We studied three sites in Central Australia with a range of use by cattle to see whether the soil had lost its capacity to support the vegetation assemblages present prior to grazing, and also to investigate whether degradation processes might reverse if stocking policy is changed. On the most heavily utilised sites, the soils were unstable and infertile and the landscape had lost nearly all its capacity to trap and use scarce resources effectively. The moderately utilised site had lost some of the soil /landscape productive potential, but could improve given good seasons and light stocking. A site which had been de- stocked for 10 years had stable, fertile soils and a number of means in the landscape of capturing and utilising scarce resources such as water, top -soil and organic matter.
Full-text publications from the Australian Rangelands Society (ARS) Biennial Conference Proceedings (1997-), Rangeland Journal (ARS/CSIRO; 1976-), plus videos and other resources about the rangelands of Australia.