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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(4)

Sustainable grazing systems for the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. 4. Soil water dynamics and runoff events for differently-managed pasture types

J. D. Hughes B D E G , I. J. Packer A , D. L. Michalk B , P. M. Dowling B C , W. McG King B , S. Brisbane C , G. D. Millar B , S. M. Priest B , D. R. Kemp C and T. B. Koen F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Lachlan Catchment Management Authority, PO Box 510, Cowra, NSW 2794, Australia.

B NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, Forest Road, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

C Charles Sturt University, Faculty of Rural Management, PO Box 883, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

D Co-operative Research Centre for Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity, The University of Western Australia M081, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

E Charles Sturt University, Barooma Street, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.

F Department of Natural Resources, Evans Street, Cowra, NSW 2794, Australia.

G Corresponding author: Email: justin.hughes@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46(4) 483-494 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA04269
Submitted: 20 December 2004  Accepted: 27 January 2006   Published: 20 April 2006

Abstract

Soil water, runoff amount and quality, pasture production and environmental data were measured for a pastoral prime lamb enterprise in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales from 1998 to 2002. There were 4 pasture treatments: fertilised and sown chicory (CH), fertilised and sown introduced pastures (SP), fertilised naturalised pastures (FN) and unfertilised naturalised pastures (UN). Two grazing management regimes, tactically grazed (TG) and continuously grazed (CG) were imposed on the SP, FN and UN treatments. The CH treatment was rotationally grazed.

To compare pasture and grazing system water use, maximum soil water deficit values (SWDMax) were calculated from neutron moisture meter data. SWDMax was influenced by both environmental and management factors. Management factors that influenced SWDMax were herbage mass of perennials, degree of perenniality, and the perennial species present. Environmental factors accounted for >50% of the variation in SWDMax. Inclusion of management factors (perennial herbage mass of C3 and C4 species and percentage perennial herbage mass), accounted for an additional 16% of variation. While the influence of pasture management appears to be relatively small, importantly, management is the only avenue available to land managers for influencing SWDMax. The UNTG and all sown treatments, with greater perennial herbage mass or greater C4 herbage mass consistently produced the highest SWDMax.

Runoff amount and quality data are presented for ground cover percentages which generally exceeded 80% for the experimental period. Runoff as a proportion of rain received during the experiment was <3%. Environmental factors explained 47% of variation in runoff, while pasture herbage mass and ground cover percentage explained an additional 2% of variation. Water quality was monitored on 3 treatments (SPTG, FNTG and UNCG) for total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P) and total suspended solids (TST) over a 6-month period. The mean values for total N and P were below the acceptable contaminant concentration for agricultural irrigation water. An important outcome of this research is the concept of a practical Targeted Water Management Plan (TWMP) which devises a framework for optimum water usage and productivity at a landscape scale.

Additional keywords: continuous grazing, herbage mass, runoff, soil water deficit, tactical grazing, Targeted Water Management Plan, water quality.


Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Meat & Livestock Australia (SGSKP), NSW Department of Primary Industries and the CRC for Weed Management System to implement the project. We also thank Wrightson Seeds, Incitec Fertilisers, Omya Southern Pty Ltd, Cabonne Shire Council, Cudal Lime Products, and Smorgon Cyclone Rural for generous provision of resources. We also wish to thank J. Tarleton and G. Wilson for field assistance, G. Summerell for doing the FLAG analysis, N. Henry for the EM31 survey and J. McInnes for the initial soil survey. We sincerely thank and acknowledge the contribution of W. Blazley, the owner of the Carcoar Site, for cooperation and interest in all phases of the project.


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