Information

Soil erosion within pineapple fields in south-east Queensland (Capelin and Truong 1985)

Level 1 General Description

Purpose:

To better understand the impact of slope on soil erosion from pineapples grown in steep areas. The study monitored soil erosion on a range of slopes on a commercial farm in the Woombye district (Nambour).

Methods (brief)

Erosion was measured using sediment traps at the end of rows. Rainfall intensity and canopy cover were also measured.

Key findings

Soil erosion on pineapple croplands is greatest in the first year of the crop cycle before canopy cover is established. However soil loss, is greatly reduced once canopy cover is established. The USLE LS factor explained increases in erosion between 11 and 14% but appeared to underestimate losses at 17% slope by a factor of two.

Table 5. Summary of erosion and water quality data exploring the impact of slope and slope length in pineapples crows - Woombye (Capelin and Truong 1985) Duration of study:1979-82 (3 Water Years), AAR 1063 mm.

Slope length (m)

Slope (%)

LS1

Soil loss (t/ha)

Normalised2 Soil loss (t/ha)

27.6

11

1.5

7.0

4.7

14

2.2

15.0

6.8

17

3.1

36.4

11.7

1 USLE  factor used to correct normalised data to an LS =1

2 Soil loss divided by runoff, primary sediment source, no allowance for deposition.

Location

Commercial farm in the Woombye (Nambour) district

Related studies

Ciesiolka C.A.A, Coughlan K.J, Rose C.W, Smith G.D. 1995. Hydrology, sediment and erosion in pineapples in steep areas of south eastern Queensland (Imbil). Soil Technology. 8: 245-258.

Buchanan's farm at Goomboorian is Lat26° 3’ 26.97’’S, Long 152° 47’ 39.71’’E

Beerwah Pineapple Research Farm Lat 26° 56’ 0.17’’S, Long 152° 57’ 18.97’’E

 

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