Land clearing in Australia

As of 2011[update], of the vegetation which existed in Australia at the time of European settlement, approximately 87% remains.

[3] Land clearing threatens native species including ground orchids and eucalyptus.

Other incentives included the War Service Land Settlement Scheme, low-interest bank loans and financial support programs such as drought relief assistance.

The majority of cleared land in Australia has been developed for cattle, sheep and wheat production.

In New South Wales, much of the remaining forests and woodlands have been cleared, due to the high productivity of the land.

In The Australian Capital Territory for example, much urban development has occurred on previously cleared agricultural land.

Land clearing destroys plants and local ecosystems and removes the food and habitat on which other native species rely.

[citation needed] Soil erosion from deforested land has also affected the water quality around the Great Barrier Reef.

Much of Australian native vegetation has adapted to low rainfall conditions, and use deep root systems to take advantage of any available water beneath the surface.

The smaller and more isolated the remnants, the greater the threat from external pressures as their boundaries (or edges) are more exposed to disturbances.

It also contributes to global climate change by diminishing the capacity of the vegetation to absorb carbon dioxide.

[citation needed] An organisation checked the impacts on climate extremes and droughts by analysing daily rainfall and surface temperature output from the Mark 3 GCM.

These changes were statistically significant for all years across eastern Australia and especially pronounced during strong El Niño events.

The Queensland and New South Wales governments implemented bans on land clearing during the 1990s and early 2000s.

[17] Both Queensland and New South Wales monitor land clearing on an annual basis using satellite imagery under the Statewide Landcover and Trees Study.

Land clearing is controlled indirectly by federal law in the form of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), which may also apply if there are federally protected threatened species (plant or animal) or endangered ecological communities present on the land in question.

Federal law in the form of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999[23] (Cth) may also apply if there are federally protected threatened species (plant or animal) or endangered ecological communities present on the land in question.

This set of laws is more specific to reflect the localized objectives for urban forest retention by the council.