think climate. think change.
Department of Climate Change
E. A. Griffin and W. H. Verboom, Natural Resource Management Unit, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, and D. Allen, Chemistry Centre, Western Australia, February 2003
Documents are available for downloading as PDF files. (PDF help)
If you are unable to access this document please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.
This report describes a detailed paired site study at nine locations in the drier parts of south-Western Australia representative of areas most recently cleared for agriculture. The pairing was of uncleared, short-term cleared and long-term cleared sites. The study provided samples for modelling soil organic carbon fluxes by CSIRO Land and Water.
Analysis and interpretation of results from the samples collected and detailed soil morphology descriptions provide comprehensive documentation of the soil carbon and other soil parameters. This provides a basis for better understanding factors influencing soil carbon dynamics in soils in Western Australia, particularly in areas with sandy topsoils.
There were no major differences between the soil parameters (such as organic carbon) of the land use pairings. Soil organic carbon in the fine earth appeared to be slightly increased by changing to agricultural systems, especially in the topsoil. Bulk density was usually increased in the topsoil as a result of clearing. Coarse organic matter and coarse mineral fragments, where present, contained significant amounts of organic carbon.
Recommendations are made about future monitoring, including the fate of areas examined in this study.
