Recent seasonal conditions have highlighted the importance of having functional and resilient water resources in all agricultural systems. Wheatbelt NRM Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators (SAF’s) were invited to landscape function training at Muresk for the “Rehydrating your Farm Landscape – Professionals Intensive” by Mulloon Institute. This valuable training will enable SAF’s to work with landholders to develop the best options for restoring and maintaining natural water processes on their property.

There are many ways that water can be stored for agricultural and environmental purposes but some natural hydrological systems are often overlooked. The distribution of water in the atmosphere, above and below ground can have a large impact on the resilience of the system.

Atmospheric water movement mostly comes as seasonal winter rainfall in the Wheatbelt but there is a lesser known action at play. It’s called the small water cycle and it is driven by plants. The small water cycle is the process known as dew or mist.

Evapotranspiration is the action of plant water uptake from the soil to perform metabolic functions such as growth and photosynthesis. Only 97% of this moisture is used by the plant so the rest is transpired into water vapour. This process cools the area around the actively transpiring plant and during the night as the temperature drops this water vapour condenses into liquid again as dew.

This is why deep-rooted plants that can access deep soil moisture are so critical in retaining moisture in an agricultural system for longer. Maintaining active green leaf surface and permanent ground cover ensure the ground remains cooler and activates the small water cycle.

Other ways we can retain fresh water in our landscapes is:

• Protect and enhance intact features. This might mean fencing off and revegetating rocky outcrops that are high in the landscape with water holding earth contours built around them.
• Halt active erosion and salinity. This could look like building flow through instream structures along gullies to slow water during high rainfall events and collect sediment.
• Retain sediment as close to the source as possible. Consider building collection points for sediment to be caught before entering dams or leaving your property. Maintaining full plant cover as often as possible dramatically reduces the risk of topsoil loss.
• Keep fresh water fresh. Holding saline water on property is never desirable but collecting fresh rainfall high in the landscape before it gathers salts can help reduce the issues associated with waterlogging and salinity on valley floors.

When considering your farm plan it is important to assess all natural resources at your disposal. Repairing, reinstating and retaining landscape and hydrological function should be considered for every farm activity. Does this activity utilise my natural water cycle and is there anything I can do to retain more fresh water on my property?

If you have any questions about improving landscape function on your farm or the small water cycle please contact aray@wheatbeltnrm.org.au or the Mulloon Institute https://themullooninstitute.org/

Backed by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund, this training aims to rapidly increase skills in natural infrastructure and farm-system solutions which are proven to hold water in the landscape.

@mullooninstitute @mureskinstitute @regenwa @wheatbeltnrm @greeningaustralia @DPIRD @DWER @peelharveycatchmentcouncil @futuredroughtfund #landscaperehydration #sustainableagriculture