Water quality in agricultural lands draining to the Great Barrier Reef: A review of causes, management and priorities

Thorburn, Peter J.; Wilkinson, Scott N.; Silburn, D. M.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.07.006

Cited by 106 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 144 publications

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“…A study of coral reefs between 2007 and 2013 concluded that live coral cover declined by 50% following several weeks of exposure to turbid water from major sediment plumes [13]. Terrestrial runoff, fluvial sediment and nutrient discharges are estimated to contribute the majority of the pollutants to the GBR lagoon in Australia and worldwide [2,11,[14][15][16]. Therefore, in-depth investigations of the hydrological processes within these catchments are essential to understand the relationship among rainfall, land management and terrestrial runoff, and the subsequent impacts on pollutant generation and the ecological health of the coral reefs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia

Jarihani

Sidle

Bartley

et al. 2017

Water

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Abstract:Rainfall is the main driver of hydrological processes in dryland environments and characterising the rainfall variability and processes of runoff generation are critical for understanding ecosystem function of catchments. Using remote sensing and in situ data sets, we assess the spatial and temporal variability of the rainfall, rainfall-runoff response, and effects on runoff coefficients of antecedent soil moisture and ground cover at different spatial scales. This analysis was undertaken in the Upper Burdekin catchment, northeast Australia, which is a major contributor of sediment and nutrients to the Great Barrier Reef. The high temporal and spatial variability of rainfall are found to exert significant controls on runoff generation processes. Rainfall amount and intensity are the primary runoff controls, and runoff coefficients for wet antecedent conditions were higher than for dry conditions. The majority of runoff occurred via surface runoff generation mechanisms, with subsurface runoff likely contributing little runoff due to the intense nature of rainfall events. MODIS monthly ground cover data showed better results in distinguishing effects of ground cover on runoff that Landsat-derived seasonal ground cover data. We conclude that in the range of moderate to large catchments (193-36,260 km 2 ) runoff generation processes are sensitive to both antecedent soil moisture and ground cover. A higher runoff-ground cover correlation in drier months with sparse ground cover highlighted the critical role of cover at the onset of the wet season (driest period) and how runoff generation is more sensitive to cover in drier months than in wetter months. The monthly water balance analysis indicates that runoff generation in wetter months (January and February) is partially influenced by saturation overland flow, most likely confined to saturated soils in riparian corridors, swales, and areas of shallow soil. By March and continuing through October, the soil "bucket" progressively empties by evapotranspiration, and Hortonian overland flow becomes the dominant, if not exclusive, flow generation process. The results of this study can be used to better understand the rainfall-runoff relationships in dryland environments and subsequent exposure of coral reef ecosystems in Australia and elsewhere to terrestrial runoff.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia

Jarihani

Sidle

Bartley

et al. 2017

Water

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“…As the primary consumer of water resources around the world, agriculture is being increasingly squeezed by the demands from other society sectors and threatened by potential climate change (Sun et al, 2013;Thorburn, 2013). Furthermore, water availability is a critical concern to future food security and environmental sustainability .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water footprint assessment of the Colombian cocoa production

Ortíz-Rodriguez

Naranjo²,

Cáceres

et al. 2015

Rev. bras. eng. agríc. ambient.

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A B S T R A C TThe main objective of the present research was to calculate the water footprint of the Colombian cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) production. The evaluation of crop water requirement and irrigation requirement were based on climate, soil and crop conditions in the country. The water requirement estimation was based on data from six municipalities selected for their representativeness of the highest yield, productivity and commercial dynamics of the country. . Water use per crop unit can be influenced not only by agro-meteorological conditions, but also by the level of production. Therefore, a region with a low water footprint value for a specific crop usually has a favorable climatic condition. Crop evapotranspiration was found to be relatively low, and the highest yields were obtained in association with more productive cropping levels. Given the complexity of a hydrological phenomenon like crop evapotranspiration, the magnitude of these differences may be considered to be small. Avaliação de pegada hídrica da produção de cacau colombiano R E S U M O O objetivo principal da presente pesquisa é avaliar a pegada hídrica da produção do cacau Colombiano (Theobroma cacao L.). A exigência hídrica da cultura, tanto quanto a de irrigação, foi avaliada com base nas condições de clima, solo e da cultura no país. A estimativa da necessidade de água foi baseada em dados de seis municípios selecionados pela representatividade dos seus maiores níveis de rendimento, produtividade e dinâmica comercial do Brasil. De acordo com os resultados a pegada hídrica atingiu 17,100 m 3 t -1 . A nível de província, o maior recorde para este parâmetro foi observado em Tolima com 23,239 m 3 t -1 enquanto Huila registrou o nível mais baixo, com 13,475 m 3 t -1. O consumo de água por unidade de cultura pode ser influenciado não só pelas condições agrometeorológicas, mas também pelo nível de produção; portanto, regiões com baixos valores de pegada hídrica para uma cultura específica geralmente têm condição climática favorável. A evapotranspiração é relativamente baixa e os maiores rendimentos foram obtidos na agricultura com maiores níveis de produção; em razão da complexidade de um fenômeno hidrológico, como a evapotranspiração de uma cultura, a magnitude dessas diferenças pode ser considerada pequena.

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“…Livestock grazing is the dominant land use (~80%) in the catchments draining to the GBR. Terrestrial runoff, fluvial sediment and nutrient discharges are estimated to contribute the majority of the pollutants to the GBR lagoon in Australia and worldwide [2,11,[14][15][16]. Therefore, in-depth investigations of the hydrological processes within these catchments are essential to understand the relationship among rainfall, land management and terrestrial runoff, and the subsequent impacts on pollutant generation and the ecological health of the coral reefs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia

Jarihani¹,

Sidle²,

Bartley³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Abstract:Rainfall is the main driver of hydrological processes in dryland environments and characterising the rainfall variability and processes of runoff generation are critical for understanding ecosystem function of catchments. Using remote sensing and in situ data sets, we assess the spatial and temporal variability of the rainfall, rainfall-runoff response, and effects of antecedent soil moisture and ground cover at different spatial scales on runoff coefficients in the Upper Burdekin catchment, northeast Australia, which is a major contributor of sediment and nutrients to the Great Barrier Reef. The high temporal and spatial variability of rainfall exerts significant controls on runoff generation processes. Rainfall amount and intensity are the primary runoff controls, and runoff coefficients for wet antecedent conditions were higher than for dry conditions. The majority of runoff occurred via surface runoff generation mechanisms, with subsurface runoff likely contributing little runoff due to the intense nature of rainfall events. At annual to seasonal temporal scales and for relatively large catchments, we could not detect a significant effect of ground cover on runoff. We conclude that in the range of moderate to large catchments (193 -36,260 km 2 ) runoff generation processes are sensitive to both antecedent soil moisture and ground cover. A higher runoff-ground cover correlation in drier months with sparse ground cover highlighted the critical role of cover at the onset of the wet season and how runoff generation is more sensitive to cover in drier months than in wetter months. The monthly water balance analysis indicates that runoff generation in wetter months (January and February) is partially influenced by saturation overland flow, most likely confined to saturated soils in riparian corridors, swales, and areas of shallow soil. By March and continuing through October, the soil 'bucket' progressively empties by evapotranspiration, and Hortonian overland flow becomes the dominant, if not exclusive, flow generation process. The results of this study can be used to better understand the rainfall-runoff relationships in dryland environments and subsequent exposure of coral reef ecosystems in Australia and elsewhere to terrestrial runoff.

show abstract

Water quality in agricultural lands draining to the Great Barrier Reef: A review of causes, management and priorities

Cited by 106 publications

References 144 publications

Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia

Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia

Water footprint assessment of the Colombian cocoa production

Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia

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