Fire and cyclone damage to woody vegetation on the north coast of the Northern Territory,Australia

Tree stem (>2 m tall) mortality was assessed following a late dry‐season wildfire across a seasonally flooded elevation gradient at Workshop Jungle, near Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. For all species combined, dead stems had significantly smaller diameter at breast height (dbh) than living stems. Assessment of tree‐stem damage following a tropical cyclone at Cobourg Peninsula, NT, revealed that damaged stems had significantly greater dbh than undamaged stems for all tree species sampled across a boundary between monsoon rainforest and savanna. A greater proportion of stems were damaged by the cyclone than by the fire (28 per cent as against 18 per cent), although there were considerable between‐community differences in the proportion of damaged stems at the two sites. The fire caused little impact (<10 per cent) on total basal area of three different forest communities on the elevation gradient at Workshop Jungle. The cyclone was found to cause >50 per cent damage to total basal area of three different communities on Cobourg Peninsula. It is suggested that the combination of a cyclone followed by an intense fire in storm debris could potentially destroy a monsoon rainforest through its impact on all tree‐size classes. This may explain why some monsoon rainforests rapidly contracted following Cyclone Tracy that destroyed the city of Darwin on Christmas Day, 1974.     

Local Agenda 21 and Barriers to Sustainability at the Local Government Level in Victoria,Australia

At the 1992 Rio 'Earth Summit', Australia joined other nations in committing to processes leading to the formulation of 'Local Agenda 21s' (LA21s) by 1996. Subsequently, in the latter year, Whittaker carried out a national survey of local government authorities to evaluate what progress had been made. Whittaker's conclusion was that progress in Australia had been slow, but ten 'leading-edge' Victorian councils were identified through a self-reporting process. In this paper we discuss the concept of LA21, analyse in closer detail the 'progress' that has been made in the ten Victorian councils, and discuss some of the broader forces that, we argue, have made LA21 formulation increasingly difficult, particularly in the state of Victoria in the recent past.     

Down to Earth: Local government and greenhouse policy in Australia

Global environmental politics and policy are conventionally seen as the province of nation-states and international negotiations. However, there has been increasing attention devoted to the part that local places can play in the pursuit of (global) sustainable development. In this paper, I explore the role of local government in Australian greenhouse policy. A brief outline of the role of local government in environmental management is followed by a short history of greenhouse policy in Australia. From its initial marginal position, local government has begun to occupy a more prominent role in greenhouse policy development and implementation. The paper examines the processes that have led to this change, the development of local greenhouse and energy policies in Newcastle, New South Wales, and the initiation of the 'Cities for Climate Protection' program by the federal government. In conclusion, some thoughts on the problems and prospects of a local approach to the greenhouse issue are offered.     

Exploitation or 'Wise Use' of the Coongie Lakes,South Australia: Issues arising from a petroleum exploration proposal

The exploitation of natural resources within areas that are valued for their environmental qualities raises competing emotions. This paper considers a proposal to undertake petroleum exploration in an area of recognised environmental value, namely, the Coongie Lakes of far north-east South Australia. In development cases such as this, the level of inquiry needs to address environmental, social, cultural and economic issues from a range of interest groups; therefore, the process of assessment is a crucial factor in minimising conflict and meeting the wishes of the stakeholders. In the example of Coongie Lakes, the chosen method failed. This paper discusses the perspectives of the major stakeholders, the process of assessment undertaken, and the criticisms directed at this process. The apparent inadequacies of the assessment process undertaken are then highlighted, and an alternative assessment procedure suggested.     

The Retention,Revival, and Subjugation of Indigenous Fire Knowledge through Agency Fire Fighting in Eastern Australia and California

This article explores the potential impact of training and employment with wildfire management agencies on the retention of Indigenous fire knowledge. It focuses on the comparative knowledge and experiences of Indigenous Elders, cultural practitioners, and land stewards in connection with “modern” political constructs of fire in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, and California in the United States of America. This article emphasises the close link between cross-cultural acceptance, integration of Indigenous and agency fire cultures, and the ways in which knowledge types are shared or withheld. While agency fire fighting provides an opportunity for Indigenous people to connect and care for country, it simultaneously allows for the breaking of traditional rules surrounding what knowledge is shared with whom in the context of Indigenous cultural burning. By highlighting how privilege intersects with ethnicity, class, gender and age, this article demonstrates how greater cross-cultural acceptance could aid ongoing debates on how to coexist with wildfire today.     

The slow violence of life without cash: borders,state restrictions,and exclusion in the U.K. and Australia

In the U.K., refused asylum seekers who are considered destitute are provided with subsistence‐level financial support through the Azure card, a cashless technology similar to a debit card. In Australia, identical technology is used to quarantine fifty percent of the welfare benefits of mainly Aboriginal residents of the Northern Territory. In this paper, I explore the underlying state logics driving such punitive financial policies directed at these populations, arguing that cashless technologies represent a form of slow violence that employs financial tactics to undermine the provision of care for populations with precarious citizenship status. Financial tactics enact new forms of border securitization, slowly but permanently excluding people with precarious claims to citizenship from participation in the nation     

Why do they burn the 'bush'? Fire, rural livelihoods, and conservation in Zambia

Despite the historical importance of fire as a savanna land management tool, much controversy still surrounds discussions on anthropogenic fire utilization and the sustainability of indigenous land management practices in African savannas. This controversy is arguably a result of a discord between official fire policies and actual indigenous fire practices – a discord based on a gap in existing knowledge of, and a lack of informed literature on, the importance of fire for socio-economic and environmental survival in savanna environments. Addressing a continuing lack of research on the political ecology of fire, this study investigates the historical and present day socio-economic, environmental and political frameworks that affect anthropogenic burning regimes and land management in the Kafinda Game Management Area and Kasanka National Park in Zambia. A series of participatory research activities revealed the continuing importance of fire to rural livelihoods, but that a mismatch in desired burning regimes exists between local stakeholders. The paper argues that local power relations are preventing the local communities from adopting burning regimes that would be more environmentally sustainable and more in line with present day farming systems.     

Attitudes to Diversity: new perspectives on the ethnic geography of Brisbane,Australia

As a consequence of changing immigration policy over the past 50 years, contemporary Australia has a culturally diverse population. Focusing on Brisbane, one of Australia's smaller immigrant-receiving cities but where some 19 per cent of the population is born overseas, this study examines attitudes to and perceptions of culturally different ethnic (non-Anglo) immigrant groups. Emphasis is placed on patterns of tolerance and intolerance for the city as a whole, both in areas of contact and in areas of minimal contact. Findings show that variations in attitudes vary somewhat from commonly accepted socio-economic and age-based correlations (the lower the status or the older people are the less tolerant), depending on the particular mix of ethnic birthplace groups present. They also show levels of intolerance in areas of minimal contact, which is implicitly attributed to mass media influences. In light of these findings, a concluding plea is made for anti-intolerance strategies to be developed for cities that pay regard to the geography of attitude-forming contexts.     

Integrated,Regional, Natural Resource and Environmental Planning and the Natural Heritage Trust Phase 2: a case study of the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council,Western Australia

Since 2002, the Australian Natural Heritage Trust Phase 2 (NHT2) has required community groups seeking funds for natural resource management projects to have developed nationally accredited regional strategies and investment plans. This case study reports on the progress of one such regional (and sub-regional) group, examining in particular the perceptions of the community group members and other stakeholders of the overall process. Through interviews, participant observation and document analysis in 2004–05, the process of developing a regional strategy and an investment plan by the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council in Western Australia, and the involvement of regional stakeholders in the process, were examined. While the concept of regional-scale management was perceived favourably by community interviewees, their concerns related to increasing bureaucracy, the need for further local involvement, more on-ground action instead of further planning, the relevance of the regional Council to local communities, and the motives of Council members. Communication with regional stakeholders was extensive in preparing the regional strategy, but fell short during the development of the investment plan. The success of the regional planning process will be evidenced by whether members of the regional community actively implement regional priorities, and whether long-term funding and support from the State and Australian governments are provided.     

Salinity in Colonial Irrigation: British India and south-eastern Australia

Salinity is an environmental phenomenon that affects the world's arid and semi-arid regions, where it causes soil degradation and problems for agriculture. Salinity began to attract serious attention in the irrigated districts of the Murray Valley in south-eastern Australia in the 1960s. However, observations that the south-eastern Australian landscape was affected by naturally occurring salts predates this period of awareness by more than half a century. Drawing on documentary history, the present paper reveals what soil chemists in New South Wales in the 1890s already understood of the potential dangers of salinity. These scientists were aware of the experience of their colonial colleagues in British India, where the seriousness of the problem had been recognised by the 1870s. Using evidence from India and south-eastern Australia in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the paper outlines the opposing worldviews of scientists and engineers in New South Wales about the potential dangers of intensive irrigation. It offers an explanation as to why that understanding was insufficient to prevent the growth of the problem.     

Settlement distribution and its relationship with environmental changes from the Neolithic to Shang-Zhou dynasties in northern Shandong, China

In this paper, the spatial and temporal distribution of the settlement sites of six periods from the Neolithic Age to the Shang and Zhou dynasties in northern Shandong was investigated using the ArcGIS program, and the relationship between settlement distribution and environmental changes was discussed, based on the proxy records of climatic and environmental change contained in the sediments from three sections at the Shuangwangcheng site and the previous work. The results show that the climate was warm and humid and the sea level was relatively high during the period of 8000-5000 a BP in the study area, and the ancient people lived in the relatively flat （slope of 〈2°） areas at high elevation （20-300 m above sea level）, such as diluvial tableland and alluvial plain. On the other hand, few archaeological sites in the low-lying plain in the west of the study area indicate that few people lived there during that period. This might be attributed to frequent flooding in the area. After 5000 years ago, the scope of human activity extended to the area close to the sea because the relatively colder and drier climate results in sea-level fall, meanwhile the low-lying plain in the west was occupied by the ancient people. The study area of this period was characterized by the rapid development of prehistoric culture, the intensified social stratification and the emergence of early city-states. However, around 4000 a BP, the abrupt change in climate and the increase in frequency and intensity of floods severely disrupted human activities, and eventually led to the decline of the Yueshi culture. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the climatic conditions gradually stabilized in a mild-dry state, which promoted the redevelopment and flourish of the Bronze Culture. The previous situation, which was characteristic of sparse human settlements due to freshwater shortage and unfitted conditions for sedentary agriculture, changed during the Shang and Zhou dynasties in northern coastal wetlands.Local residents effectively adapted themselves to the tough environmental conditions by producing sea-salt, which led to the rapid growth of human activities.     

Fallow,labour and livelihood in shifting cultivation: implications for deforestation in northern Lao PDR

Shifting cultivation is often blamed for deforestation in tropical upland areas. Based on a case study of three villages in northern Lao PDR, this paper combines household surveys with a remote sensing based analysis of forest cover, covering the period 1989–1999, in order to analyse changes in shifting cultivation practices and livelihood strategies and the impact of these on deforestation. Due to population pressure and relocation of villages, easily accessed land is increasingly scarce and fallow periods have been shortened during the 1990s. A net annual deforestation of about 1% was found in the area during the study period. This deforestation rate reflects shorter fallow periods in secondary forests rather than encroachment on mature forests, which are not used for cultivation by the farmers in the three villages. Farmers rate scarce labour as a major constraint on shifting cultivation; nonetheless, a tendency towards lower labour input with shorter fallow periods is observed, contradicting conventional intensification theory. Livelihoods are diversifying through the establishment of plantations, cultivation of wet rice and adoption of animal husbandry, but given the socio-economic conditions in the area, shifting cultivation is likely to remain the most suitable farming system in the near future.     

Unravelling the widening of the earliest Andean northern orogen: Maastrichtian to early Eocene intra‐basinal deformation in the northern Eastern Cordillera of Colombia

The onset of deformation in the northern Andes is overprinted by subsequent stages of basin deformation, complicating the examination of competing models illustrating potential location of earliest synorogenic basins and uplifts. To establish the width of the earliest northern Andean orogen, we carried out field mapping, palynological dating, sedimentary, stratigraphic and provenance analyses in Campanian to lower Eocene units exposed in the northern Eastern Cordillera of Colombia (Cocuy region) and compare the results with coeval succession in adjacent basins. The onset of deformation is recorded in earliest Maastrichtian time, as terrigenous detritus arrived into the basin marking the end of chemical precipitation and the onset of clastic deposition produced by the uplift of a western source area dominated by shaly Cretaceous rocks. Disconformable contacts within the upper Maastrichtian to middle Palaeocene succession document increasing supply of quartzose sandy detritus from Cretaceous quartzose rocks exposed in eastern source areas. The continued unroofing of both source areas produced a rapid shift in depositional environments from shallow marine in Maastrichtian to fluvial‐lacustrine systems during the Palaeocene‐early Eocene. Supply of immature Jurassic sandstones from nearby western uplifts, together with localized plutonic and volcanic Cretaceous rocks, caused a shift in Palaeocene sandstones composition from quartzarenites to litharenites. Supply of detrital sandy fragments, unstable heavy minerals and Cretaceous to Ordovician detrital zircons, were derived from nearby uplifted blocks and from SW fluvial systems within the synorogenic basin, instead of distal basement rocks. The presence of volcanic rock fragments and 51–59 Ma volcanic zircons constrain magmatism within the basin. The Maastrichtian–Palaeocene sequence studied here documents crustal deformation that correlates with coeval deformation farther south in Ecuador and Peru. Slab flattening of the subducting Caribbean plate produced a wider orogen (>400 km) with a continental magmatic arc and intra‐basinal deformation and magmatism.     

Choosing the Right Battles: how independent bookshops in Sydney,Australia compete with chains and online retailers

The emergence of multinational retailers has induced shifts in the spatial distribution of retail capital. Furthermore, the advent of shopping centres has led to a reconfiguration of consumption spaces. These trends have particular consequences for independent retail businesses. This paper investigates the impacts of rationalisation and consolidation in retailing on independent bookshops in Sydney. There is a view that independent bookshops are in decline, and this is particularly true when you look at the independent bookshops in the UK and the USA. However, this research reveals that the perception of the demise of the independent bookshop in Australia is exaggerated. Despite the challenges they face, there are counterbalances to the trends of shopping centres, chain shops and online retailing that have carved a niche for the independent bookshop. Independent bookshops differentiate themselves from chains by designing unique shops, carrying a wide range of inventory, and providing personalised customer service. In this way, they have successfully distinguished themselves from other types of booksellers and maintained a stable position in Australian book retailing.     

Rural transformation: Cherry growing on the Guanzhong Plain,China and the Adelaide Hills,South Australia

Journal of Geographical Sciences - This paper echoes a tradition in agricultural geography by focusing on a single crop: cherries. It illustrates how developments associated with globalisation and...     

Immigration and slow-growth economies: the experience of South Australia and Tasmania

"This paper examines national immigration processes and demographic change in South Australia and Tasmania over the last four decades. Particular attention is paid to the inter-censal period 1986-1991.... The paper investigates the impact of the historic make-up of immigrant flows on settlement patterns, and examines the impact on policies intended to increase immigrant settlement in these states. It argues that the policies being pursued by state and federal governments are unlikely to add to the numbers settling in these states, because they pay too little attention to migration processes, and especially the attraction of others from the source country."     

Impact of prescribed burning on Acacia nilotica seed banks and seedlings in the Astrebla grasslands of northern Australia

Acacia nilotica is a tree of international significance both as a beneficial plant and as a species prone to thicket formation and negative impacts on savannas throughout much of its range. While fire has been identified as a useful tool for controlling negative impacts of some Acacia species in Africa, A. nilotica adult trees are apparently fire tolerant. The effects of fire on seed bank mortality, viability and germination, and on juvenile plants of this species are unknown. We undertook a study to investigate the impacts of fire on seeds and first and second year seedlings in Australian Astrebla savannas. The primary objective was to determine the effects of control burns applied during the early stages of invasion and thicket formation. Because of high rates of seedling dessication post fire in 1997, supplementary watering was undertaken until fire mortality could be measured the following year. High seed mortality occurred for seeds located either in cattle dung (100%) or on the soil surface (c. 80%). Germination of those seeds that survived was enhanced following exposure to fire. Very high fire mortality (99%) was observed among first year seedlings and moderate mortality (60%) for second year seedlings even after a low intensity burn. Negative impacts on major pasture species were minimal. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to A. nilotica fire ecology and to the efficacy of fire as a tool for managing this species.     

Anthropogenic origin of a change in the fire-climate relationship in northern China after ~2000 yr BP: Evidence from a 15,500-year black carbon record from Dali Lake

There are debates regarding whether a wet and warm climate or a dry and cold climate dominated Holocene fire activity in northern China on the millennial timescale, and when human activities overtook climate change as the dominant control on fire occurrence in the region. Here we present a high-resolution fire history for the past ~15,500 years from a sediment core in Dali Lake, located in the foothills of the Greater Hinggan Mountains, one of the areas of highest fire risk in China. The results demonstrate that fire activity was rare during the last deglaciation (~15,500-11,700 yr BP), gradually increased at the beginning of the Holocene, and reached its highest level during ~9000-5000 yr BP, after which there was a decreasing trend. However, after ~2000 yr BP this decreasing trend ended, and the most prominent feature is a peak in fire activity during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). Overall, fire activity corresponded well to changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation on the millennial timescale during ~15,500-2000 yr BP, but this relationship changed after ~2000 yr BP. We propose that fire activity in northern China on the millennial timescale during ~15,500-2000 yr BP was dominated by the biofuels reserve under the control of the EASM precipitation. In contrast, with the intensification of human activities after ~2000 yr BP, human activity caused a ~62%-73% increase in fire activity, which altered the fire-climate relationship that had previously prevailed in northern China. Our results indicate that a wet-warm climate (increased EASM intensity), rather than a dry-cold climate, was the dominant control on fire activity in northern China during 15,500-2000 yr BP on the millennial timescale, but that human activities played an important role in fire occurrence after ~2000 yr BP.     

Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic palaeomagnetism of Australia – III. Bias-corrected pole paths for Australia, Antarctica and India

Summary. Palaeomagnetic results from Part I of this study and their analysis in Part II are combined to eliminate bias from the Cenozoic apparent polar wander path for Australia – a bias due to non-dipole components in past geomagnetic fields or, for poles calculated from hot-spot data, due to the motion of hot spots relative to the Earth's rotational axis. This path is extended in approximately bias-free form to the late Mesozoic, and indicates a significant change in the drift direction of the continent between 26 and about 60 Ma.
The bias-corrected Australian path is used, first, with seafloor spreading data for the Southern Ocean to derive a corresponding late Mesozoic–Cenozoic pole path for Antarctica. The latter shows that the Antarctic drift direction reversed in the early Tertiary. It is suggested that the early Tertiary directional changes of both Australia and Antarctica are part of a global reorganization of plates during the Eocene, postulated by Rona & Richardson, Cande & Mutter and Patriat & Achache.
Next, the Australian path is compared with hot-spot data from the African and Australian plates, indicating a movement of the hot spots relative the Earth's rotational axis during the Cenozoic. The direction of this movement is found to be consistent with previous results from other parts of the world.
Finally, the Australian path is used together with non-dipole components in the geomagnetic field to explain a prominent westward displacement of the mid- and late Cenozoic poles of India relative to those of Australia.
Because of uncertainties in the original poles and in the analysis, the present results are likely to contain appreciable errors. Nevertheless, their consistency with independent findings supports the dipole-quadrupole model of Part II for mid- and late Cenozoic geomagnetic fields.