School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Theses

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Survey of the sheep industry in the Western District of Victoria

Lang, Patrick Sellar, 1912- ; Tulloh, N. M. (Norman McCall), 1922- ; Fennessy, B. V. (Bernard Vincent), 1923-2006 ; University of Melbourne School of Agriculture and Forestry (University of Melbourne, School of Agriculture, 1952?)
The role of diffused carbohydrates in the infection of stone fruit by Sclerotinia fructicola (Wint.) rehm

Whan, James Henry. (University of Melbourne, 1970)
Sunraysia : a social survey of a dried fruits area

McIntyre, A. J. (Alan John) (University of Melbourne, 1948)
Observations on fomes pomaceus (pers.) big. & guill. infecting plum trees ; An investigation of sooty moulds with particular reference to their taxonomy and their growth in culture

Fisher, Eileen. (University of Melbourne, 1974)

I. The Taxonomy of "Sooty Mould "-Fungi. 1. Existing schemes of classification are discussed. 2. A classification is offered in which, the inaccuracies of other taxonomic schemas, are corrected. 3. "Sooty Moulds� are arranged, according to the macroscopic appearance of their growth, into four groups. 4. Diagnostic features are given for five families of ��sooty mould"-genera. 5. The families Capnodiaceae v. Hohn. and Chaetothyriaceae Th. are emended. A key to the identification of the genera Included in each of these families Is given. 6. Chaetothyrium Citri (Arn.) nov. comb. is recorded for the first time in Australia. 7. A new species, Phycopsis australiensis is described. II. An Instigation of the Cultural Behaviour of some "Sooty Mould" Fungi with reference to Climatic Conditions. 1. Eight species which, were isolated from epiphytic moulds, are included in this study. 2. A preliminary survey is made of the nutritional recuirementa of these species. 3. The methods used for recording measurements of colony-size and for calculating the rate of growth are described. 4. Measurement is made of the growth occurring at the following temperatures: 10�C., 15�C., 18�C., 20�C. and 25�C. The optimum growth temperatures determined for seven "sooty mould" endemics lie between 15�C and 20�C. 5. The methods which were adopted for growing these fungi under conditions of controlled atmospheric humidity are described. 6. The humidity growth-rate relations determined here are similar to those of fungi from quite unrelated habitats. 7. The geographic distribution of epiphytic "sooty moulds" is discussed in relation to the temperature and humidity requirements of the species examined here. The temperature-growth relations of the Capnodiaceae species do not confirm the assumption that high temperatures are favourable, rather It would appear that growth is active during the winter months. 8. It la suggested that the deciduous nature of the flora in cool temperate regions is responsible for the almost entire absence of the Capnodiaceae in these regions.
Selected papers

Downes, R. G. (Ronald Geoffrey), 1916-1985 (University of Melbourne, 1972)

These selected papers are submitted for examination for the degree of Doctor of Agricultural Science bearing in mind the need to demonstrate that they should constitute - (i) "Substantial published contributions to science applied to some branch of agriculture"; (ii) "Evidence of research and ability satisfactory to the examiners". To this end the papers have been grouped in the following manner. Group I - Papers which collectively provide evidence of the evolution and development of principles and methods for studying land to provide the ecological information needed to determine its capability for various kinds of land-use and so enable better decisions to achieve conservation of natural resources. 1. Soil, land-use and erosion survey around Dookie, Victoria. CSIRO Bull. No. 243, 1949. 2. Soils of the Macquarie Region N.:. . CSIRO Soil Publication No. 4, 1955. 3. Principles and methods of ecological surveys for land-use purposes. Papers for Australian Soils Conference, 1957. 4. Reconnaissance survey of the ecology and land-use in the catchment of the Glenmaggie Reservoir. Soil Conservation Authority Tech. Pubn. No. 1, 1960. 5. A study of the land in north-western Victoria. Soil. Cons. Auth. Tech. Pubn. No. 2, 1963. 6. A study of the land in south-western Victoria. Soil Cons. Auth. Tech. Pubn. No. 3, 1964. 7. The role of humans in land evaluation. CSIRO-UNESCO Symposium on Land Evaluation, Canberra, 1968. Group II - Papers that report results of original research as evidence of contributions to scientific knowledge and its significance as the basis for work by others. 8. The use of the hydrometer for the mechanical analysis of soils. Journ. CSIR Vol. 17, 1944. 9. Tunnelling erosion in north-eastern Victoria. Journ. CSIR Vol. 19, 1946. 10. Studies in the variation of soil reaction - I Field variations at Barooga N.S.W Aust. Journ. Agric. Res. Vol. 2, 1951. 11. Cyclic salt as a dominant factor in the genesis of soils in south-eastern Australia. Aust. Journ. Agric. Res. Vol. 5, 19514. 12. The effect of subterranean clover an Wimmera rye grass in controlling surface run-off from four-acre catchments near Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Aust. Journ. Exp. Agric. & An. Husb. Vol. 2, 1962. Group III - Papers which indicate the application of a conceptual philosophy of conservation based on ecological principles to tae solution of problems of land-use, soil conservation and agriculture. 13. The Westgate Planning Project. Soil Cons. Auth. Pubn. 1953. 14. Conservation problems on solodic soils in Victoria. Journ. Soil & Water Cons. (USA), Vol. 11, 1956. 15. Land management problems following disturbance of the hydrologic balance of environments in Victoria. Proc. 7th Tech. Meeting IUCN, Athens. 1958. 16. Soil salinity in non-irrigated arable and pastoral land as the result of unbalance of the hydrologic cycle. Proc. UNESCO-Arid hone Symposium on Salinity Problems, Teheran, 1958. 17. The ecology and prevention of soil erosion. Chapter XXX - Biogeography and ecology in Australia. Publishers Junk - The Hague, 1959. 18. The water balance and land-use. Proc. Aust. Acad. Sci. Nat. Symposium on Water Resources, Use & Management. Melb. Univ. Press, 1963. 19. The rehabilitation of degraded land for agricultural and pastoral production. ANZAAS, Canberra, 1964. 20. The correlation of failure of earthen dams with environmental features - Colloquium on Failure of Small Earth. Dams - CSIRO, , 1964. 21. Agrometeorology in relation to the control of soil erosion - United Nations .O. Regional Seminar on Agrorneteorology. Melb., 1966. 22. Dryland farming - principles of applying conservation methods in Australia. T roc. Int. Lech. Dryland Farmg. Conf. - Deere Co. and. F.A.C., oline USA, 1969. Group IV - Papers which collectively demonstrate the extension of the conceptual philosophy of conservation as applied to soil conservation and agricultural problems to those related to tie conservation of all natural resources and its application as a basis for influencing social, political, legal and administrative activities in relation to them. 23. The Victorian High plains - The environment and its use. Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. Vol. 75, 1962. 24. Soil conservation - ho is responsible? - from Coil conservation in the Pacific - Tenth Pacific Science Congress Series, University of Hawaii Press, 1963. 25. Conservation and the community. Journ. Soil & Water Cons. (USA) Vol. 20, 1965, 26. Nature reserves and National larks in relation to the conservation of man's environment. Aust. Journ. Sci. Vol. 30 196', 27. The conflict between conservation and exploitation of natural resources - Paper to ANZAAS Regional Symposium on The planning and management of Australia's natural resources. Univ. New England, 1967. 28. Soil conservation in Iran - Consultant report to F.A.O., 1967. 29. Resources of East Gippsland - Summary of Symposium - Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict. Vol. 82, 1969. 30. Soil Conservation Law in Australia - Soil. Cons. Authority Pubn., 1970. 31. Criteria for resolving conflict about land-use - Aust. Cons. Found. Seminar on Conservation & Wining, Syd. 1971. 32. Management of conservation reserves - ANZAAS Symposium, Brisbane, 1971.
Villager participation in native forest development : the impact of social forestry in Fiji

Vize, Susan Maree (University of Melbourne, 1993)

As owners of extensive forest resources, the Fijian people have an opportunity to utilise these resources for village development. Villagers are very conscious of their low living standards compared with urban areas. It is widely accepted that expanding local employment and business opportunities is necessary to improve rural living standards, and rural Fijians hope that the forest industry will help them to achieve this. The object of this research project is to evaluate the success of social forestry as a methodology for achieving village development in Fiji, particularly the contribution of Fijian villager participation in the native forest industry. Forestry activities earn cash benefits for rural villagers in the forms of land rentals and timber royalties. Social forestry programmes involving villager participation in planting projects were seen as way to enhance rural development. To further increase the benefits obtained from forestry many Fijians have become actively involved in forest harvesting and timber processing. Though there is a high potential for achieving significant benefits by Fijian participation in the forestry industry, the actual benefits received are determined by the type of activity, the level of participation and the performance of the participants. The study involved surveying in seven villages on the islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, as well as short interviews with many Fijians involved in the forest industry. The villages covered a range of villager forestry participation types, including casual and contract employment in logging or planting, village community fund-raising contracts, a proposed joint venture logging project and a small logging company. 'Development' appears to be fairly consistently interpreted across rural Fiji as the improvement of village services and homes; hence in the eyes of the villagers, forestry does contribute to development. The surveys show that forestry can make a significant contribution to the village economy in the form of cash and employment, but the contribution of forestry towards village development is dependent upon the use of the income generated from forestry. These uses vary between the villages, but commonly include the purchase of consumables, such as food and tobacco, paying school fees, home improvements, roads, churches, schools, and other communal amenities. There is a significant difference in the contribution of forestry to employment and income between the two islands; forestry is more important in rural development on Vanua Levu. Social structure in the village, village leadership, assistance from government or financial advisers, and the level of integration of the village into the market economy, all appear to affect the investment and management of forestry funds. These aspects exert the most influence on the amount of 'development' that can be achieved through forestry programmes involving Fijian landowners. Logging businesses achieved higher cash returns than other types of Fijian forestry participation, but were plagued by difficulties. Businesses in logging, sawmilling and manufacturing of higher value-added products such as veneer and furniture are the most profitable area of the forest industries in Fiji. The potential for Fijian villagers to become involved in these enterprises is severely limited by access to credit as well as their paucity of management and administrative skills. But where the potential for forestry participation exists and motivation is provided by a community leader or individual, social forestry activities can effectively promote rural development and viable village communities in Fiji.
Estimation of timber volumes in eucalypt forest using large-scale aerial photography and ground samples

Biggs, Paul Haydn (University of Melbourne, 1991)

This study investigated the use of large-scale aerial photographs (1:1200) for estimating timber volumes in eucalypt forest in Western Australia. The aims were to determine the optimum photography system for estimating timber volumes in jarrah forest, to derive appropriate aerial volume functions, and to investigate the efficiency of different sampling designs using aerial photographs. Photographs were acquired using a fixed-base photographic system, the cameras being mounted on a transverse boom on a helicopter. Two types of cameras, Vinten and Hasselblad, were tested. Measurement of the Vinten photographs using simple stereometers provided estimates of tree heights with a standard deviation of 1.7 m, while the standard deviation of measurements on Hasselblad photographs was about 2.0 m. These results are slightly poorer than results achieved by others in coniferous forests, the reason being attributed to imprecision of the ground "truth" rather than poor quality in the photographs. The accuracy of species interpretation was 85 percent on all photographs. It is expected that more precise measurements could be obtained using analytical plotters to measure Hasselblad photographs. Hasselblad 500 EL/M cameras used in the present study were fitted with reseau plates and were calibrated to facilitate analytical measurement. Results showed, however, that further research is required into the process of exterior orientation with such large-scale photographs with a very small air-base/flying height ratio. A system of navigation and camera-control was built specially for this project using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and a laptop computer. This system was used to navigate during photography and to determine the location of each pair of photographs on maps and in the field. Its use led to efficient in-flight navigation and ensured that photographs were taken on a fixed-distance interval. Ground plots could be located quickly in the forest using this system, as the actual photo-centres were generally within 50 m of their surveyed position based on GPS coordinates. Sample data from both photo and ground plots were stored in a Geographic Information System (GIS) database, which allowed them to be linked with other spatial data. Using this system, volume statements could be derived for any part of the forest by defining the relevant geographical zone and then identifying the plots within that zone. Any change in the available land base could also be accomodated, simply by redefining the zone of interest and reselecting the sample plots. Aerial tree volume functions derived for different species in the jarrah forest used the total height of each tree and the dominant height of the stand as independent variables. Separate functions were derived for different areas of forest by applying a nominal dominant height value in a general volume function, while another set was derived by stratifying the original sample plots. It was found that the volumes of very large trees were greatly underestimated when their crowns had been damaged, and that this factor swamped the difference between the two types of volume functions. The underestimates of photo volume caused by the damaged crowns of large trees had the effect of reducing the correlation between the photo and ground samples to about r=0.65. The cost of each photo plot was about $30 and the cost of each ground plot was $280. The combination of these costs and correlation meant that double sampling for regression could provide estimates of volume at the same cost and precision as ground sampling. Further research should, however, investigate ways to improve this correlation to about r=0.75, which would then make double sampling with large-scale photographs cheaper than ground sampling.
Innovation in response to environmental problems

Ewers, Craig. (University of Melbourne, 1990)

An important and long-standing field of agricultural extension research has involved the acceptance of new agricultural practices. Consistent with the applied, purposive nature of extension research and the emphasis on agricultural development, this field has centred around the question: How do we get farmers to adopt new technology? As such, the process has traditionally been viewed as one which is confined to the decisions of individual farmers. The role of those who develop and distribute the technology has generally been overlooked. It is argued in this thesis that when the development and promotion of agricultural technology are an integral part of government strategy, a great deal of decision-making happens before the technology even reaches the farm. Indeed, it will be shown that some innovations developed by government scientists may not become fully available to farmers. The complex interplay between science, technology and government policy forms a central theme throughout this thesis. Changes in agricultural practice are discussed with reference to the social and economic conditions that triggered them. In particular, the growing impact of the environmental movement on the development and diffusion of new cropping techniques throughout the 1980s is covered in depth. Two current Victorian government programs are critically reviewed along these lines. Finally, the views of farmers are analysed, through a survey of 146 wheat growers in North-East Victoria.
Tribes and territories : aspects of Aboriginal political geography in the Northern Territory of Australia

Davis, Stephen, 1951- (University of Melbourne, 1989)
Control of the black field cricket teleogryllus commodus (walker) (orthoptera: gryllidae) in Victoria

Murphy, Graeme, 1954- (University of Melbourne, 1985)

Techniques for improving control of the black field cricket Teleogryllus commodus were studied between 1981 and 1985 in series of laboratory and field trials in the western district of Victoria. In the laboratory, techniques were developed for assessing the palatability of substances to T. commodus. A number of plant extracts, especially water and acetone extracts from grasses, and other substances including sucrose and vegetable oils were shown to stimulate feeding in the cricket. Further laboratory trials showed that feeding stimulants could be used to encourage feeding on a commonly used substrate in cricket baits (wheat). Field trials to assess bait attractiveness revealed oats to be more attractive as a bait than wheat or barley. Efficacy trials conducted over consecutive years however, showed no differences in the level of control achieved with baits using wheat, oats or barley as the substrate. In addition, feeding stimulants added to the bait did not improve control, nor did the use of higher baiting rates. The level of control obtainable with the current recommended bait is between 80% and 95%.

School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Theses

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