Scalds are common on degraded soils in the rangelands of western NSW. Scalds restrict p lant growth and biological activity. Scalds form due to dispersive (sodic) sealing surfaces and high salinity. Sodic soils can be stabilised by the addition of gypsum which flocculates the soil in the short term and decreases the propensity to disperse in the medium to longer term while facilitating leaching of problematic chloride salts. This study examined the use of gypsum to remediate a scald that was sodic (exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) >10%) and had high salinity (electrical conductivity (ECe) ~45 dS/m) to at least 60 cm soil depth. Mechanical disturbance (ripping with a single mouldboard plough) previously trialled resulted in only minimal establishment of halophytes with shallow roots but with no survival. A replicated trial was established to examine the response of soil and pasture to four rates of gypsum: nil (Control), 1 t/ha (Low), 2.5 t/ha (Moderate), and 6.5 t/ha (High). The design allowed remote monitoring via Sentinel imagery. After 12 months there was greater volunteer plant establishment and decreased surface salinity (to ~5 dS/m) in the High treatment areas. Satellite imagery indicated greater cover of green vegetation (NDVI) during the growing season, but only in the High treatments. While the timing of rainfall and leaching of salts will influence the persistence of the improvements, the results so far show the amelioration of an extreme scald with appropriate techniques.
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