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Chapter 4 CHANGING PATTERNS OF LAND USE AND TENURE IN THE DALRYMPLE SHIRE, AUSTRALIA Chris J. Stokes1, Ryan R. J. McAllister1, Andrew J. Ash2, and John E. Gross3 1

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Davies Lab, PMB PO Aitkenvale, Q 4814, Australia; CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, Q 4067, Australia; 3National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Suite 150, Fort Collins, CO 80525-5589, USA 2

1.

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Context of Australian agricultural development

Australia is the world’s flattest continent, a testament to its ancient, wellweathered geological landforms, and consequently the associated soils are generally of low fertility (Flannery 1994). It is also the world’s driest inhabited continent, a situation that is exacerbated by erratic rainfall and high evaporation. In comparison with other countries, agriculture in Australia is characterized by: dependence on low productivity environments that are prone to drought and degradation; the large scale of agricultural activities; concentration on a limited range of products; heavy dependence on overseas markets; and a relatively high standard of living in the agricultural community (Laut 1988). Almost three-quarters of the country is classed as rangelands, mainly arid and semi-arid lands that are not suitable for intensive agriculture. European settlement and agricultural development of the continent, and rangelands in particular, has been marked by bitter experiences of coming to terms with the climatic and edaphic constraints of this environment. Fragmentation of Australian rangelands has been a relatively recent phenomenon. Although Aboriginal land-use practices shaped Australian 93 K. A. Galvin et al. (eds.), Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes: Consequences for Human and Natural Systems, 93–112. © 2008 Springer.

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landscapes for at least 40,000 years, it has been more recent European settlement that has determined the current patterns of fragmented land use. The “First Fleet” arrived in southeast Australia in 1788, bringing not only domestic livestock, but also British land management practices and institutional ideology, and a desire to legitimize British stewardship over a vast land mass, sparsely populated by European standards (Day 2001). Intensive agriculture dominated early settlement where it was possible, with small, fertile parcels of land being allocated to settlers. When British demand for wool soared in the early 1800s, Australian Merino sheep were well placed to supply quality wool, and pastoralism (ranching) became very profitable. As explorers mapped the interior of the country, pastoralists followed behind, rapidly filling the ‘empty spaces’ beyond the approved settlement boundaries, displacing existing Aboriginal land-use systems. In 1831, the British government intervened to bring order to land settlement, encouraging close, European-style settlement supported by land ‘improvements’ to increase productivity. This became a recurring theme in early Australian land policy, and one that gave rise to progressive subdivision of initially vast agricultural properties.

1.2

Geographic patterns of rangeland development

The development of Australian rangelands has not been spatially uniform. A number of factors have influenced the extent to which rangelands have become fragmented in different parts of the continent (McAllister et al. 2006). Demand for land has generally been greatest around population centers where there have been more people, greater access to services, and avenues of arrival for new immigrants. Conversely, settlement has tended to be concentrated on the most productive lands, and these have become highly fragmented by the appropriation of the most productive land for intensive agriculture and the greater capacity of small land units to sustain viable enterprises. The sheep industry has historically experienced several ‘boom’ periods, accompanied by over-optimistic expectations and property subdivision, whereas periods of strong profitability in the beef industry are a more recent phenomenon. Accordingly, rangelands that have been capable of supporting sheep have been more prone to fragmentation than those that are only suitable for cattle. The date of settlement of rangelands has also been important because of the length of time it has provided for development and fragmentation (and consolidation) to occur. In addition, rangelands that have had a longer history of settlement have generally been exposed to more intense policy pressure for closer settlement, more periods

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of demand for land from immigrants or soldiers returning from the two World Wars, and more boom periods of exaggerated expectations for pastoralism. Australia’s population is highly urbanized, with 65% living in the capital cities alone, and concentrated in the southeast of the country (ABS 2004). Rangelands in southeastern Australia tend to be highly fragmented because of their proximity to population centers, their long history of development, their greater productivity, and their suitability for sheep production. In contrast, rangelands in the tropical north of Australia are sparsely populated, less suitable for sheep, less productive, have been settled more recently, and are generally less fragmented.

1.3

Types of fragmentation

In Australian rangelands, it is useful to distinguish three types of fragmentation: land tenure units/properties (administration), enterprises (land management), and paddocks (very large, fenced subdivisions within properties determining the scale at which livestock use landscapes). The dominant driver of landscape fragmentation has been government policy, which has dictated the size and arrangement of land tenure units (section 3.2). But superimposed on this is a set of socio-economic factors that affects patterns of land management. Many pastoral enterprises (ranches) consist of more than one property, and there may be several types of business interactions between enterprises. Enterprise structures and interactions between pastoralists that result in joint management of multiple properties increase landscape connectivity and the scale of land use, so that patterns of land management are less fragmented than those of land tenure (see section 3.5 for examples). Such enterprise arrangements are often a response to the constraints of over-fragmentation of land tenure units or an intentional initiative to spread risk associated with climate variability. Conversely, development of infrastructure, particularly fencing and water points, leads to internal fragmentation of enterprises, reducing the size of paddocks and the scale of livestock-landscape interactions (section 3.4). This internal development of enterprises is another response to fragmentation of land tenure units, and is aimed at increasing the productivity of small properties to maintain enterprise viability. Changes in land tenure, land use, and fragmentation are all inextricably linked and have occurred together with each affecting and being affected by the other (section 3). An initial operating hypothesis for the set of case study sites in this book is that “land fragmentation is taking place at our industrializing study sites

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(in Africa and Asia) and that this is a dual process of land tenure and landuse change. At our post-industrial sites (in Australia and North America), on the other hand, land consolidation is taking place, and these changes in land use are not accompanied by any major changes in land tenure”. We address this hypothesis for the Dalrymple Shire in north-east Queensland (sections 2 and 3) by discussing historical patterns of land use and tenure, and the forces that have driven these to change since European settlement. Two contrasting fragmentation scenarios in other regions of Australian rangelands are then provided for comparison (section 4).

2.

SITE CHARACTERIZATION FOR DALRYMPLE SHIRE

2.1

Biophysical site description

Dalrymple Shire covers 6.7 million ha in the northern half of the upper Burdekin River catchment in north-east Queensland. The shire is bounded by the Great Dividing Range to the west and coastal ranges to the east. There is a rainfall gradient, ranging from 500 mm in the southwest to 650 mm in the northeast rangelands (and 2000 mm in the bordering northeast mountain range). Precipitation is highly seasonal with 80% of rain falling in the summer months between December and April. Interannual variation in rainfall is high (CV 30-48%), and El Niño events are associated with drier than average conditions. The shire contains a variety of soil types, from relatively nutrient-rich, self-mulching clays of volcanic origin to nutrient-poor sandy duplexes. These soil types support vegetation communities that differ in species composition, seasonality, and forage production (Rogers et al. 1998). Open eucalypt woodlands dominate the region (Isbell and Murtha 1972). The most extensive grassland community is associated with black speargrass (Heteropogon contortus), but these areas were probably dominated by kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra var australis) prior to European settlement. Over the past 30 years, many of these areas have been invaded by Indian couch (Bothriochloa pertusa), an exotic, perennial, stoloniferous grass (Ash et al. 2002). Heterogeneity of resources at the landscape scale results from the complex of soil and vegetation types and other topographic features, such as the border ranges, and the ephemeral and permanent watercourses (Roth et al. 2003).

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Land tenure and use

Eighty-seven percent of Dalrymple Shire is state leasehold land, a proportion that far exceeds the statewide average of 65%. (Leasehold tenure involves leasing land from the State under a set of conditions that prescribe land use, in contrast to freehold title, where land has been purchased from the State and is privately owned.) Aside from a few large freehold pastoral stations, most freehold land is located in urban centers and small rural residential and non-commercial grazing lots surrounding the urban centers. Annual fees for Term Leases in Queensland average less than 1% of a typical extensive cattle enterprise’s profits. Land-use patterns are strongly tied to land tenure, especially because land use on leasehold properties, which dominate Dalrymple Shire, is prescribed by the terms of the lease (section 3.2). The vast majority of the shire is used for extensive cattle breeding and fattening operations within independent, family-run enterprises (Table 4-1, Bortolussi et al. 2005a). Mining (gold, base metals, and dolomite) occupies minimal land area, but is the largest economic sector in the region, generating revenue that was four times that of cattle disposals in 1992/3 (Quirk et al. 1996). Horticultural activities (oranges, grapes, and vegetables) are restricted to a few small enterprises confined mainly to alluvial soils (with revenues valued at 4% of cattle revenues). Conservation land in the shire includes 92,488 ha in national parks and 12,056 ha of environmental reserves (Rogers et al. 1998). Two properties in the northeast of the shire are used by the Australian Defence Force for training activities. Small rural residential and non-commercial grazing properties cover about 30,000 ha. Table 4-1. Land-use and tenure patterns in the Dalrymple Shire, north-east Queensland. Land Tenure

Land Use

Leasehold

Extensive cattle grazing Mining Other leasehold

Freehold

Extensive cattle grazing Sub-commercial grazing Other freehold

Other

Military field training Conservation Water reserve

Total

Typical Areas (‘000 ha) 10 to 50

10 to 50