The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about Big Scrub, Tintenbar site.
Pre-European benchmark-analogue vegetation: The site was originally lowland subtropical rainforest on basalt-derived and alluvial soils below 250 m asl and further than 2 km from the coast.
Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:
1788: Indigenous land management - Goori people
1823-25: Explorers Oxley followed by Rous traversed the area
1842: Cedar getters ‘moved in’
1870: Portion or survey plan prepared for the Tintenbar property
1880: Camphor was planted as a shade tree in Lismore 1880s along streets
1885: Brush had been largely selected and slightly cleared
1900: Clearing done with brush hooks. Small trees were cut down with an axe and large trees were cut down using a cross-cut saw. Brush and fallen timber was burnt
1900: Basalt rock removed from paddocks and placed around borders as field stone fencing, Paddock cleared of floaters so it could be ploughed
1901: Aggressive pasture grasses established. Initially this was Paspalum
1901-1978: Dairying and pasture improvement - mainly Kikuyu and fertiliser added
1968: Observed incursions of camphor in creeks and gullies but not removed or controlled
1979: Changed from dairying to beef cattle production
1980-87: Cattle removed - destocked
1981-87: Observed incursions of weeds into the former dairy pasture including lantana, barna or elephant (Pennisetum purpureum) grass and tobacco bush and some camphor but not removed or controlled
1988: Commenced agisting cattle
1990-93: Agisted horses and cattle
1993: Ceased agisting cattle and horses
1994-2011: Dense stands of camphor left unchecked.
