Fire removes organic ground cover, and the risk of water erosion is greatly increased. Summer thunderstorms or early autumn storms (before adequate vegetative groundcover develops) can result in serious erosion on burnt areas.
Farm fires will often lead to contaminated surface-water supplies: ash and soil from burnt paddocks and bushland can be blown or washed into farm dams and provide nutrients for bacteria and algae.
Wind and water erosion risk is increased where fire removes groundcover and some seed reserves. In the recovery phase after fires, there are several options that will reduce the likelihood and impact of wind erosion.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) provides this information to support managers and others suffering from the effects of fire on the farm.
Trees are an important part of any property.
They help prevent erosion by stabilising the soil and control salinity through their intake of water. They also provide shelter and shade for livestock, crops and pastures and generally improve the aesthetics of a property.
This article outlines the conditions for growing truffles in the South-West of Western Australia.
Lupinosis is a liver disease mainly caused by the consumption of lupin stalks colonised by the fungus Diaporthe toxica. It can be expressed as either a severe acute disease or as a chronic liver dysfunction syndrome.
The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) initiated a pest risk analysis (PRA) to consider biosecurity risks associated with the import of fresh table grape bunches from other Australian states and territories.
Classical swine fever (CSF), also known as hog cholera, is a highly contagious disease of pigs caused by a pestivirus. The disease only affects pigs and is exotic to Australia. People are not affected by classical swine fever
Slender iceplant, Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum, is a small, succulent, winter-growing annual weed, most common in the eastern Wheatbelt. When it is dead and dry in summer, it contains high levels of sodium, which seems to attract sheep, and high levels of oxalate, which can poison sheep.
