Wind Erosion in Western Queensland Australia

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Chapter 8 – Conclusionswas shown to change across the study area and between land types. There is a north-southspatial pattern in the seasonality of land erodibility across western Queensland. Landerodibility reaches a maximum in spring (SON) and early summer (ND) in the ChannelCountry and Mitchell Grass Downs, and a minimum in late summer (JFM) through to winter(JJA). In the Mulga Lands, land erodibility peaks in spring (SON) and autumn (MAM), andreaches a minimum over winter (JJA). These dynamics are consistent with seasonal patternsin dust-storm frequencies in eastern Australia.At inter-annual time scales, land erodibility in western Queensland had a weak correlationwith rainfall, ENSO and the PDO. The research found that land erodibility is responsive tomulti-year (>2 years) rainfall deficiencies (drought) and periods of above average rainfall.The lack of robust correlations between annual rainfall, ENSO, the PDO and land erodibilitycan be attributed to the complex interaction of these factors and lags in the landscaperesponse to climate variability. The strongest correlation between land erodibility, rainfalland the teleconnections was found in the Mulga Lands. This is the most sensitive bioregion inwestern Queensland to climate variability due to frequent drought, high stocking rates, andfragmentation of the landscape due to small property sizes. Temporal changes in landerodibility in the Channel Country and Mulga Lands were found to occur at similar timescales. In the Mitchell Grass Downs, however, rapid (
Chapter 8 – ConclusionsThe research presented in this thesis has provided a quantitative analysis of spatial andtemporal patterns in land erodibility in the western Queensland rangelands (Chapter 7).Output from AUSLEM was used to define the frequency at which land in the four bioregionsof western Queensland is susceptible to wind erosion. The analysis of a 27-year output timeseriesprovided quantitative information on landscape to regional scale land erodibilitydynamics at monthly and inter-annual time scales. A methodology was also presented forconducting field assessments of land erodibility in remote rangeland environments (Chapter6). The model development, field assessment methodology and subsequent analyses havemade a significant contribution to our understanding of spatio-temporal patterns in landerodibility in western Queensland.2. There is a lack of research into spatial and temporal patterns in land erodibility at thelandscape scale. Research into land erodibility at this scale is essential if we are to betterlink field scale wind erosion processes to regional dust emission and transport processes.This thesis has presented a new model specifically designed to assess spatial and temporalpatterns in land erodibility at the landscape scale. The thesis has also presented a newmethodology for assessing land erodibility in the field that can be used to monitor temporalchanges in land erodibility. Both the model framework and field assessment methodologyhave potential applications outside Australia. Results from the model application (Chapter 7)highlight the role of global scale climate teleconnections in controlling land erodibilitydynamics. This outcome emphasises and strengthens the need for further research of this typeto be conducted in other dryland environments.3. We have a poor knowledge of how soil and land erodibility respond to climate variabilityand land management, particularly in rangeland environments which cover ~45% of theworld’s land surface.The research presented in this thesis has provided a quantitative analysis of the relationshipsbetween land erodibility, rainfall and teleconnections including the El Niño/SouthernOscillation and Pacific (inter-) Decadal Oscillation (Chapter 7). The research has alsopresented a framework for modelling relationships between soil erodibility, climatevariability and land management pressures (Chapter 4). The research was conducted in thewestern Queensland rangelands, and this area has a similar climate, vegetation structure and195
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Modelling Land Susceptibility toWin
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AUSLEM was developed as a Geographi
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who joined me on many trips, shared
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2.2.5 Soil Moisture Effects........
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Wind Erosion in Western Queensland Australia

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