Fact sheet
Monitoring and reporting
on wind erosion
Soils are important to the natural resource
base, to agricultural productivity and to the
delivery of a wide range of ecosystem services
needed by the Australian community. Caring
for our Country, the Australian government’s
natural resources management initiative, is
investing in data and information, research
and on ground activities to improve soil
management. These investments include
the development of methods for monitoring
and reporting on wind and water erosion,
soil carbon and soil acidity. Direct monitoring
is needed to detect changes in resource
condition, and to identify priorities for improving
land management practices and soil condition
outcomes.
Improving land management practices,
especially those that improve ground cover
management in the cropping, grazing and
horticulture industries, will help reduce the
impacts of wind erosion, conserve the soil
asset and reduce off-site costs associated with
dust storms. These include respiratory health
costs, disruptions to electricity supplies and
aviation, cleaning costs, water quality decline
and changes to global climate through the
radiative forcing effects of aerosols.
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Wind erosion is a major threat to Australia’s
soil assets. Some soils may be eroding faster
than they are being formed. With increasing
pressure on agricultural land to produce more
food and fibre for a growing population, crops
will be grown on drier marginal lands more
vulnerable to wind erosion. At the same time,
the area affected by moderate or severe
wind erosion (currently 17 per cent, nearly
130 million hectares of Australia) is likely to
expand due to increased drought and climate
variability associated with climate change. The
frequency of major dust storms, such as those
experienced in eastern Australia in September
2009, is likely to increase.
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See report at www.nrm.gov.au/publications for
information on how this map was produced.
Increasing the number of farmers and the
hectares over which practices such as reduced
tillage and fallowing, stubble and inter-row
cover retention and grazing management
using ground cover targets are adopted, will
reduce soil loss and the dust storms resulting
from wind erosion. The Australian Bureau
of Statistics’ 2007-08 Agricultural Resource
information line 1800 552 008 or visit www.nrm.gov.au
Management Survey results identify regions
with the biggest opportunities to improve
practices to reduce wind erosion risk. This
biennial survey is being used to detect
changes in the uptake of better management
practices.
An integrated approach
monitoring wind erosion
Dust levels can be monitored and reported
hourly, daily, weekly or annually at site,
regional, state and national levels, and are a
cost effective and easily understood indicator
of wind erosion. The review of Australia’s
capacity to monitor wind (and water erosion)
(Leys et al 2009) produced an agreed
investment program, including:
»» Modelling of wind erosion using the
Computational Environmental Management
System Erosion Model (CEMSYS) — view
report CEMSYS Modelled Wind Erosion at
www.nrm.gov.au under ‘publications and
resources’.
Map 2.4.5: Stubble management practices used by crop
farmers
»» Monitoring ground cover change — view fact
sheet at www.nrm.gov.au under ‘publications
and resources’.
»» Mapping dust aerosols — view report Dust
Sentinel Pilot: Capacity of three polar orbiting
satellite instruments to map dust aerosol
over the Australian continent at www.nrm.
gov.au under ‘publications and resources’.
»» Regional wind erosion histories —
www.dustwatch.edu.au/
WindErosionHistories.html.
Map 2.4.6: Cultivation practices used by crop farmers
»» Expanding the Community DustWatch
network. See www.environmentnsw.gov.au/
dustwatch.
»» On ground assessments of erosion risk and
severity in cropping lands — view report
Manual of proposed national minimum
standards for roadside erosion survey at
www.nrm.gov.au under ‘publications and
resources’.
Map 2.4.8: Percentage of graziers with a minimum
ground cover target
These maps are available at A3 size on the
www.nrm.gov.au website under the Business
Plan 2010-11 Sustainable Practices section.
12-2010
Caring for our Country funded projects
addressing these issues are now underway,
with the aim of producing an integrated
approach to monitoring wind erosion across
Australia which brings together data from
remote sensing sources, modelling and ground
based observations.
information line 1800 552 008 or visit www.nrm.gov.au