Central West/Lachlan Region, NSW

Project contact: Dr Sue Briggs, phone (02) 6242 1621, email Sue.Briggs@csiro.au

Mixed farming landscapes in the Central West/Lachlan catchments have the potential to conserve biodiversity at all levels, including landscapes, species and ecotypes.

The project will explore the extent to which various scales of conservation can be achieved and which economically viable production systems are compatible with conservation aims. This will involve determining how biodiversity elements are arranged across the landscape in relation to land use and other variables, and the potential to enhance conservation through landscape design, for example through changes to the distribution of land uses or the location of regeneration activities.

Understanding the potential to contribute to regional conservation targets through landscape design should allow Catchment Management Authorities to develop incentive programs to maximise conservation outcomes on private land.

The project will also include an assessment of habitat condition on case study farms, and an evaluation of the impact of alley farming systems on biodiversity.

The project is supported by the New South Wales Departments of Primary Industries and Environment and Conservation.