Resource Management and Geography - Theses
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ItemDryland salting in Victoria and Western Australia: a literature review( 1982)Soil salination is the accumulation of soluble salts in the root zone in excess of the level able to be tolerated by the vegetation community. There are two processes by which this may occur; irrigation induced soil salinisation, and a group in non-irrigated areas, collectively known as dryland salting. Irrigation salting has been recognised for thousands of years (Jacobsen and Adams, (1958) quoted by Peck, 1978). However no such ancient references are presently known in the case of dryland salting. Dryland salting appears to be a relatively recent phenomenon. In order to review the literature relevant to dryland salting only the major contributions from Western Australia and Victoria are discussed. Dryland salting is known to occur in every Australian state, though as yet discussions of it have not found their way into the scientific literature. The Northern American literature was also omitted as the nature of their problem is different – owing to the geological type. Although their literature would be useful if the review was orientated towards solutions to the problem of dryland salting. The review discussed the changing nature of the literature noting the move from the “qualitative” approach of the early authors (Burvill, 1945; 1950 and Teakle, 1953) to a more recent detailed and “quantitative” one (Peck and Hurle, 1973 and Holmes and Talsma, 1981) . Furthermore it contrasts the amount and type of research completed in Western Australia and Victoria, noting the dominance of the first mentioned state.
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ItemGrazing the high country: an historical and political geography of high country grazing in Victoria, 1835 to 1935( 1980)Someone once said that if there is one lesson man can draw from history it is that man learns nothing from history. In my experience this observation often relates to the commonly held belief that history has little to contribute to the day to day "nuts and bolts" functioning of society. The thinking goes if history cannot supply the answers to practical problems then what is it worth? Such is the view of the pragmatist. Consequently some people will regard this thesis as being interesting in a purely antiquarian sense. If, however, one has a somewhat broader perspective and can see beyond the immediate problems of each day to underlying trends and inherent philosophies, then one will appreciate what this thesis has to offer. For, while it does not provide immediate solutions to existing land use conflicts associated with high country grazing, it does shed light on their origins and development, and hence their basic character.