Bollon
Tree clearing by machine or by hand. The result is most frequently a mass of shrubs with little grass.
A very similar pattern is found in the other Desperate example that covers an area north of the town of Bollon. Here the woodlands are acacia and eucalypt dominated, but the same landuse process and degraded outcome has resulted. The change detected is for the period 1972 to 1991. The rectangular patterns of clearing are scattered through an otherwise very dense woodland that is now very poor country for livestock grazing
On the ground the mechanically cleared woodlands are impressive but not inspiring. Much of the land has been so degraded by years of heavy grazing that the desirable perennial grasses have long been locally extinct. In addition, sheet soil erosion has removed what little plant nutrients were present. In all my experience of the mulga woodlands, most recently when taking photographs for this book, I have not been able to find examples of successful rehabilitation of these grazed mulga woodlands. The country is in poor condition, the level of management is poor and the outlook is depressing. This view is shared by many, including pastoralists. I encourage you to read Chapter 4 in "Recovering Ground".
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An area of mulga (Acacia aneura) and poplar box (Eucalyptus populnea) woodlands in SW Queensland not far from the location of the previous image. Fence line contrasts in landcover, principally in the density of trees, are very obvious in both the early and late FCC images. In the later FCC, the patterns of mechanical clearing of the woodlands are quite obvious, even from 900km in space. The Difference FCC reveals just how much of these woodlands have been cleared (dark tones) as well as how much the woodlands have thickened up, (light tones), further reducing the biomass of grass for grazing animals.
