Sodicity got us tricked . Who would have predicted the soup underneath .

While our  Savannah hill slope topsoils had some friability and stability,  little did our antecedents realize that the old  subsoil could be so unstable . Only sodium to hold the A2 horizon sand together . 
Our landscapes look and feel like concrete most of the time,  so it is  no wonder that  the subsoil  soup phase  ( A2 horizon )  is not easily seen.
Tragic for so many valleys where a drain might cut into that old layer and send the whole drainage line into meltdown, This gully on land south of Adelaide has  only a small catchment,  but the power of salt to start  the underground movement to start a rejuvenation cycle  is evident .

Are the rocks necessary ?
The usual problem is that during over grazing phases both sheet and rill erosion would have carried away the original topsoil in main drainage area .( isn't late winter spring a great time to sell grass?)





What would you do to fix it ? It looks to me that rocks seem to do little and create a nuisance.   IF , sown with lime , and well grazed this paddock will have a chance of being a useful if precarious piece of pasture.

Summary  : Rework , compact and resow with fertilizer but without rock
  Equipment : Small excavator to save topsoil , mixin  a bit of the B horizon especially and lime and compact .
Leave the trees ?   better to rework soils or leave them ? and plant new / standalone trees only where they make sense .
Not if the catchment is small .?

Small is beautiful

SCA modelled a great way to get things done   Joint Inspections they were called on the time sheet -
Because we were small , we could call meetings on site with the bigger players ( planning ag shire farmers neighbours , rivers etc)  .Lots of good/great  things happened as a result of those meetings.
"you worked for SCA " " what would you know " might be how others saw us . Tiny and spread out

If you long for a reminder of that wonderful class of characters who make the world go round  ( the people from the bush) , buy a copy of Dickens DVD .
The managerial class maybe growing,  but remember again that  class who on ground brought  more knowing. more fun more effective.  Enjoy  . 

Took ten years, but Barwon Water finally conceded

When we want things  we don't have ,  or think we don't have ( little  water recycling in Victoria during the last 1000 yr drought -2007 ) we (or our institutes and circumlocution offices ) can  be obstinate and in denial of the other options .
This case demonstrated the old SCA technique of bringing issues ( and bigger parties ) together on the ground.; demonstrating that not just one issue but integrated  aspects leading to a lack of resilience and threats to sustainability.
Short term gain risked long term pain 

1.  The platypus habitat generated by spring flows in the Otways didn't need to be compromised as it was being  .
2. A greatly increased bushfire risk generated by drying out peats 
3. Profoundly poorer water quality and animal healthe risks 
4. Constant vigilance required to prevent ground water pollution . Already stopped the regional tip from being located there