Soils and vegetation of central Australian sandridges I. Introduction

This is the first of a series of papers describing catenary patterns in central Australian sand-ridge soils and vegetation, and observations and experiments designed to assess the interrelationships among them and the impact of fire. The aims and study area are described and previous literature reviewed briefly. Later papers will detail soil and vegetation patterns and discuss the relative importance of the dune-swale gradients in soil texture, mobility, fertility and moisture status as controls and constraints on the vegetation, with reference to rainfall fluctuations and to changes in plant cover and environment at various time scales. These embody experimental studies on plant regeneration to suggest an overall model for the maintenance of the present open-crested dune vegetation.