Runoff and sediment yield were evaluated on a sandplain dominated by woody perennial shrubs in north-western NSW, Australia. The site was bladeploughed; and some plots were grazed by sheep and cattle and others exclosed from grazing. Two years after ploughing and exclosure, grazed plots had significantly lower levels of aggregate stability and organic carbon compared with ungrazed plots, but there was no effect of ploughing. Surface pH levels were significantly greater on unploughed plots compared with ploughed plots. Two years after treatment, runoff and sediment yield were greatest on plots with the least disturbance (unploughed and ungrazed) and least on sites with the greatest disturbance (ploughed and grazed). We attribute differences in soil hydrology to the development of a thin physical soil crust on the unploughed-ungrazed plots, which restricted infiltration. On the ungrazed plots, increases in plant cover and biomass, and colonisation of the physical crust by biological elements, are hypothesised to lead to reduced runoff and sediment yield over time. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.