Geraldton rural-residential land capability study

Authors

R A. Dye
A M E van VreeswykFollow
Geoff Allan MooreFollow

Publication Date

1990

Series Number

4

Abstract

With a growing population in the Geraldton area, there is a demand for rural and coastal subdivision to provide for rural residential development and intensification of agricultural activities. Future land use planning for land use change and management of land to overcome existing land degradation problems should be based on land capability. This study provides a semi-detailed (1:50,000) soil and landform inventory for the immediate zone around Geraldton, south from Coronation Beach to Cape Burney along the coast, 13.7 km inland in the north and 7.6 km inland in the south. Eight land systems were identified in the land resource survey. These systems were divided into map units on the basis of features such as landform, soil type and drainage. Each of the map units were assessed for their land capability according to the Western Australian Department of Agriculture's five class classification system. Land qualities important for each of the following five land uses were identified; housing and road construction, on-site effluent disposal, small scale agricultural activities, hobby farm water supply and market gardening. Because of the limitations imposed by the mapping scale, the capability assessment results should be used primarily for regional land use planning. For more detailed applications, on-site inspection is recommended to determine whether land use limitations, indicated as being present, are of the magnitude described by the capability rating. The information presented should be used for research and extension purposes, and used to promote the awareness of the variability of soils and the different management strategies required on different soils.

Keywords

Land capability, Land use planning, Land resources, Rural planning, Western Australia, Geraldton region (WA)

Disciplines

Agriculture | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Soil Science

Recommended Citation

Dye, R A, van Vreeswyk, A M, and Moore, G A. (1990), Geraldton rural-residential land capability study. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia, Perth. Report 4.

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