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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 45(6)

Use of simulation in assessing cropping system strategies for minimising salinity risk in brigalow landscapes

P. L. Poulton A B , N. I. Huth A and P. S. Carberry A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A APSRU/CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, PO Box 102, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: perry.poulton@csiro.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45(6) 635-642 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA03250
Submitted: 21 November 2003  Accepted: 3 May 2004   Published: 29 June 2005

Abstract

Areas of brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) dominated landscapes in north-eastern Australia have declined drastically due to major clearing and agricultural expansion during the late 1940s and early 1960s. The inherently high salt content of the soils of this region present a potential downstream salinity hazard from groundwater recharge. Chronosequence analysis using paired chloride profiles from soil cores taken beneath brigalow remnants and adjacent pasture or cropping lands provide a tracer for quantifying historic recharge rates as a consequence of vegetation management and agricultural practice. Present day chloride levels are the direct result of past land management.

In this paper we present the results of simulation studies used to benchmark historic management practice since clearing in terms of chloride leaching and drainage. These simulations estimated that 15.3 t/ha of chloride leached from the top 150 cm in 7 major drainage events (>15mm) over a 34-year period, and that these leaching events corresponded with peaks in rainfall cycles. Use of virtual experiments to investigate alternative cropping systems found significant increases in the frequency and magnitude of drainage events of no-tillage wheat compared with sorghum grown in a summer-rainfall region. Systems simulation can provide guidelines for designing cropping systems which best balance production with drainage objectives in dryland farming systems.

Additional keywords: Acacia harpophylla, chloride, chronosequence, virtual experiment.


Acknowledgments

The authors thank G. and M. Woods for access to field sites and staff from MCA, Goondiwindi, for help with soil characterisation.


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