To page
content
To primary
navigation
To
footer
links
DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES
DPI Home
|
Contact Us
|
About Us
|
Search:
VRO
>
Land and Water Management
>
Land Degredation
Land and Water Management
Catchment Management
Invasive Plants
Pest Animals
Land Degradation
Soil Degradation
Ecosystem Decline
Soil Erosion
Land Degradation in Victoria
Case Studies in Land Degradation
Agrometeorology in Relation to the Control of Soil Erosion
Water Quality and Agriculture
Irrigated Agriculture
Catchment Hydrology
Salinity Indicator Plants
Salinity Management
Agricultural Research
Waste Management
Coastal Management
Appendix Soil Erosion Committee Report February 1938 - Photo gallery
1. Sheet erosion, north-west of Bacchus Marsh. These slopes were once well forested, but deprived of this protection sheet erosion has removed up to two feet of soil and exposed the underlying rocks.
2. South-east of Castlemaine. Originally covered with timber, which was cleared for firewood for the mines. The land is now practically stripped of soil between the stunted saplings.
3.Sheet erosion, basalt country at Diggers Rest. Silt in foreground has been washed from cultivated paddock of clay loam.
4. Sheet erosion developing into gullying, south of Avoca. Paddock in foreground was apparently cultivated with the slope. Stormwater from the cleared hills beyond has flowed across it, stripping off most of the topsoil. Odd furrows have scoured out, forming the beginning of gullies, as on the right of the picture.
5. Grazing land west of Ouyen. Formation-fine reddish-brown silty loam. Rainfall 10 inches to 15 inches. After the drought of 1929 had depleted this area of vegetative cover, heavy rains caused serious sheet erosion. With concentration of the run-off "rill" erosion is developing.
6. Sheet and gully erosion west of Maindample. The surface soil has been washed from the slopes, exposing the underlying Silurian rocks. In the depressions gully erosion is rapidly tearing out the deep loams.
7. Undulatory country on the Limestone Creek (Hume Reservoir Catchment). Constant firing has seriously damaged this stand of eucalyptus coriacea. The thin canopy affords little shelter to the bare surface from which litter, grass and much of the surface soil have disappeared.
8. The southern slope of Tussocky Creek - a small tributary of Wilson's Creek (Omeo). The poor protection afforded by the open stunted forest is inadequate to prevent the washing away of forest litter and surface soil which such a slope is grazed. The soil is stiff clayey loam overlying ordovician sedimentaries.
9. Severe gullying in wheat paddock near Wychitella. Ploughing with the slope has first cause sheet erosion, though slope is not very steep, and later on gullies have developed along furrows, cutting the paddock into awkward shapes, reducing the cultivable area, and sending down large quantities of silt to cover lands below. Land owners say that production from area has fallen off considerably.
page top
10. Gullying at Vaughan, south-west of Castlemaine, possibly started by prospecting along the streams, but now rapidly extending by headward erosion. A good example of secondary effects being more serious than the loss of land : not only is the road threatened, but the debris from this scour is being washed down to the Loddon River, to smother riverflats or choke the Laanecoorie Weir.
11. Gully through grassland at Bindi, Upper Tambo, 25 feet to 30 feet deep.
12. This gully, north-east of Benalla, has worked back for several miles through grazing properties. Structure in background was one of several installed by a land holder to check it.
13. Scour in the flank of a hill near Wallan, Silurian bedrock.
14. Huggins's Gully, a scour some three-quarters of a mile long, running up from Day's Creek near Omeo. Grazing country, with metamorphie bedrock and friable subsoil, the erosion of which undermines the topsoil. Note how tree roots have retarded scouring at one point.
15. The "Cathedrals," a huge scour in a hillslope near Towong, in the Upper Murray district. Although the catchment is not great, stormwater has in a relatively short time scoured out many thousands of cubic yards. Being formed of the wash from a granite hill, the subsoil is friable and sugary.
16. Scour below Bulla-road, formed by small rectangular culvert through which storm-water passes : may be seen in the left centre of the picture.
17. Head of a deep scour, about half a mile long, near Toolern Vale. This is said to have started from a furrow run down a slope to lead water to a dam. It is now 15 feet to 20 feet deep, and has invaded a road.
18. Large gully parallel to railway embankment near Elphinstone.
page top
19. A road in granite country, north-east of Wangaratta. The surface has been stripped off by traffic, and gullying has commenced.
21. Avon River at Stratford. Most of this was once surveyed into small holdings, but is now only sand and shingle. Costly works have been necessary to protect the township and the bridge of the Prince's Highway.
22. High eroding bank, Avon River near Boisdale. Party is standing in lucerne paddock.
23. Avon River near Boisdale, showing a waste of sand and shingle twenty chains wide where formerly good land existed. The high eroding bank in the background marks the present edge of the flats, which are irrigated for lucerne and maize growing, and are worth 40 - 50 English Pounds per acre
24. A section of Nariel or Cudgewa Creek, in the Hume Catchment, Upper Murray, showing the typical lateral stream movement, eroding good flats on one side and leaving useless shingle beds and wattles on the other.
25. Near Coleraine, showing typical stream erosion and siltation.
26. Spring Creek comes down from the hills west of Bendigo, and used to spread over the flatter land near Derby. A drain was cut down a road, perhaps 40 years ago, to confine the waters of the creek. This has scoured till it now occupies nearly all the road.
26a. Eaglehawk Creek, near Glengarry, Gippsland. It is said that this creek originally spread over a wide swampy, and that a drain a few feet wide and deep was constructed to confine the flow. This has now scoured into a canyon up to 40 feet wide and 30 feet deep. The debris from this has nearly choked bridged on the main Traralgon-Maffra road and railway, and has smothered many acres of land.
page top
27. Bullock Creek, north of Marong. The debris from this has silted up the creek lower down, blocking bridge and increasing flooding problems on the flatter land.
28. The Bunyip River just below the Prince'sHighway, showing erosion of flats, and also sandbanks on their way to silt up the Koo-wee-rup Main Canal.
29. Landslide in loams overlying Jurassic sedimentaries near Allambee-South Gippsland.
30. Landslide in the light arenacceous loams overlying the granite in the Cannibal Creek area (Bunyip Catchment). Under prevailing climatic conditions, this soil is too unstable to remain on these slopes without the protection of the forest.
31.Landslide in basaltic country near Mirboo North, South Gippsland. Debris has partially blocked creek, and is washing away.
32. Landslides - Coleraine. Willows planted to bind soil.
33. Landslide, Myers Creek, south of Toolangi. The forest area was cut over about 30 years ago. The slide followed a rainfall of 11.47 inches in four days and appears to have been cause by the trapping of water in loose deposits of shingle beneath a heavy mantle of soil. The extent of landslide is indicated by the size of men shown in circle.
34. Extensive landslides on a deforested slope near Allambee, South Gippsland. The loams overlying Jurassic sedimentaries on steep slopes appear to be particularly susceptible to sliding when deprived of forest cover and the binding of the soil by roots.
35. Sand-drift, Underbool. Typical example of result of clearing vegetation from tops of sandhills in Mallee. Note roots of stumps exposed.
page top
36. From this ridge south-west of Ouyen the wind has removed the surface soil exposing the underlying formation of limestone. This country is almost beyond reclamation and illustrates the final stage in erosion.
37. Roots of Mallee pine exposed by drift of sand from ridge, near Walpeup.
38. Further along the same ridge, showing sand dune advancing.
39. Near Walpeup. Windward side of Mallee "shelter break."
40. Lee side of same "shelter break." A large dune of sand has been deposited on lee side of trees, and is gradually extending into the paddock.
41. Sand drift, south-west of Ouyen. All soil and portion of subsoil blown from top of ridge. Vegetation on hill would have prevented this happening.
42. A sand ridge south-west of Ouyen under cultivation. These ridges are now comparatively infertile and yield thin stunted crops. From a soil conservation point of view it would be preferable to carry out seeding at right angles to the line of drift.
43. Siltation. Huge deposits in Tambo River, at Bruthen. A low level bridge has been completely covered over by this silt which is scoured from the hillsides by sheet erosion, gullies,etc., further up the stream.
44. Siltation. Valuable Tambo flats at Bruthen being destroyed by deposit of raw sand. Sunflower crop, soil not now good enough for maize.
page top
45. Siltation. Raw sand brought down by Tambo creeping over Bruthen flats and severely lessening their productiveness.
46. Bridge over Eaglehawk Creek on main Traralgon-Maffra road, near Glengarry. This has been so choked with debris from the scour shown in No. 26 that nearly all it's capacity is gone, and the water in floodtime flows deep over the roadway, damaging it and holding up traffic.
47. Bridge over Creighton's Creek, a mile or two below the Hume Highway. The Creek is here so chocked with sand from the Strathbogie ranges that in even small floods the water flows over the land, damaging roads and property.
48. Siltation. Mokepilly Creek in Grampians, showing a bridge on the Stawell - Hall's Gap tramway, where 10 to 20 feet of silt have been deposited.
49. Railway bridge over Avon at Statford. This has been lengthened by about 600 feet since 1886, and further extension will be necessary if further scour occurs.
50. Below the main road bridge over Eaglehawk Creek at Glengarry (see Nos. 26 and 46). Barren subsoil has covered many acres of this holding.
51. South of Rainbow, sand which has drifted from paddock in foreground has rendered road impassable.
52. Parish of Bitchigal, in the Mallee. Wind erosion here has been so severe that one channel has had to be abandoned and a new one constructed.
53. Main channel near Walpeup filled to the banks with drift sand from adjacent fallow.
page top
54. Scooping out channel shown in previous picture. Near Walpeup.
55. Parish of Kattyoong - channel nearly filled sand drift, only a few weeks after it had been cleaned out for use.
56. Hughes' Creek near Avenel, showing huge beds of sand brought down from scours in the granitic Strathbogie Ranges. The waterholes along the creek have all been filled and are now useless. Note scouring cliff in background.
57. The Mitta River, near Tallangatta. When the Hume Reservoir is full, the stored water backs up the river, causing the sandbanks to form. When the level of the water in the reservoir falls, the stream speeds up again and washes the sand further into the reservoir. Note the clean edge of the sandbank where part has been washed away, contrasted with the greyer surface still covered with silt. In this way the Hume storage is steadily being filled.
58. Flats on Sandy Creek where it enters the Hume Reservoir, near Tallangatta. This area is covered by the waters of the reservoir when it is full, and heavy siltation is taking place, extending each year further into the reservoir basin.
59. Siltation alongside Hume Highway, near Euroa, resulting from sheet erosion and small gullying on undulating land between the Highway and the Strathbogie Ranges. The old fence has been wrecked and a new one erected.
60. Bullock Creek. A tributary of the Bunyip River. Extensive forest fires, during February, 1932, left mountain slopes open to the torrential rains of November and December, 1931. The rapidity of the unretarded runoff carried vast quantities of surface soil to choke stream beds at lower levels, and eventually drainage channels in the Koo-wee-rup area where serious losses have already occurred through flooding.
61. North of Hopetoun. Brush fence to check sand drift which was blocking channel.
62. Brush wind check at side of channel. Block 28, Mittyack.
page top
63. Mallee Research Station, Walpeup. Part of drift control equipments - On left - oats acting as cover crop - to be grazed. On right - furrowed fallow.
64. Log dam across scour near Bindi Station. This is now filled to the top.
65. Check dam to stop scour alongside Gisborne-road, Bacchus Marsh Shire.
66. Small log dam constructed by Omeo Shire to protect road bridge over scouring gully.
67. Concrete drop on the Sheep Pen Creek, at Caniambo. This is to check the extension of a branching scour, by concentrating all flow at a protected drop.
68. Brush dam to catch silt derived from eroding banks, Skull Creek, near Bairnsdale.
69. Small check dams of grass and manure constructed by land holder to check scour alongside road formation.
70. Near Benalla. Brick and concrete drop constructed by land holder in scouring gully. This has been effective in preventing extension of scour.
71. Showing how even ordinary wire netting will catch silt. Note how leaves, etc., have lodged against the netting, forming a silt trap.
page top
72. Up stream view of groyne installed by land holders on the Upper Tambo River.
73. Small stone-wire mesh groynes in Yackandandah Creek, to protect eroding bank. Note sand already deposited in twelve months.
74. Lerderderg River, Bacchus Marsh. Protection of eroding bank. Shingle and wire type groyne, showing situation to original end of groyne in two years, and recent extension. Note willow stakes growing in silt bench.
75. Willows about eight years old, growing thickly on cribwork and sloped banks, Avon River, Boisdale. Shingle banks in river bed at back.
Page Top
