Agriculture

Agricultural land management research aims to identify landscape/development configurations that minimise disruption to farm businesses, maximise the opportunities from co-benefit from the co-location of CSG development and agriculture, and minimise the likelihood of development-based risks such as erosion and invasive pests.

CSIRO Map of overland water flow, shown by yellow, red, grey and blue imaging

Putting land management knowledge into practice in the Northern Territory

Using modern data visualization techniques, this project created ‘virtual landscape’ of the Beetaloo Sub-basin which can assist landholders, regulators and industry to evaluate the design and placement of gas infrastructure in the region.

Cattle, pastures and coal seam gas – a case study

CSIRO scientists investigated graziers’ concerns about the impacts of CSG traffic and infrastructure on soils, pastures and livestock.

Soil Compaction

Soil compaction has long been considered an important issue for soils of the region and modern farming methods have been developed to minimise damage to these soils from farm machinery. However, it has not been clear what damage may result from the large numbers of vehicles used along CSG pipelines and access tracks and within lease areas.

Access tracks and soil erosion

Aerial photogrammetry is used to monitor and model the impact of access tracks on water ows and erosion.

Understanding the way farmers see their farm

Farmers and CSG workers may come from different backgrounds and this can influence communications between them. The CSIRO Shared Space project has shown that the aesthetics (visual aspects) of a farm is quite individualised and specific to the farmer, and potentially a cause for a lack of understanding from others.