Agricultural Land Suitability of the Wet Tropical Coast
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QO91010 .............. F..AO P P OJ NCI N' PONT ...... Agricultural land suitability of the wet tropical coast Mossman-Julatten area P.R. Wilson Land Resources Branch Q QueenslandDepartment of PrimaryIndustries Queensland Government Technical Report This report is a scanned copy and some detail may be illegible or lost. Before acting on any information, readers are strongly advised to ensure that numerals, percentages and details are correct. This report is intended to provide information only on the subject under review. There are limitations inherent in land resource studies, such as accuracy in relation to map scale and assumptions regarding socio-economic factors for land evaluation. Before acting on the information conveyed in this report, readers should ensure that they have received adequate professional information and advice specific to their enquiry. While all care has been taken in the preparation of this report neither the Queensland Government nor its officers or staff accepts any responsibility for any loss or damage that may result from any inaccuracy or omission in the information contained herein. © State of Queensland 1991 For information about this report contact [email protected] Project Report QO91010 Agricultural land suitability of the wet tropical coast Mossman-Julatten area P. R. Wilson Land Resources Branch Queensland Department of Primary Industries Brisbane ISSN 0727-6281 Agdex 526/515 This publication was prepared for Queensland Department of Primary Industries officers. It may be distributed to other interested individuals and organisations. © Queensland Government 1991 Queensland Department of Primary Industries GPO Box 46 Brisbane Q 4001 ....... F .................... iii CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES iv ABSTRACT 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CLIMATE 3. GEOLOGY AND LANDFORM 4. HYDROLOGY 5. SOILS 6. LAND USE 14 0 CONCLUSIONS 36 81 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 39 9. REFERENCES 39 10. APPENDIXES Land suitability classification scheme 41 II Agricultural land suitability classes 63 III Explanation of codes for the UMA record type (not included in report, accessed through the Director, Land Resources Branch, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) IV Unique map area record type (not included in report, accessed through the Director, Land Resources Branch, Queensland Department of Primary Industries) V Land use specifications of agricultural crops 64 VI Pasture management categories 80 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Locality plan Figure 2. Monthly pan evaporation at Port Douglas and median monthly rainfall at Daintree, Mossman and Julatten Plate 1. Small but widespread areas of salt affected caneland in 21 the Clifton soil mapping unit on the eastern side of Cassowary Range LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Median monthly rainfall (mm) Table 2. Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperature (°C) Table 3. Mean monthly 9 am and 3 pm relative humidity (%) Table 4. Distinguishing attributes of the dominant soils 10 Table 5. Soil drainage and permeability categories for the 22 dominant soils Table 6. Limitations and land attribute levels occurring in each 28 soil mapping unit Table 7. Area (ha) of suitability classes for each crop and soil 30 mapping unit ABSTRACT The Wet Tropical Coast from Ingham to Cape Tribulation is utilised for sugar-cane, horticultural crops, tea, field crops, exotic pine plantations and cattle. A majority of the coastal lowlands is developed creating land use problems and competition for land. The expanding urban developments are also competing for land. This report on the area from Cape Tribulation to Julatten is a companion to other reports on the Wet Tropical Coast. A soil survey at 1:50 000 (Murtha 1989) was conducted over an area of about 105 000 ha. The lands were assessed in terms of land suitability for growing sugar-cane, bananas, papaw, mango, lychee, citrus, avocado, rambutan, tea, vegetables, cucurbits, pineapple, maize, sorghum, sweet corn, soybean, peanut, sweet potato, rainfed rice, Pinus caribaea and improved pastures. Each of the 520 unique map areas were individually assessed for their suitability for each crop using a suitability classification scheme. The limitations assessed were climate, water availability, soil nutrient supply, salinity, wetness, flooding, landscape complexity, soil physical conditions, topography, rockiness and water erosion. A 1:100 000 agricultural land suitability map accompanies this report. The report identifies the areas of land suitable for agricultural development and the management needs of these lands for agricultural uses and the likely impact of other land uses on these lands. The guidelines are aimed at promoting improved productivity while avoiding degradation of the land resources. The information in this report will be useful to industry groups, land holders, local authorities and government departments who have a commitment to maintain the land in a highly productive state. 1. INTRODUCTION Mossman is situated 67 km by road north of Cairns and is the centre for Queensland's most northerly sugar-cane growing area. There were several unsuccessful attempts to establish a sugar-cane industry in the Mossman area during the 1880s and 1890s. The Mossman Central Milling Company was formed in 1894 and began crushing in 1897. Prior to 1980, cane growing was restricted to the narrow coastal lowland from Oak Beach in the south to the Daintree River in the north. Cane production expanded into the Julatten area and on to the northern bank of the Daintree River after 1980. A soil survey by Murtha (1989) provides a morphological description of the soil series and a description of the mapping units. A sugar-cane land suitability study by Capelin and Murtha (1983) identified the lands suitable for growing sugar-cane in the Julatten area and identified the constraints to crop production. The main concerns affecting the sugar industry and other land uses at the time of this study were the limited suitable land available for expansion the competition for land and expansion onto less suitable land. The expanding urban developments, including tourist developments, were also competing for land. This study covers the coastal lowlands from Oak Beach to Cape Tribulation and the Julatten uplands south to Mount Molloy (Figure 1). It includes all land presently assigned to the Mossman sugar mill except for a small area on Rifle Creek downstream of Mount Molloy. The approach adopted for the study was to assess the suitability of the land resources for various agricultural uses. 2. CLIMATE 2.1 Rainfall and evaporation A rainfall gradient exists on the coastal lowlands with median annual rainfall decreasing from 3000+ mm in the area from Daintree to Cape Tribulation area to 2000 mm in the coastal strip south from Port Douglas. A sharp rainfall gradient exists on the Julatten uplands. Median annual rainfall ranges from 1542 mm at Julatten to 1082 mm at Mt. Molloy. Rainfall in the region has a strong summer dominance. For example, 81% and 87% of the mean annual rainfall for Mossman and Mt. Molloy respectively occurs from December to April. Rainfall data are presented in Table 1. COOKTOWN 1.5 KM Scale in Kilometres 1050 10 20 30 40 50 L i I i i I I I Rossville ~o Hope Islands River z CORAL SEA STUDY AREA 'MOSSMAN Mitchell N JULATTEN iV er River 4~ •AIRNS CiI' Fitzroy MAREEBA Island --,j ATHERTON Figure 1. Locality Plan Table 1. Median monthly rainfall (mm) Cubbagudta* Daintree Whyanbeel Mossman Port Julatten Mount Valley Douglas Molloy January 476 366 489 439 364 307 210 February 706 668 567 525 378 373 275 March 671 423 515 418 387 273 193 April 427 404 291 170 152 99 4 May 222 144 104 68 55 48 19 June 90 34 68 49 36 41 16 July 67 37 35 9_5 16 19 7 August 57 49 39 26 16 18 4 September 65 40 42 34 24 12 4 October 51 49 62 44 30 19 8 November 116 124 110 103 76 56 31 December 204 218 189 171 126 94 81 TOTAL 3654 2689 2896 2321 1964 1542 1082 * Location 16°12'S, 145°24'E (Cape Tribulation area) Source: Bureau of Meteorology Figure 2 compares monthly class A pan evaporation for Port Douglas and median monthly rainfall at Daintree, Mossman and Julatten. Evaporation is at a maximum from September to December corresponding to lower relative humidity and increasing temperatures. The decreasing evaporation from January to March corresponds to maximum humidity and higher rainfall. Assuming evaporation does not vary greatly over the study area due to proximity to the coast, the monthly moisture balance shows a deficit from May to December for all centres except the higher rainfall Cape Tribulation area. Here, a deficit occurs from June to December. 700 MEDIAN MONTHLY RAINFALL • ~" Dointree ......... Mossman .... Julatten 600" MONTHLY PAN EVAPORATION .... Port Douglas 500 400 • t A E E //\\\ 300' ~'~. _. h* 200 I00 ---- "--- :~:.k---~. ~" ~ :---~:~---:-- / "~. ...... • ...... e/ MONTH Figure 2. Monthly pan evaporation at Port Douglas and median monthly rainfall at Daintree, Mossman and Julatten. 2.2 Temperature Port Douglas is the only centre with long term climatic records other than rainfall. Mean monthly maximum temperatures range from 30.3°C during December and January to 24.6°C during July (Table 2). Mean monthly minimum temperatures range from 23.8°C in January to 16.8°C in July. Occasional light frosts may occur on the Julatten uplands. The incidence and severity of frosts generally increases to the south-west and are generally confined to the level plains along Rifle and Bushy Creeks. Table 2. Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperature (°C) Port Douglas max. min. January 30.2 23.8 February 29.9 23.6 March 29.2 23.0 April 28.1 21.8 May 26.3 19.7 June 25.0 18.1 July 24.4 16.8 August 25.0 17.0 September 26.5 18.7 October 28.0 20.8 November 29.1 22.5 December 30.1 23.4 Source: Bureau of Meteorology 2.3 Relative humidity Relative humidity at Port Douglas shows the same seasonal pattern as rainfall.