Soil Science Commons^™

Seepage Interceptor Drains For Reducing Waterlogging And Salinity, Don Mcfarlane, Jim Cox

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Shallow interceptor drains can reduce waterlogging on sloping sites. Such drains will more than pay for themselves from the increased crop yield. Recent work has shown that these drains also decrease salinity so that they are cost-effective in the long as well as the short term.

Level Banks Used To Decrease Waterlogging Can Increase Salinity, Don Mcfarlane, Richard Engel, Arjen Ryder, Maurice Eales

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Some farmers have used level W1SALTS banks to control surface zvaters above areas affected by ivaterlogging and salinity. Because the amount of waterlogging has been reduced, crop yields have increased downslope of some banks. However, the banks divert fresh surface water into deeper salty groundwater and, in the long term, worsen salinity. This article details an investigation of the effect of level WIS ALTS banks on saline groundwaters and discusses alternative methods of preventing the waterlogging of saline areas.

Plantscan, Ted Lefroy, Fritz Droge

Natural resources published reports

PLANTSCAN is a network of schools and landholders throughout the wheatbelt of Western Australia. It aims to speed up the process of testing plants for their suitability to this environment.

This kit contains seed of various trees and shrubs and notes on how to grow them, plant them out into a small plot and record their progress.

Schools and landholders throughout the wheatbelt who have purchased this kit become part of a research network aimed at selecting plants that will:

* overcome soil erosion;

* overcome soil salinity;

* and provide a source of income for farmers.

The following sheets …

Busselton - Margaret River - Augusta Land Capability Study : Methodology And Results, Peter J. Tille, Neil Clifton Lantzke

Resource management technical reports

A land unit map of the region has been prepared at a scale of 1:50,000. Additional maps of climate, surface and groundwater supplies and existing land use have also been prepared at smaller scales. The capability of each of the land units to support grazing, market gardens, vineyards, orchards and forestry has been assessed. The limitations for housing on small rural lots have also been evaluated. Describes the methods by which the survey was undertakenand will be primary of use to the technical user.

An Introduction To The Soils Of The Geraldton Advisory District, T C. Stoneman, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Bulletins 4000 -

With descriptions, illustrations and notes on eight common soils.

An Introduction To The Soils Of The Three Springs Advisory District, T C. Stoneman, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Bulletins 4000 -

With descriptions, illustrations and notes on seven common soils.

An Introduction To The Soils Of The Moora Advisory District, T C. Stoneman, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Bulletins 4000 -

With descriptions, illustrations and notes on eight common soils.

What Are Land Conservation Districts?, Western Australian Department Of Agriculture

Natural resources published reports

Land conservation groups need your support. Land degradation is not just a farming problem. We change the land and waters in many ways, whether it be clearing of precious natural bush or through the fertilizers which leach from our gardens.

By learning about the Land Conservation Districts achievements and understanding the challenges they face we can better see our own place in the scheme of things.

We will learn the ways to organize for Landcare in other rural areas, or in the city, that will be successful.

This is what the Decade of Landcare is all about - providing an …

An Introduction To The Soils Of The Esperance Advisory District, T C. Stoneman, Tim D. Overheu, P G. Muller, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Bulletins 4000 -

With descriptions, illustrations and notes on seven common soils.

An Introduction To The Soils Of The Lake Grace Advisory District, T C. Stoneman, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Bulletins 4000 -

With descriptions, illustrations and notes on eight common soils.

Forage Shrubs And Grasses For Revegetating Saltland, H V. Runciman, C V. Malcolm

Bulletins 4000 -

Salt tolerant shrubs and grasses are used for forage production from salt-affected farmland. This Bulletin is designed to assist in recognition of the important species in Western Australia and to provide information on their use. The species listed have more forage value than some natural indicators and colonizers of saltland, such as Mediterranean barley grass (Hordeum geniculatum), ice plant (Mesembryanthemum spp.), mallee lovegrass (Eragrostisdielsii), salt spurry (Spergularia spp.), curly ryegrass (Parapholis incurva) and beard grass (Polypogon monspeliensis). Some of the plants are also useful for rehabilitating degraded rangeland and mine …

Determining Pesticide And Nitrate Levels In Spring Water In Northwest Arkansas, T. L. Lavy, B. A. Dehart, John D. Mattice

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Occurrences of pesticides in our nations ground water are on the rise. As states become aware of this problem and begin monitoring programs, incidence of contamination will probably increase. Since the problem of pesticides in groundwater is relatively new, little research has centered on the fate of pesticides after they reach the groundwater environment. In Northwest Arkansas efforts to monitor groundwater for pesticides have been small. Twenty-five springs in Northwest Arkansas were sampled in the fall of 1988, and spring of 1989. Analysis for atrazine, alachlor, metolachlor, diuron, and simazine in spring water was preformed using gas liquid chromatography and …

Analysis, Design And Implementation Of A Pilot Relational Database For Groundwater In The State Of Arkansas, Ray Hashemi-Nassab

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

There are several agencies within the state of Arkansas dealing with underground water. Each agency has its own database that acts as an isolated depository of data. Practically, the communication among these databases is zero, not because there is no need for it, but because the communication is very difficult if not impossible. Data redundancy, inconsistency, and lack of integrity is overwhelming. In this study we have addressed the problem of lack of unity among the databases belonging to different agencies. Also, as an alternative we have developed a relational database. In this database the data was normalized to 4NF. …

An Expert System For Managing An Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant, Sandra C. Parker, David G. Parker

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

A diagnostic expert system for an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant has been designed to link with a relational database management system for obtaining operational parameter values that are used by the program to diagnose operational problems that may occur in the process. The problems that are dealt with by the system are bulking sludge, floating sludge, defloculation, ashing, solids washout, foaming problems, high soluble effluent BOD and problems in the aeration system. The link between the expert system and the database is accomplished via programming that is initiated by the expert system program. The operator of the system is …

Minimizing The Potential For Groundwater Contamination From Agricultural Point Sources, Joseph H. Massey, Terry L. Lavy, John D. Mattice

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

An activated charcoal filtration unit was designed to remove pesticides from leftover pesticide solutions and rinsates generated under farm-like conditions. The system, fabricated for less than $1400 using readily available components, effectively removed the pesticides atrazine, benomyl, carbaryl, fluometuron, metolachlor, and trifluralin from wastewater generated on the University of Arkansas Agronomy Farm located in Fayetteville, AR. A total of 2253 L of wastewater were treated using the system. Of these 1768 L were generated from washing out the spray tank (rinsates) while 485 L stemmed from leftover pesticide solutions that were mixed, but not applied. Typical initial pesticide concentrations in …

Improving Irrigation Scheduling And Water Use Efficiency In Cotton, Derrick M. Oosterhuis

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) is an important crop in the southern United States. The crop is grown in both irrigated and rainfed situations and is seldom free from periods of water shortages at some stage during the season. In recent years the need for consistency in yields and a stable cash flow has resulted in a rapid expansion in the number of irrigated acres of cotton in the Mississippi Delta. Irrigation research has, however, not kept pace with this expansion. This project represents a start at meeting this urgent need. The influence of weather patterns necessitates that these studies be …

Simulation Of The Fate Of Nitrogen From The Disposal Of Poultry Litter, H. D. Scott

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

A PC/AT computer model was developed to simulate the transport of water, nitrate and ammonia in the soil profile after an application of poultry litter to pasture. The model was written using FORTRAN 77 compiler and can be used on any IBM type compatible computer with a math coprocessor. Poultry litter has been shown to be a potential source of plant nutrients, but mismanagement can result in nitrate pollution of the surface and groundwater. The model is composed of a main program, 11 subroutines and three subprograms. An example was shown of the flexibility and dynamic nature of the computer …

Presentation Of Verified Algal Taxa As Reference Sources, Richard L. Meyer

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

A data base of the algae of Arkansas ecoregions has been established to describe the numerous taxa that occur within the aquatic ecosystems included in these regions. The organisms were identified with the aid of diverse literature from throughout the world. These sources are written in multiple languages and the living organisms had to be compared with outline or silhouette drawings. These illustrations may include shading, but none present the true color of the organism but only the characteristics of the descriptive source. Primary characteristics used to identify algae is based upon pigmentation of the plastid and the number and …

Root Exploitation Of Fertile Soil Microsites, Robert B. Jackson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Root exploitation of enriched soil microsites was examined for the tussock grasses Agropyron desertorum and Agropyron spicatum and the shrub Artemisia tridentata. Two mechanisms of exploitation of the microsites were examined: root proliferation and changes in nutrient uptake capacity. One day after nutrient solution was applied to small soil patches, the mean relative growth rate of Agropyron desertorum roots in enriched patches was two to four times greater than for roots of the same plants in soil patches treated with distilled water. This rapid and striking root proliferation occurred in response to N-P-K enrichment as well as to P or …

Soils Of The Kojaneerup Annex Of The Mount Barker Research Station, P A. Findlater, P G. Muller

Resource management technical reports

The aim of the study was to provide soils information for the development and the planning of field experiments at the Kojaneerup annex of the Mt Barker Research Station. The annex has been established to develop stable farming systems and lies approximately 15 km south of the eastern end of the Stirling Ranges in the south-west of Western Australia. Soils on the annex were identified and mapped using a combination of grid and free survey methods. The soil map boundaries are accurate to within 50 metres either side of the boundary.

Based on a number of CSIRO soil surveys in …

Rock Phosphates Are Poor Fertilizers For Non-Leaching Soils In South-Western Australia, Michael D A Bolland, Bob Gilkes

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Field experiments conducted on our non leachng soils from 1975 to 1988 have consistently shown that rock phosphates, compared with freshly applied superphosphate each year, are a relatively ineffective fertilizer in the year of application and in the years after application.

Water Erosion Of Farmland In 1988, K J. Bligh

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Widespread heavy rains in WesternAustralian agricultural areas in 1988 caused severe water erosion, much of which could have been avoided by minimum cultivation and lower stocking rates.

The Effect On Farm Profit Of Conserving Stubble To Prevent Wind Erosion, A D. Bathgate

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Over-grazing of stubbles is a major cause of winf erosion on WesternAustralian farms. Stubble contributes to the 'roughness' of the paddock; as the roughness is reduced, the risk of winf erosion is increased.

The risk of lupinosis in sheep has previously reduced the likelihood of lupin stubble being over grazed, but the development of Gungurru, a phomopsis-resistent variety of lupin, has increased the potential for over-grazing and hence the probability of wind erosion.

This article describes the economic benefit (or cost) of conserving stubble at the conservation standards.

Catchment Salinity : Report On A Study Of The East Perenjori Catchment, C J. Henschke

Resource management technical reports

Dryland secondary salinisation has debilitated large areas of land in Western Australia due to clearing of native vegetation for agricultural development. The initial aim of the project (which is the subject of Part I of this report) was to establish a landscape framework for hydrogeological examination of the salinity problem. A catchment of 139 km2, located 30 km east of Perenjori townsite was selected for detailed study. It was mapped for soils, vegetation, topography, landform and salinity using both old and recent aerial photography. A field survey of soil hydraulic conductivity was undertaken to help define recharge areas. Soil-vegetation associations …

Introducing Onslow, Western Australian Department Of Agriculture

Grain and other field crops published reports

Onslow Barley........ a new breed of barley for the southern high rainfall areas (see map VH,H4 &H5). Suited to May plantings, Onslow is the first barley developed specifically for the long growing seasons in these areas.

For the first time barley growers have a variety designed for those 4 t/ha plus yields which research shows are possible with early sowing.

Onslow is the first of a new breed of barley cultivars developed in Western Australia specifically for the southern high rainfall areas which have a long growing season.

Assessment Of Management Strategies For Reducing Land Degradation Problems In The East Perenjori Catchment, C J. Henschke, K J. Bligh, R Ferdowsian

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Land Capability Study Of The Shires Of Mandurah And Murray, M R. Wells

Land resources series

No abstract provided.

Saltland Management, Tim Negus

Natural resources published reports

Salt land problems in Western Australia are categorized into one of three types:

* Valley waterlogging

* hillside seepage

* dry land salt

Carlton Plains Soil Survey In The Shire Of Wyndham, East Kimberley, T C. Stoneman

Resource management technical reports

The Carlton Plains covers approximately 11,750 ha midway between Wyndham and Kununurra on the northern bank of the Ord River in the Shire of East Kimberley. The survey area is divided into two geomorphic units, the clay plains and the levee areas. Soils of the former generally belong to the Cununurra family of cracking clays while those of the levees are generally more variable and of medium texture.Samples of the major soils were collected for mechanical analysis and basic chemical analysis.Sodium chloride percentages and exchangeable sodium percentages are both high on the clay soils of the western plain. The suitability …

Bulletin 4358 - Western Australian Registered Field Crop Scheme Production Rules, Mark Holland, Peter Hill

Bulletins 4000 -

The Western Australian Registered Field Crop Scheme is an industry cooperative scheme entered into voluntarily by the participants. Agriculture Western Australia, through its AGWEST Plant Laboratories business unit, administers the scheme and supervises industry agreed production and marketing guidelines.

The Registered Field Crop Scheme differs from certified seed schemes by reduced direct supervision of the production by Agriculture Western Australia.

Producers agree to abide by the following rules and are responsible for the correctness of the final product to meet the quality descriptions for each seed lot as described on the appropriate seed analysis statement and in these rules.

The …