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Objective

Recommendation

Key issues

What has been achieved 1998-2003

Tasmania Together

Further and related recommendations

Related Issue Reports

Objective

To ensure that comprehensive information about soil condition and the extent, severity and rate of land degradation are available for use by all levels of government and the community in land use planning and management.

Recommendation

It is recommended that a coordinated Statewide inventory of land resource related information be prepared detailing what information is available, its location, scale and access. This information would be used to assist NRM Committees, land managers, local government and the community in the development and implementation of sustainable land management strategies and activities. The inventory should consider such matters as contained in the Land Chapter of this Report, including: land tenure, land use and land cover; soil condition; soil structure decline and compaction; rural tree decline; wilderness; and landscape and scenic condition.

Key issues

In view of the limited resources in Tasmania to fund monitoring initiatives, careful consideration to monitoring priorities for land resources is needed. There are many potential information-gathering requirements for land resource management in the State. Determining priorities for information gathering is one of the roles of the Natural Resource Management Council and Regional Natural Resource Management Committees. Priorities will differ for various regions in the State and at various spatial scales. However, information requirements in relation to land resources that have emerged in the Land Chapter (with links to relevant Issue Reports) include the following.

• Land Tenure, Land Use and Land Cover: Capacity to detect, and report on, changes in vegetation cover for forest and non-forest in Tasmania could be improved, particularly in relation to presenting current spatial information on change.
   
• Soil Condition: Soil condition and land degradation information has not improved significantly since the work of Grice in 1992. Much of the reconnaissance soil mapping was undertaken by CSIRO in the 1940s-60s and, with the exception of some surveys undertaken by Forestry Tasmania in Forest Reserves in the north of the State, little regional scale mapping has been undertaken in recent years. As a result, it has been possible to report on the condition of land resources in general terms only, describing some of the major agents of change and processes.
   
• Wilderness: A wilderness assessment of Tasmania was last undertaken for the RFA and there was no requirement for an update of the wilderness map for the five yearly RFA Review. There is a need for periodic updates of the wilderness inventory, particularly of the disturbance data.
   
• Scenic Landscape Condition: Scenic and landscape assessment warrants greater attention given Tasmania's reliance on maintaining its landscape qualities, both for the community's own sense of place and for the quality of the experience of visitors. The techniques of landscape assessment are now well established, particularly through the visual assessment processes established by Forestry Tasmania and the Forest Practices Board. A Statewide landscape inventory is a feasible response to improving understanding and management of scenic landscape values in the State.
   
• Salinity: One of the major responses to salinity has been the Salinity Audit (Bastick and Walker 2000) and, as a result, information on salinity in Tasmania has improved significantly over recent years. Information gaps remain and these are discussed in more detail in the Salinity recommendation.
   
• Rural Tree Decline: More is now known about rural tree decline in Tasmania, especially in relation to the links between drought and tree decline. However, the only systematic Statewide survey of tree decline was conducted in 1992, which was part of the Statewide soil and land degradation assessment, coordinated by Grice (1995). These assessments were conducted on private land only. There remains uncertainty about the relative significance of the factors implicated in rural tree decline.
   
• Soil Structure Decline and Compaction: Tasmania is susceptible to moderate to severe soil structure decline. Change in land use from pasture-based agriculture to cropping could increase the area affected by soil structure decline. However, there remains uncertainty about the extent and severity of soil structure decline in Tasmania.
   
• Disturbance of Acid Sulphate Soils: Understanding of the occurrence of acid sulphate soils in Tasmania has improved greatly as a result of a Natural Heritage Trust funded report, which identified that acid is being released from some sites that host acid sulphate soils (Gurung 2001). However, insufficient information is available from the survey to identify priority areas for remediation and other management intervention.
   

What has been achieved 1998-2003

There have been many important responses to improving land information since the previous SoE Report. These include:

• the Salinity Audit (Bastick and Walker 2000);
   
• the completion of a land use map of Tasmania, which will be important in providing a reliable inventory of how land is used in the State;
   
• there is new understanding of the importance of moisture stress in rural tree decline in Tasmania;
   
• a Natural Heritage Trust supported project entitled 'Minimising Land Degradation and Salinity Risk using Resource Information' is investigating the degradation risks, including soil structure decline, of intensified land use on soil types in three pilot areas around the State; and
   
• a Natural Heritage Trust funded report has confirmed the presence of acid sulphate soils in Tasmania and has identified that acid is being released from some sites which host acid sulphate soils (Gurung 2001). The report is available from Mineral Resources Tasmania.
   

Tasmania Together

Relevant Tasmania Together goals and standards for 'Land' are listed in the linked file. The Tasmania Together Progress Board reported on progress toward targets for benchmarks set (Tasmania Together Progress Board 2003). Indicators, targets and baseline data are available in the latest Progress Report June 2003. Further information, including progress report updates, is available from Tasmania Together.

Further and related recommendations

Related Issue Reports