Goats are found to be threatening to vegetation but are good to help control invasive plants species e.g. saffron thistle. Goat poo is also used to improve the quality of the soil. Fossil Fuel machines are not needed to remove the weeds from the ground as goats are placed in ares where they aren't able to germinate.

Can we control foxes and rabbits?

no

Degradation can cause major physical, chemical and also biological changes within our natural environment. As time progresses, the environment goes though several changes.

Over half of Australia's 5 million kilometres is has been affected by degradation. The most common causes that contribute to land degradation are extreme weather, salinity, pollution, soil erosion and also desertification.

Due to Australia's type of soil and it not being suited to our agriculture, and there being high levels of salt and not a lot of nutrients plus rainfall being very low in the agricultural locations. Therefore much of the land is suffering because of this

The most damaging invasive species consist of rabbits, foxes, cats, goats, camels and horses. There were also invasive plants that was introduced in many different ways such as crops, garden plants and to prevent erosion.

One of the major issues of invading species are goats, they were introduced back in 1788 when the First Fleet arrived in Australia as a source of both milk and meat. Overtime, some domestic goats escaped, some were abandoned, some were released and ended up being a threat to the environment. As of now, they were used as a method of weed control and also used as lifestock

Small changes have a major effect on land degradation, such as drought which can quickly reduce the effect of an area used for farming and even the little things like students getting grass on their shoes and taking it into the classroom which will soon lead to a grassy area to dust.

The main issues of Land degradation is:

- Climate change

- Salinity

- Introduced plant species

- Overgrazing

Climate Changewill affect land degradation in the future. Not only does expanding cities, removal of vegetation increase erosion, but can reduce the amount of rainfall in an area.

Salinity occurs naturally in areas where there is low rainfall and high evaporation. Salinity is caused by excess irrigation and clearing natural vegetation.

Introduced plant species choke the landscape and compete with native vegetation. These plant species involve blackberries and Paterson's Curse (Salvation Jane). The plants dense ground cover and prevents light from reaching the soil.

Overgrazing follows to nutrient rich soil being washed or blown away. Animals with hard hoofs such as: sheep, horses and cattle trample vegetation and compact the soil. This results after heavy rain.

Vocabulary:

Place - a particular position, point, or area in space; a location.

Scale - the relationship or ratio between the distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground.

Change - an act or process through which something becomes different.

Sustainable - able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

Environment - the natural world, in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity. Where the surroundings in which a person, animal, or plant lives.

Interconnection - to connect with one another; to be or become mutually connected.

soil is a mixture of broken down particles,living organisms and humus

in some areas it take hundreds of years to develop

sometimes soil can form in a few decades

erosion is a natural process

weathering breaks down surface rocks and mixes with organic material

plants are able to take roots when a thin layer of soil develops

the plants attract animals and when the plant dies it makes the

HOW IS SOIL BEING LOST

sheet erosion

this happens because when water goes over the soil it takes away a big amount thin layer topsoil this usually only happens when there is a slope where the water can slide down and collect thin layer topsoil.it only happens when the amount of water allowed in the soil 

RILL EROSION 

often helps sheet erosion occurs when large amount of flowing water start to go into small channels or rills these channels a usually smaller then 30Cm deep are often found near farm lands and agriculture grounds with lots of rain the channels get bigger when water rushes trough and excavates soil as water goes through

GULLY EROSION 

it usually starts with a rill erosion and over time it expands and get deeper as the water takes more soil away

With the population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 the pressure on the food and land production will be under a lot more pressure then it is now.

The Gobal food production is already hard enough for us to handle but when the population rises it will become a lot harder.

The UN believes that at least 25% of the worlds farmland is highly degraded.

What are the main issues?

-When land is overgrazed it get vulnerable to erosion by wind & water. The soil is either then washed or blown away. Thus reducing the quality of crop lands.

-Rabbits eat the almost everything on the land. They eat it down to the soil which exposing it to erosion.

-People clear out sand dunes for for housing and mountain slopes for skiing for tourism but clearing out sand dunes leaves the surface exposed to erosion.

-Overgrazing makes the soil easy to or easy to be washed away. Animals with hard hoofs trample the soil which leaves a increase to run-off after heavy rain

-With Climate changing it will affect land degradation in the future. Higher sea levels will flood low-lying areas that are near the coast. Making bigger cities,removing vegetation and using more concrete will hopefully help the ability of the land to absorb moisture.

Environment- The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, plant or lives or operates 

Sustainable- Able to be maintained at a certain rate of growth

Interconnection- Able to connect with other things and connect with each other

Scale- The amount of distance on a map and the distance of the earths ground

Before the European settlers ever came to Australia, there were the indigenous people. They had there own style of managing the land we are now living in. They managed the flora and fauna, by burning down grasses and bringing in more animals because of the plants regrowing.  

The indigenous hunted very efficiently. They used their own methods of poisons and hunting. They would use spears and fire sticks to hunt food for them and the resources were always shared

The indigenous had no reason to plant and grow crops. They are natives and have been taking care of the environment for more than 50,000 years and all the crops that they needed were all growing because of the devotion and care for there land

Unlike people today, we are very greedy for everything. We always want everything and when we get it we are never satisfied. The indigenous on the other hand only took what food and resources they need and wasted very little. They were able to stock up on food and water on the days where it was vey hard  

This is the Aboriginal Seasons Calendar. It was used by the indigenous to represent when and where the food and resources came and where they could find it. For example August to September is when Small sharks and Honey is out. Its also say that the ground is too hot to walk on and there is no water plus no mango.nnenne

Soil is a mixture of broken down rocks, living organisms and by decomposition of leaves and other plant material.

How is soil being lost?

Three examples are:

Sheet Erosion - Sheet Erosion is the removal of soil, it is impacted by raindrops and shallow surface flow.

Rill Erosion - Rills are shallow drainage lines less than 30cm deep. They develop when surface water concentrates in low points through paddocks and erodes the soil.

Gully Erosion - Gullies occur when smaller water flows concentrate and cut a channel through the soil. The soil erodes from the water produced.

Without Flora some of the animals may not have a place to call home, you might not think that it may not effect us but the whole world in general may suffer. Through food Rationing

Mainland aera as an emergency food sources. Over time however, domestic goats escaped, were abandoned or were deliberately released and became feral, posin a threat to inland pastoral areas and native forests. More recently, they have been

Transport release 30%

Acid gases( sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides released into atomsphere ) ----->

gases carried by the wind -----> gases dissolve in rain water to from acid rain -------> acid rain kills plant life, pollution, rives and streams, and erodes stonework.

Did you know that only 2% of the world's water is water that you can drink.

When the acid gases combine with rain is acid gases then you drink you will die.

-Soil is a mixture of broken-down rock particles, living organisms and humus

How is soil being lost??

- Sheet erosion

sheet erosion occurs when water flows on a slope and removes a layer of top soil. This happens because the amount of water is greater than the soils ability to absorb it.

Rill erosion

Around 24 per cent of the world’s agricultural land is considered degraded. In Australia this figure is close to two-thirds. 25 years ago only around 15 per cent was considered degraded.

This picture shows the agricultural activities account for more than 50% of this problem.

This occurs when more water is applied to the crops, excess water goes down to the through the soil into the groundwater, this cause the salt surface to rise up.

- planting trees or shrubs is recommended on areas where generally ridge and upper slope

- reduce groundwater recharge by using water in the root zone and minimising recharge of leakage

-reduce over- watering