Determinants of the Management of Native Vegetation on Farms

Abstract

The clearing of native vegetation on private agricultural land has contributed greatly to the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity worldwide. Native vegetation on private land may be cleared for a variety of reasons, of which the expansion of agriculture is only one. In this study, we investigate how the clearing of native vegetation on private land is influenced by (1) the utilitarian, social and hedonic objectives of landholders and (2) the way in which the presence of native vegetation interacts with the farm system to contribute to, or detract from, achieving those objectives. Using data from a survey of agricultural landholders in New South Wales, Australia, we found that the landholders’ management of native vegetation was strongly influenced by their perceptions of the opportunities and threats the native vegetation on their properties presented to them. The implications are drawn for predicting the clearing of native vegetation and designing effective policy interventions to influence the extent of clearing.