----- Original Message ----- From: John Lakey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2002 1:24 PM
John Lakey wrote > Australian soils are very old, much of the original mineral characteristics from > the parent material has been leached out and 2% OM would be considered > pretty good. John you are right of course but dont lets forget that those same soils have withstood 40000 plus years of constant and relentless burning. Aboriginal culture was the culture of the firestick.To the extent that most of the modern day vegetation consists of strongly fire adapted species (Eucalypts wattles etc) The recent Sydney bushfires are a prime example of the need for frequent burning or heavy grazing to maintain order in the bushland now that Aboriginal fire management has been removed from most areas. There really was no opportunity to accumulate decent levels of organic matter even if the climate had favoured it. We hear a lot about our old worn out soils but given reasonable rainfall and sensible management most will produce at a decent level without a great deal of drama. I think we are lucky that we have not yet toxified our soil to the same degree as some overseas - North America in particular Cheers Lloyd Charles
