Before RCD, perennial plants were increasing in abundance only where we had removed rabbits but barely holding their own elsewhere. Mr Mutze has been monitoring rabbits in the Flinders Ranges for the past five years. His monitoring site is one of 10 intensive study sites selected to be part of the national program. Stocking rates have not increased but sheep have changed their grazing patterns to make more use of areas that previously suffered high rabbit grazing. Mr Mutze emphasises that pastoralists are not necessarily planning to increase their stocking rates which are set by pastoral leasehold agreements, but want more control over grazing pressure to get them through dry periods.
Perennial plants provide greater stability in the arid zone, especially during periods of drought.
They help protect soils and reduce the long-term degradation caused during dry periods and are also a vital component of arid zone flora. They support other native vegetation and provide habitat for native birds and animals. Rabbit calicivirus is giving us the opportunity to see how the landscape changes with a dramatic and sustained drop in rabbit numbers over this two year monitoring period. We are putting a lot of effort into collecting data from all of our monitoring sites around Australia. The disease now covers nearly 2000 square kilometres in the central north and north-east of the State.