An approach using animal distribution models and Landsat imagery

Abstract

Abstract Grazing animals have been responsible for changes in vegetation and for widespread erosion in Australia's arid zone. To minimize these adverse changes and to manage the intensity ofland use in relation to land capability, it is necessary to have information on the distribution and intensity of grazing and trampling, both of which are highly uneven. This paper describes a way of modelling the distribution of grazing and of generating the pattern of movement by cattle in a large paddock in central Australia for a particular configuration of watering points, fence lines and vegetation types. The method uses Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data and a cattle distribution model based on the convection—diffusion equation. The model relates the number of animals grazing to distance from water and preference for particular vegetation types. The solution to the conveetion—diffusion equation is the inverse Gaussian density function which can be used to calculate the total number of animals at a particul...