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Series

Environmental Sciences

2003

Articles 1 - 29 of 29

Full-Text Articles in Agriculture

Swine Waste Demonstration And Training Project, C. V. Maxwell, K. Vandevender, K. P. Coffey, P. A. Moore, I. Chaubey, D. R. Smith Dec 2003

Swine Waste Demonstration And Training Project, C. V. Maxwell, K. Vandevender, K. P. Coffey, P. A. Moore, I. Chaubey, D. R. Smith

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.


Groundwater Test Pumping In The Tambellup Townsite, Louise Hopgood Dec 2003

Groundwater Test Pumping In The Tambellup Townsite, Louise Hopgood

Resource management technical reports

Previous studies have concluded that the township of Tambellup is underlain by a perched aquifer. Test pumping and groundwater modelling indicated that groundwater pumping may be an effective way of protecting townsite infrastructure by lowering the water table beneath the town. This report presents results of the test pumping and provides likely bore yields, prediction of pumping influence and likely optimum production bore spacing.


Groundwater Investigation On Victoria Location 8565, East Binnu, Russell John Speed Nov 2003

Groundwater Investigation On Victoria Location 8565, East Binnu, Russell John Speed

Resource management technical reports

Describes a drilling investigation undertaken for the East Binnu area within Victoria location 8565, Western Australia. Groundwater monitoring bores were installed to assess the risk of dryland salinity developing if after clearance of native vegetation, the area is used to grow annual crops and pastures. The investigation confirmed that the risk of further salinity development in this location is extreme.


Moore River : Catchment Appraisal 2003, A Alderman, M Clarke, Natural Heritage Trust (Australia), Moore River Catchment Support Team (Wa) Oct 2003

Moore River : Catchment Appraisal 2003, A Alderman, M Clarke, Natural Heritage Trust (Australia), Moore River Catchment Support Team (Wa)

Resource management technical reports

Using the Rapid Catchment Appraisal process, this report summarises current information for the Moore River catchment, Western Australia. The headwaters of the Moore River commence in Perenjori, Carnamah and Dalwallinu shires and drain southwards through Moora.


Reviews Of Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture And The Fatal Harvest Reader: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture, Edited By Andrew Kimbrell, Charles A. Francis Oct 2003

Reviews Of Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture And The Fatal Harvest Reader: The Tragedy Of Industrial Agriculture, Edited By Andrew Kimbrell, Charles A. Francis

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Fatal Harvest introduces and dispels key myths about industrial agriculture: greater efficiency; safe and nutritious food that is cheap to consumers; benefits to wildlife and environment; how biotechnology will save the world. In essays by leading proponents of a more equitable and sustainable food system, the book presents compelling evidence that alternative systems guided by an agrarian ethic will better address our food needs while protecting our natural environment and soil resources.

Wendell Berry cites the separation of people from their food supply and natural environment as a causal factor in our ready acceptance of today's industrial agriculture. When we …


Integrated Weed Management Plan For The Lower Las Vegas Wash, Elizabeth Bickmore Sep 2003

Integrated Weed Management Plan For The Lower Las Vegas Wash, Elizabeth Bickmore

Publications (WR)

The Las Vegas Wash (Wash) is the primary drainage for the metropolitan Las Vegas Valley, eventually finding its way into the Colorado River watershed system. Pursuant to the recommendations of the Water Quality Citizens Advisory Committee, the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee (LVWCC) was formed in 1998 to develop a comprehensive plan for the long-term stabilization and management of the Wash. Consisting of representatives from 28 government agencies, businesses, environmental groups and citizens, the LVWCC formulated the Las Vegas Wash Comprehensive Adaptive Management Plan (CAMP) and designated the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) as the lead agency for the implementation …


Blackwood Catchment : Beaufort Zone (Zone 4) : Catchment Appraisal 2002, Henry Brockman, Blackwood Rapid Catchment Appraisal Team (Wa ), Natural Heritage Trust (Australia) Sep 2003

Blackwood Catchment : Beaufort Zone (Zone 4) : Catchment Appraisal 2002, Henry Brockman, Blackwood Rapid Catchment Appraisal Team (Wa ), Natural Heritage Trust (Australia)

Resource management technical reports

Using the Rapid Catchment Appraisal process, this report summarises current information for the Beaufort zone, located in the mid to southern part of the Blackwood basin, including parts of the shires of Kojonup, West Arthur, Woodanilling, Katanning, Broomehill, Wagin and Boyup Brook, Western Australia. Assesses the condition of, and future risks to agricultural and natural resources, provides information for reducing those risks and identifies the most suitable options to manage the risk.


Predicting The Effectiveness Of Farm Planning At The Byenup Hill Catchment Using A Groundwater Model, Gregory Paul Raper, L M. Guppy Sep 2003

Predicting The Effectiveness Of Farm Planning At The Byenup Hill Catchment Using A Groundwater Model, Gregory Paul Raper, L M. Guppy

Resource management technical reports

A catchment model was constructed for the Byenup Hill catchment based on detailed hydrogeological mapping, information on land mapping units and land use collected from landholders. The aim of this work was to assess the likely impact of proposed land management changes to soil salinisation and recharge in the Byenup Hill Catchment.


East Mortlock : Catchment Appraisal 2002, Don Cummins Jul 2003

East Mortlock : Catchment Appraisal 2002, Don Cummins

Resource management technical reports

This report describes the soils, hydrology, natural vegetation and farming systems of the East Mortlock catchment and provides information on the threats to agriculture, infrastructure and natural resources caused by land degradation. East Mortlock covers over 800,000 hectares in the central wheatbelt. Rapid Catchment Appraisal aims to document salinity risk and management options by addressing all threats to the natural resource base, rather than isolating salinity as a separate issue.


Assessing Storage Reliability Of Farm Dams, D Farmer, N Coles May 2003

Assessing Storage Reliability Of Farm Dams, D Farmer, N Coles

Resource management technical reports

This report provides information on a method to estimate the volume of water in a farm dam and to determine how long this water will last. During periods of low rainfall, dams with farmland catchments receive limited run-off. Alternative water sources or management strategies need to be considered before the water runs out. The methods provided in this report are intended to provide to the landholder an indication of water supply over short periods only (i.e. in the order of 4-20 weeks).


Greenhouse, Land Management And Carbon Sequestration In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Wa, Department Of Conservation And Land Management, Forrest Products Commission, Department Of Environment, Water And Catchment Protection, Anne Bennett May 2003

Greenhouse, Land Management And Carbon Sequestration In Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Wa, Department Of Conservation And Land Management, Forrest Products Commission, Department Of Environment, Water And Catchment Protection, Anne Bennett

Agriculture reports

This report examines options for greenhouse emissions abatement by changing land management practices and establishing terrestrial organic carbon sinks in Western Australia.


West Mortlock Catchment Appraisal 2002, D G. Cummins May 2003

West Mortlock Catchment Appraisal 2002, D G. Cummins

Resource management technical reports

This report describes the soils, hydrology, natural vegetation and farming systems of the West Mortlock catchment and provides information on the threats to agriculture, infrastructure and natural resources caused by land degradation. West Mortlock covers over 700,000 hectares in the central wheatbelt. Rapid Catchment Appraisal aims to document salinity risk and management options by addressing all threats to the natural resource base, rather than isolating salinity as a separate issue.


Pastoralism Under Pressure: Tracking System Change In Southern Ethiopia, D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta May 2003

Pastoralism Under Pressure: Tracking System Change In Southern Ethiopia, D. Layne Coppock, Solomon Desta

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

While economic development has proven elusive in African pastoral systems, change is pervasive. The Kajiado Maasai, for example, have endured declines in terms of per capita livestock holdings and other aspects of human welfare over the past 50 years. Activity diversification has occurred in Maasailand as the population copes with pressure from human population growth. We surveyed up to 317 Borana households during the late 1990s to see if similar patterns occurred in southern Ethiopia. Once viewed as an example of sustainable pastoralism, the Borana system now confronts numerous challenges. Decline in per capita cattle holdings has spurred household-level diversification …


For Pastoralists The Risk May Be In The Drinking Water: The Case Of Kargi, N. Kenya, D. Layne Coppock, William A. Shivoga May 2003

For Pastoralists The Risk May Be In The Drinking Water: The Case Of Kargi, N. Kenya, D. Layne Coppock, William A. Shivoga

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Inadequate quantity of water is a common problem for pastoral people in East Africa. For the Rendille community of Kargi in northern Kenya, however, water quality has also been identified as a critical issue. Residents report that water-borne diseases commonly affect human health in dry seasons, and livestock may die soon after drinking water from some of the older, deep wells. We collected water samples from four key wells and one earthen dam to analyze physiochemical and bacteriological quality. Preliminary results indicated that the centrally located, oldest wells tested far below technical quality guidelines in several respects. Especially notable were …


Agroecosystems Analysis From The Grass Roots: A Multidimensional Experiential Learning Course, Mary Wiedenhoeft, Steve Simmons, Ricardo Salvador, Gina Mcandrews, Charles A. Francis, James W. King, David Hole Apr 2003

Agroecosystems Analysis From The Grass Roots: A Multidimensional Experiential Learning Course, Mary Wiedenhoeft, Steve Simmons, Ricardo Salvador, Gina Mcandrews, Charles A. Francis, James W. King, David Hole

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

An intensive, experiential travel course in Agroecosystems Analysis was conducted in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska (United States) during summers of 1998 and 1999. The intended student audience was advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Pretravel readings and a week-long series of farm visits, which consisted of in-depth interviews with the farmers and their families, prepared student teams to analyze and evaluate the production, economic, environmental, and social sustainability of 10 farms. Students shared their analyses both orally and in written reports. Based on a multifaceted student evaluation process, we found that participants were highly motivated, strongly engaged with the course …


Groundwater Study Of The Goomalling Townsite, Russell John Speed Apr 2003

Groundwater Study Of The Goomalling Townsite, Russell John Speed

Resource management technical reports

A groundwater study was undertaken in the townsite of Goomalling, Western Australia. The study consisted of a drilling program to install a network of groundwater monitoring bores. This report documents background information for the town and its catchment, the hydrogeological investigations, conclusions on the town's salinity risk and recommendations for improved water management.


Pc–Based Data Acquisition For A Solid Substrate Cultivation Deep Bed Reactor, Mari S. Chinn, Sue E. Nokes, Richard S. Gates Mar 2003

Pc–Based Data Acquisition For A Solid Substrate Cultivation Deep Bed Reactor, Mari S. Chinn, Sue E. Nokes, Richard S. Gates

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

This work describes an instrumentation and data acquisition system designed for a deep bed reactor used to cultivate Trichoderma longibrachiatum on wheat bran. The system allowed on–line measurements of substrate temperature, oxygen concentration within the reactor headspace, relative humidity and temperature of the inlet air, and inlet airflow rates while maintaining aseptic conditions and without disturbing the cultivation process. An error analysis for the instrumentation and data acquisition equipment was completed and provided insight into the reliability of the sensor readings. The collected data provided quantitative information about the reactor system dynamics which can be used to evaluate and apply …


Smart Growth And Land Acquisition Priorities: A Cursory Review, New England Environmental Finance Center Feb 2003

Smart Growth And Land Acquisition Priorities: A Cursory Review, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

It is well-known and generally accepted that all undeveloped land in New England cannot forever be protected from development; nor would this be a desirable goal, as continued economic development and population growth are near certainties. For these and other reasons, private land trusts and government agencies generally use explicit criteria to prioritize their land acquisition activities and prospects.


Groundwater Study Of The Bullaring Townsite, S Ghauri Feb 2003

Groundwater Study Of The Bullaring Townsite, S Ghauri

Resource management technical reports

A groundwater study was carried out in the townsite of Bullaring, Western Australia. This report describes the town and its catchment, the hydrogeological investigation characterising groundwater flow systems within the townsite, and recommends actions for managing salinity risk.


Paired Site Sampling For Soil Carbon Estimation – Western Australia, Edward Arnold Griffin, W H. Verboom, D G. Allen Feb 2003

Paired Site Sampling For Soil Carbon Estimation – Western Australia, Edward Arnold Griffin, W H. Verboom, D G. Allen

Natural resources research reports

This report describes a detailed paired site study at nine locations in the drier parts of south–western Australia representative of areas most recently cleared for agriculture. The pairing was of uncleared, short-term cleared and long-term cleared sites. The study provided samples for modelling soil organic carbon fluxes by CSIRO Land and Water. Analysis and interpretation of results from the samples collected and detailed soil morphology descriptions provide comprehensive documentation of the soil carbon and other soil parameters. This provides a basis for better understanding factors influencing soil carbon dynamics in soils in Western Australia, particularly in areas with sandy topsoils. …


High Water Use Plant Options For The Fitzgerald River Catchment : A Case Study, P L. Hill, Nadene Schiller Feb 2003

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.


Beaumont-Condingup Area : Catchment Appraisal 2002, A Alderman, Natural Heritage Trust (Australia) Feb 2003

Beaumont-Condingup Area : Catchment Appraisal 2002, A Alderman, Natural Heritage Trust (Australia)

Resource management technical reports

Using the Rapid Catchment Appraisal process, this report summarises current information for the Beaumont - Condingup area, east of Esperance. The object of the Rapid Catchment Appraisal is to assess the condition of, and future risks to agricultural and natural resources, and provide information for reducing those risks within geographic catchments and attempts to identify the most suitable options to manage these risks.


Avoiding The “Fat” Of The Land: Case Studies Of Agricultural Nutrient Balance, David Weaver, Simon Neville Jan 2003

Avoiding The “Fat” Of The Land: Case Studies Of Agricultural Nutrient Balance, David Weaver, Simon Neville

Journal articles

Let’s start with a simple analogy: if a person eats more than they need, they gain weight. That is: if our feed inputs (kilojoules in) are greater than our outputs (exercise — kilojoules out) then we will gain weight (kilojoules in storage).That’s our fat. If, on the other hand, our feed inputs are less than our outputs, then we will lose weight.And if our inputs are the same as our outputs, our weight will remain constant. In general, the further away you are from an ‘ideal’weight, the greater the health risks. And yes, other aspects of your body management — …


Natural Resource Management Issues In The Agricultural Zone Of Western Australia : South West Region, B Nicholas, Paul Galloway, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Heather M. Percy Jan 2003

Natural Resource Management Issues In The Agricultural Zone Of Western Australia : South West Region, B Nicholas, Paul Galloway, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Heather M. Percy

Resource management technical reports

Provides and analysis of current pressures on agricultural resources of the South West region of Western Australia. Differing ranges of risks are shown for different degradation issues because of various impacts. Each natural resource management issues covers nature and extent of susceptibility, impacts on agriculture and the environment, management options and effectiveness of management options.


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 Jan 2003

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.


Action Education In Land Use Decisions: Student Views On Urbanization And Farmland Loss, Mindi Schneider, Charles A. Francis, Dick Esseks Jan 2003

Action Education In Land Use Decisions: Student Views On Urbanization And Farmland Loss, Mindi Schneider, Charles A. Francis, Dick Esseks

CARI Extension and Education Materials for Sustainable Agriculture

Loss of prime farmland is a serious concern in the United States and around the globe. With rapid urban population increases, the activities and perceived needs of concentrated groups of people result in the swallowing of some of the most fertile lands in this country. Today we have just under 2 acres of productive farmland per person in the United States. Given the current population growth rate due to births and immigration, plus the present rate of farmland loss, World Watch Institute estimates that we will have about 0.6 acres or one-third as much farmland available per person by 2055--a …


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) Jan 2003

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 …


Groundwater Study Of The Nyabing Townsite, Louise Hopgood Jan 2003

Groundwater Study Of The Nyabing Townsite, Louise Hopgood

Resource management technical reports

A groundwater study was carried out in the townsite of Nyabing, Western Australia. The study presents a model of the hydrogeology below the town and defines management options to help limit damage to infrastructure from surface water and groundwater rise. A drilling program and expansion of the network of monitoring bores were also part of the study.


Addressing Off-Site Nutrient Pollution Through Conventional Management Actions: A Modelling Case Study, David Weaver, Simon Neville, David Deeley Jan 2003

Addressing Off-Site Nutrient Pollution Through Conventional Management Actions: A Modelling Case Study, David Weaver, Simon Neville, David Deeley

Conference papers and presentations

The ecology of estuaries on the south coast of Western Australia has been disrupted by increased nutrient and sediment discharge from predominantly rural catchments. Seagrass beds have been replaced by macroalgae, and toxic algal blooms threaten human and animal health, and reduce amenity. A range of conventional management actions are available to reduce nutrient loss at source, and it is important to evaluate possible reductions, and costs, so that limited funds can be targeted to realise the greatest moderation of nutrient loss. A lumped landuse nutrient generation rate model was developed for four catchments (Wilson Inlet, Oyster Harbour, Torbay Inlet …