An ambivalent landscape: the return of nature to post-agricultural land in South-eastern Australia

Fleur Stelling, Catherine Allan and Rik Thwaites

Landscape Research, 2018, vol. 43, issue 3, 329-344

Abstract: Urban, peri-urban, post-industrial and post-agricultural landscapes are transforming throughout the world due to changes in human use. Spontaneous growth of vegetation (regrowth) that may be part of this transformation is sometimes viewed negatively because of perceived threats to human agency and well-being. In many cases, however, societies experiencing regrowth appear to ignore it. This is problematic as scientists are increasingly finding ecological values in regrowth landscapes. Fostering positive biodiversity outcomes in these areas requires knowledge of how the regrowth is perceived by stakeholders. This paper draws upon 53 semi-structured interviews and document reviews exploring perceptions, views and management of abundant and extensive regrowth by stakeholders in a post-agricultural landscape in central Victoria, Australia. Through discourse analysis, the research highlights the social ambivalence to regrowth and illuminates the underlying causes of that ambivalence. We indicate how this understanding can be used to foster social recognition and acceptance of regrowth and its role in landscape restoration.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1080/01426397.2017.1315061

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