Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Economic Ramifications of Unproductive Soil in Australia
Jared Diamond says in Collapse that a second economic consequence of Australia’s low soil productivity impacted agroforestry - tree agriculture. Most of the nutrients are actually in the trees themselves, not in the soils. Therefore, tree growth rates and yields have been uneconomic. In fact, Australia’s leading native timber tree, the blue gum of Tasmania, is now being grown more cheaply in many overseas countries that in Australia itself.
A third consequence involves fisheries. All of the nutrients in rivers and at least some of those in oceans near the coast, come from the soils drained by the rivers and then carried out to sea. Because of Australian soil’s productivity, rivers and coastal waters are also relatively unproductive, with the result that Australia’s fisheries have been quickly mined and overexploited, just like the farmlands and forests. Today, of nearly 200 countries in the world, Australia has the third-largest exclusive marine zone surrounding it, but ranks only 55th in the value of its marine fisheries and the value of its freshwater fisheries is negligible.
Another aspect of soil unproductivity is that the original settlers were unaware of the problem. When they arrived and encountered magnificent extensive woodlands that included what may have been the tallest trees in the modern world – the blue gums of Victoria’s Gippsland, up to 400’ tall, they were deceived by appearances into thinking that the land was highly productive. But after loggers had removed the first crop of trees, and after sheep had grazed the standing crop of grass, settlers were surprised to discover how slowly the grass and trees grew back.
The original settlers, as well as some people today, were quite slow to realize that the land was agriculturally uneconomic. In many areas, farmers and pastoralists had to abandon the land after making large capital investments in the form of homes, fences, buildings, wells, and roads. From early colonial times and continuing today, Australian land use has gone through many such cycles of land clearance, investment, bankruptcy and abandonment.
A third consequence involves fisheries. All of the nutrients in rivers and at least some of those in oceans near the coast, come from the soils drained by the rivers and then carried out to sea. Because of Australian soil’s productivity, rivers and coastal waters are also relatively unproductive, with the result that Australia’s fisheries have been quickly mined and overexploited, just like the farmlands and forests. Today, of nearly 200 countries in the world, Australia has the third-largest exclusive marine zone surrounding it, but ranks only 55th in the value of its marine fisheries and the value of its freshwater fisheries is negligible.
Another aspect of soil unproductivity is that the original settlers were unaware of the problem. When they arrived and encountered magnificent extensive woodlands that included what may have been the tallest trees in the modern world – the blue gums of Victoria’s Gippsland, up to 400’ tall, they were deceived by appearances into thinking that the land was highly productive. But after loggers had removed the first crop of trees, and after sheep had grazed the standing crop of grass, settlers were surprised to discover how slowly the grass and trees grew back.
The original settlers, as well as some people today, were quite slow to realize that the land was agriculturally uneconomic. In many areas, farmers and pastoralists had to abandon the land after making large capital investments in the form of homes, fences, buildings, wells, and roads. From early colonial times and continuing today, Australian land use has gone through many such cycles of land clearance, investment, bankruptcy and abandonment.
