Traditional methods of generating soil information on the field scale have involved the design and adoption of soil sampling regimes and laboratory analysis.

Knowledge of the quantity of water draining below the root-zone is necessary in order to maximise and ensure sustainable water use, particularly when surface water is applied for irrigated agricultural production.

Groundwater is water that has drained through the soil and accumulated at depth within the deeper subsoil or in bedrock.

Irrigation with either moderate to highly saline and\or sodic water can create problems within the root-zone.

Rapid changes in cotton farming practices and the introduction of new synthetic insecticides and control strategies over the last 10-15 years are likely to have led to significant changes in the species diversity and