NAP.OC4 Final Report
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- ---- --------------- --------- Index Preface o. Executive summary 2 1. Introduction 3 1.1 Rationale for study 3 1.2 General approach 5 2. Identification of research priorities 7 2.1 Inventory, documentation and analysis of current projects 7 2.2 Identification and prioritisation of research issues 16 2.3 Recommendations 18 3. Evaluation of resource information and other data sources 20 3.1 Overview and assessment of existing resource information 20 3.2 Conclusions 23 4. Assessment of producer awareness and prospects for technology transfer 24 4.1 Communication of natural resource issues 24 4.2 Assessing producer awareness and potential for adoption 27 4.3 Conclusions 28 5. Conceptual framework for multi-disciplinary research into catchment 29 management, water quality and nutrient flows as they relate to the northern beef industry 5.1 General framework 29 5.2 Critical research components 31 5.3 Critical communication components 33 5.4 Project management structure 35 5.5 Estimation of costs and time-frames and identification of linkages 36 5.6 Recommendations 42 6. Selection of potential focus catchments 44 6.1 General procedure 44 6.2 Assessment of intrinsic vulnerability 44 6.3 Relevance of catchments to beef industry 52 6.4 Evaluation of short-listed catchments 65 6.4.1 Burdekin 66 6.4.2 Burnett 74 ; 6.4.3 Fitzroy (QLD) 80 6.4.4 Ord 87 6.4.5 Victoria 93 6.5 Ranking of short-listed catchments and recommendations 99 7. References 101 8. Appendices 106 8.1 Terms of Reference 107 8.2 Members of core team and reference group 109 8.3 Workshop reports 110 8.4 Research proforrnas 112 8.5 Result documentation of the assessment of intrinsic vulnerability 178 Roth et aI. 1999 Scoping Study - Catchments for NAP3 funded research Acknowledgements The authors of this study are greatly indebted to numerous staff in federal and state agencies that provided us with the bulk of the infonnation collated in this report. The assistance they provided was given generously and willingly and without their help, this study would not have been possible in the timeframe given. To all we express our sincere thanks. We are also grateful for the feedback and written comments provided on the draft report by many of the people contacted during various phase of this study. Our special thanks goes to Barry Walker and Judy Lambert of the NAP3 team for their ongoing and very constructive support. It was a great pleasure to work with them, and Barry Walker provided us with many useful comments following an extensive review of the draft report that helped us improve the final version of this study. Likewise, we are grateful for Mick Fleming's review of and input to the final report. Christian Roth CSIRO Land and Water, Townsville Roth et a1. 1999 Seoping Study - Catchments for NAP3 funded research Index Preface o. Executive summary 2 1. Introduction 3 1.1 Rationale for study 3 1.2 General approach 5 2. Identification of research priorities 7 2.1 Inventory, documentation and analysis of current projects 7 2.2 Identification and prioritisation of research issues 16 2.3 Recommendations 18 3. Evaluation of resource information and other data sources 20 3.1 Overview and assessment of existing resource information 20 3.2 Conclusions 23 4. Assessment of producer awareness and prospects for technology transfer 24 4.1 Communication of natural resource issues 24 4.2 Assessing producer awareness and potential for adoption 27 4.3 Conclusions 28 5. Conceptual framework for multi-disciplinary research into catchment 29 management, water quality and nutrient flows as they relate to the northern beef industry 5.1 General framework 29 5.2 Critical research components 31 5.3 Critical communication components 33 5.4 Project management structure 35 5.5 Estimation of costs and time-frames and identification of linkages 36 5.6 Recommendations 42 6. Selection of potential focus catchments 44 6.1 General procedure 44 6.2 Assessment of intrinsic vulnerability 44 6.3 Relevance of catchments to beef industry 52 6.4 Evaluation of short-listed catchments 65 6.4.1 Burdekin 66 6.4.2 Burnett 74 6.4.3 Fitzroy (QLD) 80 6.4.4 Ord 87 6.4.5 \7ictoria 93 6.5 Ranking of short-listed catchments and recommendations 99 7. References 101 8. Appendices 106 8.1 Terms of Reference 107 8.2 Members of core team and reference group 109 8.3 Workshop reports 110 8.4 Research proforrnas 112 8.5 Result documentation of the assessment of intrinsic vulnerability 178 Roth et al. 1999 Scoping Study - Catchments for NAP3 funded research ~I - 1 - Preface Meat and Livestock Australia acknowledges the excellent work of Christian Roth and his colleagues who conducted this scoping study. Using a previous literature review completed for the Meat Research Corporation (MRC) and the Land & Water Resources R&D Corporation (LWRRDC) as a starting point, Christian and his collaborating authors from agencies across northern Australia have brought together a rich diversity of literature, technical and industry expertise to provide recommendations for future work on catchment management, water quality and nutrient flows in the northern grazing lands. The report provides a substantial basis for commissioning a multi-disciplinary study to quantify catchment-scale grazing impacts on sediment and nutrient exports in northern Australia. This initial scoping work was commissioned in December 1997 and this report was submitted to the MRC in April 1998. It was jointly funded by the then Meat Research Corporation and the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation, under Phase 3 of the MRC's North Australia Program. Meat and Livestock Australia and the authors thank all those, both individuals and organisations, who generously contributed their time and information to this review. Judy Lambert Natural Resource Management Consultant MRC North Australia Program October 1998 Roth et al 1999 Scoping Study - Catchments for NAP3 funded research .~~--~- -2- O. Executive summary Following a review of current information on the effects of grazing management in grazed lands of Northern Australia on water and nutrient cycles and the downstream fluxes of water, sediment and nutrients (Hook, 1997), NAP3 commissioned the present scoping study to: • collate and review existing information on research projects studying water quality and nutrient flow issues as related to grazing management in Northern Australia and identify priority issues in need of new or further research within the context of the recommendations provided by Hook's review; • assess the relative potential vulnerability of grazed catchments across Northern Australia and evaluate perceived risks to water quality and nutrient flows as related to soil types, current stocking pressures/grazing management practices and other land uses; • provide NAP3 with recommendations on potential focus catchments for research into grazing effects on catchment response and optimum implementation through a major multi agency research group. On the basis of the review of ongoing research and monitoring and in view of the current work on off-site impacts and the limitations on funding, we recommend that future work on catchment management, water quality and nutrient flows as related to the northern beef industry be primarily focussed on: • impacts of grazing management on sediment generation and nutrient loss at scales ranging from hillslope to catchment, • quantification of key determinants of sediment,nutrient and overland flow processes at paddock, catchment and landform scales and their modeling to enable extrapolation to other catchments in Northem Australia. Considering the complexity, longevity and costs associated with the establishment of a major project to conduct research into grazing management impacts on sediment and nutrient export, we recommend that: • the project be focussed around critical research components addressing the above two sets of priority issues • the research components be complemented by an effective communication strategy • that the research components be designed so as to maximise links to existing research, particularly in the fields of off-site impacts and research into the socio-economic determinants of grazing management, • the project be managed through a steering committee in liaison with a project coordinator responsible for research and communication coordination, • the overall project be spread beyond the time frame of NAP3 and future funding sought. Utilising a GIS analysis to assess intrinsic vulnerability and relevance of the catchments to the beef industry for all 132 catchments in NA, five potential catchments were shortlisted (Burdekin, Burnett, Fitzroy, Ord, Victoria). Following an expert ranking against a set of predetermined criteria, we make the following recommendations: • to select either the Burdekin or the Fitzroy catchment as the focus catchment for future research ofgrazing impacts on sediment and nutrient loss • to select the Victoria catchment as a future case study catchment to apply and test the extrapolation of tools developed in the focus catchment study and to assess their utility for other grazed catchments in NA. Roth et aI. 1999 Seoping Study - Catchments for NAP3 funded research - 3- 1. Introduction 1.1 Rationale for study Extended dry seasons in recent years combined with changed cattle production systems have placed increased pressure on native pastures across Northern Australia (NA). The resultant increase in grazing pressure has coincided with a growing awareness that activities in one part of a catchment not only affect land condition and processes where they occur, but that the changed processes on land can also lead to changes in waterways and downstream waterbodies. There is growing concern that high grazing pressures and inappropriate management of grazing land have resulted in increased flows of sediment and nutrient through and oilt of grazed catchments. Apart from the detrimental effects of nutrient and water loss on pasture productivity, there is particular concern that the off-site effects may impart negative impacts on water quality in rivers, health of in-stream ecosystems, on productivity of estuarine breeding grounds of commercial fisheries and on the ecology of off shore reefs.