About three-quarters of the VRD-Sturt region lies inside the
Northern Territory, with the remainder in Western Australia.
Land use in the region is dominated by pastoralism but
Aboriginal lands and conservation reserves also occupy
substantial areas. The area of intensive agriculture associated
with the Ord River Irrigation Scheme is increasing, and there is
also a large military training The long history of pastoral use
has left a legacy of land degradation in many of the region's
most productive areas. There has been erosion and widespread
replacement of preferred grasses by less palatable species
including exotic weeds. In some areas, overgrazing and changes
in fire regimes have combined to increase the density of native
shrubs and trees and lower the land's carrying capacity. This
combination has also left large areas vulnerable to invasion by
weeds, including exotic woody species such as parkinsonia
(Parkinsonia aculeata) and castor oil plant (Ricinus communis ).
Parkinsonia forms thorny thickets in the