We review the main properties, demographics and applications of binary and millisecond radio pulsars. Our knowledge of these exciting objects has greatly increased in recent years, mainly due to successful surveys which have brought the known pulsar population to over 1700. There are now 80 binary and millisecond pulsars associated with the disk of our Galaxy, and a further 103 pulsars in 24 of the Galactic globular clusters. Recent highlights have been the discovery of the first ever double pulsar system and a recent flurry of discoveries in globular clusters, in particular Terzan 5.Electronic Supplementary MaterialSupplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrr-2005-7.

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The effects of five management practices (native forest, native pasture, Phalaris pasture, crop-pasture rotation, continuous cropping), that had been in place for 18 years, on some soil physical properties of a red-brown earth near Bendigo, Victoria, were studied. Particle size distribution, bulk density and hydraulic conductivity of soil in the A and B horizons at different, management sites were measured. Where cultivation had occurred, soil in the A horizon contained less silt and clay, and more fine sand and coarse sand. The bulk density of the A horizon of soil that had produced at least six wheat crops since 1969 was greater than that of soil used for pasture or forest, while the hydraulic conductivity of soil cropped every year since 1969 was much less than that of soil under native forest. Particle size distributions for soil from the B horizons at the five management sites were found to be similar. Where pastures and crops had been established, the hydraulic conductivity of the upper B horizon was lower, and the bulk density was higher, than that of soil in the native forest (Eucalyptus spp).