Reducing erosion on the north facing slopes

A dramatic transformation has occurred in the dry north facing slopes of Tasmania's Midlands and Derwent and Fingal Valleys with the help of almost 150 landholders.

With the Tasmanian Government offering technical expertise farmers have worked to protect more than 19,000 hectares of dry hill country from erosion.

These steep, stony slopes are home to the merino industry and particularly vulnerable to the impacts of drought and over-grazing. Stock generally prefer to graze on the sunny north slopes resulting in loss of groundcover, increased weed infestations such as barley grass, horehound and slender thistles and a greater risk of erosion.

In drier areas north of Hobart this has damaged the landscape, threatening the grazing industry and having serious implications for the region's rural economy and social fabric. Some serious changes in managing the region's natural resources were called for.

Funding

The North Facing Slopes project was funded with $920,000 from the Australian Government and contributions from the State Government, through the Southern Natural Resource Management Regional Committee.

Activities

Primarily a fencing initiative, the project enabled graziers to manage their land more sustainably by fencing off some of the northern slopes so they could be grazed by large mobs in short rotations.

At the end of the project, 88 landholders had erected 383 kilometres of fencing on 340 sites on their properties, enclosing 9,701 hectares of degraded slopes.

Achievements

As a result, the slopes have good groundcover, more native perennial species and a reduced need for planting and seeding. Carrying capacity has considerably increased, erosion has reduced dramatically and some farmers have reported regeneration of native shrubs and trees.

At the same time the fencing has allowed livestock to be moved on to previously under-utilised but overgrown southern slopes, reducing the build-up of dead grass, letting in more sunlight and improving the property's grazing potential.

The project has led to both economic and environmental advantages for the region and revealed the advantages of changing land management practices. Its highly visible success has also helped to break down the concept that land care is solely based on planting trees.

The project is widely applicable to graziers in dryland or drought-prone regions, and other farmers in southern Tasmania are embracing similar changes on their land.

More information

1. Regional NRM Facilitator: (03) 6208 6101 or regional.facilitator@nrmsouth.org.au

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

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Caring for our Country is an Australian Government initiative jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts