NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
(ENVS10001)
LECTURE 1B: THINKING ABOUT LANDSCAPES
Dr. Alexis Pang
Subject coordinator
School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences
Faculty of Science
NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
(ENVS10001)
LECTURE 1A: INTRODUCTION
Today’s learning objectives
1. Develop an appreciation of landscapes as a unifying
concept for understanding natural systems;
2. Understand the links between the subject’s
conceptual framework (4 great earth systems) and
landscapes;
3. Broadly describe the Victorian Bioregions and
Catchments and their logic as landscape units;
4. Appreciate the importance of understanding
landscapes for evaluating land-resource problems
and solutions.
Thinking about landscapes
What is a landscape?
(You can give some examples…)
pollev.com/alexispang087
Thinking about landscapes
“Entering Suzhou and the Grand Canal” (6/12) of Qianlong Emperor
by Qing-era court painter Xu Yang (~1750-1776).
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Also see New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art online collection
Thinking about landscapes
Thinking about landscapes
Source: Huaiwei. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2959945
Thinking about landscapes
Topography
Geology and Soils
Hydrology Ecology
Coastal processes
Climate & Weather
Humans
Scales
Source: Huaiwei. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2959945
Thinking about landscapes
Topography Geology and SoilsScales
Tertiary geology (65 to 2.6 Mil y b.p.): folded sedimentary rock
Source: (available upon request)
Climate &
Weather
(Past and
Present)
Hydrology
Thinking about landscapes
University of Melbourne Dookie Campus (Northern Victoria) with Mount Major in the background.
Source: Stock and Land
Thinking about landscapes
Source: Budj Bim Cultural Landscape; www.budjbim.com.au
A definition from the
Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund
The four ‘great realms’ / earth systems
Civil Engineering example: Metro Rail Tunnel
Source: Raildocs.wongm.com
Source: Geological Society of Australia (Victoria)
The Gippsland Plains Bioregion (GPB)
Thinking about Victorian landscapes
Source: Victorian State Government DELWP
The Gippsland Plains Bioregion (GPB) – Soils (Regional)
Thinking about Victorian landscapes
Australian Soil Types in the Gippsland Basin Bioregion
Source: Victorian State Government DELWP
The Gippsland Plains Bioregion - Landuse
Thinking about Victorian landscapes
Land Use / Land Cover in the Gippsland Basin Bioregion
Source: Victorian State Government DELWP
The Mitchell River Catchment (MRC)
• http://mapshare.vic.gov.au/webmap/ltwra/
Gippsland
Plains
Bioregion
(Lower
catchment)
Thinking about Victorian landscapes
Water catchments / river basins as natural frames of analyses
Here, the Mitchell River Catchment
Problems affecting DR in MRC-GPB
Poor ecological health
a. Native vegetation areas = Ecosystem services, even during drought
b. Extensive clearance of native vegetation -> agriculture (intensive horticulture, pasture, cropping)
c. Remaining vegetation patches small and disconnected; minimal riparian vegetation
d. Existing revegetation (on-farm, on public land) efforts -> piece-meal and lack coherence
An example Agriculture and NRM issue
Source: Google Earth (2022)
Utilizing landscapes – Land Capability Assessment
Note: DSE = Dry Sheep Equivalent (i.e. stocking rate)
Source: Rowe, Howe and Alley (1981). Guidelines for Land Capability Assessment in Victoria. Soil Conservation Authority
Source: Rowe, Howe and Alley (1981). Guidelines for Land Capability Assessment in Victoria. Soil Conservation Authority
Knowing and understanding the landscape
• Web-based geo-information databases
• “Walking the ground”
Knowing and understanding the landscape
Knowing and understanding the landscape
• “Walking the ground” – primary observations and data
collection
• New information; detailed
Source: Investigators College SA
Exploring the Bet Bet Creek Catchment and Issues
Environmental problems and solutions
require and understanding of how
landscapes function
https://vro.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/nthcenregn.nsf/pages/lwm_v
irtual-landscape_bet-bet-creek-catchment
Conclusion and Looking ahead:
This week:
• Complete the Week 1 Tasks (compulsory) see Modules and
Assignments in Canvas
• Reading: Spheres, Scales, Systems & Cycles (Module 1.2)
Next week (Week 2):
Lectures on
• 2A) Earth Systems, Cycles, Change and Scales;
• 2B) Sustainability and Resilience
Tutorial on
• Systems Thinking; Sustainability and Resilience
• Bachelor of Agriculture (BAg) students back on Parkville
(Look out for Canvas LMS & Email announcements on any changes)
Questions?
alexisp@unimelb.edu.au
Thank You!
alexisp@unimelb.edu.au