Beyond hydrogeologic evidence : Challenging the current assumptions about salinity processes in the Corangamite region, Australia
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Cox, Jim , Simmons, Craig , Smitt, C. M.
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Hydrogeology Journal Vol. 16, no. 7 (2008), p. 1283-1298
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- Description: In keeping with the standard scientific methods, investigations of salinity processes focus on the collection and interpretation of contemporary scientific data. However, using multiple lines of evidence from non-hydrogeologic sources such as geomorphic, archaeological and historical records can substantially add value to the scientific investigations. By using such evidence, the validity of the assumptions about salinity processes in Australian landscapes is challenged, especially the assumption that the clearing of native vegetation has resulted in rising saline groundwater in all landscapes. In the Corangamite region of south-west Victoria, salinity has been an episodic feature of the landscapes throughout the Quaternary and was present at the time of the Aboriginal inhabitants and the first pastoral settlement by Europeans. Although surface-water salinity has increased in some waterways and the area of salinised land has expanded in some landscapes, there is no recorded evidence found which supports significant rises in groundwater following widespread land-use change. In many areas, salinity is an inherent component of the region's landscapes, and sustains world-class environmental assets that require appropriate salinity levels for their ecological health. Managing salinity requires understanding the specific salinity processes in each landscape. © Springer-Verlag 2008.
Corangamite Soil Health Knowledge Base
- Authors: Thompson, Helen , Dahlhaus, Peter , MacLeod, Andrew , McKenna, Kirsten
- Type: Text , Dataset
- Full Text: false
- Description: The Corangamite Corangamite soil health knowledge base is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by Federation University Australia. The Corangamite soil health knowledge base is a collaborative research project between the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and the Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) at Federation University Australia (FedUni). The aim of the research is to develop a comprehensive, informative, intuitive-to-use knowledge base of soil health information that will assist the broader community to respect the values of the soils of the Corangamite region. The project was initiated in June 2013. The research is overseen by the Corangamite CMA Land Health Program Steering Committee. The role of the committee in the project is to advise on the function, use and relevance of the data and information sources in the knowledge base, which is an online repository of soil health information and knowledge: including reports, research papers, maps and descriptions related to current and past soil series mapping, land capability and suitability assessments, agricultural trials, and soil research and investigations. Soil health studies in the Corangamite region date from 1936. The most recent document to revisit soil health issues in the Corangamite region is Soils Vision: A 20-year plan to improve broad-acre agricultural soils in south west Victoria, known as the 'south west agricultural soils plan' (SWASP). This community-led initiative brought together a collaboration of farming groups, agricultural industries, government agencies and research institutions to identify the activities required to improve the condition of soils used for agriculture in South West Victoria. The goal of this project is to provide the essential background knowledge required to implement the appropriate SWASP soil health actions customised for each of the 15 Local Catchment Plans in the Corangamite region. Project aim and research questions The overall aim this project is to develop a comprehensive, informative, intuitive-to-use knowledge base of soil health information that will assist the broader community implement the SWASP within the LCPs of the Corangamite region. To achieve this, the following key questions emerge: What information exists and how relevant is it to the current soil health issues? How reliable is the information and to which landscapes does it apply? How can the relevant soil health information be best maintained and disseminated?
FedUni Spatial salinity database
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter
- Date: 2006 - 2010
- Type: Text , Dataset
- Full Text: false
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- Description: The FedUni Spatial salinity database is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by the Federation University Australia. It records data on the spatial distribution of salinity polygons that have been mapped for salinity research projects undertaken by the University. The UB Spatial website was initially developed with funding support from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and contained four environmental datasets: groundwater bores, salinity, erosion and landslides, covering the Corangamite region. The UB Spatial salinity database contains information on the spatial extents, dominant type, severity, source and assessment date of the salinity in the Corangamite Catchment Authority region. The UB spatial salinity database is infrequently updated. The vast majority of the data was collected and assembled by Dr Peter Dahlhaus for his PhD project. http://theses.flinders.edu.au/public/adt-SFU20100928.150627/index.html
- Description: The UB Spatial salinity database is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by the University of Ballarat. It records data on the spatial distribution of salinity polygons that have been mapped for salinity research projects undertaken by the University. The UB Spatial website was initially developed with funding support from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and contained four environmental datasets: groundwater bores, salinity, erosion and landslides, covering the Corangamite region. The UB Spatial salinity database contains information on the spatial extents, dominant type, severity, source and assessment date of the salinity in the Corangamite Catchment Authority region. The UB spatial salinity database is infrequently updated. The vast majority of the data was collected and assembled by Dr Peter Dahlhaus for his PhD project. http://theses.flinders.edu.au/public/adt-SFU20100928.150627/index.html
The Natural Resource Management Planning Portal : Perspectives for NRM planning and reporting
- Authors: Hansen, Birgita , Dahlhaus, Peter , Milne, Robert , MacLeod, Andrew , Pitfield, Chris
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Society and Natural Resources Vol. 32, no. 6 (2019), p. 709-719
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- Description: Natural Resource Management (NRM) is often conducted as a partnership between government and citizens. In Australia, government agencies formulate policy and fund implementation that may be delivered on-ground by community groups (such as Landcare). Since the late 1980s, over AUS$8b of Commonwealth investment has been made in NRM. However, quantitative evidence of environmental improvements is lacking. The NRM Planning Portal has been developed to (1) provide an online spatial information system for sharing Landcare and agency data; and (2) to facilitate NRM priority setting at local and regional planning scales. While the project successfully federates Landcare NRM activity data, challenges included (1) unstructured, non-standardized data, meaning that quantitative reporting against strategic objectives is not currently possible, and (2) a lack of common understanding about the value proposition for adopting the portal approach. Demonstrating the benefit of technology adoption is a key lesson for digital NRM planning.
Liberating soil data for profitable agriculture and catchment health in the Corangamite region, Australia
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Nicholson, Cameron , Ryan, Bret , MacLeod, Andrew , Milne, Robert
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 61, no. 3 (2018), p. 333-339
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Detailed soil data has been collected in the Corangamite region of south-east Australia for over 80 years, as a testament to the productive value of the region’s agricultural soils. Soil science over that period has resulted in soil maps, soil investigation sites and archival materials that provide valuable baseline data for the analysis of trends over time. This legacy data has been brought together with contemporary data in the award-winning Soil Health Knowledge Base, an Internet portal based on spatial data infrastructure that interoperably federates data (open data, research data, industry data, sensor data, legacy data, crowdsourced data … any available data). The portal provides the best available data sources for research and consulting, as well as functions for both the private reward and the public good. The ultimate intent is to provide timely decision support for agricultural enterprises and catchment managers to protect, enhance and restore soil health.
FedUni Spatial landslide database
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , Miner, Anthony
- Date: 2006 -
- Type: Text , Dataset
- Full Text: false
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- Description: The UB Spatial landslide database is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by the University of Ballarat. It records data on the spatial distribution of landslide points, lines and polygons that have been mapped for landslide research projects undertaken by the University. The UB Spatial website was initially developed with funding support from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and contained four environmental datasets: groundwater bores, salinity, erosion and landslides, covering the Corangamite region. Subsequent funding was received from the Australian Government National Disaster Mitigation Program sourced through the Colac Otway Shire to enhance the data. The UB Spatial landslide database contains information on the spatial locations, landslide extents, landslide types, data sources, data capture methods and assessment date, landscape parameters and dates and styles of movements in south west Victoria. A.S. Miner Geotechnical (Geelong-based consulting geotechnical engineers) has significantly contributed to the data coverage. The University of Wollongong and Mineral Resources Tasmania both contributed to the database schema. The UB spatial landslide database is updated as landslide research projects are completed. Much of this work has been documented for the Corangamite Soil Health Strategy and background reports relating to the research can be accessed at the Corangamite Soil Health Strategy website. https://soilhealth.ccmaknowledgebase.vic.gov.au/soils_map.php
- Description: The UB Spatial landslide database is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by the University of Ballarat. It records data on the spatial distribution of landslide points, lines and polygons that have been mapped for landslide research projects undertaken by the University. The UB Spatial website was initially developed with funding support from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and contained four environmental datasets: groundwater bores, salinity, erosion and landslides, covering the Corangamite region. Subsequent funding was received from the Australian Government National Disaster Mitigation Program sourced through the Colac Otway Shire to enhance the data. The UB Spatial landslide database contains information on the spatial locations, landslide extents, landslide types, data sources, data capture methods and assessment date, landscape parameters and dates and styles of movements in south west Victoria. A.S. Miner Geotechnical (Geelong-based consulting geotechnical engineers) has significantly contributed to the data coverage. The University of Wollongong and Mineral Resources Tasmania both contributed to the database schema. The UB spatial landslide database is updated as landslide research projects are completed. Much of this work has been documented for the Corangamite Soil Health Strategy and background reports relating to the research can be accessed at the Corangamite Soil Health Strategy website. http://www.ccma.vic.gov.au/soilhealth/reports.htm
UB Spatial erosion database
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter
- Date: 2006 -
- Type: Text , Dataset
- Full Text: false
- Description: The UB Spatial erosion database is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by the University of Ballarat. It records data on the spatial distribution of soil erosion points, lines and polygons that have been mapped for soil erosion research projects undertaken by the University. The UB Spatial website was initially developed with funding support from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and contained four environmental datasets: groundwater bores, salinity, erosion and landslides, covering the Corangamite region. The UB Spatial erosion database contains information on the spatial extents, type, source, capture method and assessment date of the erosion in the Corangamite Catchment Authority region. The UB spatial erosion database is infrequently updated. https://soilhealth.ccmaknowledgebase.vic.gov.au/soils_map.php
- Description: The UB Spatial erosion database is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by the University of Ballarat. It records data on the spatial distribution of soil erosion points, lines and polygons that have been mapped for soil erosion research projects undertaken by the University. The UB Spatial website was initially developed with funding support from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and contained four environmental datasets: groundwater bores, salinity, erosion and landslides, covering the Corangamite region. The UB Spatial erosion database contains information on the spatial extents, type, source, capture method and assessment date of the erosion in the Corangamite Catchment Authority region. The UB spatial erosion database is infrequently updated.
Corangamite Catchment Management Authority Knowledge Base
- Authors: Thompson, Helen , Dahlhaus, Peter , MacLeod, Andrew , McKenna, Kirsten
- Type: Text , Dataset
- Full Text: false
- Description: The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority Knowledge Base is part of an interoperable web-GIS maintained by Federation University Australia. The site provides an extensive collection of publications and Datasets on all aspects of the catchment. The collection focuses on information written specifically for the Corangamite Region. The database has been indexed by subject and locality for information retrieval and analysis. Federation University Australia's Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation is hosting the site on behalf of the CCMA. The Federation University Australia Corangamite Catchment Management Authority Knowledge Base was established to ensure the protection and sustainable development of land, vegetation and water resources within a boundary stretching from Geelong to Ballarat and along the coast to Peterborough. About 380,000 people live in the catchment's 13,340 square kilometres of south-western Victoria and 175 kilometres of coastal fringe. The region is defined by four river basins - the Moorabool, Barwon, Lake Corangamite and Otway Coast. It includes all or part of the cities of Ballarat and Greater Geelong, the Borough of Queenscliff and the shires of Moorabool, Surf Coast, Corangamite, Golden Plains, Colac Otway and Moyne. Related initiatives include Soil Health, an online repository of soil health information and knowledge: including reports, research papers, maps and descriptions related to current and past soil series mapping, land capability and suitability assessments, agricultural trials, and soil research and investigations; and, NRM Planning, a pilot project testing how online mapping can be used to match local and regional priorities for catchment management in the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority region.