STOMPING OUT SEDIMENT TRIALS HERD IMPACT APPROACH
Dick Richardson from Grazing Naturally talks pasture at a project field day .
Rather than excluding cattle to heal eroded land , the Stomping Out Sediment in the Burdekin ( SOS ) project has been trialing an alternative approach using livestock as a tool to remediate gullies and reduce sediment loss from grazing properties .
This carefully-controlled method involves deploying high-density mobs on gullies for short periods . They help reshape the gullies through hoof impact , and their dung and urine provides “ biological carpeting ” that supplies organic material to stimulate soil organisms and promote rehabilitation with more ground cover , helping stabilisation .
During the five-year SOS project , graziers from eight properties in priority catchments for sediment management have been trialing gully remediation measures on soils across 15 sites . More conventional treatments also being trialed include contour banks , rock capping , rock chutes , ripping , and reseeding . Intervention and management techniques are tailored for each site , according to soil types and gully features .
To evaluate success , the project employs monitoring techniques including a laser system , LiDAR ( Light Detection and Ranging ), to detect the extent of sediment loss . One property will have LiDAR data covering four years of changed grazing practice across six paddocks , including a control site from which cattle were excluded . A digital elevation model will be produced from the LiDAR imagery to determine landscape differences between the control site , and those where cattle were used in the treatment .
Brian Wehlburg , from Inside Outside Management , and Dick Richardson , from Grazing Naturally , provided the project with technical support . They shared this knowledge at two field days in May 2021 , at Glenalpine Station , run by Barry and Leanne O ’ Sullivan , and Strathalbyn Station , operated by Bristow and Ureisha Hughes .
The event offered more than 50 graziers a chance to observe practical and cost-effective methodologies for remediating gully systems . Preliminary results for both properties indicate that high-density grazing has improved soil health and pasture cover , and increased water infiltration .
The Stomping out Sediment in the Burdekin project is funded through the Australian Government ’ s Reef Trust .
2020 – 21 YEAR IN REVIEW 9