Sediment erosion research in the Fitzroy basin central Queensland: an overview

摘要

Erosion research in the Fitzroy basin has consistently shown in dryland cropping, grazing, irrigation and coalmine rehabilitation landscapes that the retention of 40 to 60% surface cover and maintaining a large soil water deficit can reduce erosion rates to negligible levels (<0.5 t/ha), even on very steep slopes. Neighbourhood catchment sub-catchment and basin scale studies have highlighted that dryland cropping contributes the largest sediment concentrations, particularly during large episodic erosion events when crops are unable to be planted and surface cover is low. However, the majority of sediment load from the Fitzroy is generated from grazing due to the large proportion of this land use in the basin.