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Identifying Production-Environment Tradeoffs Associated with Grazing Land Management

N.D. MacLeod & J.G. McIvor

CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, St Lucia Q 4067

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Road map

Talk (& manuscript) covers the following:

Introduction/background.

Principles and thresholds for landscape design.

Application of the ecological principles.

Exploring production-environmental tradeoffs.

Applying the framework – a case study from the subtropical woodlands.

Description of the case study property

Example 1 – Tree clearing

Example 2 - Tree planting

Concluding remarks – some issues.

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Introduction

Key features of contemporary grazing land management:

Intensification of management practices.

Simplification of landscape ecological structure.

Intensification has obvious economic benefits.

Simplification commonly has an ecological downside.

Landscape resources typically resistant & resilient.

Ecological processes have `thresholds’ & limits.

Pushed too hard landscapes ‘leak’ resources.

Trade-offs are implied.

Assessment framework briefly discussed

Application demonstrated with case studies (tree clearing & planting)

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Management intensification

Rational (& necessary) response to chronic cost-price squeeze:

Raise productivity (per animal, hectare etc).

Cut labour & other costs etc.

Exploit economies of scale.

Examples:

Tree clearing & thinning

Pasture sowing & augmentation

Advanced breeding & nutrition

Grazing systems (esp. high intensity, short duration)

Infrastructure – waters, subdivision etc

Mandatory for viable pastoralism & process will not abate

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Landscape dysfunction

Well recognised (documented) & include:

Declining productivity of native & sown pastures

Reduced drought tolerance of pastures

Soil structure decline & increased erosion

Salination of land & water

Tree decline at landscape scales

Acidification of soils

Loss of important plant & animal species (locally & regionally)

Eutrophication of watercourses & lakes

Encroachment &/or invasions of native & exotic weeds

Loss of future land use options (e.g. eco-tourism, timber, bush foods)

Key to sustainable land management is to stay within ecological limits

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Principles & thresholds

CSIRO grazing land management research mid 1990s:

Integration of landscape ecology & conservation biology.

Landscape cf. paddock focus.

Developed integrated set of landscape design principles.

Trees, pastures, soils, riparian lands, wildlife habitat etc.

Included elements of both resource & nature conservation.

Identified thresholds (empirical, judgement, precaution).

Tested with whole of enterprise case studies & modelling

Full application of the principles uneconomic for private landholders.

Partial application (trade-offs) warranted exploration.

Full application probably socially warranted (some empirical support).

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Ecological health assessment

Existingmanagement

activity

Revisedmanagement

activity #1

Trade-off assessment

Revisedmanagement

activity #N

Review iterations (N) cease when an

acceptable compromise is reached or no feasible improvement is acknowledged

Trade-off assessment

Maintain existing management activity

Economic assessment

Acceptable?Yes

Technical & management

review

No

Ecological health assessment

Economic assessment

Acceptable?

No

Adopt revised management activity

Yes

Assessment framework

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Economic assessment

Sheet 1:Herd

structure

Economic Model Structure

Sheet 5:Gross

margins

Sheet 6:Capitalcosts

Sheet 7:Total

enterprise

Sheet 2:Materials& costs

Sheet 3:Value inputs

Sheet 4:Supplements

Initialspecificationof enterprise

Intensification scenario

Feed utilisation

Annualnumberscarried

Ecologicalperformance

Economic/ecologicaltradeoffs

Vegetationstatus

Economicperformance

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Ecological Assessment

Component A. Maintenance of ecosystem function and stability

Attribute 1. Soils and hydrology (6 indicators)

Attribute 2. Pastures (cover and composition, perennial grasses)

Attribute 3. Weeds (species, density/cover)

Attribute 4. Feral animals (species, density)

Attribute 5. Riparian areas

Attribute 6. Atmosphere (greenhouse gas emissions)

Component B. Conservation of biodiversity (2 indicators)

Attribute 7. Native vegetation and habitat (5 indicators)

Attribute 8. Native animal populations (size & viability)

Ranked -3 to 3 and aggregated to single `ecological condition’ score

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Two management options:

Tree clearing 1000ha (SLIB)

Tree planting 100ha (SLIB)

Case study – Tropical woodlands beef property

Inland Burnett Region

7000ha total

3 Land classes (SLIB, NLIB, BG)

Tree clearing 3900ha

Sown pasture 800ha

1530 adult equivalents

SR (SLIB) 8ha/AE

LWG (SLIB) 140kg/hd/yr

WIWO $1.3 million

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Result #1 – Tree clearing (1000ha)

Existing Revised Change

Economic Attributes:

Total number of stock carried (AE) 1,531 1,658 +127

Total number of stock sold (Head) 492 532 +40

Property gross margin ($’000) 254 274 +20

Property net profit ($’000) 124 139 +15

Property return to capital (%) 4.7 5.0 +0.3

Property capital value ($’000) 1,595 1,807 +212

Capital cost of management change ($’000) N/A 150

Ecological Attributes:

1. Soils and hydrology +2 +3 +1

2. Pastures +1 +3 +2

3. Weeds -1 -2 -1

4. Feral animals 0 0 0

5. Riparian areas -2 -3 -1

6. Atmosphere -1 -4 -3

7. Native vegetation and habitat -2 -4 -2

8. Native animal populations -1 -2 -1

A. Ecosystem function and stability -1 -3 -2

B. Conservation of biodiversity -3 -6 -3

Total score -4 -9 -5

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Result #2 – Tree planting (100ha)

Existing Revised Change

Economic Attributes:

Total number of stock carried (AE) 1,531 1,511 -20

Total number of stock sold (Head) 492 488 -4

Property gross margin ($’000) 254 252 -2

Property net profit ($’000) 124 121 -3

Property return to capital (%) 4.7 4.6 -0.1

Property capital value ($’000) 1,595 1,588 -7

Capital cost of management change ($’000) N/A 100

Ecological Attributes:

1. Soils and hydrology +2 +4 +2

2. Pastures +1 0 -1

3. Weeds -1 -1 0

4. Feral animals 0 0 0

5. Riparian areas -2 -1 +1

6. Atmosphere -1 +2 +3

7. Native vegetation and habitat -2 -1 +1

8. Native animal populations -1 0 +1

A. Ecosystem function and stability -1 +4 +5

B. Conservation of biodiversity -3 -1 +2

Total score -4 +3 +7

Trade-offs Workshop, Rockhampton 28 October 2005

Concluding remarks - issues

Tradeoffs are inevitable – few `win-wins’ in real world (esp. private):

Assessment framework places options in consistent & transparent context.

Present framework quite rudimentary.

Being tested for usefulness (Charters Towers Qld, Victoria River NT)

Some issues:

Scale – spatial & temporal → Uncertainties

Multiple uses & multiple users

Starting point & differential outcomes

Different value metrics

Thresholds & bottom lines

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Thank you

Contact CSIRO

Phone 07-32142270

+61 7-32142270

Email neil.macleod@csiro.au

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