In spite of Australia's harsh environment, agriculture is the most extensive form of land use. At 30 June 2000, the estimated total area of establishments with agricultural activity in Australia was 455.5 million hectares, representing about 59% of the total land area (tables 16.1 and 16.2). The rest of the Australian land area consists of unoccupied land (mainly desert in western and central Australia), Aboriginal land reserves (mainly located in the Northern Territory), forests, mining leases, national parks and urban areas.
Livestock grazing accounts for the largest area of land use in Australian agriculture. This activity has led to the replacement of large areas of native vegetation by introduced pastures and grasses in the higher rainfall and irrigated areas.
At 30 June 2000, 5% of Australia's agricultural land was under crops, with a further 5% under sown pastures and grasses. This maintains the trend which has seen about 10% of Australia's agricultural land under cultivation each year since the 1980s. Until this time, the area of land cropped or sown to pastures and grasses had been expanding rapidly. This expansion was facilitated by factors including increased use of fertilisers, improved water supply and reduction in the rabbit population due to myxomatosis.
16.1 AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN AUSTRALIA
|
| | Area of
| | Total
|
| | Crops(a)
mill. ha. | Sown pastures
and grasses
mill. ha. | Balance(b)
mill. ha. | Area of establishments
with agricultural activity
mill. ha. | Proportion of
Australian land area(c)
% |
|
| 1995 | 17.0 | (d) | 410.2 | 463.3 | 60.2 |
| 1996 | 19.4 | 17.1 | 428.7 | 465.2 | 60.5 |
| 1997 | 21.1 | 19.0 | 422.0 | 462.2 | 60.1 |
| 1998 | 21.5 | 22.8 | 419.5 | 463.8 | 60.3 |
| 1999 | 23.3 | 22.5 | 407.9 | 453.7 | 59.0 |
| 2000 | 23.8 | 23.8 | 407.9 | 455.5 | 59.2 |
|
(a) Pastures and grasses harvested for hay and seed are included in ‘Sown pastures and grasses’.
(b) Includes areas of arid or rugged land held under grazing licences but not always used for grazing, and also variable amounts of fallow land.
(c) About 769,203,000 ha.
(d) Collected in the Northern Territory only. |
Source: Agriculture, Australia (7113.0). |
16.2 AREA OF ESTABLISHMENTS WITH AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY |
|
 | NSW
mill. ha. | Vic.
mill. ha. | Qld
mill. ha. | SA
mill. ha. | WA
mill. ha. | Tas.
mill. ha. | NT
mill. ha. | Aust.(a)
mill. ha. |
|
| 1995 | 60.3 | 12.7 | 149.7 | 56.1 | 114.0 | 1.9 | 68.6 | 463.3 |
| 1996 | 61.0 | 12.8 | 149.7 | 56.9 | 114.5 | 1.9 | 68.3 | 465.2 |
| 1997 | 60.9 | 12.7 | 149.6 | 56.2 | 112.5 | 1.9 | 68.3 | 462.2 |
| 1998 | 60.3 | 12.7 | 148.2 | 57.5 | 115.8 | 1.9 | 67.3 | 463.8 |
| 1999 | 59.3 | 12.8 | 140.3 | 59.4 | 113.1 | 1.9 | 66.9 | 453.7 |
| 2000 | 62.1 | 13.3 | 145.4 | 59.9 | 105.6 | 1.8 | 67.5 | 455.5 |
|
| (a) Including ACT. |
Source: Agriculture, Australia (7113.0). |
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