Bushland
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In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure.<ref name="dmtue">Template:Cite book</ref>
Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving around it, with the stories of Aboriginal trackers and bushrangers deeply entrenched in Australian folklore. Bushland has been a traditional source of wood for fuel and bushfood.<ref name="tfiaal">Template:Cite book</ref>
Bushland provides a number of ecosystem services including the protection of water quality, stopping erosion, acting as a windbreak, and trapping nutrients.<ref name="mob">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bushland is prone to bushfires. This presents a challenge to authorities as infrastructure and habitations encroach into bushland areas.<ref name="aubu">Template:Cite book</ref>
PreservationEdit
Until recently Australia had a very high rate of land clearing, which resulted in the destruction of bushland.<ref name="bols">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since 2006 the rate of land clearing has declined significantly. This is partially attributed to legislation that placed a ban on broad scale clearing of mature bushland in Queensland in 2006 and an expansion of those bans to regrowing bushland with a high conservation value in 2009.<ref name="wwfbar">Template:Cite book</ref> In New South Wales bushfires cause the greatest destruction of bushland, followed by land clearing for crops, grazing, road and buildings.<ref name="lac">Template:Cite news</ref>
Bushland preservation has become the focus of some conservation efforts. In Brisbane, the Brisbane City Council has established a Bushland Acquisition Program, which is funded by a small levy paid by rate-payers.<ref name="bpl">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The program began in 1990 and aims to protect koala habitat from urban development.<ref name="vba">Template:Cite news</ref> It is estimated that the koala population in the area had declined from 6,240 in 1996 to 1,500 in 2012.<ref name="cgc">Template:Cite news</ref>