Vai al contenuto principale

Your internet browser is out of date and not supported by this website. For the best viewing experience on wool.com, please update your browser to one of the options below.

MMFS Manual

Tool 6.2 Measuring groundcover and litter levels

Measuring groundcover is easy. Make a square using steel rod or wire – 50 cm x 50 cm is useful for inside country, and 100 cm x 100 cm works well in the pastoral zone. Stand over this area, look directly down onto the pasture and estimate the amount of ground that is covered by plants, litter and dung. Even without any training you will be reasonably close to the right number and photos may help improve your estimate. For each paddock, record groundcover at about 30 random locations, look at the variation (highest and lowest values) and calculate the average. 

You can also look for more visual signs of erosion and soil loss such as gullies, rills and tunnelling, washing of soil, dung and litter along fence lines and around plants, muddy and silted dams and muddy streams with high sediment loads. Monitor groundcover and grazing activity regularly to assess progress. You will be amazed how quickly you can make an impact. Be particularly careful in dry or drought periods. Select ‘sacrifice’ paddocks or construct containment areas for supplementary feeding to retain groundcover or build it up in the rested paddocks over time. 

Figure 6.17 shows indicator pictures for differing levels of groundcover and the soil performance you might expect as a result of this. 

At 20% groundcover 

  • Run-off water loss = 160 mm per year
  • Soil loss = 8.5 mm per year 
  • Poor plant production and sustainability 
  • Low green leaf and plant vigour 
  • Low water infiltration 
  • Plants exposed to temperature extremes 
  • Low litter 
  • Low microbial activity 
  • Poor organic matter content 
  • Poor soil structure and surface sealing of soil 

At 40% groundcover 

  • Still too low 
  • Run-off water loss = 90 mm per year 
  • Soil loss = 4 mm per year 
  • Poor pasture and soil health 

 

 

 

 

 

At 70% groundcover 

  • Run-off water loss = 10 mm per year 
  • Soil loss = 0.3 mm per year 
  • Good plant production and sustainability 
  • High green leaf and plant vigour 
  • High water infiltration 
  • Plant bases protected from temperature extremes 
  • High litter levels 
  • Good microbial activity 
  • High organic matter content 
  • Good soil structure and soil surface

At 90% groundcover 

  • Reduced run-off water and soil loss 
  • On slopes, groundcover should target 100% to retain topsoil, nutrients and to promote stable pasture conditions 
  • Weed colonisation will be reduced when bare ground is removed

 

 

Figure 6.17 Groundcover indicators and resultant soil performance. 

Source: Greg Lodge, NSW DPI