The Tropics - Most Prone to Erosion - New Study Published

Those who live there are unlikely to be surprised by the conclusions in the study, but it does attempt to quantify those areas where it is most severe.

The north of Australia is among some of the most severely impacted areas but has some respite due to seasonal issues - little rain for a number of months in the middle of the calendar year helps reduce the problem.

The first world erosivity map provides a picture of those areas where it is worst.  And it is likely to get even worse with an  increase expected with changing climate and more frequent extreme rainfall.

Regions in the tropical climate zones suffer the greatest rainfall-related soil erosion, reports an international study.

The study, published last month (July) in Scientific Reports, has developed the first-ever Global Rainfall Erosivity Database and a Global Erosivity Map. It notes that while rainfall provides moisture critical for plant growth, it is also one of the prime causes of soil degradation, referred to as rainfall erosivity, which threatens food and water sustainability. 
[study available here in full - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-04282-8] 

For experts, model predictions of global erosivity are very important because they help assess risks as well as plan and implement effective soil mitigation and restoration strategies.

According to the study, erosion by rainfall remains poorly quantified despite its significance. This is because it is a complex event influenced by various factors including rainfall intensity, duration, amount and frequency — factors which are not captured in current erosivity estimates.

To model annual rainfall erosivity for different regions, the international team relied on rainfall data gathered from 3,625 stations scattered across 63 countries. Their analysis shows that annual mean rainfall erosivities for countries in the tropics are more than double the global average of about 2,190 megajoule millimetres per hectare per hour per year.
 
South America (particularly Brazil, Columbia and Peru), South-Eastern Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Bangladesh), the Caribbean, and Western and Central Africa have annual mean rainfall erosivities that are greater than 5,000 megajoule millimetres per hectare per hour per year.
 
Cold and dry regions like Canada, the Russian Federation, Northern Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East have the lowest annual mean rainfall erosivity.
 
“The tropical forests and the monsoon zones (covering Amazonia part of Brazil, Central Africa and Southeast Asia) have intense rainfall but also excess monthly precipitation (greater than 1,000 millimetres for two consecutive months),” says Panos Panagos, study leader and scientific officer at the Joint Research Centre, European Commission. “The Mediterranean zone (a typical temperate climate zone) has seasonal rainfalls which are less intense than the ones in the tropical zones.”

“This is a great effort,” says Anton Vrieling, assistant professor of geo-information science and earth observation at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. However, he observes that calculating rainfall erosivity at different times in a year would be more useful than having an annual average value.
 
“In a given year, there are rainstorms of different intensity and duration. Other factors like the protective vegetation also vary throughout the year,” notes Vrieling.

With extreme rainfall events becoming more common as a result of climate change, soil erosion is expected to increase — leading to further impacts on agricultural production, and a greater contribution to disaster-related risks such as flooding and landslides.
 
Panagos says the emerging risks can be managed through good agricultural practices like reduced tillage, cover crops, grass margins and contour farming. 

Northern Australia - a small area by global standards is in the second highest zone, according to the mapping.  Small areas may of course be a little different.

Annual mean rainfall erosivity above the global average, by region

Region	Annual mean rainfall erosivity (in mega Joule millimetre per hectare per hour per year)
Global mean	2,190
Caribbean countries	8,000
South-East Asia	7,400
Western Africa and Central Africa	7,000
South America	5,874

Benefits of Using Compost for Erosion and Sediment Control

The following article was written recently by a colleague in the US [ Ron Alexander] and some content needs be seen in the context of that general location.

However, the broad implications are still relevant and even more so in the tropics with normally much greater intensity of rainfall, in comparison to temperate areas.  The experience of our own operations in the tropics on very large mining projects in Indonesia and tropical Australia adds to to the ideas written below here by the author, with surface applied mulches and composts being excellent erosion and sediment management options, even on slopes up to 1:1 - ie 45 degrees. Much better than silt fences!!

We even used chipped coconut husk pieces on some steep slopes very successfully, but commonly in Indonesia we used rice straw, a nominally waste material supplied by local farmers rather than burning it as waste in the fields after threshing the grain.  It was excellent, as mucous exuded from the straw helped bind the material together, allowing permeation of water through but not necessarily washing it all away.

Yes.......we needed some rechecks and repairs but for a very large area of bare slopes it was excellent, and certainly reduced erosion enormously at relatively low cost.

Mulch berms are now also commonly used on larger flat exposed areas near Darwin, with more extensive use on several large mining, construction and building projects in recent years.  Definitely a go to option that works well, is easily repaired when needed and it can tolerate heavy tropical rain, reducing high intensity overland flows.

Surface applied mulches can be very effective - consider them as a sensible option for your next erosion and sediment management project.

We offer ESCP plan development for projects and can assist you develop an appropriate solution. 
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9 Benefits to Using Compost for Erosion and Sediment Control

by Ron Alexander  8 January 2016

Credit: Erth Products

Erosion and sediment control. Although still considered relatively unknown in certain regions of North America, the use of compost in erosion and sediment control has been a very successful landscaping practice for over 25 years. 

Compost blankets (the application of a layer of compost on hill slopes), compost berms, and compost filter socks are incredibly effective, enhance the long-term quality of the soil, and, in the case of compost blankets, have excellent stormwater reduction advantages. These innovative techniques have been thoroughly proven through university research, and have been recommended for use by the USEPA. 

National specifications exist for these applications through the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. (Go to www.alexassoc.net, then “Library of Articles,” and look under “Compost Specifications” to see the full specs.)

When used as a compost blanket, compost is typically placed on up to 2:1—and sometimes more severe—slopes at an application rate of 1–2 inches [25-50mm] in depth. 

This technique is used and is highly effective in reducing and slowing the sheet flow of water. 

Lesser application rates are possible in areas of lower rainfall accumulation and intensity, on less severe slopes, and where vegetation is to be established. Once applied, the woody fraction of the compost increases surface roughness and slows the flow of runoff, thereby making it less erosive, more likely to induce infiltration into the soil and reduce the transport of pollutants. 

In addition, the woody fraction absorbs the energy of the rainfall, preventing soil particles from dislodging (the first stage of soil erosion), while the finer fraction beneath it absorbs a substantial volume of moisture, and is optimum for plant establishment and growth. Research completed at University of ­Georgia illustrated that a 2-inch[50mm] application of compost onto a slope could absorb and hold 1–2  [50mm]inches of rainfall.

Further, the unique properties of the product allow for extensive rooting of the grass and other vegetation, locking the blanket to the slope and protecting the soil beneath it. 

It should also be noted that compost blankets are effective with or without vegetation, but application rates of compost can often be reduced if it is applied with vegetation. University research consistently illustrates that compost blankets not only constantly outperform hydroseeding and conventional erosion control blankets (e.g., rolled fabric) in vegetation establishment, but also more effectively reduce stormwater runoff volume and peak flows, as well as total sediment and nutrient loads (Faucette et al. 2005; Faucette et al. 2007; and Faucette et al. 2009, “Large-scale performance and design…”).

Research performed for Portland Metro, an environmental regulatory body based in Portland, OR, and the USDA ARS further illustrated that yard trimmings compost was capable of not only controlling erosion, but also of filtering, binding, and degrading contaminants from the stormwater passing through the layer (Faucette et al. 2013; Faucette et al. 2009, “Storm water pollutant removal performance…”).

The benefit of using a compost blanket lies in its ability to:

• act as a buffer to absorb rainfall energy,
• reduce wind and water erosion,
• stimulate microbial activity to increase decomposition of organic materials in the soil thereby adding to the soil structure,
• prevent soil compaction and crusting, thereby facilitating percolation,
• slow the flow of water over the surface of the soil,
• capture and retain moisture, reducing soil moisture loss thereby facilitating plant growth,
• provide suitable microclimate for seed germination,
• in areas with cold winters - capture blowing snow to increase the insulating effect of winter protection, and
• improve soil texture (Story et al. 1995).

Compost berms and filter socks are “3D” filters possessing huge sediment and biofiltration capabilities. 

Where the berms are used in sheet flow conditions, the filter socks (think pantyhose filled with coarse compost) can also be used in concentrated water flow situations. 

This is because filter socks can be staked into place, and the compost media is contained within a mesh netting material. 

Although both compost berms and filter socks are used as perimeter control devices for sediment, installed around the borders of construction sites and at the top and bottom of slopes, the filter sock technology is much more versatile (see www.filtrexx.com). 

They can even be used around stormwater inlets and to build “living” walls. 

One of the most important research findings pertaining to compost filter berms and socks, is that they are much more effective in capturing fine particles of sediment, which are not captured as efficiently by other more conventional sediment control devices (e.g., silt fences). 

This is very important in that fine particles of sediment have the potential to be much more damaging to the environment, since they transport further and stay in suspension longer, and also contain a greater amount of chemical contamination (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, nutrients) than larger particles of sediment.

The use of compost in erosion and sediment control projects has expanded significantly since the adoption of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II regulation for construction activities in the USA. 

This regulation requires that construction sites of 1 acre or greater to have erosion and sediment control plans in effect on a daily basis using prescribed best management practices (BMPs).

NEW Nickel Accumulating Tropical Plants Discovered

Researchers have uncovered dozens of new nickel hyperaccumulator plants in a study in Borneo.

Anthony van der Ent, working with the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation (CMLR) with the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute has discovered the new plants species in Borneo’s Mount Kinabalu world heritage site.

The researchers found local trees contain some of the world’s highest concentrations of nickel in plants.

Mid last year scientists also uncovered a similar plant in the Philippines, Rinorea niccolifera, which can accumulate up to 18 000 ppm of nickel without being affected.  "Hyperacccumulator plants have great potentials for the development of green technologies, for example, 'phytoremediation' and 'phytomining'," Dr. Augustine Doronila, from University of Melbourne said 

“From magnets to mobile phones and car motors, the world’s population uses a huge amount of nickel and the availability of mineable deposits, and the costs and complexity of recovery, are potentially limiting future supplies van der Ent said.  "Hyperacccumulator plants have great potentials for the development of green technologies, for example, 'phytoremediation' and 'phytomining'," Dr. Augustine Doronila, from the University of Melbourne said.

The trees uncovered in Boreneo contain up to three per cent nickel “so there is the real potential to develop large nickel ‘farms’ in the Tropics, which would be of benefit to the environment and local communities who have previously dealt with the impacts of mining.”

CMLR Director Professor David Mulligan added: “By studying intact landscapes such as Kinabalu Park, researchers are gaining insights into plant development and growth and an understanding of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic environments – knowledge that is enormously useful for informing strategies relating to mine site rehabilitation.”

The use of hyperaccumlators has a long and storied history in mining.

Previously plants known thrive in soils with heavy metals were used to uncover metal deposits.

The technique has been recorded as being used in China since the 5th century BC, and in fact Sweden's former Viscaria copper mine was actually named after the Viscaria aplina flower which prospectors used to discover the deposit, as the flower is known to grow in soils with heavy copper concentrations.

Australian natives such as Stackhouse tyronii and ­Hybanthus floribundus can also be used as lead and nickel indicators due to their hyper-accumulator ability, according to The Lead Group and to research carried out by CQ University professor Nanjappa Ashwatha and Dr. Poonam Bhatia.

In fact "Stackhousia try­onii is a serpentine-endemic, rare, native Australian plant and is reported to hyperaccumulate nickel up to 55,500 mg g-1 on a dry weight basis," the group explained.

In 2013 it was also reported that native eucalypts were thriving around the highly acidic decommissioned Mt Morgan gold mine, near Rockhampton, and highlighted the potential for the plants to be used in mine site remediation.  "Seedlings were growing in highly acidic soil where the pH shouldn't support them, and they are thriving," local councillor Neil Fisher said.  "On the very edge of the water, 300-400 eucalypt seedlings are growing where plants normally would have died."

[ originally reported by Cole Latimer on 14 January 2015 ]

Brazil - Compatriot of North Australia?

A recent article on the ABC web site about Brazil opens up some ideas about synergies between northern Australia and Brazil.


products of Brazil

The article is here - http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4768336.html .

Climatically, much of Northern Australia and Brazil are similar, especially the northern parts of Brazil, and the more southern area are maybe more similar to SE Queensland, as broad generalisations. 

Brazil agriculture

It is not without some strong parallels, that the Embraer aircraft of Brazil are well represented in commercial RPT fleets across north Australia, with Air North a significant operator of the aircraft - they are operationally designed to better suit tropical operational areas, and operate in remote and less technologically able areas; they are good aircraft.

The Brazilian mining giants including Vale are rapidly digging iron ore holes in Brazil, along with some in Australia, and looking at other mineral operations as well.  They are major competitors to Australian companies such as BHP Billiton and Rio, as well as Xstrata [ now Glencore] in international markets as well as emerging mining countries, eg Africa.

Both Australia and Brazil, are sized similarly, with large parts of the areas in the tropics.  Brazil is certainly a major cattle producer, even if less proportionally is exported than Australia, and disease issues also restrict options for export.  It would be a worry for Australian beef exports, boxed or live, if Brazil [as well as Argentina] ever got their act together and that region emerged as a serious, long term competitor.  They might in relation to China, still.

Australia's abattoirs have significant involvement by JBS, the Brazilian company that is probably the wold's biggest meat processing business.

There is a huge agribusiness system operating in Brazil, and Nufarm [ Australia's home grown agrochemical and seed company] is operating widely in Brazil.  It is likely that the r and D coming from Brazil in relation to variety development [ peanut,soybean, corn, sorghum etc],  seed technology may be applicable in Australia, or at least adaptable, and home grown technology including precision agriculture and controlled traffic systems are certainly of widening interest in Brazil and Argentina.

Socially the Brazilian economy is less endowed with support systems such as operate in Australia - with our social support, welfare and medical [ Medicare system] good examples where the Australian people are much better supported.

Should Australia, and north Australia especially, be seeking to improve and develop major interaction with Brazil?  Surely knowing much more about a competitor is useful.  It is true some activity is occurring, but increasing the tempo of those interactions might be considered a very smart option.

Zoysia - Ideal for Low Maintenance Areas, Median Strips

The low maintenace or awkward to access areas such as median strips, within the road areas are well suited to low growing grasses such as zoysia.

Not the super puffy japanese type - Z.tenuifolia, but the more common z.matrella or Z.japonica forms.

While these varieties are also very widely used on golf and sporting areas in a higher maintenance mode, they can also be left with very low maintenance and used to provide excellent cover on median strips.

More common in Asia than north Australia, the short, dense, tough, low nutrient requiring grass which is zoysia, is tough enough to withstand some pretty rugged street conditions across some of the big cities in Asia, with widespread use in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kuala Lumpur, a few areas in Vientiane [ most main streets are less ordered than some other areas], although less so surprisngly, in Singapore, although more comon nearby in Johore Bahru.

It deserves more widespread adoption in north Australia where it should quickly reduce mowing frequency in areas where it is used.  That alone should significantly reduce maintenance costs.  While not as water efficient as Bahia grass, it is among the top two or three for water efficiency, and with lower mowing frequency, it will still be offering reduced overall maintenance costs.

Zoysia on median strip - Kuala Lumpur city centre
 

Tropical Vegetation Soaks Up More Carbon Than Previous Estimates

The lush vegetation wrapping the center of the globe is one of the most important features for regulating a stable climate in the world.

Much excess CO2 emissions from industrialized regions find their way to the equator to be absorbed by abundant CO2-consuming plant life. However, as large tracts of tropical rainforest are cut down in the Amazon, Congo, and Southeast Asia, worries have grown that this vital region may turn from a carbon sink to a carbon source. Those worries can be put at ease somewhat thanks to a recent study from the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC).

Their report suggests that carbon storage of forests, shrublands, and savannas in the tropics are 21 percent higher than previously believed.

Larger carbon storage equates to a larger capacity to absorb and retain greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. The loss of carbon storage due to deforestation is still a concern, but has been overestimated. In fact, the net flux of carbon into the atmosphere from tropical vegetation loss is overestimated by up to 12 percent.

Data used excludes any information from Australia, so estimates may be somewhat inaccurate. Even so, it does conclude that the tropical forests are a very major carbon sink.

The full published article is here
http://eorder.sheridan.com/3_0/display/index.php?flashprint=1608

Watching Tropical Weather

For those in Australia's tropics another wet season is approaching quickly, and weather conditions seem to have recently changed to being warmer and more humid, a foretaste of the approaching build up weather.

Hurricanes, Typhoons and Cyclones are different names for similar major tropical weather events - depending where you are located.

Keeping watch on these systems is becoming more sophisticated, with more information also readily available to the public via web sites. I remember observing Cyclone Thelma as it barrelled around the north coast of Australia a few years ago, wondering if our home in Darwin would be impacted.........all from a laptop computer in an upmarket hotel room in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, SE Asia. More tools are now available.

One data tool I had not seen previously is demonstrated for Hurricane Irene, truly a very large diameter system of current note.

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/43182 will take you to the introductory area with a further link to NASA in the USA.

This shows a combined mapping of wind and rain data for hurricane Irene, and some hints of real time data on cloud heights being linked to intensifying wind patterns, while they were happening.

Will this be available for Australia as well this cyclone season??

Indian Sandalwood Thriving in NW Australia

For a long time now many have said that investing in tree crops will not be profitable, nor will it be sensible - you might just lose all your investment.

Work that we investigated in the early to mid 1990s seemed to indicate that there might be a place for some serious investment in tree crops in northern Australia - expensive, high quality cabinet timber trees and sandalwood were the two most promising we believed based on the research work, but were not short term money making investments.

Both appeared to have excellent mid to longer term prospects, for investment, based on continuing demand, in fact likely increasing demand, and declining production in many natural areas as well as potential for growth in the warmer north and north west of Australia. It was relatively untested, apart from some small areas of African mahogany being grown, some as ornamentals, and a few sandalwood trees around the areas. At that time sandalwood oil was around $US 400 a litre. We envisaged these trees being part of a complex rural enterprise, involving livestock as well. But it has mostly developed as a larger enterprise, and without the livestock most commonly.

Yes, African mahogany trees have been harvested and sent off for processing. Quaintly though, the ones in Darwin - and many are very large, although not always ideal for long furniture timbers, still get cut down and chipped, and are used for mulch.

[It is a bit crazy these resources are not used more effectively. A few parts get made into some local furniture, but really not much is used].

Initial trials have been successful on the mahoganies - these are really thinnings from tree plots still expected to grow for another 10 years plus.

A recent announcement has also indicated that sandalwood can also perform well. They are not large majestic trees, are somewhat complex to grow as they are a hemiparasite, a bit insignificant to look at really, and the photo shows that of a tree in Indonesia. Fairly typical looking tree.

[press release 2 August 2011 from TFS below]

The world's largest producer of Indian sandalwood says yield results from a trial harvest have proven the industry will be more than profitable in Western Australia's Ord Valley.

The harvest, from the Department of Agriculture's research station near Kununurra, found trees between 19 and 23 years of age were averaging 1.2 litres of sandalwood oil.

The oil (Santalum album) is currently fetching a record price of $2,100 per litre.

TFS executive chairman Frank Wilson, says the results are pleasing and will hopefully silence some critics.

"When we first came to the Ord, there were a lot of devil's advocates suggesting Kununurra trees wouldn't produce any oil, and they were also suggesting the only trees that would produce oil were those trees which were very small and stunted because they had been stressed," he said.

"Both of those myths have been scotched by these results and what we're showing is that Kununurra trees are producing large quantities of high quality oil."

Tropical Forestry Services (TFS) began planting Indian sandalwood in 1999, and now owns and manages around 5,000 hectares in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The trees produce an oil used in products such as incense, perfumes and soap.

Mr Wilson says his company is hoping to conduct its first commercial harvest in 2013, with trees that
are 14-15 years of age.

He says the company is predicting those trees will produce 0.85 litres of oil, but is confident yields and tree size will continue to improve as the industry develops.

"Ever since sandalwood was first trialled in Kununurra, there have been major improvements in silvicultural techniques, soil selection and host selection, so better yields are a natural consequence of those improvements over time."
--------------------------------------------

It is interesting to note that the trees at the Department of Agriculture certainly had a hard time in their early growing years, effectively being neglected and ignored for quite a few years. It was always a big question - can trees in Kununurra produce and yield well enough to be successfully grown??

Afterall, trees are cut down / removed entirely at harvest, and that trees can can take 20 - 30 years or more to grow to maturity. It is a long time to wait and see what happens!!!

Some core samples a few years ago from the Department trees seemed to partially indicate positive yields, but it is really encouraging to see how sucessful these sandalwood yields are.

Zoysia tenuifolia - Use as Ornamental Grass

Think of zoysia and you think of fine, good looking turf areas. They are seen as an option for replacement of other warm season grasses due to their low maintenance and low fertiliser demands.

But there is another zoysia that offers an alternative for grass cover that really needs no mowing, or well, almost no mowing or cutting!

This option may be well suited to median strips, roundabouts and other areas such as rockeries where the landscaping needs to be very low maintenance. The grass may also be suited to small Japanese gardens, courtyards within commercial buildings, and similar areas. There may be particular options where the species could be well suited to use on green roof developments in the tropics and sub tropics.



It is VERY slow growing, which is both a plus and a minus. Slow growth will certainly be an issue trying to establish an area of the grass, unless there is an adequate supply of plugs, stolons or even established plants used from small pots to give you a high plant density at planting. The slow growth is a virtue once you have it planted though – very low maintenance.






Zoysia tenuifolia – sometimes called no grow grass, slow grow grass, petting grass – usually has a puffy appearance once established, almost like ‘hills and valleys”, which can be quite attractive. It provides extremely high ground cover, with virtually no mowing or cutting required. Leaves are short, and often a little stiff / spikey.

On the other side of the ledger...........when you do need to cut the area, it can look awful, as you tend to expose the deep mat of stolons below the grass surface, showing the cut edges. This cutting is often an annual or biennial event.





It is well suited to tropical and subtropical areas, and maybe on protected sites in warm temperate areas. It is strongly shade tolerant . You occasionally see this grass being sold as “petting grass” for use as an indoor plant.

Low maintenance, low to medium water use, shade tolerant, low growing – medium to high potential for wider ornamental use.

Australia's Tropical Beef Herd - Methane Emissions Lower Than Current Estimates

New CSIRO research indicates that the amount of methane emitted from cattle fed on tropical grasses in northern Australia is up to 30 per cent less than figures currently used to calculate the northern cattle industry's contribution to Australia's greenhouse gas accounts.

Speaking at a recent Lansdown Field Day near Townsville, Queensland, CSIRO research leader Dr Ed Charmley said the findings would help to refine the nation's greenhouse gas accounting."

Measurements from cattle in CSIRO's custom-built respiration chambers show that Brahman cattle fed a wide range of tropical grasses emit up to 30 per cent less methane than previously determined. "While you always have to be cautious in extending lab data to the field and across an industry, we have been able to cross-check our findings with methane detecting laser systems used in the field."

These findings, while not changing the actual emissions, could have significant implications for calculating the emission footprint of the northern cattle industry and also for Australia's greenhouse gas accounts. "Methods used to determine these national greenhouse gas accounts are regularly reviewed and if the new data are confirmed via this review process, future accounts will be adjusted to reflect the lower emissions for the northern beef herd," Dr Charmley said.

With about half of the nation's beef herd located in northern Australia, current greenhouse gas accounts indicate that methane from the northern cattle industry contributes about 4.5 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. As a by-product of digesting plants, ruminant livestock such as sheep and cattle produce methane and, of those, beef cattle produce the most - about 200 grams a day, or about 1.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per animal every year."

CSIRO research also shows that northern cattle fed on a diet of predominantly Leucaena, a legume tree, emit less methane than cattle grazing on tropical grasses," Dr Charmley said. "What this nutrition research is showing is that there can be win-win scenarios for the industry and the environment if we can redirect the breakdown of plant material in a way that reduces the amount of methane produced while improving the amount of energy or weight gain that animals get from their feed. "We are addressing cattle methane emissions from several angles - from examining the gut microbes that produce methane from ingested pasture and alternative diets, to a landscape focus on northern Australia's extensive grazing systems using state-of-the-art technologies, such as lasers and wireless sensor networks, to measure and model cattle methane emissions under tropical conditions."

The Lansdown Research Station is a key part of CSIRO's broader research programs on livestock production and emissions reduction in agriculture.

Lansdown Research Station is funded by the Australian Government's Climate Change Research Program, Meat & Livestock Australia and CSIRO and is one of five national research hubs and demonstration sites for practical methane management on-farm.

While this CSIRO press release is encouraging news for the northern beef producers, it is still to be verified in other research.

It seems to also confirm that using higher digestibility forages - in this case leucaena, a legume, it is possible to further lower methane emissions. This is similar to broad results from research work in temperate regions on dairy cows where lowered methane emissions were also corelated strongly with use of higher quality [ digestibility] feed.

There has been a trend in the past 20 years to push for more grass in beef pastures as compared to earlier periods of northern development when pasture legumes were seen as more important - then related to higher protein levels in the diet. Unfortunately, most grass now eaten by stock is on the dry side, with quite low digestibility, especially in more extensive pastoral regions. Changing digestibility can be done through plant breeding, but that is unlikely to happen any time soon. Tropical grasses also tend to be of lower digestibility intrinsically than temperate pasture species.

Leucaena is a viable option in many areas, although getting pasture areas established is time consuming and costly. It does have well proven performance in growing and finishing stock across many regions of north Australia. Superb results were achieved about 25 years ago in the Ord Valley at kununurra, but not too many producers are using the system - why would you, when live export has been the normal practice and there is little bonus for good quality finished cattle, with high carcase quality, in the north of Australia.

Lowered estimated methane emissions might quell some of the wild statements made about how awful the beef herd is environmentally though!

Mangroves - Worth Loving for Carbon Storage

Mangroves have been under threat as mankind increasingly lives near the water's edge - especially the saltwater edge!

Maybe recent events such as earthquakes and tsumanis might encourage a rethink living on the edge of the sea, but for now, many areas of mangroves are torn out for development - of various kinds.

One school of thought even suggests that their prsence along coastlines mitigates cyclonic storm surges and related events, preventing considerable damage, even some distance inland. I recall comments about several major storms in Asia where more damage occurred than might be expected due to the removal of protection from mangroves, torn out for aquaculture development.

Land developers commonly remove mangroves to develop canal estates too.

Some recent scientific research on tropical mangrove trees show they are better at storing carbon dioxide than most other forests, and cutting them down unleashes more greenhouse gas than deforestation elsewhere. Mangroves are so efficient at keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere that when they are destroyed, they release as much as 10 per cent of all emissions worldwide attributable to deforestation - even though mangroves account for just 0.7 per cent of the tropical forest area, according to some new research.

Daniel Donato, of the US Agriculture Department's Forest Service and lead author of a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, says mangroves store two to four times the carbon that tropical rainforests do. "Mangroves store a lot of carbon, much more so than most forests on Earth, on a per hectare basis," says Donato. "Since they store so much carbon, there's probably a lot being released from all the mangrove deforestation that's going on."

Yes, if you live near the coast you tend to dislike the mangroves - the source of mosquitoes and sand flies, midges and related biting insects.

Maybe it is better you protect yourself, and leave the mangroves to store carbon and protect us from natural disasters.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/04/04/3181798.htm?site=science&topic=enviro provides more details.

Clean Technology in Mexico - A Lesson for Australia?

To many Australians, Mexico is not on the business horizon. It might be a fun location to visit......but not for business.

That is a little different in livestock production where there has been a reasonably strong connection between the tropical livestock and pastoral industries for some time. Can Mexico offer some ideas for clean technology devlopment that might be relevant in Australia? They do have a large adjacent market in the US, although some would argue that Australia does have a similar market......the countries of Asia.

Mexico may have a few ideas to also show Australia in relation to development of major initiatives in clean energy including geothermal sources, at least in shallow source areas. Some might counter this and say, so does New Zealand in geothermal sources, with both using hot rocks and steam associated with vulcanism, not a situation seen readily in Australia though.

Mexico has also been ramping up PV use.

http://blog.cleantechies.com/2011/02/28/highlights-cleantech-mexico/

is a recent rticle highlighting developments in clean tech in Mexico.

Could some of this be relevant for Australia?

Tropical Agriculture Food Production is NOT Efficient

A recent report indicates the poor efficiency of crop production in the tropics. The conclusion seems to be why bother with food production in this region.

An alternate conclusion may be that the region has not received the same inputs into research and development for food production that has occurred in temperate regions. Another alternate view may also be that inhabitants of the tropics may have been able to obtain a far greater percent of requirements from existing vegetation through more "hunter / gatherer" activities.

If you have lived in some curent societies in rural aras of the tropics that is still very common, with local sourced food very important over and above any crop production.

Yet, modern rice production in some regions of the tropics does have very high grain yields. And it is true the grain yield/ stover ratio in some other tropical crops eg sorghum, millet, tef etc is lower than the temperate zones. Again, is this inherent or just an outcome of less R and D?

Biogeographical studies also tend to conclude that high rainfall tropical regions should concentrate on efficient biomass production [think sugarcane, tree crop horticulture, cocoa,trees for wood] with tropical crop production [annual crop production is inferred] moved to the medium rainfall regions. Those regions also tend to have greater seasonal variability too! Their definition of the tropics is too broad.

The issue of grains for meat production is also not especially relevant for beef and goat production in the tropics, as most is grown on grass........or food residuals, and rarely is grain used for finishing, let alone growing animals!

Read this article linked below............draw your own conclusions.
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http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1102-hance_tropical_agriculture.html

Tropical agriculture "double-whammy": high emissions, low yields

Food produced in the tropics comes with high carbon emissions and low crop yields, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

In the most comprehensive and detailed study to date looking at carbon emissions versus crop yields, researchers found that food produced in the tropics releases almost double the amount of carbon while producing half the yield as food produced in temperate regions. In other words, temperate food production is three times more efficient in terms of yield and carbon emissions.

"Tropical forests store a tremendous amount of carbon, and when a forest is cleared, not only do you lose more carbon, but crop yields are not nearly as high as they are in temperate areas," explains lead author Paul C. West, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a press release. The researchers found that one ton of food emitted approximately over 75 tons of carbon in the tropics, whereas a ton of food grown in temperate regions released just less than 27 tons of carbon.

The tradeoffs between the release of carbon to the atmosphere and agricultural production are markedly different between the world's temperate and tropical regions. In this representation, for each hectare of land cleared for agriculture, each rail car is equivalent to 68 tons of carbon released to the atmosphere and each bushel represents 3.9 tons of maize produced. "This creates a kind of 'double whammy' for a lot of tropical agriculture: we have to clear carbon-rich ecosystems to create tropical croplands, and unfortunately they often have lower yields than temperate systems," says co-author Jonathan Foley, director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment. "In terms of balancing the needs of food production and slowing carbon dioxide emissions, this is a tough tradeoff."

Rising human population, increasing consumption of meat (which requires more grain per area), the demand for biofuels, high commodity prices, and economic development plans have pushed many tropical nations to pursue large-scale agriculture over forest protection. However, the authors say the realities of carbon loss in the tropics makes a strong argument for intensifying agriculture on already cleared land, rather than more deforestation. "Our results corroborate recommendations to concentrate reforestation and avoid deforestation in the tropics to have the greatest worldwide impact," the authors write.

But, West admits, "the realty is there will be some of both [agriculture intensification and deforestation]." The authors explain in the paper that "despite the clear benefits of concentrating reforestation and forest conservation efforts in the tropics, several local and regional factors influence implementation. […] Choices are made locally and are influenced by local and regional food security, transportation costs, labor, poverty, and technology rather than global atmospheric carbon. Thus, local and global outcomes must be coupled to manage ecosystem services and assess their tradeoffs."

The study also highlight that agriculture comes with additional tradeoffs on top of carbon including impacting ecosystem services such as "soil and groundwater recharge, runoff, and nutrient regulation as well as ecosystems, species, and genome diversity of landscapes." The broad study looked at 175 different crops worldwide using government data and satellite imagery. "We have a very fine resolution of both what the carbon stocks and the yields are globally," says West. "Spatially, it is much more explicit than anything that has been produced before."

Approximately 20% of the temperate region is used for crops, as opposed to 10.5% of the tropics. In all, deforestation contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than global transportation: 12-20% of the total greenhouse gas emissions are due to the loss of forests. Scientists say that such emissions are driving global climate change.

CITATION: Paul C. West, Holly K. Gibbs, Chad Monfreda, John Wagner, Carol C. Barford, Stephen R. Carpenter, and Jonathan A. Foley. Trading carbon for food: Global comparison of carbon stocks vs. crop yields on agricultural land. PNAS. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1011078107.

Rainwater Harvesting in the Tropics

Rainwater Harvesting in the Tropical north

In north Australia where rainfall is mostly very seasonal, with relatively well defined wet and then drier periods of the year it is possible to collect significant amounts of rainfall – rainfall harvesting. The hardest issue to contend with is the need to store relatively larger percentages due to the seasonally dry conditions.
This is particularly so in the north west of Australia – Darwin and areas west around the Kimberley coast where 4 – 8 months may have zero rain, and rainfall declines as you move away from the coastal areas.
However..............look at the data. Columns 2 and 3 show the amount potentially falling on the roof, in Kilolitres [KL] under a range of roof areas , for two different annual rainfall amounts

Roof area [sq metres] Rainfall – 1000mm/yr Rainfall - 1500mm /yr
200 200KL 300KL
250 250KL 375KL
400 400KL 600KL

If you assume a capture rate of 80%, the amounts potentially available are shown in the tables below. A capture rate of 80% could be considered in the low range area, as in the tropics much of the rain falls in significant storms, and in this situation a smaller proportion is wasted in first flush diversion or similar systems that divert the first smaller volumes of rain to ensure clean water is captured and goes into storage.

Roof area – sq m 80% capture of 1000mm/yr -KL 80% capture of 1500mm/yr-KL
200 160 240
250 200 300
400 320 480

The roof areas selected have been used as examples of small, medium and medium/large areas under roof with gutters and collection systems, and include the additive potential from a house roof, garage and sheds. They apply equally to urban and semi-rural locations.

For straight “in house” domestic use, with sensible management, a family of four could use less than 100KL. And there are a lot of options and management ideas to be considered.

For use outside the household areas, a modest lawn and garden could be developed with usage in the 100 – 200KL/year, especially if sensible grey water and effluent use was practised, using systems that allow subsurface disposal of these products.

One option is the use of KISSS subsurface irrigation systems [see www.iwtech.com.au] along with a range of approved alternative wastewater treatment systems – that is, a system somewhat superior to the older style septic tank, which treats effluent at least to secondary standard or better.

There are a wide range of these, and in Australia each State or local government region has approval systems for various brands and types, so you need to check what is legally available and approved.

The really tricky part is to work out how much you need stored around the end of the rainy season.

Some sort of monthly water balance is required, to calculate input and usage, but as a very broad guide, somewhere between 100 and 150KL would be needed at around the end of the rainy season.

More storage allows more extensive outside greenery development, naturally. Also remember that this stored water is a valuable resource for any fire fighting, and bushfires can be a threat in the drier months.

Tank Management

A few short comments.......
· Many users of tank water do not worry about water treatment, but there are some simple treatments if needed. Use in line or in tank UV treatment – this seems to be now seen as the most efficient way to kill any nasties in the water
· Clean water in – means clean water in the tank, so keep gutters clean and use pre treatments such as first flush diversion, leaf guards and similar systems.
· Keep mosquito larvae out of the tank.......screening has usually been seen as a simple solution, and of course this also keeps some particles out of the tank. The screen must be cleaned regularly to allow easy flow of the water into the tank, and two stage mesh systems do work well. In parts of Asia some areas use copepods [small animals that eat mosquito larvae] in tanks to prevent development of larvae.

Mosquito and mosquito larvae management is vital in those areas known to have the dengue mosquito present.

This is not a complete guide to using rainwater and tanks, but to show it is very definitely possible in this region, based on rainfall, and usage patterns and known areas of roof cover.

Even if there is no need to provide all of a households water needs, there are opportunities to collect and store rainwater for outside use – filling swimming pools, washing cars, garden watering to reduce using expensive treated potable water.

If planning a new house..........a suitable place for a tank may be under the driveway or under the lawn areas, rather than an above ground object in the yard! Many designs allow for traffic across the top of the tank.

It is not always difficult and can be an option where groundwater supplies are poor, or there are other issues around groundwater usage.