Exploring the 'city-bush divide': what do urban people really think of farmers and rural land management?

Many developed economies have highly urbanised populations. As environmental concern in the general population has increased, farmers have found themselves at the centre of competing demands in relation to the resources and land they manage or own. Australian farmers are concerned that urban people are unsympathetic and see them as ‘environmental vandals’. These perceived negative views of farmers are part of a wider division variously described as an ‘urban - rural’ or ‘city - bush’ divide. However, there is no empirical evidence to support, or define the nature of a divide, if it does exist in relation to urban people’s views of farmers’ environmental performance. This study found little evidence of a city - bush divide in relation to urban views of farmers and rural land management. Although diverse views are held of farmers and rural land management, there is a reasonable level of trust in, and empathy with, farmers. Nevertheless, rural land management is of high concern for urban people and they consider the environment to be in poor condition. We identified five groups of people, with only one group that could be considered sceptical of farmers’ land management performance. The results highlight the difficulties in developing appropriate rural land management policies that balance legitimate societal concerns for environmental condition and public versus private benefits and costs, while not adversely affecting the many farmers whom the majority of urban people feel act responsibly. The data suggest uncertainty in the urban community as to whether government is effectively achieving this balance

Novel ecosystems created by coal mines in central Queensland's Bowen Basin

Introduction: Open-cut coal mining began in central Queensland's Bowen Basin approximately 50 years ago. Over this period of time, mine rehabilitators have used a variety of tree, shrub, and groundcover species to create 'novel ecosystems' to stabilise soils and provide vegetative cover for pre-supposed final end-land uses. We examine post-mining rehabilitation from multiple soil and vegetation monitoring activities in the Bowen Basin to assess the similarity of landforms, plant composition, and trends in plant diversity compared to unmined reference communities. Methods: Rehabilitated spoil dumps and reference sites were assessed using soil and vegetation data contained in compliance monitoring reports from Goonyella Riverside, Moura, Oaky Creek, Rolleston, and Blackwater mines. Slopes, soil chemistry, and plant species mixes of rehabilitation aged from 2 to 22 years were compared to selected reference communities. Results: Mines in this region have generally proposed one of two post-rehabilitation end-land uses: either pasture for cattle grazing or reconstructed native communities which potentially provide native fauna habitat. Landform data from a selection of these mine sites suggest that when their rehabilitation was compared to nearby reference sites median slope values were between 2.5 and 7 times steeper and soil pH, electrical conductivity, and phosphorus levels were significantly higher. The steeply sloped landforms, poor soil characteristics, depauperate native species pool, and uniform presence of exotic pasture grasses in the rehabilitation indicate that most of these newly created ecosystems should not be used for cattle grazing and also have few natural values. Conclusions: Legislative and community expectations have changed progressively over time and, although much of the rehabilitation is currently dominated by an assemblage of exotic buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) and Acacia spp., recent environmental authorities suggest these 'novel ecosystems' will be judged against native reference sites. Upon completion of mining activities the resilience of these new ecosystems to drought, fire, and grazing will need to be demonstrated prior to lease relinquishment