Relevance to North Australian Landscapes

Few studies have looked at the effects of agricultural practises on diversity of native grasslands in Australia and therefore there are no approaches that have been agreed upon as being the best ones to model these sorts of landscapes.

Fragmentation per se may not be as serious a problem in Northern Australian landscapes as it is in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. However, it still exists in parts of the landscape, and other forms of landscape transformation have been taking place which are associated with altered fire regimes and grazing of livestock.

The sort of changes that have taken place as a result of these disturbances may mean that other models including variegated landscapes may have to be considered in land management of grassy ecosystems.

Monsoon rainforest is found in fragmented patches in northern Australia. Studies on fragmentation of habitat patches may have relevance in understanding the distribution of these patches and the movement of species between them (Price et al., in press).