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Nutrient cycling and growth in forest ecosystems of south western Australia: Relevance to agricultural landscapes

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Abstract

Nutrient and hydrologic cycles in harvested native forests in southern Australia are largely balanced. For example, we have little or no evidence of any decline in nutrient capital or availability in harvested forests. Short-term and small-scale reductions in evapotranspiration due to loss of leaf area after harvesting are adequately balanced at the landscape scale by large areas of regenerating or older-age forest. In contrast, agricultural systems on similar soils are a) dependent on large inputs of fertilisers to maintain growth and b) frequently subject to increasing salinity and waterlogging or other forms of degradation. The large-scale replacement of long-lived communities of perennial and often deep- rooting native species with annual crops or other communities of shallow-rooting species might be better managed within the framework of knowledge developed from studies of native plant communities. However, application of such a mimic concept to systems of low natural productivity is limited when agricultural systems require continued high productivity. Nonetheless, the mimic concept may help in developing sustainable management of agriculture on marginal lands, and contribute to the nutritional resilience of agroecosystems. Relevant characteristics for mimic agroecosystems in south western Australia include: high species diversity, diversity of rooting attributes, utilisation of different forms of nutrients (especially of N and P) in space and time, and the promotion of practices which increase soil organic matter content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Department, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, 6907, Australia

    P. F. Grierson & M. A. Adams

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  1. P. F. Grierson
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  2. M. A. Adams
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Correspondence to P. F. Grierson.

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Grierson, P.F., Adams, M.A. Nutrient cycling and growth in forest ecosystems of south western Australia: Relevance to agricultural landscapes. Agroforestry Systems 45, 215–244 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006267604313

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