Physical Sciences and Mathematics 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 …

A Review Of The Economics Of Regenerative Agriculture In Western Australia, Anne Bennett

All other publications

• There is no published work detailing the economics of regenerative agriculture in Western Australia.
• Of the work completed in other jurisdictions and nations captured in this review, the profitability of regenerative agriculture compared with conventional agriculture was variable, although generally lower.
• The loss of income associated with the transition from conventional agriculture to regenerative agriculture is a significant barrier to adoption, although it is enterprise-sensitive.
• Farmers who are operating regenerative agriculture systems self-report higher levels of wellbeing.
• Conventional agriculture and regenerative agriculture are overlapping approaches.
• The literature presented in this review is mostly based on small samples, case studies or …

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 …

Establishing Pastoralist Monitoring Sites In The Grasslands: A Guide For Pastoralists, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development

All other publications

This guide is for lessees and station managers who wish to establish rangeland condition monitoring programs for their pastoral leases. The guide outlines the main principles to consider for establishing monitoring sites, and the collecting and recording data to monitor changes over time of rangeland condition within a grassland environment.

Identifying and ongoing monitoring of representative sites can be used to objectively assess the effect of livestock numbers, fire and seasonal conditions on the health of the perennial vegetation and soil. Importantly, monitoring can assist lessees demonstrate whether their current land management practices are appropriate for achieving acceptable rangeland condition.

Planning For The Peel Food Zone, Heather M. Percy

All other publications

The Planning for the Peel Food Zone project is part of Phase 1 of the Transform Peel initiative.Transform Peel is intended to be a ‘disruptive’ long-term program that supports economic growth, diversification and creates jobs in the Peel region. Transform Peel recognises the importance of protecting the internationally recognised waterways and wetlands of the Peel–Harvey Estuary and aims to halve the nutrient loads entering its waterways from the surrounding catchment.

The $49.3 million Phase 1 program for Transform Peel comprises three main components: Peel Food Zone; Peel Integrated Water Initiative; Peel Business Park.

This report summarises the findings from the …

Carnarvon Artesian Desalination Feasibility Study, Ghd, Carnarvon Growers Association, Gascoyne Water Co-Operative

Research Reports

Study scope

The scope of the study is summarised below;

 Review existing data and previous work,

 Visit Carnarvon (1 day), inspect water system facilities and convene Stakeholder Workshop No 1 with representatives from Carnarvon Growers Association, Gascoyne Water Co-operative and DAFWA. Agree 3 – 4 possible system configuration options to be investigated.

 Obtain and examine existing water quality data for artesian bore(s) incorporated within the study. Assess probable long term water quality and pumping heads.

 Develop preliminary design details for the agreed options in terms of pre-treatment, desalination and other system modifications required (eg bores, pump …

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In The Rangelands: Status And Trend In The Pastoral Rangelands Of Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Books & book chapters

This report card provides a regional overview of the status and trend of the natural resource base of the pastoral rangelands in Western Australia (WA). It covers the pastoral lease areas of the 2.2 million square kilometres of rangelands in WA (87% of the state). Pastoral leases cover 857 833km² or 40% of the rangelands, based on active leases as at June 2016.

The drivers of change in the rangelands — seasonal quality, grazing pressure and fire — interact and their effect is expressed in the condition and trends of natural resources used in pastoralism. The natural resource themes …

Bioenergy And Carbon Farming Opportunities In The Pilbara, Robert Sudmeyer, Kim Brooksbank, David Rogers

Bulletins 4000 -

The Pilbara region covers 270 000 square kilometres of north-west Western Australia. Its main agricultural land use is pastoralism, with beef cattle grazing native pastures. Currently, only 24km² is under irrigation, with irrigated fodder the principal crop, but this could expand to 100km². This expansion has the potential to significantly broaden the economic base of the Pilbara.

Irrigation and the opportunities for changing land use and management may facilitate greater participation in the carbon economy by Pilbara land managers. Bioenergy feedstocks could be sourced from purpose-grown crops or agricultural wastes. Carbon farming activities may be facilitated by …

Renewable Chemicals And Bioproducts: A Potential For Agricultural Diversification And Economic Development, Henry Brockman

Bulletins 4000 -

Renewable chemicals are a new category of novel products: building blocks and ingredients for the production of chemicals produced from renewable feedstock and sustainable advanced manufacturing processes, leaving a smaller environmental footprint than traditional petrochemicals. Biologically based products are mainly non-food products derived from biomass.

Renewable chemicals represent a market opportunity predicted to grow from US$2.8 billion in 2011 to US$98.5 billion by 2020, driven by consumers demanding safer and more environmentally friendly products and the creation of a market advantage by using novel products in the manufacturing process. Renewable chemicals are a sustainable diversification option for rangeland irrigation precincts, …

Climate-Ready Agriculture: A Situation Statement For Western Australia, Robert Anthony Sudmeyer, Anne Bennett, Melanie Strawbridge

Bulletins 4000 -

Projected future changes in the state’s climate will present new challenges for our producers. The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) continues to work with agricultural industries to lay solid foundations for an agricultural sector that has a range of response options.

This situation statement provides an assessment of how climate-ready the state’s agricultural sectors are and provides guidance for investment priorities for DAFWA for the period 2015–2020.

Comparative Assessment Of Crops To Use Potential Additional Water Resources In The Warren–Donnelly Catchments, James Dee, Ananda Ghose

Bulletins 4000 -

Through the Royalties for Regions funded Southern Forests Water Futures Project, the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia undertook a study to understand the economic benefits of developing new water resources in the Warren–Donnelly catchments in the south-west of Western Australia.

The Warren–Donnelly catchments have long been associated with intensive horticultural activities. The major perennial crops are pome fruit (apples and pears), avocados, stone fruit and wine grapes. The major annual crops are ware potatoes, seed potatoes, processing potatoes and brassica crops for the Perth Market over summer. There are emerging new industries including truffles, summer strawberry production, processing …

Biomass Scoping Study: Opportunities For Agriculture In Western Australia, Kim Brooksbank, Mitchell Lever, Harriet Paterson, Melissa Weybury

Bulletins 4000 -

This report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully be of some value to industry proponents that are interested in pursuing the opportunities provided by what are currently low value agricultural waste products. We outline three processes for obtaining energy from these by-products that may be appropriate for the farming sector in Western Australia (WA).

The Agronomy Jigsaw: Finding The Pieces That Maximise Water Use Efficiency, David Hall, Paul Galloway, Jeremy Lemon, Ben Curtis, Andrew Van Burgel, Kelly Kong, Nigel Metz,

Bulletins 4000 -

The Agronomy Jigsaw project is an initiative of the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) in collaboration with the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA) and Precision Agronomics Australia (PAA). The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) funded the project under the water use efficiency initiative (DAW193).

Improving water use efficiency (WUE) is the key to increasing crop production in dryland agriculture. In southern Western Australia (WA), water use efficiencies of wheat can vary from 8 to 22kg/mm/ha. The purpose of the Agronomy Jigsaw project is to understand this variation at paddock level: What are the main …

Carbon Farming In Relation To Western Australian Agriculture, Robert Sudmeyer, Jackson Parker, Tanmoy Nath, Ananda Ghose

Bulletins 4000 -

Carbon farming activities need to return multiple economic and environmental co-benefits to be attractive to land managers. This bulletin summarises concepts underlying carbon farming, how Australia accounts for greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for Western Australian land managers to participate in, and benefit from, carbon farming.

Pasture Condition Guide For The Kimberley, Kathryn Ryan, Elizabeth Tierney, Paul Novelly, Robert Mccartney

Bulletins 4000 -

This interactive guide has been produced as a tool for assessing pasture condition over a range of pasture types in the Kimberley. A pasture type is a distinctive mix of plant species, soil type and landscape position. For example, the Mitchell Grass Alluvial Plain Pasture type is a mixture of Mitchell grasses and other species occurring on black soil alluvial plains. Pasture condition is an important factor affecting the potential of the rangelands for animal production and is a useful indicator for the sustainability of production.

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 …

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In Agriculture : Status And Trend In The Agricultural Areas Of The South-West Of Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Books & book chapters

This report card summarises our current knowledge of the status and trend in the natural resource base in the agricultural areas of the south-west of Western Australia (WA) and provides a discussion of the implications for agricultural industries.

The condition of our natural resources is a complex interaction of numerous processes. In simple terms however, the performance of the land is driven by three primary factors: climate, land characteristics and land management. The first two factors are largely out of the control of land managers, and in a drying and variable climate, land management practices need to be able to …

Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Meredith Fairbanks, David Bowran, Geraldine Pasqual

Bulletins 4000 -

Agriculture contributes 15.5 per cent of Australia’s emissions (Figure 1), largely due to methane, from ruminant livestock digestion, nitrous oxide from soils and carbon dioxide from fossil fuel use (Australian National Greenhouse Accounts 2011; ABARES 2011).

This bulletin identifies current ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Australian agriculture.

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, …

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.

Climate Change Response Strategy, Anne Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

Climate change and policies introduced to reduce emissions will affect the agricultural sector and will lead to social and economic outcomes.

In addressing the Western Australian Government's priority plan for the agriculture and food sector, the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia has a number of roles it can play to assist industry to adapt and respond to climate change.

This document provides a balanced and coordinated strategic direction for climate change activities by identifying and prioritising key actions to be achieved over the next five years. The strategy is split into four chapters: emissions abatement, carbon sinks, adapting …

Water Management Plan For The Town Of Perenjori, Mark Pridham

All other publications

The Rural Towns – Liquid Assets (RT–LA) project was established with the aim of integrating salinity, waterlogging and flooding control with development of new water supplies in wheatbelt towns, and where possible, finding ways of putting the excess water to commercial use. Following the identification of effective integrated water management strategies, these have been applied to the 15 Shires participating in the DAFWA led RT–LA project. This report summarises the outcomes from all scientific investigations undertaken for Perenjori. In addition it presents the water management options, a preliminary analysis of those options and the priority recommended ones. Due to the …

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.

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.

Western Australian Resource Condition Monitoring Projects 2007-2009, Ceidwen Pengelly, 2010

All other publications

Monitoring the status and trends of our natural resources is the only way we can assess whether the actions that have been implemented are making a difference. The impetus for this resource condition monitoring program (RCM) was the recognition that our monitoring networks, baseline data and data management systems were inadequate to enable quantitative reporting to government, and the community, on the difference their investments in natural resource management were making. It was considered that making a significant investment in raising our ability to report would be a long-lasting legacy of value to the state.

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.

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.

Benchmarking Biodiversity: Land Resource Mapping In The Ord River Catchment., Tricia Handasyde, Peter J. Tille, Noel R. Schoknecht, Karen Carnes

All other publications

This 2009 report describes the mapping of landform, vegetation and soils undertaken in the Ord River Catchment in the East Kimberley of Western Australia in order to provide a basis for biodiversity benchmarking. The project: • brought together and standardised existing Ord River catchment land resource mapping held by the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) and Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) in a format compatible with adjoining mapping in the Northern Territory • mapped to land unit level an additional 4400 sq km of the Ord River catchment. • re-digitised 2200 sq km of vegetation mapping previously not …

Wilson Inlet Catchment Appraisal 2007, Ron Master

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

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.