Life Sciences Commons^™

Geology, Soils And Climate Of Western Australia's Wine Regions, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

Bulletins 4000 -

This bulletin details what is special and unique about the geology, soil and climate of the south-west of Western Australia (WA), an area that encompasses the state’s 9 wine regions.

We have arranged the information into 2 parts:

• In Part 1, we broadly describe the special geological, soil and climate features of the south-west of WA to provide context for the wine regions.

• In Part 2, we describe the geology, soil and climate of the regions and subregions of the Geographical Indications (GI) scheme (administered by Wine Australia) for WA.

Through this work we have found that the wine regions …

Multi-Strata Silvipastoral Systems For Increasing Productivity And Conservation Of Natural Resources In Central America, Muhammad Ibrahim, Andrea Schlonvoigt, Juan Carlos Camargo, M. Souza

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Conversion of primary forest to pasture is widespread in Central and Latin America and the progressive removal of trees has resulted in environmental degradation and a decline in productivity, simultaneously threatening rural livelihoods and regional biodiversity. Recently there has been keen interest to develop silvipastoral systems for sustainable animal production. Traditional silvipastoral systems are characterised with a diversity of woody perennials that plays an important role in supplying feed to animals in the dry season, production of timber, shade for animals, and in the conservation of natural resources. Improved novel woody perennials such as Morus alba (mulberry) and Trichanthera gigantea …

Rangeland Management And Livestock Production System In Changthang, Ladakh India, Phunchok

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Intensity And Socio‐Economic Natural Resources Degradation Factors In Iran Territory, Nasser Ansari, S. J. Sayedaghlaghi, M. H. Ghasemi

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Geology, Soils And Climate Of The Margaret River Wine Region, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

All other publications

This report is an extract from the broader description and analysis of the Geology, soils and climate of Western Australia's wine regions. It expands on the brief descriptions in the second edition of 'Viticulture' (Coombe & Dry 2004) concerning the soils and landscapes of Western Australia’s main wine growing regions. We have tailored this report extract to the specific needs of the Margaret River wine region. It contains local soil names and soil-landscape zones and systems maps.

The wine industry recognises the importance of giving customers an understanding of the vines’ environment and how that may influence wine character …

Public Demands On Intensive Grassland Systems And Agri-Environmental Policies Of Oecd Members, Alain Peeters

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

No abstract provided.

Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques For Forage Production Assessment And Management Of Northern Chhattisgarh In India, Nur Salim Ekka, S. K. Gupta

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Grasslands play a vital ecological and environmental role in global carbon balance and climate change. In the prairie provinces of Canada, grasslands occupy approximately 25 M ha of the land base and provide a valuable resource to the multi-billion dollar cattle industry. In recent years, remote sensing technology has been applied for estimating the fractional cover of arid grasslands and savannah ecosystems (Asner and Heidebrecht, 2003; Marsett et al. 2006; Guerschman et al., 2009). Grassland, a specific ecosystem, occurs naturally on all continents excluding Antarctica (White et al., 2000). Remote sensing imagery needs to be converted into tangible information …

Slides: The Columbia River Treaty, Barbara Cosens

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Barbara Cosens, Professor, University of Idaho College of Law and Waters of the West Graduate Program

22 slides

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In Agriculture, Robert Summers, David Weaver

All other publications

Condition and trend Nutrients, such as phosphorus (P), are essential for profitable agriculture in the south-west of WA; however, excess P – more than is required for optimal production – is stored in many agricultural soils. On average, pasture soils and arable soils contain 1.3 times and 1.6 times respectively, as much P as is required for optimal production. Production in P-enriched soils is more likely to be constrained by soil acidity (50–60% of pasture and arable soils), potassium (K) (50% of pasture soils and less than 10% of arable soils), and sulphur (S) (30% of pasture soils). Management implications …

Establishment Guide For Sub-Tropical Grasses : Key Steps To Success, Geoff Allan Moore, Ron Yates, Phil Barrett-Lennard, Phil Nichols, Brad Wintle, John Titterington, Chris Loo

Bulletins 4000 -

Sub-tropical perennial grasses are now widely sown in the Northern Agricultural region (NAR) and on the south coast of Western Australia (WA). Since 2000, more than 50 000 ha have been sown to perennial grasses in the NAR and about 150 000 ha on the south coast, mainly kikuyu.

Land Systems Of The Kimberley Region, Western Australia, A L. Payne, N Schoknecht

Technical Bulletins

The Land Systems of the Kimberley Region Report describes and maps the landscapes, soils and vegetation of the Kimberley region. This report is a consolidation of surveys carried out by different organisations, across different areas of the Kimberley, since the 1940s. The Kimberley region, as defined in this bulletin, covers 330 070km². The report categorises the Kimberley region into 111 land systems. Under each land system, the report identifies the vulnerabilities of those areas, and provides recommendations on how to achieve sustainable use. The report also publishes pasture types for the entire region and the grazing potential for each pasture, …

Soil Test And Phosphorus Rate For High Rainfall Clover Pastures, Robert Summers, David Weaver

Bulletins 4000 -

Essential information for soil testing to determine the phosphorus fertiliser requirements for clover pastures in high rainfall coastal areas of Western Australia. Includes procedures for soil sampling, tissue testing, liming, when to apply fertiliser, how to decide on the target production level, how much fertiliser is required and type of fertiliser.

Greener Pastures 5 - Managing Sulphur In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, Richard Morris

Bulletins 4000 -

During 1999-2009, soil testing for sulfur (S) was undertaken on 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre (VRC) at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).

Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a period of 10 years, as part of the Vasse Milk Farmlets and Greener Pastures farming system projects. Pasture consisted of annual ryegrasses with some subterranean clover. Soils in the 48 paddocks were 1-2 m sand to sandy loam over massive clay, known locally as Abba sand. For many soils in the region, including Abba sands, the topography is flat …

Greener Pastures 4 - Managing Potassium In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Ian Guthridge, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, John Lucey, Richard Morris

Bulletins 4000 -

We undertook three studies into the potassium requirements of high rainfall pastures: 1. Between 1999 and 2009, soil testing was conducted in 48 dairy paddocks at Vasse Research Centre (VRC) in the south-west of Western Australia (WA). This study will be referred to as the VRC soil test study.

2. Between 2002 and 2007, a potassium experiment was undertaken at Boyanup to improve our knowledge of potassium requirements of intensively grazed ryegrass pastures. This will be referred to as the Boyanup potassium experiment.

3. Between 2006 and 2010, potassium experiments were undertaken on two partner farms of the Greener Pastures …

Greener Pastures 1 - The Greener Pasture Project: Managing Nutrients In Dairy Pastures, John Lucey, Mike Bolland, Don Bennett, Richard Morris, Bill Russell, Martin Staines

Bulletins 4000 -

As dairy farmers have strived to maintain profitability, many have farmed more intensively. More cows are milked and increasing inputs of fertiliser and purchased feed are used per hectare. However, these increased nutrient inputs have far exceeded the increase in nutrient output in milk production. The increasing nutrient surplus (inputs minus outputs) from intensification on dairy farms has met with increasing community concern about the environmental footprint of the dairy industry. In some other countries, dairy farmers who have intensified by increasing nitrogen inputs are now faced with legislation controlling the amount of fertiliser nitrogen that they can use.

The …

Greener Pastures 6 - Managing Soil Acidity In Dairy Pastures, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, John Lucey, D L. Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

During 1999-2009, soil testing for pH (in CaCl2) was used to determine lime application for 48 paddocks at the Vasse Research Centre at Busselton, in the south-west of Western Australia (WA).

Paddocks had been grazed intensively by dairy cows and their young stock over a period of 10 years, as part of the Vasse Milk Farmlets and Greener Pastures farming system projects. Pasture consisted of annual ryegrasses with some subterranean clover. Soils in the 48 paddocks were 1-2 m sand to sandy loam over massive clay, known locally as Abba sand.

For many soils in the region, including Abba sands, …

Greener Pastures 2 - Nitrogen For Intensively Grazed Dairy Pastures, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, Tess Casson, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, Ian Guthridge, John Lucey, Don Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

We undertook three main studies during the Greener Pastures project:

1. From mid 2005 to late 2008, a farming systems study was undertaken with five rates of nitrogen fertiliser as the main treatment. This study will be referred to as the ‘nitrogen response farmlets’.

2. From 2006 to 2008 a series of smaller ‘supporting’ studies were completed to investigate how grazing management influences the pasture production gains from nitrogen fertiliser. This will be referred to as the ‘nitrogen by growth-stage study’.

3. From early 2009 to early 2010, a farming systems study was undertaken to investigate the potential to increase …

Landscapes And Soils Of The Lake Grace District, D N. Sawkins

Bulletins 4000 -

The publication aims to provide readers with the principles underlying the formation of local landscapes and soils, and the ability to identify landscapes and their associated soils.

Greener Pastures 7 - A Fresh Look At Nutrient Losses From Intensively Managed Pastures, Don Bennett, Bill Russell, Martin Staines, Richard Morris, Mike Bolland, John Lucey

Bulletins 4000 -

Dairy farmers in Western Australia have a long history of being concerned for the environment in which they live and work, from early involvement with Landcare District Committees through to participating in the various programs run in DairyCatch.

They have planted trees, organised soil testing programs, carried out salinity surveys and, more recently, have signed up for effluent, nutrient and irrigation water management programs. Many of these programs produce benefits both on and off the farm—they can improve the farm environment, increase farm productivity and reduce nutrient losses to surface and ground water. The wider community has supported farmers with …

Phosphorus For High Rainfall Pastures, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell, David Weaver

Bulletins 4000 -

Soil testing for phosphorus provides a reliable indication of when the level of phosphorus in a soil is likely to be adequate for pasture production in the next growing season. It is a waste of money to apply phosphorus fertiliser when soil testing indicates none is required, or to acidified soils, or to undergrazed pastures, or to pastures dominated by poorly productive species.

Legumes have higher phosphorus requirement than grasses.

Critical soil test phosphorus values do not change when nitrogen fertiliser is applied.

Landscapes And Soils Of The Northam District, D N. Sawkins, Department Of Agriculture And Food

Bulletins 4000 -

The publication aims to provide readers with the principles underlying the formation of local landscapes and soils, and the ability to identify landscapes and their associated soils.

Landscapes And Soils Of The Narrogin District, D N. Sawkins

Bulletins 4000 -

The publication aims to provide readers with the principles underlying the formation of local landscapes and soils, and the ability to identify landscapes and their associated soils.

Factors Influencing Perennial Pasture Adoption In The Medium Rainfall Zone Of The South West Natural Resource Management Region Of Western Australia, Ned Crossley, Stephen Tunbridge, Kathi Mcdonald

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Slides: Integrated Policy, Planning, And Management Of Water Resources, Robert Wilkinson

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Robert Wilkinson, Ph.D., Director of the Water Policy Program, Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California-- Santa Barbara

60 slides

Landscapes And Soils Of The Merredin District, D N. Sawkins, Department Of Agriculture And Food

Bulletins 4000 -

The publication aims to provide readers with the principles underlying the formation of local landscapes and soils, and the ability to identify landscapes and their associated soils.

Farming For The Future : Industry Practice Baselines, Danielle England, Susan Murphy-White, John Noonan, Marie Shanks, Jon Warren

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Wilson Inlet Catchment Appraisal 2007, Ron Master

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Report On Polyacrylamide, A Practice To Reduce Sediment And Insoluable Chemicals In Tailwater, Tara Slaven

Bulletins 4000 -

The main barrier to the adoption of PAM seems to the timing of the cost of outlay. This could add significantly to the initial crop establishment costs at a time of year when rowers receive no income. However, the partial and parametric analysis indicates that there re benefits from using PAM as part of the crop management cycle. These benefits are from ving water, retaining sediment on-farm and reducing the cost of delving drains. There are ther potential economic benefits including the retainment of phosphorus as a plant nutrient n-farm and subsequent yield increases.

Additionally, the off-site environmental impacts seem …

Lime For High Rainfall Pastures: Above 800mm Average Annual Rainfall, Mike Bolland, Bill Russell

Bulletins 4000 -

Conventional agriculture acidifies soil. As your soil becomes more acid, productive pasture species disappear and are replaced by species of low agricultural value. It is a waste of money to apply expensive fertiliser to pastures which are inherently poorly productive because they are growing in an acid soil.

The paper examines the types of lime available, how to select lime for quality and when and how much lime to apply. Maganese toxity and aluminum toxicity are examine, how to test your soil, and affect of soil acidity on bacteria and other microorgansims.

Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System For Grasslands: Field Manual, Andrew Craig, Philip Thomas

Bulletins 4000 -

Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS) sites are designed to provide defined areas for repeated photography and collection of vegetation composition, shrub/tree cover and landscape function (soil surface assessment) data. This manual defines the procedures for installing and monitoring WARMS sites in the grasslands of northern Western Australia. It provides a documented reference of site stratification at regional scale, and site allocation at station (property) scale. Different procedures apply for sites in the shrublands of the southern pastoral zone. WARMS is designed to be interpreted at the vegetation type or regional scale, rather than lease (station) scale. Information gathered is …