with a dual-purpose cultivar (cv. Wedgetail or Tennant) in 1 year of the rotation; and (ii) either grazing that crop in winter, or leaving it ungrazed. The frequency of early sowing opportunities enabling the use of a dual-purpose cultivar was high. When left ungrazed the dual-purpose cultivars yielded less grain on average (by 0.1–0.9 t/ha) than spring cultivars in Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula but more (by 0.25–0.8 t/ha) in south-eastern Australia. Stocking rate and hence animal production per ha could be increased proportionately more when a dual-purpose cultivar was used for grazing; because of the adjustments to stocking rates, grazing of the wheat had little effect on lamb sale weights. Across locations, the relative reduction in wheat yield caused by grazing the wheats was proportional to the grazing pressure upon them. Any economic advantage of moving to a dual-purpose system is likely to arise mainly from the benefit to livestock production in Western Australia, but primarily from grain production in south-eastern Australia (including the Mallee region). Between years, the relationship between increased livestock production and decreased grain yield from grazing crops shifts widely; it may therefore be possible to identify flexible grazing rules that optimise this trade-off.

scholarly journals Effects of Biosolids Application on Pasture and Grape Vines in South-Eastern Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Nash ◽  
Craig Butler ◽  
Justine Cody ◽  
Michael St. J. Warne ◽  
Mike J. McLaughlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pasture Production ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Quality Guidelines ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
Biosolids Application ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Biosolids were applied to a pasture and a vineyard in south-eastern Australia. At both sites, soil Cd, Cu, and Zn concentrations linearly increased with biosolids application rates although not to the extent of exceeding soil quality guidelines. Biosolids marginally increased soil C and N concentrations at the pasture site but significantly increased P concentrations. With lower overall soil fertility at the vineyard, biosolids increased C, N, and P concentrations. At neither site did biosolids application affect soil microbial endpoints. Biosolids increased pasture production compared to the unfertilised control but had little effect on grape production or quality. Interestingly, over the 3-year trial, there was no difference in pasture production between the biosolids treated plots and plots receiving inorganic fertiliser. These results suggest that biosolids could be used as a fertiliser to stimulate pasture production and as a soil conditioner to improve vineyard soils in this region.

scholarly journals Quantifying soil carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes in the sugarcane agrosystem: point of view

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 361-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri ◽  
Marcelo Valadares Galdos ◽  
João Luís Nunes Carvalho ◽  
Brigitte Josefine Feigl ◽  
Carlos Clemente Cerri
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Gas Fluxes ◽  
Soil Carbon Stocks ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Fluxes

scholarly journals Modelling and mapping soil organic carbon stocks under future climate change in south-eastern Australia

Geoderma ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 405 ◽  
pp. 115442
Author(s):  
Bin Wang ◽  
Jonathan M. Gray ◽  
Cathy M. Waters ◽  
Muhuddin Rajin Anwar ◽  
Susan E. Orgill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon Stocks ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

scholarly journals Cost-benefit trade-offs of bird activity in apple orchards

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca K. Peisley ◽  
Manu E. Saunders ◽  
Gary W. Luck
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yields ◽  
Codling Moth ◽  
Crop Damage ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Bird Damage ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Birds active in apple orchards in south–eastern Australia can contribute positively (e.g., control crop pests) or negatively (e.g., crop damage) to crop yields. Our study is the first to identify net outcomes of these activities, using six apple orchards, varying in management intensity, in south–eastern Australia as a study system. We also conducted a predation experiment using real and artificial codling moth (Cydia pomonella) larvae (a major pest in apple crops). We found that: (1) excluding birds from branches of apple trees resulted in an average of 12.8% more apples damaged by insects; (2) bird damage to apples was low (1.9% of apples); and (3) when trading off the potential benefits (biological control) with costs (bird damage to apples), birds provided an overall net benefit to orchard growers. We found that predation of real codling moth larvae was higher than for plasticine larvae, suggesting that plasticine prey models are not useful for inferring actual predation levels. Our study shows how complex ecological interactions between birds and invertebrates affect crop yield in apples, and provides practical strategies for improving the sustainability of orchard systems.

Influence of earthworms, Aporrectodea spp. (Lumbricidae), on pasture production in south-eastern Australia

1999 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Baker ◽  
P. J. Carter ◽  
V. J. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Initial Number ◽  
Aporrectodea Caliginosa ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Nitrogen Levels ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Phosphorus Levels ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Most of the earthworms now found in agricultural fields in south-eastern Australia are exotic, patchily distributed, mineral soil dwellers (endogeic species). The influence of two of the most common endogeic species, Aporrectodea caliginosa and A. trapezoides, on pasture production was compared with that of another exotic, surface-feeding, deep-burrowing (anecic) species, A. longa, which is essentially restricted in its Australian distribution to Tasmania. Comparisons were made by introducing 4 different densities of the worms in cages at 10 field sites and measuring pasture production for approximately 5 months. All 3 species increased pasture production at most of the 10 sites. Increases in pasture production were greatest where original pasture production was low. Pasture production increased with earthworm density. Averaged across sites, earthworms increased pasture production by up to 61%. Significant increases in yield were detected with ≥214 A. longa/m 2 and ≥429 A. caliginosa or A. trapezoides/m 2. A. longa is a much bigger worm than A. caliginosa and A. trapezoides. If the initial number of worms introduced to the cages was taken as the measure of earthworm ‘abundance’, then A. longa increased pasture production more than the 2 endogeic species. If the biomass of introduced worms was taken as the measure of abundance, then the reverse was the case. A. longa reduced nitrogen levels in some soils. Phosphorus levels were not affected. No residual effects on pasture production were detected when soil that had been improved by earthworms was potted and resown with ryegrass. Broad scale introduction of A. caliginosa, A. longa, or A. trapezoides to sites lacking them in south-eastern Australia is likely to improve pasture production significantly. Addition of A. longa to existing communities of endogeic species should further increase pasture yield by enhancing functional diversity.

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