S.I. Soil Conservation Activity Increased

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30802, 14 July 1965, Page 10

S.I. Soil Conservation Activity Increased

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, July 13.

increased soil conservation activity in the South Island is recorded in the annual report of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Council for the year ended March 31, tabled in Parliament today.

A total of 296,700 acres in the South Island was surveyed for capability during the year, making a total of 3,316,700 since 1956. The report says that “doubling of the survey staff would be required if an adequate rate of information in sufficient detail is to become reality.”

Details reported are as follows: —

Wither Hills (406 acres), Marlborough.—The control of erosion and flooding on this severely depleted land and its raising to new and higher productive levels by combined soil conservation and good farming methods have completed the first phase of successful rehabilitation.

The next phase of introducing drought • resistant grasses and clovers and more efficient control and use of water awaits development on this property. Moutere (570 acres), Nelson.—The first challenge of maintaining a permanent farming system on Moutere hill country without the use of adjacent flat land for supplementary feed production has been overcome. The combination of soil conservation and good farming has provided four sheep an acre pastures on the rolling to steep hill country, where the effect of various kinds of management on run-off and soil loss are being measured on a catchment basis.

Adair (184 acres), South Canterbury.—By contouring and fertility-building crop rotations, this eroded and depleted gorse-infested rolling hill country has been re : stored to high levels of production.

The proposed small catchment trials to determine the most efficient combinations of land use practices, as far as saving soil loss and run-off are concerned, are due for installation.

Tara Hills (8260 acres), North Otago.—The recovery of this severely-eroded and depleted tussock country has enabled the council to give a lead in comprehensive improvement using conservation methods. These 1 practices are being widely adopted in conservation run plans on the high country. Lake Tekapo (475 acres). Waitaki.—This severely winderoded area is being-success-fully stabilised by conifer tree planting, and the trees are making rapid growth, in spite of extremely difficult conditions.

Extensive activities by South Island catchment boards are indicated in the report. 11l Marlborough, one plan covering 13,000 acres, has been completed, as has a preliminary land inventory and land use capability survey of 152,000 acres in the Pelorus catchment area. The total number of trees planted at March 31 was 143,000. In Nelson a catchment control scheme covering 107,600 acres of the Wairoa-Lee-Roding rivers area has been completed and a programme to combat serious soil rosion in orchards has been started.

Two pilot projects are virtually completed and four others are prepared which combine new methods of solv-

ing the problem in existing orchards. In North Canterbury 12 farm conservation plans have been prepared covering an area of 21,852 acres. Soil conservation surveys have covered -an area of 93,338 acres.

In addition a survey of three runs was conducted in co-operation with the South Canterbury Catchment Board. The planting projects show a total of 180,480 trees on 235 acres and windbreaks of approximately 58 miles. In South Canterbury, land use capability surveys completed cover 650,000 acres, or 23.5 per cent of the district acreage. Eighteen farm plans were finalised, bringing the total to 121.