215The uncertainties can arise from the natural environment, the type of livestock
produced and the socio-economic context. Therefore, an integrated approach to
livestock production in dryland areas should aim to provide options to minimise
multiple risks rather than focussing on a particular risk.
2.1 Risks from the Natural Environment
The dryland environment is characterised by an erratic supply of water due to low
total rainfall, rainfall patterns that vary within and among years, and high rates of
evapo-transpiration from land and plants due to high ambient temperature and radi-
ation. Scarcity of water and high temperature drastically reduce the availability of
feed and water, and also increase the risk of heat stress in livestock.
In any farming system, successful livestock production requires a match between
the quantity, quality and reliability of feed supply and demand (Martin et al. 2008 ).
Availability of feed resources must match the temporal variations in the animal’s
requirement for each component of production, especially the high requirement for
energy for reproduction (Martin et al. 2008 ). Production of pasture in drylands is
often seasonal, variable and uncertain, even during the so-called ‘growing season’
(e.g. winter-spring in the Mediterranean and temperate zones of southern Australia;
Fig. 1 ). The variability is such that, depending on the year, the regions could be clas-
sified as semi-arid, arid or even sub-humid using the United Nations descriptors
(UN 1977 ). Similarly, ambient temperature is unpredictable, a factor that can dis-
rupt planned relationships between animal production and pasture growth.
Unpredictable natural events related to the weather are the main sources of risk
for forage production and, consequently, livestock production. Repeated extreme
daily temperatures (‘heatwaves’) are frequent in dryland regions, and they increase
the risk of heat stress in the livestock (Fuquay 1981 ). Other unpredictable factors,
such as flood, pests and diseases, can affect the performance of both crops and live-
stock. In addition to these relatively short-term events, long-term changes, such as
depleted soil quality or climate change, also add risk. For example, a high rate of
evaporation combined with loss of vegetation coverage has led to an increase in
dryland salinity that has transformed large areas of land to be non-productive
(Pannell 2001 ) with poor livestock productivity. Similarly, climate change can
reduce animal production in dryland areas (Nardone et al. 2010 ) because of the
acceleration of desertification and land degradation, outcomes that are exacerbated
by a higher frequency of extreme events.
Innovative strategies to improve the resilience of livestock production in dryland
areas cannot reduce the unpredictability of the natural conditions, but can minimise
the consequences of unpredictable events. In other words, the strategies will not
change the uncertainty of adverse events but are expected to reduce the risk by miti-
gating the consequences of those events for the livestock.
Integrated and Innovative Livestock Production in Drylands