Completed projects

RP223

1. The Economics of Herbicide Management Practices on Sugarcane Farms - Burdekin River Irrigation Area (BRIA)
2. The Economics of Herbicide Management Practices on Sugarcane Farms - Burdekin Delta
3. The Economics of Herbicide Management Practices on Sugarcane Farms – Mackay Region
4. The Economics of Herbicide Management Practices on Sugarcane Farms – Tully Region

1. Burdekin sediment story: Conceptual model key (PDF, 334.8 KB)
2. Burdekin flood plume extent (PDF, 4.8 MB)
3. Sediment journey (PDF, 11.3 MB)
4. Catchment sediment sources (PDF, 18.9 MB)
5. Erosion in grazing lands (PDF, 6.1 MB)
6. Cost-effective erosion control (PDF, 5.5 MB)

The project was led by the sugar industry from concept development, to sampling design, sample collection and interpretation of results, and planning of management actions to address off-farm losses of pesticides.

The strong evidence of the origin and fate of pesticides in samples provided certainty about the impact of particular practices and ownership of the problem and its mitigation.

The leadership shown by the sugar industry and commitment of all participating growers underpins the successes of this project in advancing understanding of the water quality in Sandy Creek. A further project is now building on this work in Sandy Creek to link farm practice to in-stream water quality and direct extension activities for growers to change practices in sub-catchments where water quality exceeds set guidelines.

A report (PDF, 12.3 MB) is available.

The resulting report has underpinned the inclusion of MERI components into education and extension, and BMP programs and projects implemented under Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. For instance, there is now a requirement for reporting the spatial location of extension and other activities that achieve practice change.

The Office of the Great Barrier Reef is progressing the development of a comprehensive framework that will align the MERI aspects of programs and projects across the reef investments. This will enable a better understanding of the links and effectiveness of the activities that have occurred within the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef towards achieving the stated goals and targets of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan and the Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan.

1. understanding particle size of sediment and the potential contribution of BAN to nutrients loads to the Great Barrier Reef
2. methods to support accounting of benefits of on-ground sediment projects
3. supporting the scope of longer term research agendas.

Project outputs have already influenced the Research, Development and Innovation strategy and future project planning. They have also influenced Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting program developments and monitoring methods for bioavailable nutrients at paddock through to catchments. A report (PDF, 3.3 MB) and factsheet (PDF, 978.7 KB) is available.

On behalf of the Office of the Great Barrier Reef, C2O Consulting coordinated a workshop on 15 March 2018 aiming to provide clearer direction for future efforts to support improved understanding and management of bioavailable nutrient sources, pathways and impacts in the Great Barrier Reef. The planned outcomes were to guide investment in management responses associated with bioavailable nutrients for achieving outcomes for the health of the Great Barrier Reef.

In support of the workshop outputs included a Key Messages paper and a Supporting Concept Paper . These outputs were supported by both the Office of the Great Barrier Reef and the National Environment Science Tropical Water Quality Hub and captures the current understanding of the bioavailability of nutrients in the Great Barrier Reef highlighting new and emerging knowledge since Brodie et al. (2015). They summarise the established evidence, highlighting new evidence and identifying priority knowledge gaps and management implications for a number of key research areas. The priority knowledge needs have been incorporated into the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan Research Development and Innovation Strategy 2017-2022.