Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Climate-Ready Agriculture: A Situation Statement For Western Australia, Robert Anthony Sudmeyer, Anne Bennett, Melanie Strawbridge

Bulletins 4000 -

Projected future changes in the state’s climate will present new challenges for our producers. The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) continues to work with agricultural industries to lay solid foundations for an agricultural sector that has a range of response options.

This situation statement provides an assessment of how climate-ready the state’s agricultural sectors are and provides guidance for investment priorities for DAFWA for the period 2015–2020.

Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (Ebfm) Risk Assessment Of The Western Australian Silver-Lipped Pearl Oyster (Pinctada Maxima) Industry, K. L. Travaille, R. Jones, B Wise

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the Western Australian silver-lipped pearling (Pinctada maxima) industry and the outcomes from the 2015 ecological risk assessment of this industry. The P. maxima pearling industry has been operating in Western Australia since the 1880s, initially harvesting pearl oysters for mother-of-pearl production.

A Hydrochemical Assessment Of Groundwater Recharge And Flow In The Broome Sandstone Aquifer, La Grange Area, Western Australia, Glenn A. Harrington, Nikki M. Harrington

Natural resources commissioned reports

The Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia has undertaken a four-year Royalties for Regions funded project in the La Grange Groundwater Area south of Broome. The purpose of the project was to provide improved knowledge and confidence about soil suitability and water availability for potential expansion of irrigated agriculture in the region. A range of complementary techniques have been used to assess the groundwater resources in the Broome Sandstone aquifer, including contemporary approaches such as drilling and aquifer pumping tests, and state-of-the-art approaches such as airborne geophysical surveys and hydrochemistry investigations.

This report presents a synthesis of all hydrochemistry …

Cockatoo Sands In The Victoria Highway And Carlton Hill Areas, East Kimberley: Hydrogeology, Aquifer Properties And Groundwater Chemistry, D L. Bennett, John Andrew Simons, Richard J. George Dr, Paul Raper

Resource management technical reports

Cockatoo Sands are recognised as potentially suitable for irrigated agriculture because they are generally well drained and not subject to waterlogging or inundation. These characteristics allow them to be cultivated and prepared for planting various crops during the wet and dry seasons of northern Australia. Expanding agricultural production onto the Cockatoo Sands around Kununurra will increase opportunities for agriculture by increasing the overall scale of agriculture, allowing year-round agricultural enterprise, new crops and new market opportunities.

DAFWA has assessed the soil characteristics and agriculturally suitable areas of Cockatoo Sands in the Victoria Highway and Carlton Hill areas near Kununurra. Potential …

Western Australian Silver-Lipped Pearl Oyster (Pinctada Maxima) Industry, Anthony M. Hart, K. L. Travaille, R. Jones, S. J. Brand-Gardner, F J. Webster, A. Irving, A. V. Harry

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This report provides a comprehensive description of the pearling (Pinctada maxima) industry in Western Australia. The pearling industry is comprised of the wild capture and cultivation of the silver-lipped pearl oyster Pinctada maxima in Western Australia’s northwest region.

Comparative Assessment Of Crops To Use Potential Additional Water Resources In The Warren–Donnelly Catchments, James Dee, Ananda Ghose

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Through the Royalties for Regions funded Southern Forests Water Futures Project, the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia undertook a study to understand the economic benefits of developing new water resources in the Warren–Donnelly catchments in the south-west of Western Australia.

The Warren–Donnelly catchments have long been associated with intensive horticultural activities. The major perennial crops are pome fruit (apples and pears), avocados, stone fruit and wine grapes. The major annual crops are ware potatoes, seed potatoes, processing potatoes and brassica crops for the Perth Market over summer. There are emerging new industries including truffles, summer strawberry production, processing …

Review Of Land Capability Assessment For The Swan Valley, Peter Tille, Angela Stuart-Street

Resource management technical reports

Land capability review for the Swan Valley.

The land capability review of the Swan Valley examined and updated previous soil and capability studies done in the area, which are still considered highly relevant for the planning requirements of the Swan Valley. As a result we have updated information on the potential for irrigated agriculture in the Swan Valley which will guide decision-making in the future.

This review uses a modified version of a new approach to presenting information for land use planning, developed by DAFWA in the Mid West region.

The main findings of the review include:

• The alluvial terraces …

West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Managed Fishery, Jason R. How, F J. Webster, K. L. Travaille, Kim Nardi, A. V. Harry

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This report provides a comprehensive description of the West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Managed Fishery (WCDSCMF) and contains information relevant to assist the assessment of this fishery against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard (v1.3) for sustainable fishing.

West Coast Estuarine Managed Fishery (Area 2: Peel-Harvey Estuary) & Peel-Harvey Estuary Blue Swimmer Crab Recreational Fishery, Danielle Johnston, K. A. Smith, J. I. Brown, K. L. Travaille, Fiona Crowe, R. K. Oliver, E. A. Fisher

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This report provides a comprehensive description of the West Coast Estuarine Managed Fishery (WCEMF) Area 2 (Peel-Harvey Estuary) and the Peel-Harvey Estuary Blue Swimmer Crab Recreational Fishery in Western Australia and contains information relevant to assist with the assessment of these fisheries against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard (v1.3) for sustainable fishing.

Report To The Commissioner Of Soil And Land Conservation On The Trend Of The Western Australian Pastoral Resource Base 2015, David Warburton, Philip Thomas

Natural resources published reports

This report provides a regional overview of the trend in the pastoral rangelands of Western Australia, based on data from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Annual Return of Livestock and Improvements (submitted annually by pastoral lessees) and the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS), for which data are available for over 20 years. The report provides a context for assessment of the range condition and trend of individual pastoral leases within defined regions of the state, as well as providing a current assessment of the status of each of the regions’ rangelands, and the drivers (both seasonal and managerial) affecting …

Groundwater Chemistry Of The Weaber Plain (Goomig Farmlands): Baseline Results 2010–13, Adam Lillicrap, Richard J. George Dr, Arjen Ryder, D L. Bennett

Resource management technical reports

The Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) is located in the north-east of the Kimberley region of Western Australia, near the town of Kununurra. The irrigation area was established in 1963 and over time developed to the current extent of 14 000 hectares (ha). The Weaber Plain (Goomig Farmlands) area is located north-north-east of the existing irrigation area, 30km from Kununurra, and has been identified as being suitable for irrigated agriculture for many decades. However, it was not until 2009, with state government support, that the 7400ha project commenced, with construction starting in 2010. State and Australian government environmental approvals required …

Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery, M. I. Kangas, E. C. Sporer, S. A. Hesp, K. L. Travaille, S. J. Brand-Gardner, P. Cavalli, A. V. Harry

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This report provides a comprehensive description of the Shark Bay Prawn Managed Fishery (SBPMF) and contains information relevant to assist the assessment of this fishery against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard (v1.3) for sustainable fishing. The SBPMF is located in Shark Bay, Western Australia and uses demersal otter trawl gear to predominantly target brown tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus) and western king prawns (Penaeus latisulcatus).

Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery, M. I. Kangas, E. C. Sporer, S. A. Hesp, K. L. Travaille, N. Moore, P. Cavalli, E. A. Fisher

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This report provides a comprehensive description of the Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery (EGPMF) in Western Australia and contains information relevant to assist the assessment of this fishery against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard (v1.3) for sustainable fishing. The EGPMF uses demersal otter trawl gear to target predominantly brown tiger prawns (Penaeus esculentus) and western king prawns (Penaeus latisulcatus).

Selective Impact Of Disease On Coral Communities: Outbreak Of White Syndrome Causes Significant Total Mortality Of Acropora Plate Corals, Jean-Paul A. Hobbs, Ashley J. Frisch, Stephen J. Newman, Corey B. Wakefield

Fisheries Research Articles

Coral diseases represent a significant and increasing threat to coral reefs. Among the most destructive diseases is White Syndrome (WS), which is increasing in distribution and prevalence throughout the Indo-Pacific. The aim of this study was to determine taxonomic and spatial patterns in mortality rates of corals following the 2008 outbreak of WS at Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. WS mainly affected Acropora plate corals and caused total mortality of 36% of colonies across all surveyed sites and depths. Total mortality varied between sites but was generally much greater in the shallows (0–96% of colonies at 5 m …

Preliminary Isotope Assessment, La Grange Groundwater Area, Glenn A. Harrington

Natural resources commissioned reports

The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) is currently undertaking a Royalties for Regions funded project in the La Grange Groundwater Area south of Broome. The focus is on providing improved confidence about soil suitability and water availability for potential expansion of irrigated agriculture in the region. Groundwater in the Broome Sandstone Aquifer (BSA) is the target water resource, however before the La Grange project commenced little was known about the physical and chemical attributes of the aquifer. This report provides the results of estimated groundwater recharge and residence times using environmental tracer techniques.

Sampling of 12 existing …

Contrasting Environmental Drivers Of Adult And Juvenile Growth In A Marine Fish: Implications For The Effects Of Climate Change, Joyce Jia Lin Ong, Adam Nicholas Rountrey, Jessica Jane Meeuwig, Stephen J. Newman, Jens Zinke, Mark Gregory Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

Many marine fishes have life history strategies that involve ontogenetic changes in the use of coastal habitats. Such ontogenetic shifts may place these species at particular risk from climate change, because the successive environments they inhabit can differ in the type, frequency and severity of changes related to global warming. We used a dendrochronology approach to examine the physical and biological drivers of growth of adult and juvenile mangrove jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) from tropical north-western Australia. Juveniles of this species inhabit estuarine environments and adults reside on coastal reefs. The Niño-4 index, a measure of the status of …

Water Balance Of Flooded Rice In The Tropics, Siva Sivapalan

Books & book chapters

Department of Agriculture and Food, WA staff member authored "Water Balance of Flooded Rice in the Tropics" in the publication Irrigation and Drainage - Sustainable Strategies and Systems’, edited by Muhammad Salik Javaid, published by INTECH, May 2015

Chapter Summary: Excess groundwater recharge rates under irrigated agriculture may lead to problems such as rising watertable, waterlogging and salinity. In irrigated areas, growers may need to manage this water and hence, understanding what leakage is attributed to what crops will become more important. In this study, evaporation, transpiration, and deep percolation losses were estimated for ponded rice culture, using a …

Cockatoo Sands In The Victoria Highway And Carlton Hill Areas, East Kimberley: Land Capability Assessment For Developing Irrigated Agriculture, Henry Smolinski, Shahab Pathan, Paul Galloway, Kus Kuswardiyanto, Justin Laycock

Resource management technical reports

This report identifies areas of Cockatoo Sands adjacent to the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA), Kununurra, with high potential for developing irrigated agriculture. It builds on a reconnaissance soil survey conducted in 2009 which identified significant areas of sandy and loamy soils in the Kununurra area that could be suitable for agriculture.

Growth Of A Deep-Water, Predatory Fish Is Influenced By The Productivity Of A Boundary Current System, Hoang Minh Nguyen, Adam N. Rountrey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Peter G. Coulson, Ming Feng, Stephen J. Newman, Anya M. Waite, Corey B. Wakefield, Mark G. Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

The effects of climate change on predatory fishes in deep shelf areas are difficult to predict because complex processes may govern food availability and temperature at depth. We characterised the net impact of recent environmental changes on hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios), an apex predator found in continental slope habitats (>200 m depth) by using dendrochronology techniques to develop a multi-decadal record of growth from otoliths. Fish were sampled off temperate south-western Australia, a region strongly influenced by the Leeuwin Current, a poleward-flowing, eastern boundary current. The common variance among individual growth records was relatively low (3.4%), but the …

Preliminary Soil And Groundwater Assessment Of The Mantinea Development Area, East Kimberley, Western Australia, Gregory Paul Raper, Richard J. George Dr, Noel Schoknecht

Resource management technical reports

In 2008, the Ord Stage 2 or ‘Ord East Kimberley Expansion Project’ was initiated by the Western Australian Government. The goal of the project was to advance development in the East Kimberley and to bring to market the Weaber Plain (Goomig Farmlands) and Knox Plain. In addition to the existing Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) Stage 1 (14 000ha), current Goomig and proposed Knox Plain areas (14 300ha), an estimated 50 000ha of land has potential for irrigation in the region.

One of the areas proposed for future development is the Mantinea Development area. It is located on the south …

Making Better Fertiliser Decisions For Cropping Systems In Western Australia. Soil Test – Crop Response Relationships And Critical Soil Test Values And Ranges, Geoff Anderson, Ross Brennan, Richard Bell, Wen Chen

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The better fertiliser decisions for cropping project (BFDC) (2009-2012) was completed to provide comprehensive information to improve fertiliser decisions for the cropping industry in Australia (Speirs et al. 2013a). The WA component provides interpretation of results from crop nutrient application experiments for the WA cropping system, and developed a tool for estimating nutrient losses from cropping systems soils.

The BFDC-WA project aims to use the 4R principles by producing a series of bulletins on nutrient management for the cropping system of WA.

Sheep Updates 2015 - Ravensthorpe, Bruce Mullan, Kate Pritchett, Kimbal Curtis, Chris Wilcox, Mike Hyder, Leigh Sonnerman, Lynne Bradshaw, Geoff Lindon, Katherine Davies, Joe Young, Stephen Lee, Ian Robertson, Lucy Anderton, Hayley Norman, Ed Barrett-Lenard, Jackie Jarvis, Ben Patrick

Sheep Updates

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors:

1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis

4. Lifetime management for maternal ewes, Mike Hyder, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

5. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Leigh Sonnermann, …

Cockatoo Sands In The Victoria Highway And Carlton Hill Areas, East Kimberley: Baseline Surface Water Quality, Don Bennett, Luke Donovan, Duncan Palmer

Resource management technical reports

Cockatoo Sands are recognised as potentially suitable for irrigated agriculture because they are generally well drained and not subject to waterlogging and inundation. These characteristics allow them to be cultivated and prepared for planting of various crops during the wet and dry seasons of northern Australia.

Groundwater Trend Analysis And Salinity Risk Assessment For The South-West Agricultural Region Of Western Australia, 2007–12, G Paul Raper, Russell Speed, John Andrew Simons, A L. Killen, Andrew Blake, A T. Ryder, Rosemary H. Smith, Grant Stainer, L Bourke

Resource management technical reports

Dryland salinity is a hydrologically driven land degradation hazard in the south-west agricultural region of Western Australia (WA). Shallow-rooted annual crops and pastures transpire significantly less water than the native vegetation they replaced, leading to an increase in recharge, rising groundwater levels and the development of shallow watertables in areas where often none existed previously. Rising groundwater levels mobilise soluble salts, naturally stored at high concentrations in the regolith. These salts can be concentrated in the root zone of vegetation by evapotranspiration.

Goomig Farmlands Development Baseline Water Quality In The Lower Keep River, D L. Bennett, Richard J. George Dr

Resource management technical reports

In 2008 the Ord Irrigation Expansion Project was approved by the Western Australian Government to develop irrigated agriculture on the Weaber Plain. By mid-2014 construction of almost all of the water supply, drainage, access, monitoring and other infrastructure for the 7400ha Goomig Farmlands development had substantially been completed. An important concern is the effect the Goomig Farmlands development may have on the water quality of the downstream lower Keep River aquatic environment, particularly as it relates to threatened species that inhabit or may inhabit the area. Possible increases in salinity, nutrients, suspended sediment, heavy metals and farm chemicals delivered in …

Report To The Commissioner Of Soil And Land Conservation On The Trend Of The Western Australian Pastoral Resource Base 2014, Paul Novelly, Philip Thomas

Natural resources published reports

This report provides a regional overview of the trend in the pastoral rangelands of Western Australia, based on data from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Annual return of livestock and improvements (submitted annually by pastoral lessees) and the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS), for which data are available for over 20 years. The report provides a context for assessment of the range condition and trend of individual pastoral leases within the various regions of the state, as well as providing a current assessment of the status of each of the regions' rangelands, and the drivers (both seasonal and managerial) …

Biomass Scoping Study: Opportunities For Agriculture In Western Australia, Kim Brooksbank, Mitchell Lever, Harriet Paterson, Melissa Weybury

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This 2014 report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully be of some value to industry proponents that are interested in pursuing the opportunities provided by what are currently low value agricultural waste products. We outline three processes for obtaining energy from these by-products that may be appropriate for the farming sector in Western Australia (WA).

The Agronomy Jigsaw: Finding The Pieces That Maximise Water Use Efficiency, David Hall, Paul Galloway, Jeremy Lemon, Ben Curtis, Andrew Van Burgel, Kelly Kong, Nigel Metz,

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The Agronomy Jigsaw project is an initiative of the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) in collaboration with the South East Premium Wheat Growers Association (SEPWA) and Precision Agronomics Australia (PAA). The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) funded the project under the water use efficiency initiative (DAW193).

Improving water use efficiency (WUE) is the key to increasing crop production in dryland agriculture. In southern Western Australia (WA), water use efficiencies of wheat can vary from 8 to 22kg/mm/ha. The purpose of the Agronomy Jigsaw project is to understand this variation at paddock level: What are the main …

Soil Acidity : A Guide For Wa Farmers And Consultants., Chris Gazey, Stephen Davies, Ron Master

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Our first edition of Soil acidity: a guide for WA farmers and consultants in 2009 was a significant publication which brought together current knowledge on the management of soil acidity in WA in a user-friendly book. Three thousand printed copies were distributed and an interactive PDF on the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) website made it available to most WA farmers and consultants.

iLime is a decision tool to assist liming decisions.

Recent projects have extended our knowledge of the extent of the soil acidity problem in WA. When the first edition was published, we had good …

Salinity Risk Mapping For Assessing Carbon Farming Initiative Proposals: Decision Support And Data Requirements, Paul Raper, Peter Gardiner

Resource management technical reports

The Clean Energy Legislation passed by the Australian Parliament on 8 November 2011 links the carbon price to the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). Under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (the Act), proponents need to consider regional natural resource management (NRM) plans to ensure that tree plantings for carbon bio-sequestration maximise environmental benefits and avoid unintended adverse effects on biodiversity, water and agricultural production systems.