Publication Date

1995

Publisher

Department of Agriculture, Western Australia

City

Perth

Abstract

The Kent River Catchment is located in the South-West of Western Australia, approximately between latitudes 34° 15' and 35° 10' South and longitudes 116° 45" and 117° 50° East. The north-eastern boundary of the catchment stretches to the Albany Highway at Tenterden, and from there the catchment curves towards Rocky Gully before continuing to the South Coast (Figure 1.1.1). The catchment is located within the Shires of Cranbrook, Plantagenet and Denmark.

The Kent River Catchment is part of Basin 604, which is the Water Authority descriptor for the Kent, Bow and Kordabup River catchments collectively. Basin 604 has a total area of approximately 2490 km?; and the Kent River Catchment comprises slightly over 1900 km' of this area.

The majority of the southern half of the Kent River Catchment is forested. Most of this forest is part of Reserve 29660, which extends from just south of the Muirs Highway to the vicinity of the south coast, is confined on the east and west by the catchment boundaries, and covers a total area of about 680 km'. Reserve 29660 is vested in the Water Authority and is presently being managed by the Department of Conservation and Land Management, along with the adjoining State Forests.

The Kent River Catchment is commonly divided into an upper and a lower catchment. In this report, the Upper Kent Catchment refers to the land north of Reserve 29660, and therefore includes the pockets of agricultural land immediately south of the Muirs Highway. The upper and lower catchment areas are of approximately equal size.

Most of the agricultural production of the Kent River Catchment comes from the Upper Kent Catchment, which is approximately 80 percent cleared. The main land uses are sheep and wool production, beef farming and cropping, mainly of oats, barley, wheat, canola, lupins and fieldpeas. There is some agricultural land in the lower catchment south of Reserve 29660, adjacent to the South Coast Highway. Land uses there are more diverse and include beef production and dairying, as well as orcharding and vegetable growing on loamy red earths.

Number of Pages

205

Keywords

Kent River, Western Australia, Land management, Soil, Land degradation, Salinity

Disciplines

Agricultural Science | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Beef Science | Climate | Geology | Hydrology | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Sheep and Goat Science | Soil Science

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