Valley reforestation to lower saline groundwater tables - Results from Stene Farm, Western-Australia

Soil Research ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
NJ Schofield ◽  
MA Bari
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Groundwater Salinity ◽  
Saline Groundwater ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Salinity Increase ◽  
The 1950S

Dense planting of selected trees in salt-affected valley floors and non-saline adjacent slopes has been evaluated as one strategy for controlling rising saline groundwater under agriculture. Of the 127 ha experimental catchment, 44% had been cleared of native forest in the 1950s. Valley reforestation covering 35% of the cleared area took place in 1979, by which time a groundwater of 5300 mg L-1 TSS had risen to within 0.5 m of the soil surface. The eucalypt reforestation was successful in lowering the groundwater table by 1.5 m by 1989, whilst groundwater levels under nearby pasture had risen by 1.8 m. The groundwater salinity beneath reforestation decreased by 30% over the study period, allaying fears of a detrimental groundwater salinity increase brought about by transpirative concentration. Measures such as replanting failed areas, implementing agricultural recharge control or selecting higher water using tree species would improve the performance of the valley reforestation strategy.

Evaluation of the impacts of deep open drains on groundwater levels in the wheatbelt of Western Australia

2004 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riasat Ali ◽  
Tom Hatton ◽  
Richard George ◽  
John Byrne ◽  
Geoff Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Event ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Initial Water ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Over one million hectares of the wheatbelt of Western Australia (WA) are affected by secondary salinisation and this area is expected to increase to between 3 and 5 million hectares if current trends continue. Deep open drains, as an engineering solution to dryland salinity, have been promoted over the past few decades; however, the results of initial experiments were variable and no thorough analysis has been done. This research quantifies the effects of deep open drains on shallow and deep groundwater at farm and subcatchment level. Analysis of rainfall data showed that the only dry year (below average rainfall) after the construction of drainage in the Narembeen area of WA (in 1998 and 1999) was 2002. The dry year caused some decline in groundwater levels in the undrained areas but had no significant impact in the drained areas. The study found that the effect of drains on the groundwater levels was particularly significant if the initial water levels were well above the drain bed level, permeable materials were encountered, and drain depth was adequate (2.0–3.0 m). Visual observations and evidence derived from this study area suggested that if the drain depth cut through more permeable, macropore-dominated siliceous and ferruginous hardpans, which exist 1.5–3 m from the soil surface, its efficiency exceeded that predicted by simple drainage theory based on bulk soil texture. The effect of drains often extended to distances away (>200 m) from the drain. Immediately following construction, drains had a high discharge rate until a new hydrologic equilibrium was reached. After equilibrium, flow largely comprised regional groundwater discharge and was supplemented by quick responses driven by rainfall recharge. Comparison between the hydrology of the drained and undrained areas in the Wakeman subcatchment showed that, in the valley floors of the drained areas, the water levels fluctuated mainly between 1.5 and 2.5 m of the soil surface during most of the year. In the valley floors of the undrained areas, they fluctuated between 0 and 1 m of the soil surface. The impact of an extreme rainfall event (or unusual wet season) on drain performance was predicted to vary with distance from the drain. Within 100 m from the drain, water levels declined relatively quickly, whereas it took a year before the water levels at 200–300 m away from the drain responded. The main guidelines that can be recommended based on the results from this study are the drain depth and importance of ferricrete layer. In order to be effective, a drain should be more than 2 m deep and it should cut through the ferricrete layer that exists in many landscapes in the wheatbelt.

scholarly journals Predicting peatland groundwater table and soil moisture dynamics affected by drainage level

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Bambang Widiarso ◽  
Slamet Minardi ◽  
Komariah Komariah ◽  
Tino Orciny Chandra ◽  
Mohamed Abdesalam Elmahdi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Polynomial Regression ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Drainage Channel ◽  
West Kalimantan ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
And Control ◽  
Moisture Dynamics

Excessive drainage of peatlands can cause subsidence and irreversible drying; therefore, it is necessary to predict groundwater levels in peatlands to ensure adequate water for crops and control excessive water loss simultaneously. This study aimed to predict the peatland groundwater level and soil moisture affected by drainage. This research was conducted in a peatland located in Rasau Jaya Umum, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia from February to December 2016. Three treatments of drainage setting were established with maize cropping: without drainage (P0) and drainage channel with water level maintained at depths of 30 cm (P1) and 60 cm (P2) from the soil surface. The results indicated that a polynomial regression model is a good approach to predicting groundwater table level and soil moisture in peatlands, with R<sup>2</sup> values ranging 0.71-0.96 and 0.65-0.93, respectively. For agricultural purposes, maintaining the water level at 30 cm from the soil surface in the drainage channel appears to be the ideal level as adequate soil moisture is provided for annual cash crops and drying is prevented simultaneously.

Tree Species Preferences of Foraging Birds in Jarrah Forest in Western Australia.

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 461 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Abbott ◽  
PV Heurck
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Selective Logging ◽  
Jarrah Forest ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Species Preferences

A study of foraging by 10 bird species suggests that selective logging of large Eucalyptus marginata will only have affected Melithreptus lunatus, but that proposed silvicultural treatments, including removal of Banksia grandis, may affect several other bird species.

The Distribution of Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands at Two Sites in Southern Western Australia and at Durras in South-Eastern New South Wales.

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 139 ◽  
Author(s):  
WM Blowes ◽  
WA Heather ◽  
N Malajczuk ◽  
SR Shea
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Phytophthora Cinnamomi ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Isolation Techniques ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Australian

Native forest at Durras in south-eastern New South Wales and Jarrahdale in south-western Western Australia was examined for the presence of Phytophthora cinnamomi by two sampling and isolation techniques. With the lupin seeding baiting technique, randomly selected samples of soil and fine roots collected from the New South Wales site yielded P. cinnamomi when baited, while similar baiting of comparable samples from Western Australia failed. Direct plating of samples of upper roots and root collars of recently dead Banksia grandis from Western Australian sites yielded P. cinnamomi, while this organism was not isolated from comparable samples of chlorotic Macrozamia communis collected at the New South Wales site. The results suggest that the form of occurrence of P. cinnamomi and its association with disease in Australia vary in different situations. Viewing each situation independently might ensure the adoption of control/prevention strategies appropriate to all.

scholarly journals "Payneham Vale": integrated whole farm Planning

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
R. S. Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Natural Vegetation ◽  
The South ◽  
Farm Planning ◽  
South West ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Supplementary Feed ◽  
Eucalyptus Wandoo

IN 1908, Ron's grandfather, Issac Gray, took up an uncleared block of land 15 km north of Frankland in the south-west of Western Australia (see Fig. 1, Hobbs 2003). During that time he ran a few cattle in the bush and clearing of the native woodlands of Wandoo (white gum) Eucalyptus wandoo, J arrah E. marginata and Marri (Redgum) E. calophylla was slow and tedious. Ron's parents took over the farm in 1947, and with the advent of the bulldozer, clearing of Watkin's property and surrounding district began in earnest during the 1950s. Clearing continued as fast "as money permitted", until almost the last natural vegetation was knocked down in 1978 (Fig. 1). Annual pastures with some cropping (for supplementary feed) were the main source of fodder for sheep and cattle.

scholarly journals Spinifex People as Cold War Moderns

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 71-94
Author(s):  
Greg Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Nuclear Testing ◽  
Atomic Age ◽  
Native Title ◽  
Global Modernity ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Government

Aboriginal Australian contemporary artists create works that express indigenous traditions as well as the unprecedented conditions of global modernity. This is especially true for the founders of the Spinifex Arts Project, a collective established in 1997 to create so-called “government paintings”: the large-scale canvases produced as documents of land tenure used in negotiations with the government of Western Australia to reclaim expropriated desert homelands. British and Australian nuclear testing in the 1950s displaced the Anangu juta pila nguru, now known to us as the Spinifex people, from their nomadic lifeworld. Exodus and the subsequent struggle to regain lost homelands through paintings created as corroborating evidence for native title claims make Spinifex canvases not simply expressions of Tjukurpa, or “Dreamings,” but also artifacts of the atomic age and its impact on a culture seemingly far from the front lines of cold war conflict.

scholarly journals Hydrogeological and Hydro Chemical Evaluation of Groundwater in Karbala Region Using Geographic Information System (GIS)

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4A) ◽  
pp. 515-522
Author(s):  
Marwa S. Hussein ◽  
Imzahim A. Alwan ◽  
Tariq A. Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
Water Reservoir ◽  
Unconfined Aquifer ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Flow State ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Chemical Evaluation ◽  
Unsteady Flow Condition ◽  
High Production

The study area is located in the holy governorate of Karbala, Iraq; the research studied a predictive mathematical model of groundwater within Dibdiba Formation and by fifty (50) wells distributed randomly within the boundaries of the study area, all of them fall within the unconfined aquifer. Likewise, there is no component to direct the activity of these wells, where a mathematical model for the study area has been developed using the groundwater system modeling program (GMS v.10). The area was divided into a grid where the dimensions of a single cell ranged from 250m×250m. The model of the steady flow state was adjusted utilizing pressure driven conductivity extending from 9 to 15 m/day with a 0.15 storage coefficient to match the groundwater levels measured with the calculated groundwater table. The model was run for unsteady flow condition in the first scenario with fifty (50) wells and five (5) years. The drawdown in the groundwater tables ranged between (0.05-1.05) m. In the second scenario, the model was run after adding thirty-six (36) wells for five (5) years, groundwater limits 0.15-1.15 meters. The drawdown values are concentrated near wells sites, and the drawdown decline as we move away from the sites of these wells and this reflects the nature of the water reservoir located in the study area, which is characterized by high production where compensation resulting from the operation of the wells decline rapidly by the reservoir. Therefore, the values of the drawdown in elevations appeared very low. The study also showed the possibility of drilling additional wells in this area, depending on this model to benefit from them in the future for different uses.

scholarly journals Spatial variability of shallow groundwater level in the Northern Kathmandu Valley

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Manish Shrestha ◽  
Naresh Kazi Tamrakar
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Geological Material ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Shallow Groundwater Level

Groundwater is the water which is present in pore spaces and in the fractures of the geological materials beneath earth surface. Water is incompressible substance and presence of small amount of water in geological material modifies the behavior of geological material under stresses. Determination of engineering behavior of the geological material is almost impossible skipping the role of water. The objective of this study was to map and evaluate shallow groundwater level of the northern Kathmandu Valley covering main rivers such as the Bagmati River, Bishnumati River, Dhobi Khola and the Manahara Khola. These rivers flow from the North to the South across the sand rich sediment zone. Static groundwater levels of 239 wells were measured from different locations of the study area in April/March 2017 (Dry Season) and in August 2017 (Wet Season). Shallow groundwater level was measured from soil surface to water level using well water depth logger (Qin and Li, 1998). The result showed that groundwater level ranged from 0.6 m to 12.5 m in dry season and 0.1 m to 13 m in wet season. The groundwater level increased by average of 34.68% (n = 235) as compared to that in dry season. Increase in the groundwater level suggests recharge of groundwater in wet season of the study area. The flow pattern of groundwater levels from the study shows flow of shallow groundwater towards the major rivers of that particular river watershed. As a consequence, seepage flow and piping erosion is likely along the riverbank slopes. Increase in recharge of groundwater during wet season exhibits that the northern region of the Kathmandu Valley is potential for groundwater recharge and can be used to manage water for the dry period.

scholarly journals RELAÇÃO ETNOBOTÂNICA DOS PROPRIETÁRIOS RURAIS DO MUNICÍPIO DE URUPEMA, SC, COM RECURSOS FLORESTAIS

FLORESTA ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 725
Author(s):  
Renata Diane Menegatti ◽  
Pedro Higuchi ◽  
Ana Carolina Da Silva ◽  
João Fert-Neto ◽  
Jean Correia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Araucaria Angustifolia ◽  
Forest Resource ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Fidelity Level ◽  
Araucaria Forest ◽  
Resources Exploitation

O presente estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar a relação etnobotânica de proprietários rurais do município de Urupema, SC, com recursos florestais. Para isso, foram realizadas entrevistas, em cada uma das 35 propriedades amostradas, sobre as principais fontes de renda e sobre as principais espécies florestais utilizadas. O uso das espécies foi analisado por meio do Nível de Fidelidade (NF) e da Porcentagem de Concordância quanto aos Usos Principais (CUP). As fontes de renda relatadas com maior frequência foram a pecuária, a fruticultura e a aposentadoria. Os recursos florestais são utilizados, principalmente, para fins de alimentação e energético. Todas as espécies citadas apresentaram elevado NF (≥ 97%) e a Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze é a espécie de maior valor de CUP (97,06%), por ser utilizada por quase a totalidade dos entrevistados (34), sempre para os mesmos fins. Os resultados demonstraram que a maioria dos entrevistados (83%) não obtém renda das florestas naturais, mesmo com quase metade (47%) tendo citado que seria possível sustentar a família por meio da exploração dos recursos florestais nativos. Dentre os recursos florestais explorados, destacou-se a extração de pinhão como fonte de renda.Palavras-chave: Floresta com Araucária; Planalto Catarinense; etnobotânica; produtores rurais. AbstractEthnobotanical connections of rural landowners in the municipality of Urupema, SC, with forest resources. The present research aimed to characterize the ethnobotanical connections of rural landowners in the municipality of Urupema, SC, with their use of forest resource. In order to do that, we conducted interviews, in each of the 35 surveyed properties, focusing the main source of income as well as the main used tree species. The species usages were analyzed by the Fidelity Level (NF) and Percentage of Main Use Concordance (CUP). The most frequent sources of income were livestock, fruit culture and retirement. The forest resources are mainly used as food and energy. All cited species revealed elevated values of NF (≥97%), and the more elevated value of CUP was observed for Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze (97,06%), as such species had been reported by almost the totality of farmers, always for the same purpose. The results revealed that most of the interviewees (83%) do not get income from natural forests, even with almost half (47%) of them considering that it would be possible to sustain their family by native forest resources exploitation. Among the exploited forest resources, the extraction of pine nuts stood out as income source.Keywords: Araucaria Forest; Planalto Catarinense; forest resource usages; ethnobotany, farmers.

scholarly journals Application of HEC-RAS model for estimating changes in watercourse geometry during floods

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Markowska ◽  
Jacek Markowski ◽  
Andrzej Drabiński
Keyword(s):  
River Channel ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Flood Wave ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Wave Impact ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Groundwater Level Fluctuations ◽  
Flood Waves

Abstract Groundwater table levels in a river valley depend, among other factors, on meteorological and hydrogeological conditions, land use and water levels in watercourses. The primary role of a watercourse is to collect surface and groundwater, and it becomes an infiltrating watercourse at high water levels. Changes in groundwater levels and the range of these changes depend chiefly on the shape, height and duration of the flood wave in the river channel. The assessment of flood wave impact on groundwater was based on long-term measurements of groundwater levels in the Odra valley and observations of water levels in the river channel. Simulations were performed with the use of in-house software FIZ (Filtracja i Zanieczyszczenia; Filtration and Contamination), designed for modelling unsteady water flows within a fully saturated zone. A two-dimensional model with two spatial variables was employed. The process of groundwater flow through a porous medium, non-homogeneous in terms of water permeability, was described with Boussinesq equation. The equation was solved with the use of finite element method. The model was applied to assess groundwater level fluctuations in the Odra valley in the context of actual flood waves on the river. Variations in groundwater table in the valley were analysed in relation to selected actual flood water levels in the Odra in 2001-2003 and 2010. The period from 2001 to 2003 was used to verify the model. A satisfactory agreement between the calculated and the measured values was obtained. Based on simulation calculations, it was proved that flood waves observed in 2010 caused a rise in groundwater table levels in a belt of approximately 1000 metres from the watercourses. It was calculated that at the end of hydrological year 2009/2010, the highest growths, of up to 0.80 m, were observed on piezometers located close to the Odra river channel. The passage of several flood waves on the Odra caused an increase of subsurface retention by 3.0% compared to the initial state.

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