Waterspreading to restore native grasslands

Abstract

Waterspreading is a land rehabilitation technique that targets the variability of rainfall and runoff in semi-arid systems to initiate long term changes in ground cover. This study outlines the effect of waterspreading at 'Florida' in western NSW, which has been steadily implementing waterspreading systems for the last 30 years. By combining recent pasture measurements, on-farm observations, and soil surface carbon and nitrogen measurements, this study outlines the dramatic changes in pasture condition and diversity, and long term changes in surface soil properties, that occur following waterspreading. These dramatic yet persistent changes exemplify the benefits of implementing rehabilitation that is based upon the processes that govern resource movement and productivity within semi-arid systems, namely, recognition of variability in rainfall and runoff, and management of this.