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      • Theme 1: Impacts and Pressures
      • Theme 2: Resilience to Climate Change and Reducing Pressures
      • Theme 3: NRM Improvements
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      • Bioavailability of Nutrients Workshop
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Reducing Sediment Runoff to the Reef Implementing innovative on-ground solutions

A number of our research projects have successfully “closed the loop” in terms of developing and implementing practical solutions that are demonstrably reducing the amounts of sediment being delivered to the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef.

Although only a small portion of the fine sediment from catchments and waterways reaches coral reefs and seagrass meadows, it can still have a significant impact by reducing light and water quality, especially during wet season flooding events. Understanding the sources of this sediment, its effects, and how future discharges can be reduced has been a key focus of the NESP TWQ Hub.

By identifying the ‘most environmentally detrimental sediment’ in terms of transportability and nutrient bioavailability, some of the key sources of sediment have been identified. Subsequent research in gully remediation effectiveness for these areas has informed a number of investments and activities by groups such as Greening Australia and Indigenous land managers. Data from these and many other projects assessing and monitoring sedimentation is available on the Hub’s online data repository, the eAtlas.

New technologies used for monitoring, sampling and analysis have enabled Hub researchers to make a number of timely recommendations to end-users, many of which have since been adopted and incorporated into new practices. These include a standardised classification system for alluvial sediments, site-specific trigger levels associated with routine marine dredging, a ‘desired state’ for GBR seagrass meadows, as well as cost-effective gully remediation methods for land-holders and graziers.

In May 2018, Greening Australia announced that phase one of their gully restoration works using techniques delivered through NESP TWQ research had reduced the sediment concentration leaving the treatment gully by an astonishing 97%. Based on this success, Greening Australia now plans to roll out the techniques used at Strathalbyn Station to erosion hotspots elsewhere along the Reef.

“Recommendations from this work will be considered and incorporated into future programs and monitoring undertaken by the Port of Townsville and also be incorporated into risk assessments and scheduling for our routine dredging.”

Melinda Louden, Port of Townsville

Related Projects

Developing an approach to evaluate the effectiveness of investments in riparian management in the GBR catchments - Project 1.2

A validation of coral geochemical records to reconstruct suspended sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon - Project 1.3

Reducing sediment sources to the Reef: testing the effectiveness of managing alluvial gully erosion - Project 1.7

Identification, impacts, and prioritization of emerging contaminants present in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait marine environments - Project 1.10

Scoping options for low-lying, marginal cane land to reduce DIN in priority wet tropics catchments - Project 2.1.2

Demonstration and evaluation of gully remediation on downstream water quality and agricultural production in GBR rangelands - Project 2.1.4

What’s really damaging the Reef? Tracing the origin and fate of the environmentally detrimental sediment - Project 2.1.5

Engaging with farmers and demonstrating water quality outcomes to create confidence in on-farm decision-making (also known as Project 25) - Project 2.1.7

Improved water quality outcomes from on-farm nitrogen management - Project 2.1.8

Risk assessing dredging activities - Project 2.1.9

The application and adaption of mine site rehabilitation approaches to alluvial gully rehabilitation in the Bowen Catchment - Project 2.1.10

Identifying the water quality and ecosystem health threats to the high diversity Torres Strait and far northern GBR from runoff from the Fly River - Project 2.2.1

Impacts of mine derived pollution on Torres Strait environments and communities - Project 2.2.2

Benthic light as ecologically validated GBR wide indicator for water quality: drivers, thresholds and cumulative risks - Project 2.3.1

Improving water quality for the Great Barrier Reef and wetlands by better managing irrigation in the sugarcane farming system - Project 3.1.2

Ecotoxicology of pesticides on the Great Barrier Reef for guideline development and risk assessments - Project 3.1.5

Reducing sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef: developing optimal approaches for treating alluvial gully erosion - Project 3.1.7

Deriving ecologically relevant load targets to meet desired ecosystem condition for the Great Barrier Reef: a case study for seagrass meadows in the Burdekin region - Project 3.2.1

Gully characterisation framework to underpin GBR catchment water quality management - Project 4.9

Evaluating the costs and benefits of agricultural land conversion to wetlands - Project 4.10

Sources, transformations and fate of dissolved organic carbon – implications for the GBR - Project 4.11

Benthic light as ecologically-validated GBR-wide indicator for water quality: Drivers, thresholds and cumulative risks - Project 5.3

Deriving ecologically relevant targets to meet desired ecosystem condition for the Great Barrier Reef: A case study for seagrass meadows in the Burdekin region - Project 5.4

What’s really damaging the Reef? Tracing the origin and fate of the environmentally detrimental sediment and associated bioavailable nutrients - Project 5.8

Gully remediation effectiveness - Project 5.9

Development and application of automated tools for high resolution gully mapping and classification from LiDAR data - Project 5.10

Improved water quality outcomes from on-farm nitrogen management - Project 5.11

Scoping land use conversion options for high DIN risk, low-lying sugarcane areas in Burdekin and Mackay Whitsunday regions - Project 5.12

Coastal wetland systems repair across GBR catchments – values based causal framework validation - Project 5.13

Reducing nitrogen runoff without reducing industry productivity - Project 6.3

A number of our research projects have successfully “closed the loop” in terms of developing and implementing practical solutions that are demonstrably reducing the amounts of sediment being delivered to the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef.

Although only a small portion of the fine sediment from catchments and waterways reaches coral reefs and seagrass meadows, it can still have a significant impact by reducing light and water quality, especially during wet season flooding events. Understanding the sources of this sediment, its effects, and how future discharges can be reduced has been a key focus of the NESP TWQ Hub.

By identifying the ‘most environmentally detrimental sediment’ in terms of transportability and nutrient bioavailability, some of the key sources of sediment have been identified. Subsequent research in gully remediation effectiveness for these areas has informed a number of investments and activities by groups such as Greening Australia and Indigenous land managers. Data from these and many other projects assessing and monitoring sedimentation is available on the Hub’s online data repository, the eAtlas.

New technologies used for monitoring, sampling and analysis have enabled Hub researchers to make a number of timely recommendations to end-users, many of which have since been adopted and incorporated into new practices. These include a standardised classification system for alluvial sediments, site-specific trigger levels associated with routine marine dredging, a ‘desired state’ for GBR seagrass meadows, as well as cost-effective gully remediation methods for land-holders and graziers.

In May 2018, Greening Australia announced that phase one of their gully restoration works using techniques delivered through NESP TWQ research had reduced the sediment concentration leaving the treatment gully by an astonishing 97%. Based on this success, Greening Australia now plans to roll out the techniques used at Strathalbyn Station to erosion hotspots elsewhere along the Reef.

“Recommendations from this work will be considered and incorporated into future programs and monitoring undertaken by the Port of Townsville and also be incorporated into risk assessments and scheduling for our routine dredging.”

Melinda Louden, Port of Townsville

Related Projects

Developing an approach to evaluate the effectiveness of investments in riparian management in the GBR catchments - Project 1.2

A validation of coral geochemical records to reconstruct suspended sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon - Project 1.3

Reducing sediment sources to the Reef: testing the effectiveness of managing alluvial gully erosion - Project 1.7

Identification, impacts, and prioritization of emerging contaminants present in the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait marine environments - Project 1.10

Scoping options for low-lying, marginal cane land to reduce DIN in priority wet tropics catchments - Project 2.1.2

Demonstration and evaluation of gully remediation on downstream water quality and agricultural production in GBR rangelands - Project 2.1.4

What’s really damaging the Reef? Tracing the origin and fate of the environmentally detrimental sediment - Project 2.1.5

Engaging with farmers and demonstrating water quality outcomes to create confidence in on-farm decision-making (also known as Project 25) - Project 2.1.7

Improved water quality outcomes from on-farm nitrogen management - Project 2.1.8

Risk assessing dredging activities - Project 2.1.9

The application and adaption of mine site rehabilitation approaches to alluvial gully rehabilitation in the Bowen Catchment - Project 2.1.10

Identifying the water quality and ecosystem health threats to the high diversity Torres Strait and far northern GBR from runoff from the Fly River - Project 2.2.1

Impacts of mine derived pollution on Torres Strait environments and communities - Project 2.2.2

Benthic light as ecologically validated GBR wide indicator for water quality: drivers, thresholds and cumulative risks - Project 2.3.1

Improving water quality for the Great Barrier Reef and wetlands by better managing irrigation in the sugarcane farming system - Project 3.1.2

Ecotoxicology of pesticides on the Great Barrier Reef for guideline development and risk assessments - Project 3.1.5

Reducing sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef: developing optimal approaches for treating alluvial gully erosion - Project 3.1.7

Deriving ecologically relevant load targets to meet desired ecosystem condition for the Great Barrier Reef: a case study for seagrass meadows in the Burdekin region - Project 3.2.1

Gully characterisation framework to underpin GBR catchment water quality management - Project 4.9

Evaluating the costs and benefits of agricultural land conversion to wetlands - Project 4.10

Sources, transformations and fate of dissolved organic carbon – implications for the GBR - Project 4.11

Benthic light as ecologically-validated GBR-wide indicator for water quality: Drivers, thresholds and cumulative risks - Project 5.3

Deriving ecologically relevant targets to meet desired ecosystem condition for the Great Barrier Reef: A case study for seagrass meadows in the Burdekin region - Project 5.4

What’s really damaging the Reef? Tracing the origin and fate of the environmentally detrimental sediment and associated bioavailable nutrients - Project 5.8

Gully remediation effectiveness - Project 5.9

Development and application of automated tools for high resolution gully mapping and classification from LiDAR data - Project 5.10

Improved water quality outcomes from on-farm nitrogen management - Project 5.11

Scoping land use conversion options for high DIN risk, low-lying sugarcane areas in Burdekin and Mackay Whitsunday regions - Project 5.12

Coastal wetland systems repair across GBR catchments – values based causal framework validation - Project 5.13

Reducing nitrogen runoff without reducing industry productivity - Project 6.3

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