A REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON IRONBARK RIDGES AND ASSOCIATED LANDS by Barry Craze and Jim Salmon 2004 FOREWORD This report is dedicated to the memory of Jim Salmon and Barry Craze. It is the last publication that they both researched and wrote before they became ill. Jim and Barry devoted a great deal of their careers to the conservation of soil and the natural environment, and through this report they pass on the wealth of knowledge they both possessed on soils and the management of ironbark country in New South Wales. The text in this book is unchanged from what Jim and Barry originally compiled by the late 1990s. However, most of their original photos that were to be used in the book were lost and have been replaced by new ones. ~ Jim Salmon ~ Jim Salmon was born in Echuca on 30 May 1952 and moved with his parents to Wagga at the age of five. After schooling in Wagga Wagga, he attended Wagga Agricultural College where he graduated with a Diploma of Agriculture. Jim started work with the Soil Conservation Service on 2 June 1974 at Parkes with Kevin McPhee, who was then the District Soil Conservationist. After training with Kevin, Jim was transferred to the job of District Soil Conservationist in Temora on 18 July 1977. It was at Temora that Jim met Helen Hawkins. They married in January 1980 and his three sons David, Scott and Jason were born there in the five years that followed. In September 1989, he took up a property planning position at Temora which he did until May 1993, when he transferred to the Temora District Manager position after David Priem moved to Gundagai. Jim stayed in that position (or variations of it) until he medically retired on 19 July 2002. Sadly, Jim lost his battle with melanoma and passed away on 5 September 2002. During his career, Jim devoted time and effort to finding practical ways to improve the management of ironbark ridge country in the Temora district. He pioneered the development of rose clover to increase groundcover and improve production on ironbark country. He designed and surveyed hundreds of kilometres of graded banks and waterways to control soil erosion and drainage problems. Jim promoted conservation farming techniques throughout the Temora district through trail sites, field days, and collaborative work with the CSIRO, NSW Agriculture and Landcare. He improved farm water supplies on many farms and helped landholders implement soil conservation works by accessing funds through the NSW Rural Assistance Authority. Jim wrote several publications for the management of ironbark country and encouraged landholders to enhance and protect native vegetation on their properties. Jim was a ‘doer’ who was interested only in practical solutions. He was not a fan of too much planning and bureaucracy so was often ‘cutting through the crap’ whether it was in his professional or personal life. His mechanical aptitude was better known than his nickname ‘Steptoe’. He could fix most things and find a use for others’ ‘rubbish’, a true conservationist at heart. Jim’s contagious confidence and ability to translate the needs of the landscape into simple language ensured that he translated practical concepts into positive implementation. Substantial changes in landuse have occurred in the Temora District since 1977, much of it attributable to Jim’s advice and dedication. A Review of Literature on Ironbark Ridges and Associated Lands ~ Barry Craze ~ Barry Craze was born in Henty on 20 September 1946. After schooling in Wagga Wagga, he attended the University of Sydney where he graduated in 1969 with an Agricultural Science Degree majoring in Soil Science. At the University of Sydney, he worked with Dr Brian Davey on improving the methods of measuring soil pH. While working with Dr Davey, he was one of the first soil scientists in NSW to use the measurement of soil pH in calcium chloride to estimate soil acidity. This is now the standard method. He commenced work with the Soil Conservation Service at the Cowra Research Centre in 1969 working with Laurie McCathrey, Des Lang and later with Ian Packer and Greg Hamilton. While stationed at Cowra, Barry worked closely with Rosemary Doust in the development of laboratory soil testing procedures as well as conducting several soil surveys in the Lachlan Valley including a survey for the Forbes Shire. He wrote many publications on soil chemistry and was one of the initial members of the editorial committee for the Australian Laboratory Handbook of Soil and Water Chemical Methods (1992). He moved to the Wellington Research Centre in 1985 as a Soils Research Officer and established many of the automated soil sampling procedures in the laboratory for the new state wide Soil Survey Unit which was being developed by John Lawrie. As well as laboratory work, he was the technical editor for the Soil Survey Unit’s Soil Landscape Reports from 1990 to 1997 and was a joint author for a chapter on soil physical properties in the departmental publication Soils: Their Properties and Management. Barry later relocated to the Wellington District Office where he worked on the soil database until he took medical retirement in April 1999. Sadly, Barry passed away in February 2000. During his career, Barry became an expert in mine reclamation due to his extensive work at Captains Flat and was one of the few Soil Conservation Service staff who was instrumental in sampling soils across NSW along the main natural gas pipeline route. He was also instrumental in setting up standard soil chemistry laboratory testing methods and automated procedures at both Cowra and Wellington Research Centres, particularly to handle the many samples taken along the natural gas pipeline route. Barry was a mine of information on soil science and, if he did not know the answer to a question or problem, he knew where to go to find a solution. Outside work, Barry was a dedicated family man and involved himself in a variety of interests. His interests in sailing, photography, native plants and local history were some of the things he enjoyed over the years, with one notable accomplishment as the author of a book on the local history of Cowra. A Review of Literature on Ironbark Ridges and Associated Lands ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would have wished to acknowledge the valuable advice, constructive comments and previous work of Bill Johnston, Bill Semple and Ian Packer as well as the previous work of Des Lang, Brian Murphy and Greg Elliott. Many thanks to the following people: Mary Anne Sutherland and Dianne Whittle for typing the drafts; Chris Howarth and Greg Harris for taking new photos between 1998 and 2004; Chris for progressing the document from a draft to final publication; Helen Bonus for typing and layout; Anne Bell and Sue Irvine for professional editing; Tanya Mihe for assistance with figures, text layout and grammar and finally John Lawrie and David Priem for information about the late authors. Enquiries should be directed to the following address: Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources PO Box 304 Temora NSW 2666 Telephone: (02) 6977 3310 The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR) and/or contributors accept no responsibility for decisions or results of actions made on the basis of the information contained herein, or for errors or omissions. Every effort was made to present accurate and updated information. Users are invited to notify the Department of any discrepancies contained in this report. This document should be cited as: Craze, B & Salmon, J (2004), A Review of Literature on Ironbark Ridges and Associated Lands, Department of Infrastructure, Planning & Natural Resources, Temora, NSW. ISBN 0 7347 5439 6 Crown © 2004 Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources This report is copyright. Parts may be reproduced for the purpose of study and/or research provided acknowledgment of the source is clearly made. A Review of Literature on Ironbark Ridges and Associated Lands CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................... 1 2. CHARACTERISATION OF THE IRONBARKS..................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Red Ironbark/Mugga)................................................................................................. 2 2.1.1 Growth Habit............................................................................................................................................. 2 2.1.2 Botanical Description................................................................................................................................ 2 2.2 Eucalyptus crebra (Narrow-Leaved Red Ironbark) ........................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 Growth Habit............................................................................................................................................. 3 2.2.2 Botanical Description................................................................................................................................ 3 2.3 Eucalyptus fibrosa ssp. fibrosa (Broad-Leaved Red Ironbark).......................................................................... 3 2.3.1 Growth Habit............................................................................................................................................. 3 2.3.2 Botanical Description...............................................................................................................................