The Mallee Region of Victoria
Location and Contents:
The Mallee region of Victoria is situated in North-West Victoria and covers an area of around 44,000 square kilometres. The region is known to be associated with the adjacent land of South Australia and New South Wales and is also recognised to join with the Wimmera and Loddon regions of Victoria. Also, because of the large area which the region covers and the diversity it beholds, it is sometimes distinguished into two sub-regions, the north and the south. Whilst 38% of the land is occupied by the public, only 1% of the remaining 62% is protected from grazing animals and only 3.04% retains native vegetation. ????????
Biomes:
The Mallee is the home of a variety of biomes: desert, aquatic (wetlands) and grassland. When joined with the Wimmera region, the area is known to hold 25% of Victoria’s wetlands, creating a home for a diverse array of fauna and flora. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-How could global warming affect the area and food production? Are there any innovations in the area to help deal with climate change and the increasing scarcity of resources? (such as covered irrigation channels, wind power, reducing carbon footprint…?)
Regional Climate & Potential Climate Change Impacts:
Being the ‘north of the divide’, the Mallee region brags of its sunny climate and hot, dry summers. In the last 15 years, average temperatures have increased by 0.4°C, while the summer and spring averages have increased by 8-9°C. There has also been a decrease in rainfall in recent times, displaying the region’s vulnerablity to climate change. The average yearly rainfall differs from about 250mm to 400mm. These changes in weather patterns are evidence of the fact that climate change is occuring. Hav...
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AG Excellence, (2012). Mallee Sustainable Farming Systems Inc (MSF) - AG Excellence. [online] Available at: http://agex.org.au/groups/mallee-sustainable-farming-project-msf/ [Accessed 13 May. 2014].
Depi.vic.gov.au, (2014). DEPI - The Mallee region. [online] Available at: http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/agriculture-and-food/food-and-fibre-industries/region-overviews/mallee [Accessed 13 May. 2014].
Murray Darling Basin Authority, (2014). Irrigated Agriculture in the Mallee. [online] Available at: http://www.mdba.gov.au/sites/default/files/pubs/MDBA_IAM_Web_FA3.pdf [Accessed 14 May. 2014].
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One of the biggest problems facing the world today is global warming. The main reason behind it is the production of carbon dioxide from our cars, factories, power plants and other greenhouse gases, which is having a heating effect on the atmosphere, and this affects our ocean weather and agriculture, thereby dangerous to human life. “In Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork “Anna Lappe gives her views on how global warming can lead to many problems, what are its probable causes and potential solutions to it. Whereas in “Research and Development on Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases in Support of Climate Smart Livestock Production and a Vibrant Industry” Scholtz discusses the impact of global warming and continued, uncontrolled release of greenhouse gases on the livestock industry and consequently food security as well as
Nicholas Rothwell, 2000, ‘A farming we will grow’, Land Conservation, Justin Healey (ed.), The Spinney Press, New South Wales, page 6.
Snuggled within the natural bush setting of Cleland Conservation Park, and adjacent to Mount Lofty Summit, the park provides 35 hectares of open bushland habitat where visitors can interact with Australian wildlife. The Cleland Wildlife Park has been a major...
In the Grampians National Park there are many introduced species. These animals compete with the native Flora and Fauna, for food water and other resources to live on. These “pests” include Rabbits, foxes and feral cats as well as exotic grazers such as horses, deer, pigs and feral goats. These feral animals are all leading to the downgrade of the Grampians and wider parts of Victoria and Australia. There are many ways that the Government and other parties are trying to solve this major issue.
Rapidly changing human activity within the Stratford since 1867 to this present day puts huge pressures on the natural environment's ability to adapt and change. These may be further complicated by the influences of climate change, such as extremes in weather. These bar graphs above show the changes in land use over one hundred and forty seven years.
...cause and effect relationship of climate and human activity, and climate and human need, the ability to redesign the way we produce and cultivate food staples can be created. With this ability the longevity of agricultural systems can influence a decrease in food prices, in turn increasing the number of food secure populations.
Lack of rainfall is affecting the growth of trees, the amount of water received by the city of Perth, and the number of wildfires. The Jarrah karri region of Australia is drying out due to global warming. The rainfall has decreased around 15-20 percent since 1970 (Wardell-Johnson). Because of this, Bunbury says that the Jarrah karri region is a good example “for understanding what climate change impacts may mean in the future.” Many other areas in the world have a Mediterranean climate similar to the Jarrah forests and so by understanding what is happening to the Jarrah forests, researchers hope to change the future of other Mediterranean areas (Bunbury). One of the reasons that this part of Australia is suffering so much is that it has been in a “human-triggered climate
Yarra Rangers Shire Conci, . (2012, 04 05). Retrieved from Yarra Ranges Shire Concil: vic.gov.au/Business/What_is_Economic_Development
Climate change is an inevitable phenomenon that is being experienced globally in various forms such as temperature rise. Sea level rise, droughts, floods, hurricanes, landslides, etc. According to the forth assessment report of the IPCC project even with immediate implementation of mitigation strategies global climate change will continue for decades. Climate change is inflicting serious consequences on human wellbeing and will continue to inflict damages in the future. It is estimated that mean global temperature will rise by 1.8 ºC - 4.0 ºC by end of the 21st century (Izaurraade, 2009). A new global climate model predicts that in the coming decade the surface air temperature is likely to exceed existing records (Smith et al., 2007). Growing season temperatures in the tropics and subtropics by end of the 21st century will exceed the most extreme temperature recorded in the history (Battistic and Rosamond, 2009).
Agriculture is one of the most ancient forms of art and science that ties human development and well-being to natural resources and ecosystems. (Fritz J. Häni, 2007) Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fibre, plant and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. (Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics, 2015) Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site – specific application that over the long term will:
Global warming will have a worldwide effect, but the problem is expected to be most severe in Africa, where the people are poor, temperatures are high, precipitation is low, technological change is slow, and where agriculture drives the economy. Climate changes in Africa will ultimately affect their habitats, native and non-native species, agriculture, weather, health, and energy use. First, across Africa, the landscape is changing, the snowy caps of Mount Kilimanjaro are melting and the shorelines of Lake Chad are receding. The once enormous Lake Chad has nearly vanished, it is now half the size it was thirty five years ago (Offor, 2008). The town of Burundi is on Lake Tanganyika, which is still a vast expanse of water, but the shoreline has retreated 50 feet in the last 4 years, and ships can no longer reach the port.
...o climate change. All of these have caused an impact on the ability to produce crops and grow agriculturally. Climate change has been increasing the number of droughts, floods, health hazards of employees, natural disasters, and sea level elevations. All of these put in danger the crop productivity resulting in famines and food price increments. Climate change affects agriculture in every country differently due to its location. Countries such as Canada and Russia are being affected positively by climate change since it has enabled the country to prosper agriculturally. Other countries cannot handle drastic temperature changes, such as Sudan and Bangladesh, whose agricultural growth has been affected negatively by the climatic changes. Agriculture is fundamental in a country, creating a balance between agriculture and the increasing climatic changes would be ideal.