Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Land And Water Resources For Irrigated Agriculture In The Pilbara, Paul Galloway, John A. Simons, Karen Holmes, Dennis Van Gool

Resource management technical reports

This report documents the procedures used to identify suitable locations for irrigation development in the Pilbara region. It is the first study to investigate the potential for irrigated agriculture across the Pilbara. We used a desktop analysis to ascertain water availability and spatial data modelling to determine the potential of the land and soil resource to support irrigated agriculture. This study was part of the Pilbara Hinterland Agricultural Development Initiative (PHADI).

We used existing rangeland land inventory information augmented with digital spatial environmental data, in a process known as map disaggregation, to create soil and landform maps that had a …

Pindan Soils In The La Grange Area, West Kimberley: Land Capability Assessment For Irrigated Agriculture, 2nd Edition, Henry Smolinski, Paul Galloway, Justin Laycock

Resource management technical reports

This report identifies areas of Pindan country along the Great Northern Highway, south of Broome from Roebuck to Mandora, which have high potential for irrigated agriculture. The area contains significant reserves of potable groundwater defined by the La Grange groundwater allocation area, which is based on the surficial Broome Sandstone aquifer.

Over the past 30 years, several small- to medium-scale irrigation developments have been successfully established in the region. The water opportunities project aims to identify and quantify the land and water resources of the region to ensure any future expansion of irrigated agriculture is sustainable and will not have …

Investigations Of The Potential For Irrigated Agriculture On The Bonaparte Plains: Land Capability Assessment Report, Henry Smolinski

Resource management technical reports

This report describes 55 000 hectares of predominantly red sands and sandy loams — locally referred to as Cockatoo Sands — on the Bonaparte Plains about 70 kilometres north of the Ord River Irrigation Area, Kununurra. It builds on soil surveys conducted in 2009 and 2015, which identified significant areas of red soils in the Kununurra area that could be suitable for agriculture.

The Cockatoo Sands generally have loamy, sand topsoils that grade to sandy loam with depth. The soil profiles are very deep, well drained to rapidly drained, and highly permeable. These soil characteristics support a large range of …

Land Capability Assessment For Expanding Irrigated Horticulture Around Myalup, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Dafwa

Resource management technical reports

The Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development (DPIRD, formerly Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia), assessed the suitability of land for expanding irrigated horticulture around Myalup, Western Australia. The assessment builds upon existing soil-landscape mapping produced by van Gool and Kipling (1992), and Barnesby and Proulx-Nixon (2000). This report provides guidance to decision-makers and investors about areas with potential for irrigated horticulture.

The survey area for this assessment is east of Myalup, covering 37 800 hectares (ha). Johnston Road forms the northern boundary and the Brunswick River forms the southern boundary (Figure 1.1). The sandy soils of the …

Identifying Soil Constraints That Limit Wheat Yield In The South-West Of Western Australia, Dennis Van Gool

Resource management technical reports

This is a novel approach using regional-scale information. The analysis estimated that:

• most of the wheat-growing land in south-west WA has one or more soil constraints
• about 1.6 million hectares (9% of the total area) are not suitable for cropping
• about 2.2 million hectares (12% of the total area) are suitable for cropping but are subject to many (more than 3) constraints; soil amelioration is unlikely to significantly improve profitable yield gain
• subsurface acidity extends over 12.6 million hectares (about 70% of the total area); about 7.6 million hectares of that area (42% of the total area) is estimated to …

Review Of Land Capability Assessment For The Swan Valley, Peter Tille, Angela Stuart-Street

Resource management technical reports

Land capability review for the Swan Valley.

The land capability review of the Swan Valley examined and updated previous soil and capability studies done in the area, which are still considered highly relevant for the planning requirements of the Swan Valley. As a result we have updated information on the potential for irrigated agriculture in the Swan Valley which will guide decision-making in the future.

This review uses a modified version of a new approach to presenting information for land use planning, developed by DAFWA in the Mid West region.

The main findings of the review include:

• The alluvial terraces …

Cockatoo Sands In The Victoria Highway And Carlton Hill Areas, East Kimberley: Land Capability Assessment For Developing Irrigated Agriculture, Henry Smolinski, Shahab Pathan, Paul Galloway, Kus Kuswardiyanto, Justin Laycock

Resource management technical reports

This report identifies areas of Cockatoo Sands adjacent to the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA), Kununurra, with high potential for developing irrigated agriculture. It builds on a reconnaissance soil survey conducted in 2009 which identified significant areas of sandy and loamy soils in the Kununurra area that could be suitable for agriculture.

Tambellup-Borden Land Resources Survey, Angela Stuart-Street, Rohan Marold

Land resources series

No abstract provided.

Methods To Set Land Salinity Resource Condition Targets For The South West : Case Studies From Australia And New Zealand, Sharon Hu

Resource management technical reports

This Resource Management Technical Report provides background to methods to set targets on land salinity in the South West Natural Resource Management (NRM) region of Western Australia. Case studies from Australia and New Zealand have been reviewed to determine what approaches should be used. Resource Condition Targets (RCTs) are required for land salinity, soil condition and remnant vegetation.

Tonebridge-Frankland Area Land Resources Survey, Angela Stuart-Street, National Landcare Program (Australia), Natural Heritage Trust (Australia)

Land resources series

This report presents the results from soil and landform mapping at a scale of 1:100,000 in the Tonebridge-Frankland area of Western Australia. One map representing the Tonebridge (2229) and Frankland (2329) map sheet areas, covering approximately 511,000 hectares accompanies the report on a CD-ROM. The Tonebridge-Frankland survey area covers major parts of the Warren-Tone and Frankland-Gordon River catchments. It also covers the upper catchments of the Kent and Deep Rivers, a small part of the Blackwood River catchment in the north western corner, as well as the Lake Muir-Unicup sub-catchments. The Tonebridge-Frankland survey falls within the Manjimup, Katanning and Albany …

Land Evaluation Standards For Land Resource Mapping : Assessing Land Qualities And Determining Land Capability In South-Western Australia, Dennis Van Gool, Peter J. Tille, Geoff Allen Moore

Resource management technical reports

This report describes the standard method for attributing and evaluating conventional land resource survey maps in the south-west agriculture region of Western Australia so that strategic decisions about the management, development and conservation of land resources can be based on the best information available. The standards described are similar to the land suitability assessment (stage one of the two stage) methods described by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO, 1976, 1983).

Soil-Landscape Mapping In South-Western Australia : An Overview Of Methodology And Outputs, Noel R. Schoknecht, Peter J. Tille, B R. Purdie

Resource management technical reports

This report provides an overview of the soil-landscape mapping program for south-Western Australia. It outlines the techniques and standards used in describing the soil-landscape as well as the outputs of the mapping program and their uses.

Agricultural Sub-Regions Of The Avon River Basin, Paul D. Galloway

Resource management technical reports

This report identifies, describes and locates nine sub-regions within the land cleared for agricultural uses in the Avon River Basin in Western Australia. The sub-regions are: Darling Range; Dale/Upper Avon; Avon Valley; Yealering Lakes; Mortlock; Northern Sandplain; south-east Lakes; Carrabin; Southern Cross. The sub-regions are described in terms of their distinguishing biophysical characteristics of: soils and related original vegetative cover; general topography; surface and sub-surface hyrdological stus; underlying geology; and rainfall and evapotranspiration range. Current dominant land use, economic drivers and land use pressures are identified for each sub-region.

Corrigin Area Land Resources Survey, W H. Verboom, P D. Galloway, National Landcare Program (Australia), Natural Heritage Trust (Australia)

Land resources series

This land resource survey of the Corrigin area covers some 1.8 million hectares of the central wheatbelt over the shires of Beverley, Brookton, Bruce Rock, Corrigin, Cuballing, Cunderdin, Dumbleyung, Kellerberrin, Kondinin, Kulin, Lake Grace, Merredin, Narembeen, Narrogin, Pingelly, Quairading, Tammin, Wandering and Wickepin. The survey is part of a regional scale soil-landscape mapping program designed to deliver seamless soil information for the agricultural area of south western Australia. The information provided will assist planners, researchers and land managers make decisions affecting sustainable land use and is designed for use at regional and catchment scales. This report and accompanying CD-ROM summarizes …

High Water Use Plant Options For The Fitzgerald River Catchment : A Case Study, P L. Hill, Nadene Schiller

Resource management technical reports

This report summarises the outcomes of a project initiated to examine the potential to integrate high water use plant options into existing farm systems to combat rising watertables and reduce salinity and waterlogging. Planting options investigated include commercial trees, perennials, fodder shrubs, annual crops and native grasses. The research uses a new GIS based methodology for undertaking catchment scale land capability analyses.

Lower Gascoyne Land Resources Survey, Peter J. Tille, Henry J. Smolinski, M R. Wells, J A. Bessell-Browne, C D M Keating, Veronica P M Oma, A Mcr Holm

Land resources series

No abstract provided.

Nyabing-Kukerin Area Land Resources Survey, H M. Percy, Dennis Van Gool, Geoff Allan Moore, Noel R. Schoknecht, National Landcare Program (Australia), Natural Heritage Trust (Australia)

Land resources series

This report presents the results from soil and landform mapping at a scale of 1:500,000 in the Kukerin, Lake Grace and Nyabing areas of Western Australia. This land resource information has been collected to help improve the decisions made by planners, researchers and land managers. The information can be used at the regional scale, catchment scale and farm level. By improving knowledge of our land resources, more sustainable land uses can be developed within the region. The soil-landscape map of the area covers approximately 515,000 hectares and is included on the accompanying interactive CD-ROM. The map extends from Lake Grace …

Pasture Condition Guides For The Pilbara, A L. Payne, A A. Mitchell

Agriculture reports

These pasture condition guides are relevant to about 192 000 square kilometres of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The rangeland of the Pilbara can be separated into 12 very broad pasture types. The ‘pasture type’ is not strictly a botanical classification because, in determining such a class of pastoral lands, the perennial plant species that contribute to stock production have an over-riding importance. Even so, each pasture type represents a broad group of similar vegetation associations or ‘site types’ which will have similar management requirements for pastoralism. The aim of this publication is to provide pastoralists with descriptions and …

Katanning Area Land Resources Survey, Heather M. Percy, G M. Wilson, Ted A. Griffin

Land resources series

This report presents results from soil and landform mapping at a scale of 1:150,000 in the Katanning area of Western Australia. It is accompanied by two soil-landscape maps covering 1.45 million hectares in the Kojonup and Darkan area (map 1) and the Katanning and Dumbleyung area (map 2). Most of the Katanning survey occurs within the Blackwood River catchment but also covers the upper catchments of the Pallinup, Frankland-Gordon and Tone-Warren Rivers. The Katanning survey falls within the Narrogin and Katanning advisory districts for Agriculture Western Australia. Twenty one soil-landscape systems have been identified and are represented on the accompanying …

Coastal Land And Groundwater For Horticulture From Gingin To Augusta, Dennis Van Gool, Werner Runge

Resource management technical reports

Due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure needs, labour requirements and transport costs, horticulture is normally located near major urban centres. This study focuses on the coastal plain region from Gingin to Augusta. This region accomodates over 80% of Western Australia's population and includes the States major urban centres. This region also accounts for over half the State's horticultural production with a gross value of production of $244 million.

An Inventory And Condition Survey Of The Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find Area, Western Australia, A L. Payne, A M E Van Vreeswyk, K A. Leighton, H J. Pringle, P Hennig

Technical Bulletins

The inventory and condition survey of the Sandstone-Yalgoo-Paynes Find area, undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) between 1992 and 1993, describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the area’s natural resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The area surveyed covers about …

Soil Assessment Of The West Gingin Area, Henry Smolinski, G G. Scholz

Land resources series

Soils of approximately 80,000 hectares in the West Gingin area, 100 km north of Perth, were surveyed from 1987 to 1989. The area lies on the Swan Coastal Plain within the Gingin Shire. The soils were mapped by the free survey method at a scale of 1:50,000. Thirty-five major soil associations and complexes were identified. These soils have been formed from various parent materials in a a range of depositional environments. Siliceous sand and sodic soils formed in alluvial-lacustrine sediments predominate. The main soils were sampled for chemical and physical analysis and their morphological, chemical and physical properties are discussed …

Geraldton Region Land Resources Survey, L Gary Rogers, National Landcare Program (Australia)

Land resources series

This report presents results from soil and landform mapping at a scale of 1:250,000 for approximately 2.1 million hectares of the wheat-sheep belt of Western Australia. The study area corresponds with the Geraldton advisory district for Agriculture Western Australia and is the northern extent of the wheatbelt. The area covers parts of three major geological regions of Western Australia: the Perth Basin, Carnarvon Basin and the Yilgarn Craton. Fifty-one soil-landscape systems have been identified, some of which have been divided into subsystems, and are illustrated on the accompanying maps. The landform, parent material, rainfall, land use, native vegetation and soils …

Wellington-Blackwood Land Resources Survey, Peter J. Tille, Georgina Wilson, National Landcare Program (Australia)

Land resources series

This report presents descriptions to accompany land resource maps of the Wellington- Blackwood district, east of Bunbury in the south-west of Western Australia. The maps cover an area of about 760,000 hectares and are presented as two map sheets at a scale of 1:100,000. Four different physiographic zones cover the survey area: • The Western Darling Range Zone occupies the major portion of the area and consists of a deeply dissected lateritic plateau overlying crystalline rocks. Three soil-landscape systems containing 24 subsystems have been identified and mapped within this zone. • The Eastern Darling Range Zone is in the south-east …

Land Capability Assessment For The Wellington-Blackwood Survey, Peter J. Tille

Resource management technical reports

This report has been produced to provide more detail on the land capability assessments presented in the Wellington-Blackwood Land Resources Survey (Tille 1996). In that report, the land capability of each of the soil-landscape subsystems has been summarised with a brief description. Capability ratings are provided here for each of the map units (including subsystem phases) which appear on the two map sheets (Tille et al. 1996) accompanying the Wellington-Blackwood Land Resources Survey.

Land Resources Of The Bencubbin Area, Gerard J. Grealish, John Wagnon

Land resources series

This survey of the Bencubbin area is part of the Agriculture Western Australia's regional land resource mapping program, and covers approximately 1.5 million hectares in the Merredin, Trayning, Koorda, Mount Marshall, Mukinbudin, Westonia and Nungarin Shires of Western Australia. The climate is Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and cool winters. Land is used for winter cereal production and grazing, and about 60% is cropped each year. Wheat is the main crop and is grown in rotation with lupins, field peas, barley and medic pasture. This report provides primary and interpreted information on the character and capability of the land, for …

Land Resources Of The Northam Region, Neil Clifton Lantzke, I Fulton

Land resources series

This report presents soil and landform mapping of about one million hectares in the Avon Valley and central wheatbelt of Western Australia at scale of 1:100,000. The study area spans from the lateritic plateau of the Darling Range to the broad, flat landscape of the wheatbelt and covers four broad physiographic regions: • the Zone of Ancient Drainage; • the Zone of Rejuvenated Drainage; • the West Kokeby Zone; and • the Darling Range Zone. Twenty-five soil landscape units were identified and mapped on the accompanying map sheets. A soil landscape unit is an area of land that occurs in …

Esperance Land Resource Survey, Tim D. Overheu, P G. Muller, S T. Gee, Geoff Allan Moore

Land resources series

The climate, geology, landforms, soils, native vegetation and land uses of the Esperance agricultural district of Western Australia are described, while the soil landscapes of the survey area of about 336,000 ha, covered by the Esperance and Merivale 1:100,000 topographic map sheets, are described in detail. The survey area represents most of the features and problems of the district, especially those of the Esperance sandplain for more resource information. An appropriate mapping scale was chosen from a preliminary survey of five farms on the Esperance sandplain. The study identifies five major land systems which are divided into map units on …

Land Resources Study Of The Carnarvon Land Conservation District And Part Of Boolathana Station, Western Australia, M R. Wells, C D M Keating, J A. Bessell-Browne

Land resources series

A survey of the land resources of 36,343 ha covering the Carnarvon Land Conservation District and an adjoining portion of Boolathana station was conducted to assist future land use planning and management. This report describes the soil, landform and vegetation conditions of land units shown on an accompanying 1:50,000 scale map. These land units are components of land systems previously mapped at 1:250,000 scale for the Carnarvon Basin by Payne et al. (1987). As part of the study, further, more detailed land resource mapping and land capability assessments were conducted at specific locations. Land use planning and management considerations arising …

Land Capability Study For Horticulture In The Swan Valley, J M. Campbell-Clause, Geoff Allan Moore

Land resources series

The Swan Valley is an important agricultural, recreational, tourist and heritage area in which there are a number of competing land uses because of its location close to Perth. The traditional agricultural use, mainly centred around the viticulture industry, has to compete with tourist development, urban encroachment, hobby farms and clay extraction. The major objective of this report was to identify any areas of prime horticultural land which should be retained for that purpose. A land capability study was done using the existing soil series map of the Swan Valley (Pym 1955), which covers most of the Swan Valley Policy …