Geoscientific land management planning in salt-affected areas*

Simon Abbott; David Chadwick; Greg Street

doi:10.1071/EG07002

ISSN: 0812-3985
E-ISSN: 1834-7533

Geoscientific land management planning in salt-affected areas^*
Authors Simon Abbott^a,d, David Chadwick^b and Greg Street^c
View Affiliations Hide Affiliations

^a CRC LEME, Department of Exploration Geophysics, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley WA 6011, Australia. ^b The Meadows, Broomehill WA 6318, Australia. ^c Department of Exploration Geophysics, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley WA 6011, Australia. ^d Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Publisher: Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Source: Exploration Geophysics, Volume 38, Issue 1, Mar 2007, p. 98 - 109
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/EG07002
- Received: 14 Jul 2006
- Accepted: 17 Oct 2006
- Published online: 01 Mar 2007

Abstract

Abstract.

Over the last twenty years, farmers in Western Australia have begun to change land management practices to minimise the effects of salinity to agricultural land. A farm plan is often used as a guide to implement changes. Most plans are based on minimal data and an understanding of only surface water flow. Thus farm plans do not effectively address the processes that lead to land salinisation.

A project at Broomehill in the south-west of Western Australia applied an approach using a large suite of geospatial data that measured surface and subsurface characteristics of the regolith. In addition, other data were acquired, such as information about the climate and the agricultural history. Fundamental to the approach was the collection of airborne geophysical data over the study area. This included radiometric data reflecting soils, magnetic data reflecting bedrock geology, and SALTMAP electromagnetic data reflecting regolith thickness and conductivity. When interpreted, these datasets added paddock-scale information of geology and hydrogeology to the other datasets, in order to make on-farm and in-paddock decisions relating directly to the mechanisms driving the salinising process. The location and design of surface-water management structures such as grade banks and seepage interceptor banks was significantly influenced by the information derived from the airborne geophysical data. To evaluate the effectiveness of this planning, one whole-farm plan has been monitored by the Department of Agriculture and the farmer since 1996. The implemented plan shows a positive cost–benefit ratio, and the farm is now in the top 5% of farms in its regional productivity benchmarking group.

The main influence of the airborne geophysical data on the farm plan was on the location of earthworks and revegetation proposals. There had to be a hydrological or hydrogeological justification, based on the site-specific data, for any infrastructure proposal. This approach reduced the spatial density of proposed works compared to other farm plans not guided by site-specific hydrogeological information.

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1071/EG07002

2007-03-01

2026-01-23

From This Site

/content/journals/10.1071/EG07002

dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword

-contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution

10

5

Full text loading...

References

Abbott S. 2003, The effectiveness of salinity management plans is dependent on quality hydrological information only available through the inclusion of geophysical data in a minimum suite of data sets used for landscape interpretation and planning: M.Sc. Thesis, University of Western Australia.
Anderson S. , Street G. J. , and Anderson H. 1995, The use of airborne geophysics to understand salinity processes and develop a farm plan on a farm in the south west of Western Australia: 4th National Conference on the Productive Use of Saline Lands, Albany.
Anderson-Mayes A. M. 1997, Harnessing spatial analysis with GIS to improve interpretation of airborne geophysical data: Proceedings of the Second Annual Conference of GeoComputation 1997 & SIRC 1997, Dunedin, 199–208.
Chamarette J. , and Robinson S. 1999, Decreasing Bank Density and Width Increases Landcare Profitability: Proceedings of Bankwest Landcare Conference, Esperance.
Engel R. McFarlane D. G. Street G. J. 1987 The influence of dolerite dykes on saline seeps in south Western Australia Australian Journal of Soil Research 25 125 136 doi:10.1071/SR9870125
[Google Scholar]
Gardner W. K. 1989, Coping with waterlogging in the high rainfall zones of southern Australia: 5th Australian Agronomy Conference, Australian Society of Agronomy, Melbourne.
George R. J. 1990 The nature and management of saprolite aquifers in the wheatbelt of Western Australia Land Degradation and Rehabilitation 2 261 275 doi:10.1002/ldr.3400020403
[Google Scholar]
George R. J. , and Smith R. A. 1998, Broomehill ’96 The application of SALTMAP at Broomehill for land management: Hydrogeology Report HR83, Water and Rivers Commission.
Hawke R. J. L. 1989, Announcement of One Billion Trees Program: The Age, July 20.
Johnston C. D. , Hurle D. H. , Hudson D. R. , and Height M. I. 1983, Water movement through preferred paths through lateritic profiles in the Darling Range, Western Australia: CSIRO Groundwater Research, 1.
Keen M. G. 2001, Field pocket book of conservation earthworks, formulae and tables: Department of Agriculture, Western Australia.
Leonhard E. L. 1996, Broomehill 1996 Investigative Core Drilling Program, Borehole Completion Report: Hydrogeology Report HR63. Water and Rivers Commission.
Leonhard E. L. 1999, An evaluation of the 1993 Broomehill Saltmap AEM survey: Hydrogeology Report HR64, Water and Rivers Commission.
Nulsen R. A. , Beeston G. , Smith R. , and Street G. J. 1996, Delivering a Technically Sound Basis for Catchment and Farm Planning: WALIS Forum, Perth, Western Australia.
O’Brien B. J. 1998, Overview of Broomehill ’96 and Saltmap: Water and Rivers Commission.
Raper G. P. , and Guppy L. M. 2003, Predicting the effectiveness of farm planning at the Byenup Hill catchment using a groundwater model: Department of Agriculture, Western Australia.
Robinson B. , Rees D. , and Abbott S. 1996, A consultancy for the identification of the factors affecting the implementation of farm plans from a private consultant’s perspective: Department of Agriculture, Western Australia.
Spies B. 2001, Australian developments in airborne electromagnetics – from minerals to dryland salinity: ATSE Focus.
Spies B. , and Woodgate P. 2005, Salinity Mapping Methods in the Australian Context – Results of a review facilitated by the Academy of Science and the Academy of Technological Sciences for the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council through Land and Water Australia and the National Dryland Salinity Program: Department of Environment and Heritage and Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry.
Street G. J. 1992 a Airborne geophysical surveys: applications in land management Exploration Geophysics 23 333 337
[Google Scholar]
Street G.J. 1992 b, Airborne geophysics – A tool to identify strategic area for revegetation: Catchments of Green: Greening Australia Ltd.
Street G.J. Abbott S. Ladyman M. Anderson-Mayes A.-M. 2006 Interpretation of geophysics for land management planning, Broomehill, Western Australia. Exploration Geophysics 37 379 388
[Google Scholar]
World Geoscience Corporation 1996, Broomehill SALTMAP project – salt hazards: World Geoscience Corporation, internal report.
World Geoscience Corporation and Read V. 1992, QUESTEM airborne salinity survey, Boscobel catchment, Western Australia: World Geoscience Corporation.

/content/journals/10.1071/EG07002

Geoscientific land management planning in salt-affected areas*

Exploration Geophysics 38, 98 (2007); https://doi.org/10.1071/EG07002

/content/journals/10.1071/EG07002

Data & Media loading...

Article Type: Research Article

Keyword(s): airborne geophysics; dryland salinity; farm planning

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

- A comparison of smooth and blocky inversion methods in 2D electrical imaging surveys
  
  Authors M.H. Loke, Ian Acworth and Torleif Dahlin
- Reverse-Time Migration using the Poynting Vector
  
  Authors Kwangjin Yoon and Kurt J. Marfurt
- SkyTEM–a New High-resolution Helicopter Transient Electromagnetic System
  
  Authors K. I. Sorensen and Esben Auken
- An overview of a highly versatile forward and stable inverse algorithm for airborne, ground-based and borehole electromagnetic and electric data
  
  Authors Esben Auken, Anders Vest Christiansen, Casper Kirkegaard, Gianluca Fiandaca, Cyril Schamper, Ahmad Ali Behroozmand, Andrew Binley, Emil Nielsen, Flemming Effersø, Niels Bøie Christensen, Kurt Sørensen, Nikolaj Foged and Giulio Vignoli
- The Fast Marching Method: An Effective Tool for Tomographic Imaging and Tracking Multiple Phases in Complex Layered Media
  
  Authors Nicholas Rawlinson and Malcolm Sambridge
- 3-D Analytic Signal in the Interpretation of Total Magnetic Field Data at Low Magnetic Latitudes
  
  Authors Ian N. MacLeod, Keith Jones and Ting Fan Dai
- CMP cross-correlation analysis of multi-channel surface-wave data
  
  Authors Koichi Hayashi and Haruhiko Suzuki
- A new direct non-invasive groundwater detection technology for Australia
  
  Authors M. Schirov, A. Legchenko and G. Creer
- 3D inversion of airborne electromagnetic data using a moving footprint
  
  Authors Leif H. Cox, Glenn A. Wilson and Michael S. Zhdanov
- Notes On Rock Magnetization Characteristics In Applied Geophysical Studies
  
  Authors D. A. Clark and J. B. Emerson
More Less

Geoscientific land management planning in salt-affected areas*

Abstract

Most Read This Month

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

Geoscientific land management planning in salt-affected areas^*