Illuminating the dawn of pastoralism: Evaluating the record of European explorers to inform landscape change

Biological Conservation

Volumn 159, Issue , 2013, Pages 321-331

  Silcock, J L ^a   Piddocke, T P ^b   Fensham, R J ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND   (Australia)

^b DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT   (Australia)

Author keywords

Explorers; Fire; Geo referencing; Kangaroos; Rangelands; Vegetation change; Waterholes

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT; ARID ENVIRONMENT; BURNING; ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE; LANDSCAPE CHANGE; MAMMAL; PASTORALISM; REGIONAL PATTERN; SATELLITE IMAGERY; THEORETICAL STUDY; VEGETATION STRUCTURE; WATERSHED;

AUSTRALIA; NORTH AMERICA;

MACROPODIDAE; MAMMALIA; SPINIFEX;

EID: 84872811372     PISSN: 00063207     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2012.11.030     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. Abbott I. Origin and spread of the cat, Felis catus, on mainland Australia, with a discussion of the magnitude of its early impact on native fauna. Wildlife Research 2002, 29:51-74.
2. Allan G.E., Southgate R.I. Fire regimes in spinifex landscapes. Flammable Australia: the fire regimes and biodiversity of a continent 2002, 145-176. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. R.A. Bradstock, J.E. Williams, M.A. Gill (Eds.).
3. Archer S. Have southern Texas savannas been converted to woodlands in recent history?. Am. Nat. 1989, 134:545-561.
4. Arrowsmith, J., 1849. Map of Captain Sturt's route from Adelaide into the centre of Australia, constructed from his original protractions, and other official documents, Cartographic material. Held by National Library of Australia, call no. MAP NK2456/2157. J. Arrowsmith, Soho Square, London.
5. Auty J. Red plague grey plague: the kangaroo myths and legends. Australian Mammology 2004, 26:33-36.
6. Ayyad M.A. Case studies in the conservation of biodiversity: degradation and threats. J. Arid Environ. 2003, 54:165-182.
7. Barker R.D., Caughley G. Distribution and abundance of kangaroos (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) at the time of European contact: South Australia. Australian Mammalogy 1993, 17:73-83.
8. Basedow H. Herbert Basedow's Diaries of the First Medical Relief Expedition amongst the Aborigines of Southern Australia 1919, Mitchell Library, Sydney.
9. Kennedy: The Barcoo and Beyond - The Journals of Edmund Besley Court Kennedy and Alfred Allaston Turner with New Information on Kennedy's Life 1983, Blubber Head Press, Hobart. E. Beale (Ed.).
10. Beale, I., 2004. Tree and Shrub Thickening in the Murweh Shire. Report to the Productivity Commission, (accessed 16.04.11). http://www.pc.gov.au/data/assets/pdf_file/0008/49373/murweh3.pdf.
11. Bell P., Iwanicki I. Historical background. Heritage of the Birdsville and Strzelecki Tracls 2002, Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia. L. Leader-Elliot, I. Iwanicki (Eds.).
12. Benson J.S., Redpath P.A. The nature of pre-european vegetation in south eastern Australia: a critique of Ryan, D.G., Ryan, J.R. and Starr, B.J. (1995) The Australian landscape - observations of explorers and early settlers. Cunninghamia 1997, 5:285-328.
13. Bowman D.M.J.S. Future eating and country keeping: what role has environmental history in the management of biodiversity?. J. Biogeogr. 2001, 28:549-564.
14. Bowman D.M.J., Brown M.J. Bushfires in Tasmania: a botanical approach to anthropological questions. Arch. Oceania 1986, 21:166-171.
15. Braithwaite R.W. Aboriginal fire regimes of monsoonal Australia in the 19th century. Search 1991, 22:247-249.
16. Bureau of Meterology, 2012. Climate data online, Australian Government. (accessed 20.09.11). http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/.
17. Burrows W.H. Seeing the wood(land) for the trees - an individual perspective of Queensland woodland studies (1965-2002). Tropical Grasslands 2002, 36:202-217.
18. Calaby J.H., Grigg G.C. Changes in macropodoid communities and populations in the past 200 years, and the future. Kangaroos, Wallabies and Rat-Kangaroos 1989, 813-820. Surrey Beatty & Sons Pty Limited, Sydney. G. Grigg, P. Jarman, I. Hume (Eds.).
19. Clancy T.F., Close R.L. The Queensland rock wallabies: an overview of their conservation status, threats and management. Australian Mammalogy 1997, 19:169-174.
20. Croft M., Goldney D., Cardale S. Forest and woodland cover in the central western region of New South Wales prior to European settlement. Conservation Outside Nature Reserves 1997, 394-426. Centre for Conservation Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia. P. Hale, D. Lamb (Eds.).
21. Crowley G.M., Garnett S.T. Vegetation change in the grasslands and grassy woodlands of central Cape York Peninsula. Pacific Conserv. Biol. 1998, 4:132-148.
22. Crowley G.M., Garnett S.T. Changing fire management in the pastoral lands of Cape York Peninsula of northeast Australia, 1623 to 1996. Austral. Geogr. Stud. 2000, 38:10-26.
23. Davidson W.H. Western experiences in 1885-1886. Roy. Geogr. Soc. Queensland 1920, 5:43-59.
24. Davies A.L., Watson F. Understanding the changing value of natural resources: an integrated palaeoecological-historical investigation into grazing woodland interactions by Loch Awe, Western Highlands of Scotland. J. Biogeogr. 2007, 34:1777-1791.
25. The Central Australian Expedition 1844-1846: The Journals of Charles Sturt 2002, The Hakluyt Society, London. R.C. Davis (Ed.).
26. Dawson N.M., Boyland D.E., Ahern C.R. Land management in south-west Queensland. Proceedings of the Ecological Society of Australia 1975, 9:124-141.
27. Dawson T.J., McTavish K.J., Munn A.J., Holloway J. Water use and the thermoregulatory behaviour of kangaroos in arid regions: insights into the colonisation of arid rangelands in Australia by the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). J. Comp. Physiol. B 2006, 176:45-53.
28. Denny M.J.S. Red Kangaroo Arid Zone Studies 1980, Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Canberra.
29. Denny M.J.S. Historical and Ecological Study of the Effects of European Settlement on Inland New South Wales 1987, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Sydney.
30. Denny M.J.S. Investigating the past: an approach to determining the changes in the fauna of the Western Division of New South Wales since the first explorers. Future of the Fauna of Western New South Wales 1994, 53-63. Royal Zooological Society of New South Wales, Mosman. D. Lunney, S. Hand, P. Reed, D. Butcher (Eds.).
31. Department of Environment and Resource Management 2011. Quota Submission for Commercially Harvested Macropods in Queensland. Queensland Government, Brisbane, (accessed 10.08.12). http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/permits-licences/pdf/2012-quota-submission.pdf.
32. Duyker E. Land use and ecological change in central New South Wales. J. Roy. Austral. Hist. Soc. 1983, 69:121-131.
33. Fanning P. Recent landscape history in arid western New South Wales, Australia: a model for regional change. Geomorphology 1999, 29:191-209.
34. Fensham R.J. Aboriginal fire regimes in Queensland, Australia: analysis of the explorers' record. J. Biogeogr. 1997, 24:11-22.
35. Fensham R.J. Leichhardt's maps: one hundred years of change in vegetation structure in inland Queensland. J. Biogeogr. 2008, 35:141-156.
36. Fensham R.J., Fairfax R.J. Preliminary assessment of gidgee (Acacia cambagei) woodland thickening in the Longreach district, Queensland. Rangeland J. 2005, 27:159-168.
37. Fensham R.J., Holman J.E. Temporal and spatial patterns in drought-related tree dieback in Australian savanna. J. Appl. Ecol. 1999, 36:1035-1050.
38. Fensham R.J., Powell O., Horne J. Rail survey plans to remote sensing: vegetation change in the Mulga Lands of eastern Australia and its implications for land-use. Rangeland J. 2011, 33:229-238.
39. Finlayson H.H. Caloprymnus campestris: Its Recurrence and Characters 1932, South Australian Museum, Adelaide.
40. Flannery T. The Future Eaters 1994, Reed Books, Melbourne.
41. Foster D.R. From bobolinks to bears: interjecting geographical history into ecological studies, environmental interpretation, and conservation planning. J. Biogeogr. 2000, 27:27-30.
42. Friedel M.H., Sparrow A.D., Kinloch J.E., Tongway D.J. Degradation and recovery processes in arid grazing lands of central Australia. Part 2: vegetation. J. Arid Environ. 2003, 55:327-348.
43. Fukada Y., McCallum H.I., Grigg G.C., Pople A.R. Fencing artificial waterpoints failed to influence density and distribution of red kangaroo (Macropus rufus). Wildllife Res. 2009, 36:457-465.
44. Gale S.J., Haworth R.J. Catchment wide soil loss from pre-agricultural time to the present: transport-and supply-limitation of erosion. Geomorphology 2005, 68:314-333.
45. Gammage B. Tracing Sturt's footsteps. J. Roy. Austral. Hist. Soc. 1984, 70:52-60.
46. Gammage B. Galahs (the distribution of galahs in relation to Aboriginal and European settlement). Austral. Hist. Studies 2010, 40:275-293.
47. Gammage B. The Biggest Estate on Earth: how Aborigines made Australia 2011, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, New South Wales.
48. Gasteen W.J. Trends and condition of Queensland's arid and semi-arid lands. What Future for Australia's Arid Lands? 1982, 152-155. Australian Conservation Foundation, Melbourne. J. Messer, G. Mosley (Eds.).
49. Goforth B.R., Minnich R.A. Evidence, exaggeration, and error in historical accounts of chaparral wildfires in California. Ecol. Appl. 2007, 1:779-790.
50. Gordon G., McGreevy D.G., Lawrie B.C. The yellow-footed rock wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus Gray (Macropodiae) in Queensland. Austral. Wildlife Res. 1978, 5:295-297.
51. Gott B. Aboriginal fire management in south-eastern Australia: aims and frequency. J. Biogeogr. 2005, 32:1203-1208.
52. Greenfell Thomas R. Richard Greenfell Thomas's Diaries of the First Medical Relief Expedition amongst the Aborigines of Southern Australia 1919, Royal Geographic Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, Adelaide.
53. Greenville A.C., Dickman C.R., Wardle G.M., Letnic M. The fire history of an arid grassland: the influence of antecedant rainfall and ENSO. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2009, 18:631-639.
54. Gregory A.C. Expedition in search of Dr. Leichhardt - report of proceedings. Journals of Australian Explorations 1884, 200-210. Government Printer, Sydney. A.C. Gregory, F.T. Gregory (Eds.).
55. Griffin G.F., Friedel M.H. Discontinuous change in central Australia: some implications of major ecological events for land management. J. Arid Environ. 1985, 9:63-80.
56. Harris, W.G., Loveday, R.J., 1862. Maps of John McKinlay's route across the continent of Australia. In: From Stuckey's Crossing to the Gulf of Carpentaria: Compiled from Mr. McKinlay's Journal in the Office of the Surveyor General. Office of the Surveyor General, Adelaide.
57. Hodgkinson, W.O., 1877. North-West Explorations, Parliamentary Papers (24 January), held by State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, pp. 203-226.
58. Hodgkinson K.C. Fire regimes in Acacia wooded landscapes: effects on functional processes and biodiversity. Flammable Australia: The Fire Regimes and Biodiversity of a Continent 2002, 259-277. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. R.A. Bradstock, J.E. Williams, M.A. Gill (Eds.).
59. Jackson J.B.C., Kirby M.X., Berger W.H., Bjorndal K.A., Botsford L.W., Bourque B.J., Bradbury R.H., Cooke R., Erlandson J., Estes J.A., Hughes T.P., Kidwell S., Lange C.B., Lenihan H.S., Pandolfi J.M., Peterson C.H., Steneck R.S., Tegner M.J., Warner R.R. Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science 2001, 293:629-638.
60. Johnson C. Australia's Mammal Extinctions: a 50,000 year History 2006, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.
61. Kerle J.A., Foulkes J.N., Kimber R.G., Papenfus D. The decline of the brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecular (Kerr 1798) in arid Australia. Rangeland J. 1992, 14:107-127.
62. Kimber R.G. Black lightning: Aborigines and fire in Central Australia and the Western Desert. Arch. Oceania 1983, 18:38-45.
63. Knighton A.D., Nanson G.C. Waterholes and their significance in the anastomosing channel system of Cooper Creek, Australia. Geomorphology 1994, 9:311-324.
64. Kowald M., Johnson W.R. You Can't Make It Rain: The Story of the North Australian Pastoral Company, 1887-1991 1992, Boolarong Publications, Brisbane.
65. Landsberg J., James C.D., Morton S.R., Muller W.J. Abundance and composition of plant species along grazing gradients in Australian rangelands. J. Appl. Ecol. 2003, 40:1008-1024.
66. Landsborough, W., 1862. Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from Carpentaria in Search of Burke and Wills with a Map showing his Route. F.F. Bailliere, Melbourne.
67. Latz P. The Flaming Desert 2007, Peter Latz, Alice Springs.
68. Letnic M. Dispossession, degradation and extinction: environmental history in arid Australia. Biodivers. Conserv. 2000, 9:295-308.
69. Lewis J.H. Journal of Mr Lewis's Lake Eyre Expedition 1876, Parliamentary Papers of South Australian Parliament, Adelaide.
70. Lim T.L., Giles J.R. Studies on yellow-footed rock wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus Gray (Marsupialia: Macropodiae) III. Distribution and management in western New South Wales. Austral. Wildlife Res. 1987, 14:147-161.
71. Luiz O.J., Edwards A.J. Extinction of a shark population in the Archipelago of Saint Paul's Rocks (equatorial Atlantic) inferred from the historical record. Biol. Conserv. 2011, 144:2873-2881.
72. Lunney D. Causes of the extinction of native mammals of the Western Division of New South Wales: an ecological interpretation of the nineteenth century historical record. Rangeland J. 2001, 23:44-70.
73. Lunt I. Two hundred years of land use and vegetation change in remnant coastal woodland in southern Australia. Austral. J. Bot. 1998, 46:629-647.
74. MacDougall A.S. Herbivory, hunting, and long-term vegetation change in degraded savanna. Biol. Conserv. 2008, 141:2174-2183.
75. Magee J.W., Miller G.H., Spooner A.N., Questiaux D. Continuous 150 k.y. monsoon record from Lake Eyre, Australia: insolation-forcing implications and unexpected Holocene failure. Geology 2009, 32:885-888.
76. Marshall A.J. The Great Extermination: A Guide to Anglo-Australian Cupidity Wickedness and Waste 1966, William Heinemann Ltd., Melbourne.
77. McKinlay J.M. Explorations in the interior of Australia by the Burke relief expedition. Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc. Lond. 1863, 7:84-90.
78. McMahon T.A., Murphy R.E., Peel M.C., Costelloe J.F., Chiew F.H.S. Understanding the surface hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin: Part 2 - streamflow. J. Arid Environ. 2008, 72:1869-1886.
79. Mills J.R. Degradation and rehabilitation of the mulga ecosystem. The Mulga Lands 1986, 79-83. Royal Society of Queensland, Brisbane. P.S. Sattler (Ed.).
80. Mitchell, T.L., 1847. Journal of an Expedition into Tropical Australia in Search of a Route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria. University of Adelaide Library Electronic Texts Collection. (accessed 01.09.07). http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/mitchell/thomas.
81. Mitchell P.B. Historical perspectives on some vegetation and soil changes in semi-arid New South Wales. Vegetatio 1991, 91:169-182.
82. Moore J.L., Howden S.M., McKeon G.M., Carter J.O., Scanlan J.C. The dynamics of grazed woodlands in southwest Queensland, Australia and their effect on greenhouse gas emissions. Environ. Int. 2001, 27:147-153.
83. Nanson G.C., Price D.M., Jones B.G., Maroulis J.C., Coleman M., Bowman H., Cohen T.J., Pietsch T.J., Larsen J.R. Alluvial evidence for major climate and flow regime changes during the middle and late Quaternary in eastern Australia. Geomorphology 2008, 101:109-129.
84. Newsome A.E. An ecological comparison of the two arid-zone kangaroos of Australia, and their anomalous prosperity since the introduction of ruminant stock to their environment. Quart. Rev. Biol. 1975, 50:389-424.
85. Noble J.C. The Delicate and Noxious Scrub: CSIRO Studies on Native Tree and Shrub Proliferation in the Semi-Arid Woodlands of Eastern Australia 1997, CSIRO, Canberra.
86. Nolan C. Sandhills and Channel Country 2003, Diamantina Shire Council, Bedourie.
87. Pickard J. Post-European changes in creeks of semi-arid rangelands, Polpah Station, New South Wales. Environmental Change in Drylands: Biogeographical and Geomorphological Perspectives 1994, 271-284. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. A.C. Millington, K. Pye (Eds.).
88. Preece N. Aboriginal fires in monsoonal Australia from historical accounts. J. Biogeogr. 2002, 29:321-336.
89. Reynolds J.A., Carter J.O. What Landholders Reckon About Woody Weeds in Central Western Queensland 1993, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.
90. Reynolds J.F., Smith D., Lambin E.F., Turner B.L., Mortimore M., Batterbury S.P.J., Downing T.E., Dowlatabadi H., Fernández R.J., Herrick J.E. Global desertification: building a science for dryland development. Science 2007, 316:847.
91. Robertson A.I., Rowling R.W. Effects of livestock on riparian zone vegetation in an Australian dryland river. Regulated Rivers: Res. Manage. 2000, 16:527-541.
92. Rolls E.C. Land of grass: the loss of Australia's grasslands. Austral. Geogr. Stud. 1999, 37:197-213.
93. Russell-Smith J., Yates C., Edwards A., Allan G.E., Cook G.D., Cooke P., Craig R., Heath B., Smith R. Contemporary fire regimes of northern Australia: change since Aboriginal occupancy, challenges for sustainable management. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2003, 12:283-297.
94. Ryan, D.G., Ryan, J.E., Starr, B.J., 1995. The Australian Landscape: Observations of Explorers and Early Settlers. Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Committee, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.
95. Scanlan, J.C., Presland, A.J., 1984. Major Woody Weeds of Western Queensland and Their Control. Information Series Q184017. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane.
96. Silcock, J., 2009. Identification of Permanent Refuge Waterbodies in the Cooper Creek & Georgina-Diamantina catchments. South Australia Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Board, (accessed 13.07.11). http://www.saalnrm.sa.gov.au/Portals/8/Publications_Resources/Project_Reports.
97. The Mammals of Australia 2004, Reed New Holland, Sydney. R. Strahan (Ed.).
98. Swetnam T.W., Allen C.D., Betancourt J. Applied historical ecology: using the past to manage for the future. Ecol. Appl. 1999, 9:1189-1206.
99. Tolcher H.M. Drought or Deluge: Man in the Cooper's Creek Region 1986, Melbourne University Press, Carlton.
100. Vigilante T. Analysis of explorer's records of aboriginal landscape burning in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Austral. Geogr. Stud. 2001, 39:135-155.
101. Walker F. Journal of an expedition in search of Burke and Wills. J. Roy. Geogr. Soc. 1863, 33:133-150.
102. Welsh F. Great Southern Land: A New History of Australia 2004, Penguin Books, London.
103. White M.E. Listen... Our Land Is Crying - Australia's Environment: Problems and Solutions 1997, Kangaroo Press, Sydney.
104. Winnecke, C., 1884. Mr. Winnecke's Explorations during 1883, South Australian Parliamentary Papers 39, Adelaide.
105. Witt G.B., Berghammer L.J., Beeton R.J.S., Moll E.J. Retrospective monitoring of rangeland vegetation change: ecohistory from deposits of sheep dung associated with shearing sheds. Austral. Ecol. 2000, 25:260-267.
106. Woinarski J.C.Z., Fisher A. Conservation and the maintenance of biodiversity in the rangelands. Rangeland J. 2003, 25:157-171.