scholarly journals Production and persistence of temperate perennial grasses and legumes at five saline sites in southern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 536 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. H. Nichols ◽  
M. E. Rogers ◽  
A. D. Craig ◽  
T. O. Albertsen ◽  
S. M. Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Genotypic Differences ◽  
Tall Wheatgrass ◽  
Legume Plant ◽  
Second Year ◽  
A Site ◽  
Perennial Legumes

Herbage production and persistence of 24 perennial legumes from 20 species and 19 perennial grasses from 10 species were measured at five sites across southern Australia that differed in annual rainfall and extent of salinity and waterlogging. At Cranbrook, Western Australia, a site with occasional waterlogging and a summer salinity [estimated by electrical conductivity (ECe)] of 6.9 dS/m in the surface 10 cm of soil, strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.) and Lotus uligonosis Schkuhr produced 2.7 t/ha in the second year and had the highest legume plant frequencies in year 3, while herbage production of L. tenuis Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd. and L. corniculatus L. was not significantly lower. No grasses produced more than 0.3 t/ha in the second year, but tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Z.-W. Liu & R.-C. Wang) was the most persistent. At Girgarre, Victoria, another site with occasional waterlogging and a summer ECe of 8.0 dS/m, phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) produced 8.5 t/ha in the second year, while production of tall wheatgrass and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was not significantly lower. Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) was the only legume that produced more than 1 t/ha. Phalaris, tall wheatgrass and sulla had the highest densities in the third year. At Duranillin (Western Australia) and Keith (South Australia), which both experienced extensive winter waterlogging and had summer ECe >30 dS/m, puccinellia (Puccinellia ciliata Bor) and tall wheatgrass were the only grass or legume species that persisted beyond the first summer. Puccinellia was the only species to produce useful quantities of herbage (1.0 t/ha) in year 3 at Duranillin. No perennial grasses or legumes produced more than 0.35 t/ha in either year 2 or year 3 at Tammin, Western Australia, the lowest rainfall site (330 mm mean annual rainfall) with summer ECe of 10.9 dS/m. Genotypic differences within sites were indicated for several species, suggesting opportunities to develop cultivars better adapted to saline soils

Summer dormancy, regeneration and persistence of perennial grasses in south-western Australia

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (88) ◽  
pp. 795 ◽  
Author(s):  
EF Biddiscombe ◽  
AL Rogers ◽  
RA Maller
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Internal Drainage ◽  
Plant Mortality ◽  
Podzolic Soils ◽  
Summer Dormancy ◽  
Better Than

Autumn growth and persistence of periodically grazed, spaced plant swards of eleven perennial grasses were measured at two sites registering 750 mm and 1120 mm annual rainfall respectively. The grasses were grown on gravelly podzolic soils of moderate internal drainage and depth of A horizon. After the third summer, autumn regrowth was generally better in Phalaris tuberosa lines than in lines of Dactylis glomerata, Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne, Festuca arundinacea cv. Melik and D. glomerata cv. Currie regenerated better than P. tuberosa lines in the first two autumn seasons at the drier site. Capacity for autumn growth appeared to be associated mainly with the level of dormancy achieved by basal buds at mid-summer, though relatively high dormancy of one or two lines at the drier site did not prevent significant plant mortality. Numbers of reproductive tillers per plant in spring and active basal buds per tiller in late summer were less important traits affecting the growth of some lines. We think that rankings for summer dormancy would be useful for screening future introductions for wetter parts (> 750 mm annual rainfall) of the south-western region of Western Australia.

Influence of rotation and time of germinating rains on the productivity and composition of annual pastures in Western Australia

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Thomson ◽  
C. K. Revell ◽  
N. C. Turner ◽  
M. A. Ewing ◽  
I. F. Le Coultre
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
First Year ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Bromus Diandrus ◽  
Second Year

A long-term rotation experiment located in south-western Australia was used to measure the effect of rotation and time of germinating rains on the productivity and botanical composition of grazed annual pastures in 2 contrasting seasons in an environment with an average annual rainfall of 325 mm. The density of self-regenerating seedlings of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum), capeweed (Arctotheca calendula), and grasses (Lolium rigidum, Hordeum leporinum, Bromus diandrus) was greatly increased (approx. 3 times the density) when there was a second year of pasture after crop compared with the first year after crop. The lower plant density resulted in first-year pastures having only about 33% of the autumn biomass accumulation of second-year pastures. This difference in early pasture growth had no effect on total pasture production in 1992, but in 1993 total pasture production was 30% greater in second-year pastures compared with first-year pastures. Botanical composition varied between and within seasons with the percentage of subterranean clover increasing throughout the season and the percentage of capeweed decreasing throughout the season. Grasses comprised <20% of the biomass in all seasons and treatments. Production of subterranean clover seed in 1993 was higher in a 1 : 2 crop-pasture rotation than in a 1 : 1 crop-pasture rotation and direct drilling in the cropping phase increased seed set compared with conventional tillage in both 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 crop-pasture rotations. Capeweed seedlings emerged in large numbers after rainfall between February and May and subsequently showed a relative growth rate twice that of subterranean clover and the grasses, but exclusion of rainfall until June resulted in a significant reduction in the emergence of capeweed seedlings. Additionally, capeweed had a lower rate of seedling survival compared with other pasture species, and this is contrary to observations by other researchers that capeweed is highly resistant to moisture stress during early growth.

Distribution of the native earthworm fauna of Australia - a continent-wide perspective

Soil Research ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Abbott
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Large Rivers ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
South West ◽  
Wide Perspective ◽  
Central Australia

Based on nearly 2000 available records, the broadscale geographical distribution of the native earthworm fauna of Australia was mapped. Native earthworms were recorded from south-eastern, eastern and northern Australia within 400 km of the coast. Isolated faunas were present in Tasmania and south-west Western Australia, and apparently isolated faunas occurred in the Adelaide area/Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia and the ranges of central Australia. All but 30 locality records occurred where annual rainfall averaged or exceeded 400 mm; 16 of these records were instances of moisture-gaining sites (moist caves, waterholes, banks of large rivers, edge of granite domes). A collecting strategy to both fill in gaps in the distribution map and discover additional anomalous occurrences (with respect to the 400 mm isohyet) is outlined.

Establishment, survival, and herbage production of novel, summer-active perennial pasture legumes in the low-rainfall cropping zone of Western Australia as affected by plant density and cutting frequency

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lalith D. B. Suriyagoda ◽  
Daniel Real ◽  
Michael Renton ◽  
Hans Lambers ◽  
Megan H. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Shoot Dry Weight ◽  
Pasture Legumes ◽  
Cutting Frequency ◽  
Perennial Legume ◽  
Perennial Legumes

Herbaceous perennial legumes that can provide forage in the summer–autumn dry period are urgently required in Mediterranean climates to complement annual pastures and the perennial legume lucerne (Medicago sativa). This study evaluated the establishment, survival, and herbage production of tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa var. albomarginata) and Cullen spp. native to Australia. Two experiments were replicated at Buntine (warmer site) and Newdegate (cooler site) in the low-rainfall cropping zone (<350 mm average annual rainfall) of Western Australia from June 2008 to September 2010. In the first experiment, established by transplanting seedlings, survival and herbage production of two accessions each of B. bituminosa and C. australasicum were studied under densities of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 plants/m2 with 0, 1, 2, or 3 cuts in summer–autumn in addition to a winter–spring cut. In the second experiment, established from seed, emergence and survival of several accessions of B. bituminosa, C. australasicum, and M. sativa were studied, along with C. pallidum and C. cinereum. In the first experiment, B. bituminosa survived better than C. australasicum (70–80% v. 18–45%), especially at Buntine, but there was little impact of density or cutting frequency on survival. Plant death was highest during summer. Shoot dry weight (DW) accumulation varied greatly with site, year, and plant density. When rainfall was close to average, shoot DW was greater at Newdegate (B. bituminosa ≤7.4 t/ha, C. australasicum ≤4.5 t/ha) than at Buntine (≤2.3 t/ha), and both species produced much of their shoot DW in summer–autumn (e.g. 6 t/ha for B. bituminosa and 3 t/ha for C. australasicum at Newdegate). An early-summer cut reduced the DW that could be harvested later in summer–autumn. In the second experiment, emergence of B. bituminosa was either similar to, or higher than, emergence of the other species, being 43% at Buntine and 44% at Newdegate. Survival of B. bituminosa, compared with M. sativa, was similar at Buntine (13%) and slightly lower at Newdegate (14%). Emergence and survival of Cullen spp. varied among species and accessions, with survival of the best performing accession of C. australasicum (SA4966) similar to that of B. bituminosa and M. sativa at both sites. We conclude that B. bituminosa shows promise as a perennial summer forage for low-rainfall zones, with a density of 8–16 plants/m2 and cutting frequency of 3 cuts/year (i.e. cut twice in summer–autumn), while C. australasicum and C. pallidum warrant further study.

Slowly available sulphur fertilizers in South-western Australia. 1. Elemental sulphur

1971 ◽  
Vol 11 (49) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
NJ Barrow
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Elemental Sulphur ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
First Year ◽  
Incubation Experiments ◽  
Sulphur Fertilizer ◽  
Second Year ◽  
A Current ◽  
Effective Source

At Pinjarra and Bakers Hill, Western Australia, the rate of breakdown of elemental sulphur applied in different size gradings was followed over two seasons by periodically measuring the elemental sulphur remaining in the soil. Similar measurements were made on experiments at Kwolyin, Darkan, and Pinjarra in which commercial sulphur fertilizer was applied in the autumn of two successive years. Particles finer than about 200 mesh oxidized quickly and would be a poor source of slowly available sulphur. Particles between 40 and 100 mesh appeared to provide the best compromise between too fast and too slow oxidation. Oxidation appeared to be faster at sites with higher annual rainfall and faster in the second year of application than the first. The commercial sulphur fertilizer was an effective source of slowly available sulphur and produced pasture responses at all three sites in the first year. Responses continued into the second year but the level of effectiveness relative to a current dressing could, not be accurately measured. At the Pinjarra site, two annual applications produced a 2.5-fold increase in yield of clover. A total of 19 soils were tested in incubation experiments for their ability to oxidize sulphur. All soils were able to do this and differences between soils were small when small amounts of sulphur were used. Differences between soils were larger when large amounts of sulphur were used.

Carbon sequestration under subtropical perennial pastures I: Overall trends

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Sanderman ◽  
I. R. P. Fillery ◽  
R. Jongepier ◽  
A. Massalsky ◽  
M. M. Roper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Panicum Maximum ◽  
Rhodes Grass ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Northern District ◽  
Chloris Gayana

The use of subtropical perennial grasses in temperate grazing systems is increasingly being promoted for production and environmental benefits. This study employed a combination of elemental and stable isotope analyses to explore whether pastures sown to either kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) or a combination of panic (Panicum maximum) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) could increase soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in five regions across southern Australia. Carbon was sequestered under kikuyu at a rate of 0.90 ± 0.25 Mg C ha–1 year–1 along the south coast of Western Australia. Lower but still significant sequestration rates were found for kikuyu in South Australia (0.26 ± 0.13 Mg C ha–1 year–1). No changes in SOC were found for panic–Rhodes grass pasture systems in the northern district of Western Australia. Additionally, we found no changes in SOC when kikuyu-based pastures were established on formerly cropped paddocks in the Namoi Catchment of New South Wales. Stable isotope results corroborated these findings and suggested that, where SOC has accumulated, the gains have been dominated by SOC derived from the perennial vegetation and have been concentrated in the upper 10 cm of soil.

Antipodean Aftershocks: Group Settlement of Hebridean and non-Hebridean Britons in Western Australia following World War One

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-203
Author(s):  
Roy Jones ◽  
Tod Jones
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
British Empire ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
The Sun ◽  
World War ◽  
World War One ◽  
A Site

In the speech in which the phrase ‘land fit for heroes’ was coined, Lloyd George proclaimed ‘(l)et us make victory the motive power to link the old land up in such measure that it will be nearer the sunshine than ever before … it will lift those who have been living in the dark places to a plateau where they will get the rays of the sun’. This speech conflated the issues of the ‘debt of honour’ and the provision of land to those who had served. These ideals had ramifications throughout the British Empire. Here we proffer two Antipodean examples: the national Soldier Settlement Scheme in New Zealand and the Imperial Group Settlement of British migrants in Western Australia and, specifically, the fate and the legacy of a Group of Gaelic speaking Outer Hebrideans who relocated to a site which is now in the outer fringes of metropolitan Perth.

Mission Tracks in the Bush

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 103-124
Author(s):  
Gemma Tulud Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Cultural Encounters ◽  
History Of

Christian missionaries played an important role in the Australian nation building that started in the nineteenth century. This essay explores the multifaceted and complex cultural encounters in the context of two aboriginal missions in Australia in the nineteenth century. More specifically, the essay explores the New Norcia mission in Western Australia in 1846-1900 and the Lutheran mission in South Australia in 1838-1853. The essay begins with an overview of the history of the two missions followed by a discussion of the key faces of the cultural encounters that occurred in the course of the missions. This is followed by theological reflections on the encounters in dialogue with contemporary theology, particularly the works of Robert Schreiter.

In A Fix: Fixed-Term Parliaments in the Australian States

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-298
Author(s):  
Peter Congdon
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Constitutional Amendments ◽  
South Wales

Constitutional systems of Westminster heritage are increasingly moving towards fixed-term parliaments to, amongst other things, prevent the Premier or Prime Minister opportunistically calling a ‘snap election’. Amongst the Australian states, qualified fixed-term parliaments currently exist in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia have also deliberated over whether to establish similar fixed-term parliaments. However, manner and form provisions in those states' constitutions entrench the Parliament's duration, Governor's Office and dissolution power. In Western Australia and Queensland, unlike Tasmania, such provisions are doubly entrenched. This article considers whether these entrenching provisions present legal obstacles to constitutional amendments establishing fixed-term parliaments in those two states. This involves examining whether laws fixing parliamentary terms fall within section 6 of the Australia Acts 1986 (Cth) & (UK). The article concludes by examining recent amendments to the Electoral Act 1907 (WA) designed to enable fixed election dates in Western Australia without requiring a successful referendum.

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