Soil Science Commons^™

Soils Of The Weaber Plain, East Kimberley, Western Australia, J C. Dixon

Resource management technical reports

The Weaber Plain, north-east of Kununurra, is one of three "black soil" plains in the Kimberley area of Western Australia. It comprises about 15,000 hectares of irrigable land, part of which is known as Stage 2 of the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA). The area was surveyed in 1977 following a similar survey of the nearby Keep River Plain and preceding a survey of the Ivanhoe Plain, which has since been developed commercially. Map units and soil series used in those reports have also been used for this rep ility in crop selection, preferring high water use crops.

Soils Of The Ivanhoe West Bank East Kimberley Western Australia, C Grose, N Schoknecht

Resource management technical reports

A brief assessment of the soils of 2,064 ha of land on the Ivanhoe West Bank and their suitability for irrigated agriculture was conducted in May-June 1994. Sandy or loamy soils occur on broad levees adjacent to the Ord River, and areas of 'black soil' and 'red soil' plains occur behind these levees. Some areas of the red soil plain and levees are deeply dissected, and occasional active erosion is evident.

Soils Of The Knox Creek Plain East Kimberley Western Australia And Northern Territory, C Grose, Noel Schoknecht

Resource management technical reports

An assessment of the soils and landforms of approximately 12,000 ha in the Knox Creek Plain in Western Australia and the Northern Territory was conducted in May and June 1994. Seventeen map units were identified and their soils, landform and vegetation characteristics were described. Grey or brown cracking clays predominate on the plain, however variable red or brown soils on the coarser alluvium of remnant levees are common in the south and south-east.

Soils Of The Mantinea Loop Ord River Valley East Kimberley Western Australia, N Schoknecht, C Grose

Resource management technical reports

A brief assessment of the soils of 1,186 hectares in the Mantinea Loop, and their suitability for irrigated agriculture, was conducted in June 1994. Four map units based on soil, landform and vegetation were identified. The soils are mainly calcareous brown fine sandy loams. The landform is an alluvial plain, with numerous small depressions and channels caused by the meandering and flooding of the Ord River.

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.

No-Till Sowing Systems In North America With Relevance To Western Australia, K J. Bligh

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Remnant Vegetation Inventory On The Southern Agricultural Areas Of Western Australia., G R. Beeston, G Mlodowski, A Sanders, D True

Resource management technical reports

Remnant vegetation mapping and its incorporation into a Geographical Information System (GIS) data base is the first stage in an overall documentation and promotion of conservation of remnant vegetation in Western Australia. The primary objective of this project being to determine the amount, distribution and regional location of native vegetation remaining on private land in the agricultural area of south-west Western Australia.

Rangeland Reference Areas : Summary Of Cooperative Project Between The Western Australian Department Of Agriculture And The Environmental Protection Authority, D A. Blood

Resource management technical reports

The development of agriculture in south-western Australia has been characterised by the replacement of deep-rooted, perennial species of native vegetation with shallow-rooted, annual species. Except for the high rainfall areas, the native vegetation was able to intercept and transpire nearly all of the rainfall resulting in low stream flows and recharge to a groundwater system which was typically deep and restricted to the major valleys. The lack of surface or groundwater movement out of inland catchments used large quantities of cyclic salts to become stored in the regolith. Although annual crops and pastures can be high water users, they are …

Data Set And Code Definitions For Soil Profile Description : Dawa Regional Mapping Program, B R. Purdie

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Integrated Catchment Management : Upper Denmark Catchment, R Ferdowsian, K J. Greenham

Resource management technical reports

The project mapped the landforms and land management units on cleared parts of the catchment ; defined the extent of, processes causing and options for solving the salinity problem in the Upper Denmark Catchment; developed a catchment management plan that would reverse the increasing soil and stream salinity trend within the catchment; encouraged and assisted the landholders to adopt the plan; and applied the results of the study to other areas.

Soils Of The East Beverley Annex Of The Avondale Research Station, Neil Clifton Lantzke

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Land Reclamation In The North Stirling Land Conservation District, M F. Lewis, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Resource management technical reports

Investigations were carried out to determine the interaction between the lakes and groundwater systems, the influence of bedrock structures on groundwater flow, and the regional flow characteristics in the basin. The hydrological investigations showed that water does flow from lakes to the groundwater system. However, the benefits from draining land have to be compared with the benefits of not adding water to the lakes. A basin water balance showed that most of the excess water resulting from reduced epotranspiration since clearing remains in the basin as increased groundwater storage. Only relatively small quantities of the extra water leave the basin …

Deep Drains : A Case Study And Discussion, Russell John Speed, John Andrew Simons

Resource management technical reports

Typically, deep, open drains are about 2 in deep and about 1 in wide at the base and dug with a backhoe or excavator. The movement of groundwater is controlled by two factors. One is the physical ability of the material to transmit fluid. Permeability is the measure used to describe the ability of a material to transmit fluid through pores and cracks. It depends largely upon porosity (the percentage of the total volume of thematerial that is pore space) and the degree of interconnectedness of the pore spaces. The other factor controlling groundwater flow is gradient. George (1985) found …

Tackling Salinity On The Esperance Sandplain, S J. Hearn, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia)

Resource management technical reports

The Esperance sandplain has serious secondary salinity. Waterlogging and poor surface drainage compound the problems. The original aim of the project was to promote high water use pastures for areas of deep sands as a way of limiting rechrge to the saline groundwater. This aim was later broadened to include the promotion of deep-rooted perennial pastures on all suitable soils.

The Mallee Road Catchment Project, Rachel Siewert, S Abbott, National Soil Conservation Program (Australia), R A. Nulsen

Resource management technical reports

The Mallee Road Sump catchment is a 30,000 ha catchment located immediately south of a major drainage divide in the central southern agricultural region of Western Australia. The catchment has been largely developed for agriculture over the last 25 years and is now showing development of secondary land salinization. Agronomic trials have shown that it is possible to considerably increase plant production in the area and simultaneously reduce recharge to the groundwaters.

Kings Park Soil Survey, J A. Bessell-Browne

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Horticultural Capability Study Of Soils Adjacent To Plantations At Carnarvon, Western Australia, M R. Wells, J A. Bessell-Browne

Resource management technical reports

A detailed soil survey and horticultural capability assessment was undertaken over 1,804 ha of land adjacent to existing plantations on levees of the Gascoyne River near Carnarvon. The study provides mapped land resource data and advice in relation to land management and the possibility of further land release for horticulture. In the assessment of horticultural capability primary consideration has been given to the risk of erosion during flood events, to salinity, and to soil drainage conditions.

Toward Better Minimum Tillage For South-Coastal Sandplain Soils, W L. Crabtree

Resource management technical reports

Seventeen farmers compared their conventional cropping practices with some form of minimum tillage cropping. The minimum tilled crops yielded 21 percent less grain than the conventionally sown crops. The reasons for these decreased yields were in most cases related to inexperienced management. The minimum tilled treatments usually had very poor weed kill strategies which often resulted in large weeds at sowing, very cloddy seed-beds, and numerous insects in the young crops.

An Economic Model For Evaluating Strategies On The South Coast Of W.A. Which Reduce Wind Erosion : Documentation, A D. Bathgate

Resource management technical reports

The sandplain region on the south coast has predominately sandy soils which are subject to erosive winds when ground cover is likely to be scarce. This can often result in production losses of crop and pasture. There is concern that wind erosion will lead to the depletion of the soil resource in the long term. The model is multi-period linear programming with a planning horizon of 10 years. Effects of wind erosion on production can be imposed on the model for the first five years after the erosion event.

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.

Response By Stylosanthes Hamata And S. Scabra To Phosphate On Three Soils In The North-Kimberley Of Western Australia, A Mcr Holm, Mario F. D'Antuono

Resource management technical reports

Legume herbage mass was maximized after two or three years application of 50 kg/ha double superphosphate for both Verano and Fitzroy on Red earth soils and for Fitzroy on Yellow lateritic soils. There was increased production of Verano up to the maximum fertilizer level. Both varieties responded in the second year to residual P following application in the first year but there were no responses in subsequent years.

Salinity And Waterlogging On The Esperance Downs Research Station, D J. Mcfarlane, A T. Ryder

Resource management technical reports

Details the situation on the station so that the demonstration and research programs can be designed and the effect of the treatments assessed. Past work on the station has been briefly summarised and the results of geophysical surveys and additional drilling are given. Surveys of electromagnetic terrain conductivities have shown where salinity is most serious at present. The most deeply penetrating method may have identified areas likely to developing salinity in future.

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 …

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.

Minimal Soil Disturbance Sowing In New South Wales And Its Relevance To Reducing Water Erosion In Western Australia, K J. Bligh

Resource management technical reports

During a study tour in New South Wales both inexpensive modifications to existing seeders and state of the art new mechanisms were investigated. Narrow-winged points can readily be fitted to existing tined seeders to immediately reduce water erosion in Western Australia. Press wheels may improve crop establishment, particularly with early sowing in this predominantly winter-rainfall region.

Assessment Of Land Capability For On-Site Septic Tank Effluent Disposal, M R. Wells

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Water Erosion On Vegetable Growing Land In South Western Australia, D J. Mcfarlane, N D. Delroy, H V. Gratte, J P. Middlemas, A M E Van Vreeswyk, I Mckissock

Resource management technical reports

The most serious erosion was found to be occurring in the Donnybrook area due to a combination of erosive winter rainfall, steep slopes and erodible soils. The most serious erosion was found to occur when storm runoff entered the vegetable plots from above, providing a transporting medium for the cultivated soil. A predictive model of erosion showed that soil texture, furrow slope, plot length, rainfall erosivity and canopy cover were significant factors affecting soil loss.

Report On The Application Of An Evapotranspiration Equation To The Waca Dome, P R. Scott

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between The Concentration Of Total Soluble Salts And Osmotic Potential In Soil, Ground And Surface Waters For Several Regions Of Western Australia, H Borg

Resource management technical reports

In Western Australia salinity data are commonly reported in milligrams of total soluble salts per litre of solution. Laws from solution chemistry and data on the soluble salt composition for various regions of the State were combined to derive a relationship between total soluble salt concentration (C) and osmotic potential (WO) for each region. For the south-west of Western Australia, which contains the most productive agricultural areas in the Sate, this relationship is WO = 0.075 C.

Soil Management For Sustainable Agriculture : Background Papers From A Workshop Organized By The Research Review Committee Of The Grains Section Of The Western Australian Farmers Federation Held At Perth Civic Centre, September 29-30, 1987, Western Australian Farmers' Federation, G A. Robertson

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.