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Natural resources slideshow 3
No full textField day near Wongan Hills about desalination - communication with growers and industryhttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/nrm_images/1002/thumbnail.jp
Building the soil carbon sponge at Murray Wells Farm, Tambellup, Western Australia
No full textPeter and Wendy Bradshaw farmed at Murray Wells Farm about 25 km west of Tambellup for around 46 years until they sold and retired in 2022. They produced barley, oats, merino and prime lambs on an annual rainfall of 450 mm over 1,000 arable hectares. The farm was on a moderately undulating landscape with a mix of soils including sandy duplex, well-drained sand over gravel over clay, shallow sandy or loamy gravel over cemented laterite and red to brown loamy soils.Their farming philosophy was to view agriculture as an ecological enterprise that included them as part of the ecosystem, and they saw diversity – in a personal and biological sense – as fundamental to the growth and wellbeing of the farm ecosystem, enterprise and community of which they were a part.Soil biology, grazing animals and profitability underpin farm management decisions on their property. They aimed to limit the leakiness of their farming operation so that inputs stay where they were used and didn’t cause harm to the broader landscape. Creating the soil carbon ‘sponge’ was fundamental in this endeavour.Peter and Wendy developed 8 principles to guide their approach to regenerative agriculture:maintain soil cover; maintain living plants; minimise soil disturbance; encourage biodiversity; integrate animals; reduce and buffer or eliminate synthetic inputs (chemicals and fertilisers); value diversity of opinions (within shared vision and goals); seek consensus rather than compromise (where possible).They used a range of practices to achieve their goals including mixed species summer cover crops, biological stimulants and fertilisers, perennial pastures, alleys of fodder shrubs, planned holistic grazing with stock, reduced use of synthetic fertilisers and chemical sprays, and revegetation with native species
Recreational fishing for Western Rock Lobster: estimates of participation, effort and catch in 2022/23
No full textThe Western Rock Lobster (WRL) (Panulirus cygnus) is the most commonly caught Rock Lobster (RL) species in Western Australia. Catches from the commercial and recreational sectors are required to determine and monitor Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), Total Allowable Recreational Catch (TARC) and proportion of Allowable Harvest Level (AHL) achieved. The TARC is set at 5% of the AHL and evaluated in the harvest strategy based on a 5-year average. Data for the recreational sector are obtained using phone-recall surveys to provide estimates of participation, fishing effort and retained catch (by numbers) from recreational fishers who hold a RL licence. Average weight, obtained from boat ramp surveys, are used to convert estimates of retained catch from licensed fishers by number to weight. Tour Operator Returns (Charter Logbooks) provide a census of the annual participation, effort and retained catch (by numbers) from charter fishers. Random length samples of WRL from tour operators are used to convert the retained catch from numbers to weight. This report provides estimates of recreational rock lobster fishing participation, effort and catch for 2022/23 (1 February 2022–31 January 2023). Participation in the RL recreational fishery (all species) by licensed fishers (RL licence holders aged five years and older) in 2022/23 was 67% or 35,236 fishers (95% CI 34,010–36,463) This was steady (i.e., the 95% CI overlapped between survey years) when compared to phone-recall surveys conducted between 2018/19 and 2021/22 (67–68%). The total fishing effort for RL fishing (all species) in 2022/23 by licensed fishers was 481,758 days fished (95% CI 447,711–515,804); of which 78% or 376,884 days (343,595–410,173) was by potting and 22% or 104,874 days (90,213–119,534) by diving. This was steady when compared to phone recall surveys conducted between 2018/19 and 2021/22. The majority of fishing effort in 2022/23 occurred in the Metro-West Coast region (69%). The retained recreational catch of WRL by licensed fishers in 2022/23, based on an overall (i.e., combined across potting and diving) average weight of 672.9 g, was 438 t (95% CI 401–476); of which 80% or 349 t (314–384) was harvested by potting and 20% or 89 t (72–107) by diving. This was steady when compared to phone recall surveys conducted between 2018/19–2020/21. Retained catch of WRL from tour operators in 2022/23 was 17 t (based on an overall average weight of 523.2g) and has increased annually from 9 t in 2018/19. The majority of this catch in 2022/23 was taken by potting (95%). The 5-year average recreational catch (for licensed and tour operators combined) was 498 t in 2022/23, which represents 4.7% of the AHL
Status of the Western Australian pastoral rangelands 2023: total vegetative cover and cover risk
No full textThe Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) monitors and reports on the vegetation condition of pastoral rangelands in Western Australia. This 2023 short report uses remotely sensed total cover data available to the end of October 2023, rainfall data to the end of November 2023 and Stock Return data reported in 2022 (the most recent available) to determine cover risk. Cover risk at the land conservation district (LCD) level is an indicator of the likelihood of total cover declining to, or remaining at, low or very low levels. Total cover and cover risk may not be indicative of vegetation condition and are best regarded as indicators of relative levels of groundcover and consequent susceptibility to erosion and the relative availability of stock forage. This report uses reported stock numbers relative to potential carrying capacity (PCC) as an indicator of grazing pressure and this may lead to underestimating cover risk because the current carrying capacity is often significantly less than PCC.
Total cover in June–August 2023 was strongly influenced by rainfall in the preceding 2 years. The risk of the total cover of a key pasture or vegetation functional group falling to or remaining at below-average or very much below-average levels was high or very high in 17 LCDs; this is up from the estimate of 11 LCDs in the 2022 annual report
Turning the Dial – Changing the way we do business
No full textTo close out the event, we finished with one final panel discussion featuring:
Huia Adkins – Business Group Leader, Sustainability & Technical Director - Circular Economy, GHD
Nerida Kelton – Vice President Sustainability & Save Food for the World Packaging Organisation and the Executive Director for the Australian Institute of Packaging
Josh Byrne – Professor and Dean of Sustainable Futures, Curtin University
Moderator: Meri Fatin – Founder, WA Climate Leader
Global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by recreational anglers: considerations for developing more resilient and sustainable fisheries
No full textThe global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many jurisdictions implementing orders restricting the movements of people to inhibit virus transmission, with recreational angling often either not permitted or access to fisheries and/or related infrastructure being prevented. Following the lifting of restrictions, initial angler surveys and licence sales suggested increased participation and effort, and altered angler demographics, but with evidence remaining limited. Here, we overcome this evidence gap by identifying temporal changes in angling interest, licence sales, and angling effort in world regions by comparing data in the ‘pre-pandemic’ (up to and including 2019); ‘acute pandemic’ (2020) and ‘COVID-acclimated’ (2021) periods. We then identified how changes can inform the development of more resilient and sustainable recreational fisheries. Interest in angling (measured here as angling-related internet search term volumes) increased substantially in all regions during 2020. Patterns in licence sales revealed marked increases in some countries during 2020 but not in others. Where licence sales increased, this was rarely sustained in 2021; where there were declines, these related to fewer tourist anglers due to movement restrictions. Data from most countries indicated a younger demographic of people who participated in angling in 2020, including in urban areas, but this was not sustained in 2021. These short-lived changes in recreational angling indicate efforts to retain younger anglers could increase overall participation levels, where efforts can target education in appropriate angling practices and create more urban angling opportunities. These efforts would then provide recreational fisheries with greater resilience to cope with future global crises, including facilitating the ability of people to access angling opportunities during periods of high societal stress
How do I grow tedera?
No full textThe issue:
Livestock producers are faced with climate variability challenges and rising input costs while trying to maximise livestock productivity and profitability.
The impact:
Traditional or older pasture systems can limit production due to poor performance in dry periods or shorter production windows.
The opportunity:
Tedera is a resilient legume pasture that can fill feed gaps at a lower cost while offering livestock productivity gains
BEN Signage Installation Map – City of Greater Geraldton - North
No full textBeach Emergency Number (BEN) Signage – City of Greater Geraldton - Northhttps://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/gis_bens/1052/thumbnail.jp
Exome-based new allele-specific PCR markers and transferability for sodicity tolerance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
No full textTargeted exome-based genotype by sequencing (t-GBS), a sequencing technology that tags SNPs and haplotypes in gene-rich regions was used in previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for sodicity tolerance in bread wheat. Thirty-nine novel SNPs including 18 haplotypes for yield and yield-components were identified. The present study aimed at developing SNP-derived markers by precisely locating new SNPs on ~180 bp allelic sequence of t-GBS, marker validation, and SNP functional characterization based on its exonic location. We identified unknown locations of significant SNPs/haplotypes by aligning allelic sequences on to IWGSC RefSeqv1.0 on respective chromosomes. Eighteen out of the target 39 SNP locations fulfilled the criteria for producing PCR markers, among which only eight produced polymorphic signals. These eight markers associated with yield, plants m−2, heads m−2, and harvest index, including a pleiotropic marker for yield, harvest index, and grains/head were validated for its amplification efficiency and phenotypic effects in focused identification germplasm strategy (FIGS) wheat set and a doubled haploid (DH) population (Scepter/IG107116). The phenotypic variation explained by these markers are in the range of 4.1–37.6 in the FIGS population. High throughput PCR-based genotyping using new markers and association with phenotypes in FIGS wheat set and DH population validated the effect of functional SNP on closely associated genes—calcineurin B-like- and dirigent protein, basic helix–loop–helix (BHLH-), plant homeodomain (PHD-) and helix–turn–helix myeloblastosis (HTH myb) type -transcription factor. Further, genome-wide SNP annotation using SnpEff tool confirmed that these SNPs are in gene regulatory regions (upstream, 3′-UTR, and intron) modifying gene expression and protein-coding. This integrated approach of marker design for t-GBS alleles, SNP functional annotation, and high-throughput genotyping of functional SNP offers translation solutions across crops and complex traits in crop improvement programs
Skeleton Weed Program 2022/2023: annual report to grain growers
No full textThe Skeleton Weed Program has been funded by Western Australian (WA) growers through the Grains, Seed, and Hay Industry Funding Scheme (GSHIFS) since 2010. During that time, the program has grown, placing a greater emphasis on working with farmers, local coordination, support, and encompassing critical research and development.
The Skeleton Weed Program continues to provide critical assistance to grain growers in the management of skeleton weed through the:
• searching of more than 400,000 ha of land to map infested areas for treatment.
• chemical control of skeleton weed on 10,000 ha of infested land.
• successful eradication of skeleton weed from more than 20,000 ha of paddocks across the wheatbelt.
These operational and support programs have had a significant impact on limiting and slowing the spread of skeleton weed across the wheatbelt, and many grain growing areas remain free of this major crop weed