How the Lachlan CMA has

evolved to use soil databases

Alex Murray and Ian Packer

Lachlan CMA Land Theme

• Incentives for Land Management/Soil health

– Open Incentive process

– Review and Reference Group –Prioritisation and

training

– Prioritisation and ground truth practice change

data

Conservation farming incentives, the area of

land suitable for conservation farming and the

priority areas

2005/6 Lachlan CMA Review and

Reference Group- Prioritisation

• Review of the Land Theme program and

incentive investment:

– Review of targets showed non achievement of

outcomes

• Established a review panel

– Recommendation

• prioritisation of target areas

• training linked to incentives

Databases used for Prioritsation

• Soil Landscape Maps

• Land Capability

• Sodic Surface Maps (Brian Murphy and John Lawrie)

• Catchment Management Support System Model (CMSS)

• SedNet Modelling

• Salinity Risk Assessment (DIPNR, 2004)

Prioritsation Process

• Identified Stressed River Catchments

– 13 in cropping zone

• Ranking through Rubric tool

• Allocation of $$ to highest ranked catchments

• Funding allocated-unengaged landholders

– Lower uptake of incentives and training

Prioritisation Round 4 (2007/8)

Red - Highest prioritisation area

Orange – Second highest priority

Green – no machinery incentives offered- only training

DustWatch-State-wide dust monitoring program

(John Leys,OEH)

• Established in 2005, 8 DustWatch gauges

(Dustrak) installed over catchment

• DustWatch monitoring is linked to a Catchment

Condition (Roadside) Survey, of erosion (wind and

water) and land management practices

• Lachlan CMA supported since 2007, the biannual

Catchment Condition Survey is conducted at 444

geo-located sites over catchment

Route and site location for roadside survey of Autumn ( March 2013)

Benefits of Catchment Condition Surveys

• Potential to direct Land theme design and prioritisation of investment

• Evidence of land management practice change

– impact on wind and water erosion, ground cover type and amount

• Time series of management practices

– crop rotations, cropping and grazing practices, pasture types and fallowing methods and lengths

• Categorisation into groupings

– Social ecological systems

– Land management groupings e.g. grazing, arable and rangeland regions

Challenge ahead- Prioritisation of biophysical aspects are

achievable

- Social issues are the blockage to adoption

• Challenge -

– Engaging unengaged/non willing land managers

– Social acceptance of change and adoption

– How can soil database/catchment database

be used with social science to improve

adoption to improve soil health