 |
|
Tree crops providing NRM benefits
A new fact sheet series has been produced by the Avon Catchment Council’s ‘Integrating Trees into Sustainable Agriculture’ Project. The series of three highlights how sandalwood, brushwood and oil mallees have a significant role to play in natural resource management (NRM) in the Avon agricultural landscape. Each fact sheet has a specialised focus on the NRM benefits of having a particular species as part of any production system in the Wheatbelt. In brief, well designed plantings of scale can address regional NRM issues including wind and water erosion, waterlogging and salinity as well as providing habitat and linking areas of vegetation. The Avon Catchment Council (ACC) is a strong supporter of planting trees with commercial potential to address natural resource management (NRM) and have this year made over 430,000 seedlings available to land managers for the specific purpose of addressing wind erosion and other NRM issues as part of their devolved Caring for our Country funding programs. There was keen interest with requests for well over 1million seedlings received. Of the three main tree crops supported by the ACC, the fact sheet series highlights how there is a place for each in the landscape. It is widely recognised that the scale of planting of a mixture of tree crops at a scale that can have a significant impact on NRM is roughly equal to ‘industry scale’ – ie sufficient resource to base new processing and industries on in the Wheatbelt. Each species has their own niche to fill in the farming landscape. So if your interest is in NRM only or in productive tree crops or in combining conservation with production – the NRM fact sheet series will help you identify the best fit for your farm. The series has been produced by delivery organisation AVONGRO Wheatbelt Tree Cropping in conjunction with the three main tree crop grower groups in the Wheatbelt: the Australian Sandalwood Network, Brushwood Coordinator and the Oil Mallee Association. The full set:
|
|
