Realms of Land & Sea

Australia's Environment : Issues and Trends - Australian Bureau of Statistics

♦ Land: Australia’s landscape has been highly modified since European settlement. Native
vegetation, which provides a protective cover for the land, has been removed or degraded
in many areas due to urbanisation, agriculture, mining, pastoralism and infrastructure
development. Altering land from its natural state inevitably results in changes to soil health
and landscape functionality. If persistent, these changes can lead to environmental
problems and rapid deterioration of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Biodiversity: Australia is home to more than one million species, many of which are
endemic – that is, they are found only in Australia. Globally, Australia is recognised as one
of 17 “mega-diverse” countries, with ecosystems of exceptional variety and uniqueness.
Changes to the landscape and native habitat as a result of human activity have put many of
these unique species at risk. Ideally, the trends would consider all Australian biodiversity –
the abundance and diversity of micro-organisms, plants and animals, the genes they contain
and the ecosystems which they form. To measure change as comprehensively as this would
be difficult, if not impossible, and so here we focus on five trends. These trends are closely
linked to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) and
include: List of threatened fauna, List of threatened flora, List of threatened ecological
communities, Register of critical habitat, and List of key threatening processes.

The intentional and unintentional release of invasive plant and animal species into delicate ecosystems is a major threat to floral biodiversity; 20 introduced species have been declared weeds of national significance

Thorp, J.R. and Lynch, R. 2000. Weeds of National Significance. Commonwealth of Australia & National Weeds Strategy Executive Committee ISBN 1-876977-20-5

Environmental Photography

Stylistically my photography has evolved into more of a photo journalistic approach to image making.
Listed below are ten tips on environmental photography based on my experience over the past few years. If you are passionate about both photography and conservation issues, I hope these tips can help you focus on working as an environmental photographer or perhaps on a special project you care deeply about. As you will read, much of the work of an environmental photographer takes place away from the camera.

Book design research

Photos from books in a bookstore

Online Printer chosen for final print prototype.

Full colour, Hardcover, Imagewrap printed on premium paper.

Deforestation risks

When forests are cut, the salinity of the soil can greatly increase. As a result, saline water draining from such areas can affect downstream or downslope water quality.

Studies in Australia's wet tropics show that soils have limited capacity to recover from deforestation.

Birds threatened by the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/birds-gulf-oil-spill-0519

The Murray-Darling Basin is the home of the largest river system in Australia. It is the lifeblood for eastern Australia, stretching 1,061,469 square kilometres through Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The three main river systems that make up the Murray-Darling Basin include the Darling River, the Murrumbidgee River, the Lachlan River and Billabong Creek; and the Murray River itself.

As you can guess, the problems facing the river system directly affect hundreds of cities and towns, not to mention countless species of fauna and flora. 3.2 million Australians rely on the Murray Darling for their every day drinking water. The basin also provides about 41% of the country’s agriculture with water for crops like cotton, rice and wheat.

http://www.actnow.com.au/Issues/MurrayDarling_Basin.aspx