The project is developing detailed soil maps that can be used for nutrient management purposes for approximately 1,500-2000 hectares of sugarcane area in the Russell River catchment. The soil maps will be available to participating growers to improve productivity and water quality.
The maps are being developed using state-of-the-art electromagnetic induction (EMI) technology deployed at scale across the catchment. EMI technology, which defines soil boundaries to a depth of approximately three metres, will be validated through conventional soil survey.
The soil maps will be refined into a functional set of soil groupings tailored to industry nutrient needs. This involves condensing the catchment’s large number of soil types into a smaller set of functional groups using remotely sensed data across several seasons for soils, geology, radiometric, LiDAR, air photo mosaics and crop vigour analysis.
The project is highly relevant to the Wet Tropics.
Jaragun Ecoservices has partnered with the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy on the project.
The project is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
Client –
GBR Foundation (Reef Trust Partnership)