Creating change in agricultural landscapes: The need for a consilience approach

The post-European landscape mosaic and farming systems of NSW, Australia have been developed and maintained as a result of political, social and economic drivers. Government land use policies have driven landscape changes for economic outcomes (scaled from individual to national benefits) operating under a social licence, albeit from a society characterised by a lack of interest. The common approach has been to use specialised knowledge, technology and chemical/physical inputs to drive (agro)-ecosystems towards optimisation of a narrow range of outputs viz. yield of food, fibre and forestry.