Inthatorchardinginearly-to-midtwentiethcenturysoutheasternAustraliainvolveduseofcertainheavymetalandAscompoundsinregularpest-controlsprayprocedures,someinterestattachestothepossibilitythattheselandparcelsareunderlainbysoilswithabove-backgroundCu,PbandAslevels.InterpretationofLand-coverchangesallowedlandparcelspreviouslyoccupiedbyorchardstobeidentifiedinthe1950sthroughtime-seriesair-photos.Acomparisonofsoilanalysisresultsreferringtosoilsamplesfromcontrolsites,andfromlandparcelsformerlyoccupiedbyorchardists,showsthatcontamination(above-background)levelsofcationsinthepesticidescanbefoundinthetop6cmofformerorchardsoils.Itisclearthatdigitalspatialdatahandlingandculturally-informedairphotointerpretationhasaplaceinsoilcontaminationstudies,land-useplanning(withparticularreferencetore-development)andinadministrationofpublichealth.
