Improving water use efficiency has been a driving force for government and commercial endeavours for several decades but the term can mean different things to different people. For example, to governments water use efficiency may be a key to optimising production from water resources, while for irrigators it may contribute to optimal profit for their business.

Adopting an Open Hydroponics management program requires a reliable water supply, a significant investment in capital infrastructure, an increase in operating costs and a change in management skills. All of these factors need to be considered before a decision is made to adopt Open Hydroponics. This fact sheet covers the following; *Understanding Open *Hydroponics *Water Requirements *Productivity claims *Management skills and tools *Financial considerations Other options *Further information *Open Hydroponics: Risks and Opportunities Project Team

Information in 'Land, Water & Wool: managing for sustainable profit' is presented in five ways: 1. Executive summary - highlighting the main findings from the program. This presents the major messages and indicates the type of information contained within the report. 2. Overview - pulling together information from throughout the program and across all regions. It presents the key principles to sustainable grazing management and general information about how sheep can remain a productive element of future Australian landscapes. 3. Woolgrower perspectives - letting woolgrowers and researchers tell their stories about the issues they manage and how they go about it. Regional case studies are used to show how information from Land, Water & Wool is applied in the Pastoral, Wheat-Sheep and High Rainfall Zones. 4. Research summaries - highlighting the key research findings and their application, as well as directing readers to the main reports or management guides now available. The information is presented under sub-program titles dealing with themes of saltlands, native vegetation, rivers, pastoral, climate and future scenarios. 5. Product directory - a listing of all the documents produced by the entire Land, Water & Wool program (indexed by region, research theme and its intended use). The on-line directory includes a snapshot, along with a summary of the information it presents and a PDF of the product.

This manual has been developed through the 'Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands' (SGSL) research and development program. SGSL was a five-year nationwide research and development program designed to provide wool growers and meat producers who are living with salt-affected land the most up-to-date, best bet information to enable sustainable, profitable production from saltland pastures. The SGSL program comprised a combination of activities based upon: * research conducted at five major national research sites, * locally relevant research trials initiated and conducted by wool and meat producer groups, and * knowledge sharing through regional and national networks. This manual has been developed through the 'Sustainable Grazing on Saline Lands' (SGSL) research and development program. SGSL was a five-year nationwide research and development program designed to provide wool growers and meat producers who are living with salt-affected land the most up-to-date, best bet information to enable sustainable, profitable production from saltland pastures. The SGSL program comprised a combination of activities based upon: * research conducted at five major national research sites, * locally relevant research trials initiated and conducted by wool and meat producer groups, and * knowledge sharing through regional and national networks.

Australia's inland rivers occur across the vast, predominantly arid regions of the continent, comprising 70% of its land area. Some, like the Murray-Darling eventually flow out to sea, whilst others like the Diamantina and Cooper Creek, flow inland to Lake Eyre. These river systems have highly variable flows, they come and go, flood large wetlands or lakes, wet vast floodplains, create new watercourses and dry out to meandering braided channels, billabongs and waterholes. They are fed by thousands of small creeks, and these 'arteries' drive ecological processes, create habitat for plants and animals and provide water for industry, irrigation, electricity generation and domestic use.

This publication details the experiences and lessons learnt from several projects funded under the program. These are dealt with as case studies, and in some cases are accompanied by summaries of issues raised by participants and observers

This document was prepared for the woolgrowers of the southern tablelands of NSW to help them learn about, and berter manage, the creeks and waterways on their farms. It is a summary of work undertaken by Land, Water and wool program in the Yass region, and ereports back to woolgrowers and the local community on what has been achieved . Other woolgrowers in the high rainfall zone (over 600mm) and the sheep wheat zones (300-600mm) of NSW and other parts of Australia will also find it useful.

This Strategic Research and Development (R&D) Plan outlines the key research investment priorities for Land & Water Australia over the next fi ve years. It shows how the Corporation intends to organise itself to deliver on those priorities with and for its key stakeholders. The plan focuses on improving the knowledge base for sustainably managing Australia's natural resources for the benefit t of primary industries and the wider community. It also relates the Corporation's core business as a research investor, to its complementary and supporting activities as a leading research broker, coordinator and collaborator in natural resource management (NRM).

Australian Native Vegetation Assessment 2001 is the first assessment of the extent of Australia's major native vegetation types. It is an Australia-wide assessment at the regional scale and is based on the National Vegetation Information System-an agreed framework for collating and presenting information on Australia's vegetation.

This project was instigated to assess whether the National Riparian Lands R&D Program 'Demonstration and Evaluation' Projects (NRLPD&EP) of Land & Water Australia (LWA) have built 'capacity' for long-term change in approaches to river and riparian management within the communities that have undertaken them. 'Capacity' was defined, for the purposes of framing this study, as an individual or group's ability to learn, understand and act so that they can continue to build on the work that he original project funding was designed to achieve.