Publication date: 1970
This book is a comprehensive account of the Australian grasslands and of their capacities for providing adequate nutrition for grazing animals, the products of which, whether as wool, meat, or dairy products, are important in the national economy. The wool and beef industries were established on indigenous grasslands and in many areas, particularly in the drier parts, are still dependent on native plants. Problems of sustaining the productivity of arid and semi-arid lands and of increasing the output of higher rainfall areas are discussed. The establishment of productive pastures of exotic species in the higher rainfall areas of both tropical and temperate areas is the outcome of research embracing climate and soils, species adaptation, major nutrient and trace element deficiencies, and effective nodulation of pasture legumes. The major subdivisions of this book written by scientists eminent in their fields are: the environment including the native herbivores, the grazing lands and pastures, the principal factors affecting productivity, and production from grasslands. Lavishly illustrated, with 67 plates, 5 colour maps, and 60 figures, and with a consolidated list of references of very considerable use, the book will fill an important gap in the literature for students and teachers of agriculture, and for grassland research workers. It is relevant to world pasture conditions, too, in that countries developing their own grazing industries will find Australian experience and methodology a valuable guide in improving their own grasslands.