ACRIS Climate Variability Update 2005-2011
Updated information to that provided in
Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse
This project is supported by Ninti One Limited,
through funding from the Australian Government's Caring for our Country
1
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for Sustainability,
Environment, Water, Population and Communities.
While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are
factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or
completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be
occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this
publication.
2
ACRIS Climate Variability Update 2005-2011
Updated information to that provided in
Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse
Gary Bastin, ACRIS Management Unit, CSIRO, PO Box 2111, Alice Springs NT 0871
Key points
In 2008, ACRIS documented changes in the rangelands at national and regional scales in the
report Rangelands 2008-Taking the Pulse. That report was based on data for the period 1992
to 2005. Recent years have well illustrated the extreme climate variability that Australia
experiences, with much of the continent changing from severe drought during parts of the last
decade to some locations experiencing their wettest period on record. This document
provides updated information on seasonal quality of bioregions across the rangelands, using
data on annual (autumn to autumn) rainfall and modelled pasture growth.
‘Seasonal quality’ is the term ACRIS uses to rank the degree of climate variability from one
year to the next. Seasonal quality broadly describes the relative value of recent rainfall on
biological functioning. Relative value (quality) is judged with reference to the longer term
record. ‘Biological functioning’ broadly means vegetation growth as a basic resource for
both livestock (forage) and fauna (food, shelter).
In summary:

Rainfall was below average to average across much of the eastern and central
rangelands between 2005-06 and 2007-08 (i.e. poorer seasonal quality).

Seasonal quality then improved across the eastern rangelands, based on rainfall, but
remained poor in pastoral Western Australia, particularly in 2009-10.

The rangelands have experienced very good seasonal conditions over the last two
years (2010-11 and 2011-12) with annual rainfalls being amongst the highest recorded
for many bioregions.

Modelled pasture growth provides an alternative indicator of seasonal quality. It
indicates the potential for pasture growth based on rainfall, soil quality and regional
grazing pressure by livestock, feral herbivores and kangaroos. In some areas, this
potential may not be realised because of past land degradation.
Modelled pasture growth generally supported the spatial and temporal patterns of
seasonal quality indicated by rainfall but there were some regional differences. In
particular, pasture recovery tended to lag rainfall coming out of the recent drought in
the southern and eastern rangelands. Further, in several tropical northern bioregions
much of the increased rainfall was less effective, indicated by smaller responses in the
pasture growth index in most years.
3
Published climate reviews
The Bureau of Meteorology has published annual climate summaries since 2001 (see
www.bom.gov.au/climate/annual_sum/annsum.shtml). Longer term trends in climate
variability are reported in the ‘State of the Climate’ series produced by CSIRO and the
Bureau (available at www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Climate/Understanding/State-of-theClimate.aspx). Key points, with respect to temperature and rainfall, from the 2012 report
include:
Temperature



Each decade has been warmer than the previous decade since the 1950s.
Australian annual average daily mean temperatures have increased by 0.9 oC since
1910.
2010 and 2011 were Australia’s coolest years recorded since 2001 due to two
consecutive La Nina events.
Rainfall


Southwest Western Australia has experienced long-term reductions in rainfall during
the winter half of the year.
There has been a trend over recent decades towards increased spring and summer
monsoonal rainfall across Australia’s north, higher-than-normal rainfall across the
centre, and decreased late autumn and winter rainfall across the south.
Climate variability in the rangelands
Rainfall is the major driver of ecosystem and landscape processes in Australia’s rangelands.
The amount of rain received, its timing and intensity, and any follow-up rains, all have a
profound effect on the growth and composition of vegetation (see for example Figure 3.1,
page 30, in Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse). A common pattern is for rainfall
variability to produce large changes in herbage growth but minimally affect overall rangeland
condition (defined broadly as the capacity of vegetation to respond to rainfall). Of course
there are exceptions: serious degradation events have occurred in the past through excessive
grazing pressure in drought (see examples in McKeon et al., 2004).
Rainfall variability occurs over two timeframes: (i) within year, or season-to-season
variability (e.g. wet vs. dry, summer vs. winter) and (ii) between year, or year-to-year
variability (e.g. dry years vs. wet years). ACRIS is more interested in longer-term climate
variability as a driver of vegetation change. At broader spatial scale, we use map products to
show how recent rainfall compares with the long-term record (pages 31 to 36 in Rangelands
2008 – Taking the pulse). At more local scale, such as at pastoral monitoring sites, ranked
scores of ‘seasonal quality’1 are used to help identify grazing effects on recent vegetation
change (examples in Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse and the Landscape Function and
Critical Stock Forage updates at www.environment.gov.au/land/rangelands/acris/index.html).
‘Seasonal quality’ reports the relative value of recent rainfall on biological functioning. Relative value
(quality) is judged with reference to the longer term record. ‘Biological functioning’ broadly means vegetation
growth as a basic resource for both livestock (forage) and fauna (food, shelter).
1
4
This brief report updates, since 2005, climate variability information for the rangelands. It
follows the presentation style used for reporting in Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse.
Seasonal quality
Yearly rainfall can broadly describe seasonal quality. To avoid splitting the northern wet
season between calendar years, ACRIS uses an April-to-March rainfall year. Rainfall
recorded at observing stations is interpolated to a gridded surface by the Bureau of
Meteorology where grid cells are 0.5 degrees of latitude and longitude (approximately 5 km
by 5 km). The interpolated data are most reliable where the density of recording stations is
highest.
The driest and wettest years in the rangelands in the recent past are shown in Figure 1. Much
of the central and southern rangelands received <150 mm rainfall between April 2004 and
March 2005 and >500 mm for the same period in 2010-11.
>1000 mm
<100 mm
Rainfall
1/4/2004 to 31/3/2005
Rainfall
1/4/2010 to 31/3/2011
Figure 1. Gridded rainfall in the rangelands for a particularly dry year (left) and very wet year
(right). Lines show bioregion boundaries (IBRA v6.1).
Data source: www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap (accessed 22 May 2012). Maps compiled by the
ACRIS-MU.
Rain can fall in large amounts but not all of this is available, or useful, for plant growth.
ACRIS uses deciles of annual rainfall to more usefully indicate seasonal quality. An
alternative indicator of seasonal quality is modelled herbage availability, either as annual
growth or total standing dry matter (TSDM). This approach has two advantages over rainfall
for indicating seasonal quality:
5
1. It estimates how much of each rainfall event is used for pasture growth. This
effectively discounts both small rainfall events that are ineffective for initiating
growth and very large events where much rainfall may be lost to the pasture layer as
runoff or deep percolation within the soil profile.
2. Most of the rangelands have infertile soils and in particularly wet periods, pasture
growth is limited by nutrient deficiency (particularly nitrogen availability).
Appropriately calibrated and validated models use soil properties to suitably limit
pasture growth when soil moisture is abundant.
Pasture growth following rainfall is spatially modelled by AussieGRASS 2 and those data can
be expressed as total amount (e.g. kg/ha of annual growth or TSDM) or as a relative index
(e.g. deciles of annual growth) to describe past seasons. The AussieGRASS estimate of
pasture growth may exceed actual growth. This is particularly the case where past land
degradation has reduced the composition of perennial pasture species and reduced rainfall
infiltration through erosion.
Data sources and processing
Recent monthly grids of rainfall data for Australia were downloaded from the Bureau of
Meteorology (www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap) and accumulated to annual amounts for the AprilMarch period. These grids were added to existing data extending back to 1890 (compiled for
Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse). Data for each April-March period were spatially
averaged across rangeland bioregions (IBRA v6.1). Each April-March rainfall for each
bioregion was then calculated as a decile rank against the long-term record (i.e. 1890-91 to
2011-12).
The Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence provided AussieGRASS estimates of
spatially-averaged annual growth and total standing dry matter for each rangeland bioregion
between March of one year and February of the following year. These data were for the
period 1890-91 to 2011-12. Bioregion TSDM data were used in Rangelands 2008 – Taking
the pulse to describe seasonal quality (along with various indices of rainfall). Relatively high
levels of TSDM indicate a body of carry-over feed for livestock, reduced drought risk and
better ground cover. In many bioregions, it may also indicate increased risk of fire.
Here we use deciles of annual growth (calculated as for rainfall) as expected growth probably
better indicates seasonal quality compared with TSDM. TSDM is dependent on carry-over
from the previous year, is reduced by grazing and may also be affected by fire. The national
fire record extends back to 1997 and recent years of modelled growth data may have a lower
TSDM ranking than those years prior to the recent fire record. Simulated annual growth is
less affected by preceding fires.
Deciles of seasonal quality
Recent deciles of seasonal quality based on either rainfall or AussieGRASS-simulated
herbage growth are shown for every second year between 2005-06 and 2011-12 in Figure 2.
As noted earlier, this six-year period spans some of the driest and wettest years experienced
since European settlement. The two data types indicate that:
2
www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/about/researchprojects/aussiegrass/index.html (accessed 20 June 2012)
6
Deciles of rainfall
1/4/2005 to 31/3/2006
Deciles of rainfall
1/4/2007 to 31/3/2008
AussieGRASS deciles of growth
1/3/2005 to 28/2/2006
Legend
highest decile
AussieGRASS deciles of growth
1/3/2007 to 29/2/2008
lowest decile
Deciles of rainfall
1/4/2009 to 31/3/2010
AussieGRASS deciles of growth
1/3/2009 to 28/2/2010
Deciles of rainfall
1/4/2011 to 31/3/2012
AussieGRASS deciles of growth
1/3/2011 to 29/2/2012
Figure 2. Seasonal quality indicated by deciles of annual rainfall and AussieGRASS simulated
herbage growth. Lines show bioregion boundaries (IBRA v6.1). Data sources:
www.bom.gov.au/jsp/awap and Qld Climate Change Centre of Excellence. Maps: ACRIS-
MU.
7

The western half of the rangelands received well above-average rainfall between
April 2005 and March 2006. Seasonal quality was average or below average in the
east, particularly in the Mulga Lands and Brigalow Belt North bioregions.
The annual growth data suggest poorer seasonal quality in parts of the north-eastern
rangelands for the same period. This was particularly the case for Cape York
Peninsula where close to median rainfall translated to below-average growth. In the
south, the Gawler bioregion (SA) also had a lower decile of growth than its
corresponding rainfall.

Based on rainfall, much of central and southern Australia had average to belowaverage seasonal quality in 2007-08 (April to March period). Eastern, northern and
western rangeland bioregions had generally well above-average rainfall.
Decile-ranked pasture growth suggests similar poor seasonal quality for bioregions in
and neighbouring the Simpson Desert (Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields, Channel
Country, Stony Plains, Gawler and Flinders Lofty Block). Lower rainfall did not
adversely affect growth in the western deserts (Gibson, Little Sandy, Great Sandy,
Great Victoria) although AussieGRASS simulation may not be well calibrated here.
Elsewhere, deciles of expected pasture growth were lower than corresponding rainfall
in the Riverina and Murray Darling Depression bioregions (NSW and neighbouring
SA) and in the Yalgoo and Coolgardie bioregions (south-western rangelands in WA).

Seasonal quality improved across much of the south eastern rangelands in 2009-10.
Contrasting with this improvement, the Pilbara, Carnarvon and Gascoyne bioregions
in WA experienced very dry conditions between April 2009 and March 2010 and this
translated to much below-average growth for the similar period.
The growth data suggest that pasture recovery in parts of the southern and eastern
rangelands lagged the increased rainfall. The Einasleigh Uplands, Darling Riverine
Plains, Riverina, Murray Darling Depression, Broken Hill Complex, Flinders Lofty
Block, Gawler and Nullarbor bioregions had lower deciles of pasture growth than
rainfall.
Simulated pasture growth was much below-average in far northern Australia (Victoria
Bonaparte, Daly Basin, Darwin Coastal, Pine Creek, Arnhem Plateau and Cape York
Peninsula).

Rainfall was much above average throughout the rangelands between April 2011 and
March 2012 (and similarly for 2010-11 apart from the Coolgardie bioregion).
High deciles of simulated pasture growth were also present between March 2011 and
February 2012 apart from far northern Australia, particularly Cape York Peninsula.
Two caveats accompany this assessment: (i) actual growth is likely to have been less
than expected growth where past land degradation has altered pasture composition
and increased runoff due to erosion and (ii) very high levels of pasture growth do not
necessarily translate to improved liveweight gain due to nitrogen dilution and reduced
protein in standing feed.
8
Bioregion profiles of seasonal quality
Amounts of April-March rainfall spatially averaged across rangeland bioregions and their
corresponding deciles are listed in Appendix 1. These data are for the period between 200001 and 2011-12. Similar data for modelled pasture growth between March of one year and
February of the following are in Appendix 2.
These data can be plotted to profile changes in seasonal quality over time for selected
bioregions. Example time traces for four bioregions (Figure 3) are illustrated in Figure 4.
Note that decile 0 represents the lowest spatially-averaged value for a bioregion between
1890-91 and 2011-12. Higher deciles represent 10% blocks, e.g. decile 10 rainfall is the
wettest 10% of years.
Figure 3. Location of bioregions
whose time-trace profiles of
decile rainfall and pasture
growth are plotted in Figure 4.
The example profiles in Figure 4 show that:

Seasonal quality in the Desert Uplands was poor in the middle part of the last decade
and then improved to be very good in more recent years. Ranking of seasonal quality
based on either deciles of April-March rainfall or simulated pasture growth was
broadly similar.

There was a similar trend in the Riverina although improvement in seasonal quality
was more recent than in the Desert Uplands. As noted above, the increase in deciles
of growth at the end of this reporting period slightly lagged rainfall. Overall, deciles
of rainfall were a more variable indicator of seasonal quality than deciles of expected
growth.
9

The two indicators provide a mixed assessment of recent seasonal quality in the
Coolgardie bioregion. Deciles of rainfall suggested quite variable seasonal quality
with large changes from one year to the next. Deciles of pasture growth also varied
from one year to the next, at times followed the same pattern as rainfall but between
2007-08 and 2008-09 were much lower.

Rainfall deciles for the Daly Basin indicated average to above-average seasonal
quality since 2000-01. The rainfall record also suggested better seasonal quality than
that indicated by modelled pasture growth.
Conclusion
Seasonal conditions in rangeland Australia between 2005-06 and 2011-12 varied from some
of the worst experienced since European settlement to among the best. ACRIS uses deciles
of rainfall and modelled herbage growth to indicate seasonal quality. Deciles of rainfall for
the April-March annual periods were below average to average across much of the eastern
and central rangelands between 2005-06 and 2007-08. Seasonal quality then improved across
the eastern rangelands but remained poor in pastoral Western Australia, particularly in 200910. The rangelands have experienced very good seasonal conditions over the last two years
(2010-11 and 2011-12) with rainfall being decile eight or higher in most bioregions. Deciles
of expected pasture growth generally supported the spatial and temporal patterns of seasonal
quality indicated by rainfall but there were some regional differences. In particular, pasture
recovery tended to lag rainfall coming out of the recent drought in the southern and eastern
rangelands. Deciles of pasture growth were also generally less than those of rainfall in some
tropical northern bioregions.
References
Bastin, G. and ACRIS Management Committee (2008). Rangelands 2008 – Taking the pulse.
Canberra. Published on behalf of the ACRIS Management Committee by the National Land
and Water Resources Audit. Available at
http://www.environment.gov.au/land/rangelands/acris/index.html
McKeon, G.M., Hall, W.B., Henry, B.K., Stone, G.S. and Watson, I.W. (2004). Pasture
degradation and recovery in Australia’s rangelands: Learning from History. Queensland
Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.
10
10
9
Decile of April-March Rainfall / TSDM
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
rainfall
growth
1
0
2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-01 2011-12
Desert Uplands
Riverina
Coolgardie
Daly Basin
Figure 4. Time traces of decile rainfall and decile pasture growth for selected rangeland bioregions. Graphs: ACRIS-MU.
11
Appendix 1, part 1. Spatially-averaged gridded rainfall (mm) for rangeland bioregions. Rainfall is from April of one year to March of the following.
IBRA
Arnhem Coast
Arnhem Plateau
Brigalow Belt North
Brigalow Belt South
Broken Hill Complex
Burt Plain
Cape York Peninsula
Carnarvon
Central Arnhem
Central Kimberley
Central Ranges
Channel Country
Cobar Peneplain
Coolgardie
Daly Basin
Dampierland
Darling Riverine Plains
Darwin Coastal
Davenport Murchison
Ranges
Desert Uplands
Einasleigh Uplands
Finke
Flinders Lofty Block
Gascoyne
Gawler
Gibson Desert
Great Sandy Desert
2000-01
1908
1885
776
691
205
780
1802
169
1538
1083
423
344
496
288
1521
907
527
1913
935
707
1077
361
266
259
168
407
685
2001-02
1083
1078
417
490
146
407
1211
70
1030
848
621
145
286
207
1124
522
333
1383
450
456
701
476
227
220
224
432
392
2002-03
1362
1284
312
328
98
197
1153
117
1120
603
123
92
183
207
933
569
188
1442
327
263
474
130
138
222
136
201
253
2003-04
1498
1521
481
612
193
273
1246
213
1303
961
343
168
328
382
1573
762
486
1803
426
444
633
206
192
265
139
332
467
2004-05
1233
1194
396
376
149
185
1158
172
930
577
190
102
261
188
956
415
356
1263
177
370
578
128
204
142
170
185
225
2005-06
1157
1232
392
497
196
382
1276
377
1005
1017
384
150
364
353
1318
764
423
1566
549
379
626
215
251
443
188
389
455
2006-07
1457
1843
544
391
136
418
1620
49
1504
788
235
211
241
244
1235
718
276
1962
478
500
866
152
189
202
180
344
408
2007-08
1506
1533
1312
956
212
155
1767
432
1582
1012
196
161
569
265
1392
753
599
2031
213
2008-09
1160
1099
903
664
211
311
1414
275
1189
1014
216
258
350
350
1359
864
470
1625
403
1288
1222
141
176
418
133
87
149
1084
1483
202
216
346
173
102
190
2009-10
1390
1187
686
728
264
450
1145
90
1249
531
258
380
493
233
982
493
594
1442
397
690
777
254
283
120
216
153
325
2010-11
1641
1724
1135
1058
642
747
1708
553
1679
1240
534
659
631
251
1573
1011
632
1868
938
953
1303
595
516
423
363
509
649
2011-12
1532
1408
805
842
341
295
1530
273
1128
968
415
303
559
334
1358
843
679
1783
414
779
865
310
332
360
216
412
460
12
IBRA
Great Victoria Desert
Gulf Coastal
Gulf Fall and Uplands
Gulf Plains
Hampton
Little Sandy Desert
MacDonnell Ranges
Mitchell Grass Downs
Mount Isa Inlier
Mulga Lands
Murchison
Murray Darling Depression
Northern Kimberley
Nullarbor
Ord Victoria Plain
Pilbara
Pine Creek
Riverina
Simpson Strzelecki
Dunefields
Stony Plains
Sturt Plateau
Tanami
Tiwi Cobourg
Victoria Bonaparte
Yalgoo
2000-01
222
1863
1476
1155
346
368
717
708
828
421
262
300
1398
226
1133
439
1893
403
290
2001-02
330
791
675
656
283
389
424
322
326
279
239
201
786
251
633
243
1255
260
198
2002-03
179
1197
947
527
179
279
178
262
317
123
187
125
865
193
579
278
1199
156
93
2003-04
220
1196
1038
690
317
360
230
390
548
343
259
231
1371
224
834
438
1588
311
101
2004-05
175
696
545
534
273
147
175
255
398
212
179
198
849
180
497
122
1081
276
75
2005-06
260
1228
934
850
332
408
313
366
568
246
389
303
1364
308
869
675
1321
339
142
2006-07
194
920
820
836
266
380
294
402
394
267
211
188
1168
198
601
359
1845
194
152
2007-08
95
962
948
1087
203
151
143
405
399
563
265
301
1481
150
820
386
1619
346
61
2008-09
118
960
1063
1356
276
132
312
559
916
376
250
259
1348
203
802
462
1397
253
127
2009-10
178
1068
790
846
262
123
489
474
520
605
176
330
893
174
505
163
1191
385
253
2010-11
457
1354
1210
1253
513
422
885
731
864
639
372
675
1802
403
1019
460
1725
731
549
2011-12
294
1082
899
932
326
409
312
485
553
569
359
391
1451
219
702
423
1667
477
212
164
1236
1005
1879
1286
228
252
620
502
1066
956
195
115
838
278
1274
694
174
105
1022
506
1206
1303
234
107
456
175
1492
848
179
144
928
650
1163
1255
358
104
674
481
1317
964
164
75
863
252
1292
1215
396
145
978
352
1087
1500
310
210
621
450
1167
799
209
442
1062
826
1583
1337
361
212
881
434
1522
1035
312
13
Appendix 1, part 2. Deciles of rainfall for rangeland bioregions.
IBRA
Arnhem Coast
Arnhem Plateau
Brigalow Belt North
Brigalow Belt South
Broken Hill Complex
Burt Plain
Cape York Peninsula
Carnarvon
Central Arnhem
Central Kimberley
Central Ranges
Channel Country
Cobar Peneplain
Coolgardie
Daly Basin
Dampierland
Darling Riverine Plains
Darwin Coastal
Davenport Murchison
Ranges
Desert Uplands
Einasleigh Uplands
Finke
Flinders Lofty Block
Gascoyne
Gawler
Gibson Desert
Great Sandy Desert
2000-01
10
10
8
8
7
10
10
4
10
10
10
9
9
7
10
10
8
10
10
2001-02
4
3
3
4
3
9
4
1
6
8
10
4
3
3
6
5
3
5
8
2002-03
8
7
1
1
1
4
3
2
7
4
2
1
1
3
4
6
0
6
6
2003-04
9
9
4
6
6
6
5
6
9
9
9
5
4
10
10
9
8
9
8
2004-05
6
6
2
1
4
3
3
4
3
4
6
2
2
2
4
3
3
4
2
2005-06
4
6
2
4
6
9
5
9
5
10
9
4
5
9
9
9
6
8
9
2006-07
9
10
5
2
2
9
9
0
10
8
8
7
2
5
8
8
2
10
9
2007-08
9
10
10
10
7
2
10
10
10
10
6
4
10
6
9
8
9
10
2
2008-09
5
4
9
7
7
8
7
8
8
10
7
8
5
9
9
10
7
8
8
2009-10
8
5
7
8
9
9
3
1
9
3
8
10
9
4
5
4
9
6
7
2010-11
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
5
10
10
10
10
10
2011-12
9
9
8
9
10
7
9
8
7
9
10
9
9
9
9
9
10
9
8
8
9
10
8
7
5
10
10
5
5
10
6
6
9
10
9
1
1
3
1
6
3
7
6
5
4
7
4
7
4
9
10
3
3
3
5
2
6
6
5
3
4
8
7
10
6
10
9
6
8
5
4
5
6
9
9
10
10
4
3
10
3
1
1
10
10
7
5
9
6
2
3
8
6
8
8
2
8
5
8
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
9
8
9
9
10
8
10
10
14
IBRA
Great Victoria Desert
Gulf Coastal
Gulf Fall and Uplands
Gulf Plains
Hampton
Little Sandy Desert
MacDonnell Ranges
Mitchell Grass Downs
Mount Isa Inlier
Mulga Lands
Murchison
Murray Darling
Depression
Northern Kimberley
Nullarbor
Ord Victoria Plain
Pilbara
Pine Creek
Riverina
Simpson Strzelecki
Dunefields
Stony Plains
Sturt Plateau
Tanami
Tiwi Cobourg
Victoria Bonaparte
Yalgoo
2000-01
8
10
10
10
9
9
10
10
10
8
8
8
2001-02
10
5
6
4
7
10
9
5
3
4
7
3
2002-03
6
10
9
2
2
8
3
2
3
0
4
1
2003-04
8
10
10
5
9
9
5
7
8
6
8
5
2004-05
6
4
3
2
7
4
3
2
5
2
4
3
2005-06
9
10
9
8
9
10
8
6
8
3
10
8
2006-07
7
8
8
8
6
10
7
7
5
3
6
2
2007-08
1
8
10
10
3
4
2
7
5
9
8
8
2008-09
2
8
10
10
7
3
8
9
10
7
7
6
2009-10
6
9
8
8
6
3
10
8
8
10
4
8
2010-11
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
2011-12
10
9
9
9
9
10
8
8
8
10
10
9
10
8
10
9
10
8
10
3
9
8
4
6
3
9
4
6
7
5
5
0
3
9
8
10
9
9
5
4
4
5
5
1
3
4
2
9
10
10
10
7
6
6
8
7
8
7
10
1
7
10
3
10
8
10
7
1
9
7
9
9
8
2
6
4
5
5
2
5
8
10
10
10
10
9
10
10
10
10
7
9
8
10
9
9
8
10
10
10
10
4
10
6
9
2
7
3
5
9
5
5
2
2
4
10
9
4
10
5
4
3
1
8
5
2
7
10
10
4
10
10
4
7
9
6
7
2
2
10
4
5
10
10
7
10
7
3
10
8
9
6
9
4
4
3
10
10
10
9
10
10
9
10
8
8
8
8
15
Appendix 2, part 1. Spatially-averaged amounts of AussieGRASS-simulated pasture growth (kg ha-1) for rangeland bioregions. Pasture growth is
accumulated from March of one year to February of the following.
IBRA
Arnhem Coast
Arnhem Plateau
Brigalow Belt North
Brigalow Belt South
Broken Hill Complex
Burt Plain
Cape York Peninsula
Carnarvon
Central Arnhem
Central Kimberley
Central Ranges
Channel Country
Cobar Peneplain
Coolgardie
Daly Basin
Dampierland
Darling Riverine Plains
Darwin Coastal
Davenport Murchison
Ranges
Desert Uplands
Einasleigh Uplands
Finke
Flinders Lofty Block
Gascoyne
Gawler
Gibson Desert
Great Sandy Desert
2000-01
1811
2339
4375
2726
3082
2058
848
2050
1754
922
1136
1666
709
2067
2002
2726
2013
3086
2001-02
1751
2244
1579
1324
367
1718
1850
62
1858
1649
1622
357
1740
365
1973
1235
1839
2019
1205
2002-03
1633
2145
557
532
85
619
1598
185
1902
1417
221
149
361
81
1927
1362
344
1981
603
2003-04
1691
2188
1488
1638
353
691
1529
269
1873
1615
657
215
1545
540
1957
1422
2113
1989
1112
2004-05
1674
2116
868
610
229
807
1875
338
1820
1466
601
116
1187
233
1916
1300
1502
1993
267
2005-06
1734
2222
1208
1461
486
1055
1600
840
1885
1629
832
214
1856
336
2018
1806
2368
2025
926
2006-07
1656
2103
2578
863
153
1046
1856
119
1940
1544
355
221
791
233
1903
1625
801
1924
1456
2007-08
1744
2220
5192
3557
290
488
1917
430
1989
1881
511
149
1676
99
2071
1754
2286
2040
358
2008-09
1679
2154
3105
1072
224
374
1894
769
1888
1629
338
236
852
247
1990
1669
1359
1982
551
2009-10
1669
2081
3006
2420
364
546
1429
82
1899
1213
391
722
1908
232
1840
1335
2348
1920
470
2010-11
1870
2370
4904
3192
1586
3843
2538
658
2161
2255
1376
2309
2849
122
2188
2270
3563
2064
2876
2011-12
1763
2255
3899
2695
914
967
1752
758
1926
1763
1245
1082
2943
336
2054
1765
3213
2017
1235
3549
3669
1048
845
772
218
648
1335
1745
2514
2324
892
363
521
891
1054
474
1110
251
132
277
156
324
316
1087
1978
357
382
364
128
417
472
817
1794
341
396
292
205
370
493
1141
2000
281
579
563
169
580
683
2804
3364
79
235
428
186
430
493
4109
3489
114
254
444
129
498
576
2920
3427
234
273
362
107
316
398
2641
1981
205
466
82
230
131
356
4265
4452
2320
1735
457
724
431
1369
2999
2860
763
1260
514
428
791
1030
549
16
IBRA
Great Victoria Desert
Gulf Coastal
Gulf Fall and Uplands
Gulf Plains
Hampton
Little Sandy Desert
MacDonnell Ranges
Mitchell Grass Downs
Mount Isa Inlier
Mulga Lands
Murchison
Murray Darling
Depression
Northern Kimberley
Nullarbor
Ord Victoria Plain
Pilbara
Pine Creek
Riverina
Simpson Strzelecki
Dunefields
Stony Plains
Sturt Plateau
Tanami
Tiwi Cobourg
Victoria Bonaparte
Yalgoo
2000-01
437
2328
2822
2946
1258
743
2567
2916
3156
894
701
1416
2001-02
751
1964
2018
1943
1007
606
1902
1198
845
897
429
843
2002-03
222
2003
1864
1337
291
435
444
756
588
231
125
186
2003-04
254
2020
2183
1621
532
463
468
1000
1058
814
319
894
2004-05
366
1869
1428
1490
640
363
668
515
708
620
396
411
2005-06
300
2019
2022
1646
756
616
565
837
999
698
519
1509
2006-07
212
2122
2250
2553
769
631
369
1450
1663
557
344
460
2007-08
177
2096
1956
2195
774
561
331
1199
775
1304
220
638
2008-09
165
1980
1898
2180
407
339
391
1279
791
477
202
380
2009-10
123
1921
1860
1847
432
132
540
1688
1124
1785
148
933
2010-11
576
2339
3028
3175
1364
534
3417
2636
2959
1380
314
2283
2011-12
758
2257
2564
2402
1178
842
1058
2065
2117
1805
610
1762
1795
907
2230
1194
1978
2856
927
1651
1040
1856
530
1942
1997
467
1841
198
1094
435
1885
560
118
1756
210
1741
495
1939
2111
120
1863
423
1070
398
1865
1483
139
1740
608
1934
962
1950
2525
217
1871
483
1285
625
1829
1118
145
1888
380
2193
628
1997
1348
87
1789
140
1644
747
1918
663
206
1677
146
1257
268
1822
1926
307
2089
1334
2614
627
2016
3876
2561
1846
1355
1803
852
1940
3022
534
284
2434
2395
2637
2321
659
606
1950
1361
2116
2186
313
171
1634
629
1792
1794
194
97
2003
980
2350
2127
364
251
1119
370
2401
2049
315
177
2241
1078
2268
2264
635
71
1756
992
2103
1999
184
24
2065
936
2464
2475
191
147
1969
541
2306
2128
605
228
1717
662
2090
1752
467
1059
2436
2651
2773
2680
439
438
2082
1135
2394
2219
767
17
Appendix 2, part 2. Deciles of AussieGRASS-simulated pasture growth for rangeland bioregions.
IBRA
Arnhem Coast
Arnhem Plateau
Brigalow Belt North
Brigalow Belt South
Broken Hill Complex
Burt Plain
Cape York Peninsula
Carnarvon
Central Arnhem
Central Kimberley
Central Ranges
Channel Country
Cobar Peneplain
Coolgardie
Daly Basin
Dampierland
Darling Riverine Plains
Darwin Coastal
Davenport Murchison
Ranges
Desert Uplands
Einasleigh Uplands
Finke
Flinders Lofty Block
Gascoyne
Gawler
Gibson Desert
Great Sandy Desert
2000-01
9
10
9
8
7
10
8
9
9
9
9
10
4
10
9
10
7
6
10
2001-02
8
8
2
4
5
10
4
1
2
8
10
7
5
7
3
3
4
6
9
8
9
10
7
10
5
10
10
4
5
10
7
7
9
10
10
2002-03
1
1
0
1
1
7
1
2
4
5
5
2
0
1
2
4
0
3
8
1
1
7
1
6
3
9
5
2003-04
3
3
2
5
5
7
1
4
3
8
9
4
4
9
2
5
5
3
9
2
3
8
3
7
2
9
8
2004-05
2
1
1
1
3
8
5
5
1
5
8
1
2
5
1
3
3
4
5
1
2
8
3
6
4
9
8
2005-06
6
6
1
4
7
9
1
9
3
8
9
4
6
7
6
9
6
7
9
2
4
7
5
9
3
10
9
2006-07
1
1
5
2
2
8
4
1
5
7
7
4
1
5
1
7
1
1
10
7
8
2
1
8
4
9
8
2007-08
7
5
10
10
4
6
6
6
7
10
8
2
4
2
9
8
5
8
6
10
8
4
2
8
2
10
9
2008-09
3
1
6
3
3
4
5
8
3
8
7
4
1
5
4
8
2
3
8
7
8
6
2
7
2
9
7
2009-10
2
1
6
7
5
6
1
1
4
3
7
9
6
5
1
4
6
0
7
6
3
6
4
2
5
5
6
2010-11
10
10
9
9
10
10
10
7
10
10
10
10
10
2
10
10
10
9
10
2011-12
8
8
8
8
10
8
3
8
5
9
10
9
10
7
8
8
9
6
9
10
10
10
10
8
10
10
10
7
6
9
9
9
8
10
10
18
IBRA
Great Victoria Desert
Gulf Coastal
Gulf Fall and Uplands
Gulf Plains
Hampton
Little Sandy Desert
MacDonnell Ranges
Mitchell Grass Downs
Mount Isa Inlier
Mulga Lands
Murchison
Murray Darling
Depression
Northern Kimberley
Nullarbor
Ord Victoria Plain
Pilbara
Pine Creek
Riverina
Simpson Strzelecki
Dunefields
Stony Plains
Sturt Plateau
Tanami
Tiwi Cobourg
Victoria Bonaparte
Yalgoo
2000-01
9
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
5
10
8
2001-02
10
4
6
6
10
10
10
7
6
5
8
4
2002-03
8
4
5
1
3
9
6
4
4
0
3
1
2003-04
8
5
7
4
6
9
6
6
7
4
7
4
2004-05
9
3
2
2
7
8
7
2
5
3
8
1
2005-06
9
5
7
4
8
10
6
4
6
3
9
8
2006-07
8
7
8
9
8
10
5
8
8
2
7
2
2007-08
7
6
6
7
8
10
4
7
5
8
5
3
2008-09
7
4
5
7
4
8
5
7
5
2
5
1
6
9
10
10
9
8
10
2
10
9
6
7
4
9
7
4
4
5
2
0
3
4
4
8
6
6
4
3
8
8
4
4
1
2
4
4
9
9
10
7
6
6
8
8
6
7
1
1
4
9
7
10
8
10
2
1
5
3
8
9
4
1
6
8
10
10
9
10
7
10
8
9
2
7
2
6
5
6
1
1
1
4
8
8
4
6
3
8
2
3
5
5
2
6
10
9
3
9
6
2
6
9
2
4
1
0
9
8
7
10
1
5
8
5
4
6
6
2009-10
5
3
5
5
5
4
6
9
7
10
3
5
2010-11
10
10
10
10
10
9
10
10
10
9
7
10
2011-12
10
9
10
8
10
10
9
9
9
10
10
10
3
3
6
2
1
3
7
10
10
10
8
10
10
10
8
10
9
9
6
9
9
7
6
7
1
1
4
10
10
10
10
10
3
9
9
9
5
8
8
19