Information

What?

This study monitored soil erosion over two wet seasons.

When and Where?

The study was conducted in the Mackay district and was conducted during the wet season of 1976/77 and 1977/78.

A. 1976/77 Season

The three sites are based on different geology/soils and a range of different slopes that occur throughout the district (i.e. high slope areas that may require conservation measures).

B. 1977/78 Season

The results from the 1976/77 season were used to reduce monitoring to the two areas which represented the extremes of the types of soils found in the Mackay district. In each area three sites were chosen on the shape and degree of slope. Each site consisted of three adjacent rows.

How?

A profilometer was used to measure soil erosion and deposition within sugarcane farms. A profilometer consists of a horizontal bar that is laid across the furrow, vertical pins from the horizontal bar are dropped or raised depending on the furrow profile. The reduction or accumulation of soil can be detected from the changes in the furrow profile from the original profile taken.

The sites are normal sugarcane blocks and the row to determine furrow profile was selected randomly. The profiles on each row were conducted three times and positions down the rows and the aim was to identify the sources or fate of the eroded materials.

Each site consisted of three adjacent rows and readings were taken at seven positions spaced 20 m down the slope and each site was taken at four times during the wet season to give measurements of furrow changes.

Project Administration

Site identifier code: N/A

Principal investigator: Sallaway MM

Principal data manager: N/A

Principal organizations: Department of Primary Industries

Data custodian: Department of Primary Industries

Key co-operators: D. Evans, Soil Conservation Branch

Data access policy: Research has been published but base data is not archived

Planned pathway for data: completed study, no evidence of formal database records.

Data warehousing: for ongoing studies N/A

Planned data upload frequency: for ongoing studies N/A

 

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