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There is growing evidence of long term degradation of soil resources as a result of grazing pressures in many parts of the upper Burdekin catchment, north Queensland. To assess pathways to recovery of grazed land, sites were selected where small parts of a paddock had been fenced off to completely exclude cattle for the last 15 years. Generally, exclusion improved cover and soil surface condition but had little effect on nutrient stocks. However, in grazed areas, some nutrients were in greater concentrations close to the surface and therefore more vulnerable to loss through run-off from rainfall events.