Gearing Management Practices to Constraints and Opportunities

Several handbooks on best management practice have been produced in New South Wales (NSW) in recent years. Their main purpose has been to address the problems of degradation to developing urban lands, and pollution to downslope lands and waterways because of urban development. Most of the information contained in these handbooks has been gleaned from existing publications, with little or no attention being given to the conditions under which such BMPs were originally meant to operate. However, sites can vary considerably from one another in ways that might influence the need or suitability of any particular BMP. This paper addresses some conditions that can vary from site to site which should be considered in identification of the appropriate BMPs, including soil dispersibility, soil erodibility and soil texture. The paper shows how some BMPs might be of substantial benefit at one site but of little benefit at another because of these matters. It highlights the danger of taking a suite of BMPs that apparently work quite well in one location and applying them to another without due consideration of differing site conditions.