LONG-TERM CONTEMPORARY EROSION RATES IN AN ARID RANGELANDS ENVIRONMENT IN WESTERN NEW-SOUTH-WALES, AUSTRALIA

Rates of soil loss were determined using erosion pins on a severely er oded surface in a small (19 km2) arid rangelands catchment in western New South Wales, Australia, over a 10-year period. Rates of up to 209 tha-1 year-1 on rilled surfaces, 59.5 tha-1 year-1 on flat surfaces, a nd 30.6 tha-1 year-1 on vegetated hummocky surfaces were calculated. T he initiation of this erosion is attributed to overgrazing by sheep an d rabbits in the late nineteenth century, and its amelioration is prec luded by hydraulic factors which prevent the use of reclamation techni ques like waterponding.