Essay: Rainfall's Impact On Agriculture And Forests In Australia.

Climate and Rainfall Pattern of Australia

Question:

Discuss the effects of rainfall in various parts of Australia. 
 

1.0 Introduction

In this assignment, the researcher is going to discuss the effects of rainfall in various parts of Australia. The environment of Australia is composed of different regions. The regions of Australia cover a huge area from Antarctic territory to distinct ecoregions. Australia is mainly composed of island and is surrounded by water (Head et al., 2014). The climate of Australia also varies heavily. The interiors of Australia are very dry while the coastal areas enjoy a normal climate. The temperature of Australia in the summer is near about 40-degree centigrade whereas during winter season the temperature is near about -23-degree centigrade. Average rainfall in Australia is 165 mm per year (Ximenes et al., 2015). Most frequent rainfall takes place in Lake Margaret region whereas minimum rainfall takes place in Lake Eyre (Galbreath, 2014). The temperature in Australia is mainly warm and dry.

The climatic condition of Australia is governed by its size and sub tropical pressure belt. The rainfall pattern of Australia is highly seasonal. Rainfall of Australia is lowest of all the seven continents in the world (Rogers & Beringer, 2016). As the rainfall of Australia is lowest, it also affects the agriculture in Australia. Droughts are frequent in Australia and this affects the vegetation in Australia. Droughts also continue for a long period of time in Australia (Baniyounes et al., 2013). The forest region of Australia is also affected because of scarcity of Rainfall. Australian government has taken measures like planting of tress and various cultivation methods to protect the environment. The economy of the country is also affected because of scarcity of rainfall.

The farmers in Australia are highly affected because of less rainfall. However, the government of Australia has implemented several irrigation methods to improve the agriculture in Australia. In many of the regions due to less rainfall the agriculture of Australia is highly affected. This also affects the economy of the country. Rainfall and temperature also varies highly in Australia (Taylor, 2014). Northern regions of Australia are warm. Wet seasons in Australia are from November to April whereas dry season is from the month of May to October.

Australia is one of the driest continents in the world but still its forest area cover a huge area (Foerster et al., 2013). Near about 133 million hectares of land in Australia are under forest areas (Smith, 2016). This has helped the country to maintain an ecological balance. A major portion of Australian forest area are eucalyptus trees and pine trees.

The most important significance of this research is to find out the effect of rainfall on the life of people in Australia. Rainfall plays an important role in the agriculture and the forest development of Australia (Spencer, 2015). Different types of agricultural practices also prevent degradation of the land. The economy of the country is also improved through agricultural practices. Rainfall has huge effects on the agriculture of Australia. Regular rainfall improves the agriculture of any country. Dense forests are also developed through heavy rainfall.

Droughts and Their Effects on Vegetation and Economy

The main aim of this research is to find out the impact of the rainfall on the agriculture and forest area of Australia.

• To find out the impact of rainfall on the agriculture of Australia.
• To find out the impact of rainfall in the forest areas of Australia.
• To determine the depletion level of forest area because of low rainfall.
• To find out the impact of rainfall on the climate of Australia.

• What is the effect of rainfall on the agriculture of Australia?
• What is the effect of rainfall on the forest area of Australia?
• What is the impact of rainfall on the people of Australia?
• What is the impact of rainfall on the climate of Australia?

H₀: Rainfall has a significant relationship with the agriculture and the forest area of Australia.

H₁: Rainfall has no significant relationship with the agriculture and the forest area of Australia. 

2.0 Rainfall trend in Australia

In this assignment the researcher has discussed the rainfall trends of Australia over the last few years. Rainfall deficiency is severe since 2010 in Australia (Muenstermann, 2012). Huge parts of Queensland and southern parts of Australia are highly affected. South western regions of Australia have shown a recent drop in rainfall and it is between 10 to 20 percentage since 2008 (Crosbie et al., 2012). During this period there was very low rainfall and in many parts of Australia drought has been declared by the government. It has also been found that between the years 1996 to 2010 there was a prolonged period of droughts in Australia (Horton, 2015). This long period of time is determined as Millennium Drought. The drought mainly affects highly populated south western and south eastern parts of Australia and Murray-Darling Basin. Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney were also highly affected by the drought.

Australia has also faced heavy rainfall during the year 2010 and 2011. During these years severe floods have occurred in severe parts of Australia. These years were termed as La Nina Years (Spencer, 2015). During these years, rainfall was very high in certain parts of Australia and flood was declared. However a strange behavior of weather was found in south west and south east parts of Australia. In these regions there was no or very little rainfall.

Rainfall in Australia is degrading in the last few years (Muenstermann, 2012). This has a severe impact on the agriculture of Australia. Less rainfall in Australia since 2006 has increased the average temperature of Australia by 3-degree centigrade (Head et al., 2014). Rise in temperature and low rainfall has affected the major crop producing area of Australia. Frequent droughts and heat waves have also reduced the production of crop (Crosbie et al., 2012). Australia is a large producer of crop in a nondrought year. Near about three-quarter of Australian crop is exported in a non drought year (Baniyounes et al., 2013).

In the last few years the rainfall in Australia is declining heavily. The Economic slowdown in Australia is also because of the reduced production of agricultural crops. However, it has found that increased temperature of Australia has increased production of Carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere of Australia. This has helped the production of crops like Wheat and Bajra in Australia (Ximenes et al., 2015). Wheat industry of Australia has shown a developed growth but there lie major risks in wheat production because of no rainfall. The government of Australia has developed irrigation channels to supply water during the dry seasons (Taylor, 2014). Irrigation is the activity which is done by the farmers of Australia to supply water to the lands during dry seasons. This process has also protected the plants from frost and soil consolidation.

Relationship between Rainfall and Agricultural Practices, Forest Development, and Economic Growth

Forest of Australia has a huge impact on the rainfall of the country. Forest helps in rainfall and protects the land from degradation. In Australia deforestation takes place at a huge rate. This has increased the temperature of Australia and has reduced rainfall. Ecological balance is also highly affected because of deforestation. Many plants and animals in Australia have become extinct because of deforestation. Near about 80 percent of the eucalyptus forests have been modified by the people of Australia (Taylor, 2014). Forests have been modified by the fragmentation method in Australia. This has increased the overall temperature in Australia. Production of a large amount of carbon dioxide gas has increased Global Warming across Australia.

In Australia rainfall is declining in the last few years. This has increased the overall temperature of Australia which has a severe impact on the health of people. People in Australia suffer from heat stress and are affected by sunstroke because of low rainfall. 374 people died in Victoria in the year 2009 because of severe heat wave (Muenstermann, 2012). The main reason behind these is low rainfall. Even elderly persons are also affected because of severe heat wave in Australia. The mortality rate is also affected because of low rainfall in Australia. Average life span of people in Australia has also been degraded because of high temperature. The mortality rate has been reduced to 80.1% from 84.1% because of high temperature in Australia (Horton, 2015). 

3.1 Research Approach

Research approach is the strategy in which the researcher gathers information regarding the topic. Selection of the approaches is based on the variables and topic. Generally, there are two types of approaches. They are “inductive research approach” and “deductive research approach” (Anfara & Mertz, 2014). Selection of the proper research process is essential for getting accurate results. “Deductive research approach” helps the researcher in finding out several models and theories. “Inductive research approach” assists the researcher to develop new theories and models. In this assignment, researcher has selected deductive research approach because it helps in reducing the requirement. Budget and other cost is also reduced through this approach.

In order to complete the research it is essential to understand the topic. Proper understanding helps in gathering information regarding the topic. Three types of research purposes are present. They are “explanatory”, “exploratory” and “descriptive”. “Explanatory research” helps in determining relationship between different variables” (Lewis, 2015). “Exploratory research” helps in determining the social background related to the topic. “Descriptive research” helps in explaining the research topic. In this assignment the researcher has selected “descriptive research” because it will explain the topic properly” (Lewis, 2015). Proper understanding will help in identifying the research questions and objectives.

 The research strategy is used in gathering important data about the topic. Different strategies which are used in gathering the data are “focus group”, “case study”, “interview” and “survey” (Flick, 2015). “Focus group” and “case study” helps in secondary data collection. Primary data collection is based on “interview” and “survey”. In this assignment “focus group” and “case study” is used by the researcher to collect different information about the topic.

Rainfall Trends in Australia over the Last Few Years

In conducting the research data collection is the most important activity. The researcher has used both primary and secondary data in order to collect information (Neuman & Robson, 2012). The researcher has gone through several websites and authentic journals to frame the literature review section. Primary data collection technique is used by the researcher to analyze the data. Two data collection techniques are used by the researcher. They are “quantitative data collection technique” and “qualitative data collection technique” (Delamont, 2012). In quantitative data collection technique, the researcher has selected different survey questions and has chosen respondents randomly. In order to have a clear idea about the topic a mass population is essential to complete the survey process. In “qualitative data collection technique” researcher has taken help of several environment analysis to come to a conclusion.

In order to complete the survey activity research has selected 200 people from across Australia. The researcher has also selected ten environment analyzers from Australia to complete the research activity.

Effective analysis tools used need to be used by the researcher to collect data. Quantitative data is analyzed through statistical calculation. The researcher has taken help of “mean, median, mode and standard deviation” to gather and calculate the data (Dalecki, 2012).  These tools have helped the researcher in converting general information into particular information. Qualitative data is analyzed through the viewpoints of the analyzer (Delamont, 2012).

Ethical consideration is also necessary in conducting the research. The researcher should not force anybody in collecting information. Respondents have the right to quit at any point of time after enlisting their name (Flick, 2015). The researcher should not take any illegal means in collecting the data. Researcher should not force any respondent to give information in a desired format. The information and data which are collected from different respondent should not be published in any websites or journals (Neuman & Robson, 2012). The data which are collected should be kept confidential. The researcher should not influence the respondents in changing their viewpoints. The information collected from the environment analyzer should be shared to arrive at a particular conclusion. 

Research methodologies are used by the researcher to evaluate the objective and the research questions. Research problem which has been identified in this assignment will be justified by providing a recommendation.

Table 1: Gantt chart

(Source: Created by the author)

The introduction part will be completed in the first 20 days. Maximum time limit will be required in the literature review portion because in this section maximum websites and journals will be evaluated. 

6.0 Conclusion

In this assignment the researcher has discussed the impact of rainfall in Australia. In the recent few years the rainfall amount is declining in Australia. Agriculture of Australia is severely affected because of this declining rainfall. Crops are highly affected. Human beings in Australia are also affected by severe disease in Australia because of declining rainfall. Deforestation in Australia is a major reason for decline in rainfall. However the government is taking different measures t prevent deforestation. The researcher has also used research methodology structure to complete the survey process. 

References

Anfara Jr, V. A., & Mertz, N. T. (2014). Theoretical frameworks in qualitative research. Sage Publications.

Baniyounes, A. M., Rasul, M. G., & Khan, M. M. K. (2013). Assessment of solar assisted air conditioning in central queensland's subtropical climate, australia. Renewable Energy, 50, 334-341. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2012.06.042

Crosbie, R. S., Pollock, D. W., Mpelasoka, F. S., Barron, O. V., Charles, S. P., & Donn, M. J. (2012). Changes in koppen-geiger climate types under a future climate for australia: Hydrological implications. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 16(9), 3341-3349. 

Dalecki, L. (2012). Maverick entertainment presents "marketing mimicry": Targeting the urban-american teen film-viewer via DVD and direct-download. Young Consumers, 13(4), 367-380. doi:10.1108/17473611211282617

Delamont, S. (2012). Handbook of qualitative research in education. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project. Sage.

Foerster, A., Macintosh, A., & McDonald, J. (2013). Transferable lessons for climate change adaptation planning? managing bushfire and coastal climate hazards in australia. Environmental and Planning Law Journal, 30(6), 469.

Galbreath, J. (2014). Climate change response: Evidence from the margaret river wine region of australia: Climate change response. Business Strategy and the Environment,23(2), 89-104. doi:10.1002/bse.1762

Head, L., Adams, M., McGregor, H. V., & Toole, S. (2014). Climate change and australia. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 5(2), 175-197. doi:10.1002/wcc.255

Horton, R. (2015). Offline: Australia leads on climate and health. The Lancet, 386(10003), 1520-1520. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00475-4

Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry &research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 1524839915580941.

Muenstermann, I. (2012). Australia's climate change, wind farming, coal industry and the 'big carbon plan': Mine coal, sell coal, repeat until rich. Rural Society, 21(3), 231. doi:10.5172/rsj.2012.21.3.231

Neuman, W. L., & Robson, K. (2012). Basics of social research: Qualitative &quantitative approaches.

Rogers, C., & Beringer, J. (2016). Describing rainfall in northern Australia using multiple climate indices.Biogeosciences Discussions, , 1-39. doi:10.5194/bg-2016-172

Smith, K. (2016). Australia's climate is changing. Green Left Weekly, (1086), 7.

Spencer, N. (2015). Australia's climate inaction shame.Green Left Weekly, (1050), 2.

Taylor, M. (2014). Global warming and climate change: What australia knew and buried -- then framed a new reality for the public. Canberra, Australia: Australian National University Press.