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Waterspreading is a land rehabilitation technique that targets the variability of rainfall and runoff in semi-arid

systems to initiate long term changes in ground cover. This study outlines the effect of waterspreading at ‘Florida’

in western NSW, which has been steadily implementing waterspreading systems for the last 30 years. By

combining recent pasture measurements, on-farm observations, and soil surface carbon and nitrogen

measurements, this study outlines the dramatic changes in pasture condition and diversity, and long term changes

in surface soil properties, that occur following waterspreading. These dramatic yet persistent changes exemplify

the benefits of implementing rehabilitation that is based upon the processes that govern resource movement and

productivity within semi-arid systems, namely, recognition of variability in rainfall and runoff, and management

of this.