Land condition of pastures
Land condition is the capacity of land to respond to rain and produce useful pasture.
To improve the health of your grazing land, you should manage the condition of your:
- soil
- pasture
- woodland.
Use the Stocktake GLM app to monitor and manage your land condition.
Soil
Measure soil condition by the condition of the soil surface—look for any evidence of erosion. Other indicators of soil condition include the amount of ground cover and rainwater infiltration rate.
Soil in good condition can:
- absorb and store rainwater
- store and cycle nutrients
- provide habitat for seed germination and plant growth
- resist erosion.
Pasture
Measure pasture condition by:
- pasture composition
- density and health of 3P (perennial, palatable and productive) grasses.
Pasture in good condition can:
- capture solar energy
- use rainwater efficiently
- conserve soil condition
- cycle nutrients.
Woodland
Measure woodland condition by the balance of woody plants and pasture in different land types and at different locations in the property or surrounding area.
Woodland in good condition can:
- grow pasture
- cycle nutrients
- regulate groundwater.
Land degradation
Grazing land can become degraded through poor management, high total grazing pressure and extreme weather events.
Degraded land can:
- produce poor quality pasture
- lose its ability to grow and sustain pasture
- become eroded by wind or water
- become invaded by weeds
- have high salt content in the soil.
Land degradation may be irreversible or expensive to rehabilitate, and has a major impact on the biodiversity and productivity of the land.