Responding to climate challenges and unlocking opportunities for northern graziers

Across northwest Queensland, large areas of grazing land are in poor condition, leaving these lands less able to store carbon and support biodiversity and more susceptible to erosion and pasture loss from floods and droughts. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, these problems are expected to only get worse.

Consumers and supply chains are also increasingly seeking evidence that beef is being sustainably produced. To stay productive and competitive, graziers need to adopt practices that restore land condition, strengthen pastures, and build long-term resilience for their properties and businesses.

By improving soil health, increasing vegetation cover, and enhancing carbon storage, graziers can generate verified environmental outcomes that have real economic value – opening the door to income streams linked to carbon, biodiversity, and other sustainability-focused markets.

Building climate resilience in grazing systems

We’re working with landholders and regional NRM organisations to identify and apply practical, science-based management practices that restore land condition and build resilience to a changing climate.

By combining local knowledge with scientific monitoring, graziers can see how these actions improve the health of their soil and pasture.

How we are monitoring the landscape

Our team is working together with Southern Gulf NRM and Gulf Savannah NRM to collect data at over 30 properties across northwest Queensland. We are monitoring each site before and after changes in grazing management or on-ground remediation works to track improvements in land condition, soil health, and biodiversity.

This comprehensive monitoring program spans from small plots to whole properties, combining field assessments with advanced remote sensing. Key monitoring activities include:

• Rain gauges – recording rainfall amount, timing, and intensity.

• On-ground vegetation and land condition surveys – assessing pasture cover, composition, and health.

• Drones – mapping land cover and detecting fine-scale changes.

• Trail cameras and acoustic recorders – tracking changes in wildlife activity and diversity.

• Soil sampling – measuring chemical and physical soil properties.

• Satellite imagery – analysing changes in ground cover and landscape condition from paddock to property scale.

How the data will be used

The results will help graziers understand which management practices most effectively build climate resilience and improve productivity, giving them greater confidence in their decisions.

Findings will be shared directly with landholders, NRM groups, and communities through field days, workshops, and communication materials. This will ensure the science is translated into practical, on-ground actions that strengthen management and support more resilient grazing landscapes across northern Queensland.

Because long-term data for this region are limited, the monitoring results will also provide a valuable evidence base to guide future natural resource planning and management in northwest Queensland.

Helping graziers access new markets

While improving land condition and climate resilience, we are also helping graziers prepare for emerging environmental markets. We are investigating what producers need to demonstrate to prove their environmental performance and meet the growing demand for sustainably produced beef.

In a new initiative, our researchers are developing an online dashboard to visualise property-scale indicators such as vegetation cover, carbon storage, and climate trends. These indicators align with the requirements of sustainable and environmental markets, giving graziers a credible way to showcase their progress.

Through these projects, we aim to help producers maintain productive, profitable, and environmentally sustainable enterprises.

Project details

This project is led by Dr Jack Koci in partnership with Southern Gulf NRM and Gulf Savannah NRM. The project is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the National Heritage Trust, the Climate Smart Agriculture Program, and the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Recovery Program.

Photo credit: Southern Gulf NRM and TropWATER.