Arid rangelands can be highly productive, but are often degraded by human activity, particularly soil disturbance due to mining, overgrazing or unsustainable farming practices. A range of soil treatments is used to rehabilitate and restore degraded rangelands. These focus on the capture of water and wind-blown sediment to promote vegetation growth and soil stabilisation. We examined how moderately large human-constructed micro catchments altered soil surface temperatures in a pilot trial to explore their potential impacts on vegetation establishment. We found that temperatures at the base of the depressions (pits) were greater than those in the controls in both summer and winter, but only in the mornings. Under high daytime temperatures, however, the pits were always cooler than the controls. This moderating effect on surface temperatures likely provides a more suitable environment for plant establishment and growth.
