The role of grass tussocks in maintaining soil condition in northeast Australia

TitleThe role of grass tussocks in maintaining soil condition in northeast Australia
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year of Publication2005
AuthorsNorthup B.K., Brown JR
Conference NameXXth International Grasslands Congress
Pagination71
Date PublishedJuly 2005
PublisherWageningen Academic Publishers
Conference LocationOxford, England
ARIS Log Number183376
KeywordsAustralia, grazing, heterogeneously, nutrients, tussocks
AbstractSoils of the grazing lands of northeastern Australia are inherently nutrient-poor. Heterogeneously distributed plants are important to the conservation of the limited amounts of nutrients, through storage in plant tissues or in soil sinks close to plants. Loss of perennial vegetation through disturbance reduces conservation of these resources, to the detriment of feedback mechanisms, and ultimately causes loss of soil condition. Large areas of north east Australia have been degraded, or threatened by degradation, through combinations of variability in precipitation and heavy grazing. This study examined the inter-related responses of plants, soil microbes and soil nutrients to management-related disturbance.
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