Archives for January 2013

Mackay says goodbye to pond apple

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In 2011 Reef Catchments received funding through the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country program to eradicate pond apple from the Mackay Whitsunday Region over a period of three years.  The project, which is actively supported by Mackay Regional Council, the Queensland Government, Pioneer Catchment Landcare and the Mackay Regional Pest Management Group, has entered the final six months of operations.

The Mackay Whitsunday Region is currently dealing with two infestations of pond apple. Interestingly, pond apple seems to behave differently in this region compared to more northerly regions, with normal prolific and dense stands growing upstream but stands downstream thinning and dying before reaching the mangrove systems of Reliance Creek and the Pioneer River catchments.

This unusual behaviour has aided control efforts, with about 21 ha successfully treated. Control methods include ‘cut and paste’ with either Round-Up Bio-Active or Vigilant for mature trees, and hand removal for seedlings. This has been highly successful, and all that remains of the control effort is to follow up on reshooting stumps and germination of the seed bank. Currently follow up occurs every six months, although this will drop back to once a year after the project’s completion. This will continue for three years in an attempt to ensure the complete eradication of the species from the area.

Unfortunately, as a consequence of the successful eradication of pond apple from a 2 km stretch of creek bank (a tributary of Lelia Creek), large gaps in vegetation have allowed those areas to become infested with other weeds. To reduce this secondary impact on plant biodiversity and water quality, weed removal and vegetation efforts are now underway in conjunction with Pioneer Catchment Landcare. It is hoped that through these efforts the creek system will be fully restored to its original state prior to the invasion of pond apple.

Reef Catchments is also working with the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to develop pond apple DNA detection in water bodies to aid on-ground survey efforts. This is being done in conjunction with work on DNA detection of Mimosa pigra. This work has only just begun, and we expect the results will be highly sought after.

Pond apple  Removing pond apple from stream bank  Area affected by pond apple

Engineered logjams put to the test

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The wet season has commenced in typical tropical-climate style with Healthy Waterways staff keen to see how the engineered logjams constructed on the O’Connell River demonstration reach will protect the stream bank and change the behaviour of the water as levels rise over the coming weeks.

Heavy rain hampered the efforts of the team to get onsite during the first flows of the wet season, however time-lapse cameras installed onsite are expected to have captured all the action – check out the Reef Catchments website next week for up-to-date images.

Engineered log jam on the O’Connell River

So, what’s so good about Engineered Logjams?

Engineered logjams use natural materials to create structures that stabilise areas of failing stream bank, protecting valuable production land and reducing the amount of sediment in waterways. They also provide critical habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms.

Engineered log jam on the O’Connell River - closeup

Pre-construction ecological monitoring

The Department of Natural Resources and Mines has completed the first report on ecological monitoring for the O’Connell River logjam demonstration project. The following 11 fish species were recorded over the sampling period, which included both pre-wet season and wet season monitoring:

  • Purple-spotted gudgeon – Mogurnda adspersa
  • Gudgeon – Hypseleotris spp.
  • Spangled perch – Leiopotherapon unicolour
  • Mouth almighty – Glossamia aprion
  • Agassiz’s glassfish – Ambassis agassizii
  • Fly-specked hardyhead – Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum
  • Marbled eel – Anguilla reinhardtii
  • Pacific blue-eye – Pseudomugil signifer
  • Eastern rainbowfish – Melanotaenia splendida
  • Hyrtl’s tandan – Neosilurus hyrtlii and
  • Bullrout – Notesthes robusta

Observations made to date indicate a general pattern of higher species diversity around structures and in areas of complex bank.

Successful grant bid allows more logjam work

Pioneer Catchment Landcare, in partnership with Reef Catchments and Pioneer River Improvement Trust, have been successful in obtaining funding through the Queensland Government’s Everyone’s Environment Grant program.  This will allow more logjam work to be undertaken, this time in the Upper Pioneer catchment management area.

Engineered log jam on the O’Connell River

NRM planning for climate change

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The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities last month released funding guidelines for NRM groups to assist with planning for climate change impacts and maximising the environmental benefits of carbon farming.

Under the program, $24.16 million will be provided to the 56 regional NRM groups around Australia to support climate change planning and the updating of regional NRM Plans to guide mitigation and adaptation activities in the landscape. It is expected that funding may be available to commence the planning process as early as April 2013, with submissions closing on 26 February.

Reef Catchments has been working with other regional NRM groups within the Wet Tropics Cluster to define issues and concerns for the successful research institution that will support planning and development of regional-level scenarios for the impacts of climate change. The research institution consists of a consortium of partners, led by Professor Steve Turton from James Cook University, who successfully tendered for Stream 2 funding. The first planning meeting with JCU will be held at the end of January 2013. ‘Stream 2 funding’ supports research institutions to develop regional-level information in the form of scenarios about the impacts of climate change (water, temperature, storms), which can be used for medium-term regional NRM land-use planning.

Reef Catchments is currently working on the proposal to access funding to support the update to the Mackay–Whitsunday–Isaac NRM Plan. Under the proposal, spatial analysis of existing land uses and remnant vegetation are considered highly important in helping to define areas for carbon plantings. However, additional benefits such as protecting or improving the integrity of remnant ecosystems, biodiversity hotspots and coastal and marine communities are also a priority. The planning process also needs to incorporate local knowledge and community aspirations, and ensure there are no adverse impacts on water (surface or underground) or productive agricultural land.

Reef Catchments will be seeking input from the community and our stakeholders to ensure that we capture the required information and develop a plan that will improve the resilience and integrity of the natural assets of the Mackay–Whitsunday–Isaac region.

Australia's eight regional NRM planning clusters for climate change

Australia's Eight Regional NRM Clusters for Climate Change