Managing gully erosion in the NSW Tablelands to improve water quality and maintain productive wool pastures

Aims

The objective of this project was to measure the impact of gully erosion on wool enterprises, trial different management options and decide on the most appropriate and cost effective ways to treat it. The first stage of the project involved monitoring selected gullies in the Murrumbidgee Catchment to determine how much sediment and nutrients the erosion is delivering to streams on-farm. As part of the project, Land, Water & Wool also installed scientific equipment at the main research site at Bookham to monitor the water quality and its turbidity.

Outcomes

The project trialled and closely monitored different land management strategies at the research site, which included fencing off, revegetation, limiting stock access and the possibility of building a dam at the top of the main gully. This work acted as a catalyst to demonstrate to woolgrowers the costs of gully erosion, the practical methods to prevent, stabilise or rehabilitate gullying and the benefits to production and the environmental that can be achieved.

Products and Publications