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NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
(ENVS10001) LECTURE 1B: THINKING ABOUT LANDSCAPES Faculty of Science NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS (ENVS10001) LECTURE 1A: INTRODUCTION Today’s learning objectives 1. Develop an appreciation of landscapes as a unifying concept for understanding natural systems; 2. Understand the links between the subject’s conceptual framework (4 great earth systems) and landscapes; 3. Broadly describe the Victorian Bioregions and Catchments and their logic as landscape units; 4. Appreciate the importance of understanding landscapes for evaluating land-resource problems and solutions. Thinking about landscapes What is a landscape? (You can give some examples…) pollev.com/alexispang087 Thinking about landscapes “Entering Suzhou and the Grand Canal” (6/12) of Qianlong Emperor by Qing-era court painter Xu Yang (~1750-1776). Source: Wikimedia Commons Also see New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art online collection Thinking about landscapes Thinking about landscapes Source: Huaiwei. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Thinking about landscapes Topography Geology and Soils Hydrology Ecology Coastal processes Climate & Weather Humans Scales Source: Huaiwei. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Thinking about landscapes Topography Geology and SoilsScales Tertiary geology (65 to 2.6 Mil y b.p.): folded sedimentary rock Source: (available upon request) Climate & Weather (Past and Present) Hydrology Thinking about landscapes University of Melbourne Dookie Campus (Northern Victoria) with Mount Major in the background. Source: Stock and Land Thinking about landscapes Source: Budj Bim Cultural Landscape; www.budjbim.com.au A definition from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund The four ‘great realms’ / earth systems Civil Engineering example: Metro Rail Tunnel Source: Raildocs.wongm.com Source: Geological Society of Australia (Victoria) The Gippsland Plains Bioregion (GPB) Thinking about Victorian landscapes Source: Victorian State Government DELWP The Gippsland Plains Bioregion (GPB) – Soils (Regional) Thinking about Victorian landscapes Australian Soil Types in the Gippsland Basin Bioregion Source: Victorian State Government DELWP The Gippsland Plains Bioregion - Landuse Thinking about Victorian landscapes Land Use / Land Cover in the Gippsland Basin Bioregion Source: Victorian State Government DELWP The Mitchell River Catchment (MRC)
Gippsland Plains Bioregion (Lower catchment) Thinking about Victorian landscapes Water catchments / river basins as natural frames of analyses Here, the Mitchell River Catchment Problems affecting DR in MRC-GPB Poor ecological health a. Native vegetation areas = Ecosystem services, even during drought b. Extensive clearance of native vegetation -> agriculture (intensive horticulture, pasture, cropping) c. Remaining vegetation patches small and disconnected; minimal riparian vegetation d. Existing revegetation (on-farm, on public land) efforts -> piece-meal and lack coherence An example Agriculture and NRM issue Source: Google Earth (2022) Utilizing landscapes – Land Capability Assessment Note: DSE = Dry Sheep Equivalent (i.e. stocking rate) Source: Rowe, Howe and Alley (1981). Guidelines for Land Capability Assessment in Victoria. Soil Conservation Authority Source: Rowe, Howe and Alley (1981). Guidelines for Land Capability Assessment in Victoria. Soil Conservation Authority Knowing and understanding the landscape • Web-based geo-information databases • “Walking the ground” Knowing and understanding the landscape Knowing and understanding the landscape • “Walking the ground” – primary observations and data collection • New information; detailed Source: Investigators College SA Exploring the Bet Bet Creek Catchment and Issues Environmental problems and solutions require and understanding of how landscapes function