Archives for August 2015

Botanic Gardens works improve life for local fish

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Catchment Solutions Matt Moore and Reef Catchments Manager Katrina Dent with Mackay Regional Parks and Environment Councillor Theresa Morgan at the Lagoons Creek rehabilitation site.
Catchment Solutions Matt Moore and Reef Catchments Manager Katrina Dent with Mackay Regional Parks and Environment Councillor Theresa Morgan at the Lagoons Creek rehabilitation site.
Works include construction of a fish rock ramp fishway to improve fish passage through the Mackay Whitsunday region.
Works include construction of a fish rock ramp fishway to improve fish passage through the Mackay Whitsunday region.

Environmental rehabilitation works at Lagoons Creek (Mackay Regional Botanic Gardens) are set to help improve life for local native fish and other wildlife species.

Works will also assist in stabilising the stream bed, reducing erosion and adding to the natural beauty of the park area.

The Lagoons Creek Rehabilitation is a major project being undertaken by Reef Catchments in conjunction with the Mackay Regional Council and Catchment Solutions to increase the extent of native habitat and provide aquatic connectivity between the Pioneer River Estuary and important upstream wetland habitats along Lagoons Creek.

Activities recently completed at the site include the installation of a rock-ramp fishway designed to improve fish movement through the Mackay urban area. Two erosion control structures have also been installed. Works have additionally involved significant revegetation and weed control.

Catchment Solutions project officer, Matt Moore, said rehabilitating wetland areas to help aid the movement of native fish and improve habitat for wildlife in the Mackay region was critical.

“In the Mackay region, we have lost quite a lot of important wetland area to urban and agricultural development, so preserving and rebuilding the lowland wetlands that remain are critical. The Lagoons Creek is a tributary of the lower Pioneer River and is one example of a waterway that has been channelised, cleared and undergone significant structural change over time,” he said.

“Important works completed in conjunction with the Mackay Regional Council and co-funded by the Australian Government will now help restore connectivity through the wider Mackay area.”

Mr Moore said works were especially important in maintaining healthy levels of native migratory species, including fish, birds, reptiles and mammals.

“For example barramundi, sea mullet and tarpon migrate from the sea into productive freshwater wetland habitats as juveniles where they feed and grow before migrating back to the sea to spawn and complete their life cycle. By assisting their journey through the region, we help ensure the future survival of these iconic fish, many of which are important recreational, commercial and indigenous fishery species,” Mr Moore said.

Prior to works, large amounts of exotic weed (para grass) were choking the waterways and forming a barrier to fish migration.

“Had the site been left unattended, streambed erosion would have continued, barriers to fish and wildlife would have remained and eventually the result would be an environmental ‘bottleneck’ between land and sea in the urban area of Mackay,” Mr Moore said.

“Thanks to the work being done by Reef Catchments and Mackay Regional Council we are now well placed to continue to remove that bottleneck and improve the environmental and aesthetic value of the area.”

Mackay Regional Council Parks and Environment portfolio councillor, Theresa Morgan, said council was committed to the maintenance and improved condition of the local environment.

“Mackay’s natural environment contains unique species and ecosystems that can’t be found anywhere else in the world so it is important that we protect these,” she said.

“Our beaches, islands, fishing grounds, rainforests and unique wildlife also play an important role in the region’s tourism industry.

“Investing in the natural environment is not only beneficial to the health of local ecosystems but is essential to the prosperity of the local economy.”

This project is a joint initiative of Reef Catchments, Catchment Solutions and Mackay Regional Council, co-funded by Mackay Regional Council, the Department of Transport and Main Roads and the Australian Government Reef Programme.

 

Case study: Tackling declines in sugar productivity through innovation and soil health

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Marian cane farmer, Simon Mattsson
Marian cane farmer, Simon Mattsson, is trialling the use of multi-crop species including sunflowers to improve soil health and address declines in sugarcane productivity. Simon’s sunflower crop is ready for harvest 14 weeks after sowing. Returns of $900-1000 tonne (with a yield of 1-2 tonnes/ ha) are expected on the horse-feed market.
Sunflowers grown by Simon Mattsson to improve soil health
Sunflowers can help reduce soil compaction, improve potassium cycling, and may remove harmful toxins from the soil.
Simon Mattsson's trial includes the intercropping of more than 8 varieties of plants to address and improve soil condition.
Simon’s trial includes the intercropping of more than 8 varieties of plants to address and improve soil condition.

Tackling declines in sugar productivity through innovation and a focus on soil health

“Soil health for us here in Mackay is an issue of utmost importance. We have gotten our soils into a position where they are badly degraded and we need new ideas on how to fix the problem.”
– Simon Mattsson, Marian cane farmer and Nuffield Farm Scholar

Location: Pioneer Catchment, Mackay Whitsunday Isaac NRM region, Central Queensland
Industry: Sugarcane
Issue: Declines in sugarcane productivity
Outcomes: Increased plant diversity, alternative income streams and improved aesthetics on-farm

Simon Mattson has farmed sugarcane at Marian since 1987 and has implemented many practices considered sustainable including controlled traffic and legume break crops. He was awarded a Nuffield Scholarship in 2014 which enabled him to travel extensively overseas to improve his understanding of soil biology, and the balances of fungi and bacteria and microbial activities that are crucial to sustain soil health. Simon considers everything is inter-linked, humans, plants, the soil, the air. He said cane productivity continued to decline, there were always outbreaks of new pests and diseases, and he wanted to investigate other ways of dealing with problems.

Simon  trialled a number of species as ‘intercrops’ amongst the cane to see if they improved soil health. The first trial included radish, turnips, chick pea, soybean, common vetch, sunflowers, cereal rye and oats. Ultimately, some of the inter-cropped species did not perform well, sugar content compared well with the cane only treatment but biomass was reduced in the inter-cropped treatments. Simon is trialling some new potential species for intercropping including buckwheat and Brassica species for its ability as a soil biofumigant to reduce nematodes. He has also planted Phacelia tanacetifolia, a plant used extensively overseas as a cover crop and for bee forage. Benefits of Phacelia include its potential to limit nitrate leaching as well as flowering abundantly for long periods that can increase beneficial insect numbers and diversity and can also be useful as a cut flower. Simon is about to harvest a sunflower crop planted around one week after planting his plant cane. The sunflower crop is ready for harvest 14 weeks after sowing, and Simon expects a return of $900-1000 tonne (with a yield of 1-2 tonnes/ ha) on the horse-feed market. He will then plant another sunflower crop to target the birdseed market that can pay up to $1500/ tonne. Sunflowers can reduce soil compaction, improve potassium cycling, and may remove harmful toxins from the soil.

Outcomes: Simon is a passionate advocate for trialling new innovative practices to improve soil health on cane farms which may also help to overcome the ongoing decline in productivity. Field days at his farm have attracted over 100 people.  The outcomes are multi-faceted. Because of ongoing poor returns for sugar there is an economic outcome from an alternative income stream and socially the vista of a sunflower crop amongst cane fields is an unusual and attractive sight for travellers and others in the region. The environmental benefits include increased diversity of plant and insect life as well as expected improvements to soil health.

The Future: Simon is leading the way in the sugar industry for trialling new ways to improve soil health in a monoculture farming system. Reef Catchments will support Simon where possible to benchmark and validate his trial work as well as communicating his findings to the industry and other interested parties.

SUNFLOWER BENEFITS:

  • Green fallow option against a bare fallow. Good for soil health for maintaining companion symbionts such as mycorrhizal fungi who starve and diminish during bare fallows.
  • Breaks disease and pest cycles.
  • Tap roots bust hard pans such as plough pans and clay pans for better water infiltration and root exploration of the soil leading to improve water and nutrient use efficiency.
  • Using a bird seed sunflower allows for on farm storage and opportunistic trading for best on farm price to end users. Oil seed sunflowers typically are grown under a contract or through an agent.
  • Easy to store in on-farm silos.
  • Rain during the grain harvest windows presents a much lower risk to crop damage than pulse and cereal crops.
  • Can be companion planted with sugarcane offering improved cash flow.
  • A 100 -150 day crop suitable for skip row farming.

SUNFLOWER DISADVANTAGES:

  • Needs to be sown with a planter, a precision planter is best practice.
  • Herbicide weed control options more limited if companion planting with sugarcane. There are however many options if planted alone and plant the cane later. The latter tactic assists in grass weed control later in the cane crop.
  • Need a grain harvester and ideally with sunflower trays attached to the front for better seed recovery.
  • Although not an issue as yet, native birds will learn to use the crop as a feed source if widely adopted.

 

Channel erosion work underway on the O’Connell

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Work on the O'Connell River to improve water quality

Work by Reef Catchments on land adjoining the O’Connell River aims to make a significant difference to water leaving the property which will reduce pollutant and runoff levels both in the waterway and to the reef.

Reef Catchments healthy waterways project officer, Chris Dench, said the O’Connell River, south of Proserpine, had been identified as a significant contributor of sediment to the Great Barrier Reef with a large proportion derived from channel erosion.

“In an effort to reduce sediment and nutrient exports, and to improve the aquatic health of the river, Reef Catchments commissioned a stability assessment to understand the location, cause and extent of channel erosion through the O’Connell River,” he said.

“This river provides areas of important aquatic and terrestrial habitat for native species and is an important water source for irrigating productive grazing and sugarcane land.”

Reef Catchments has been undertaking works to improve water quality and aquatic and terrestrial health within the region through a range of activities including bank stabilisation on some of the region’s major rivers.

With funding provided through the Australian Government Reef Programme, a LiDar capture of the river was taken to be able to develop Digital Elevation Models of difference by overlaying LiDar from 2013 with Lidar from 2009.

The digital elevation model of difference was used to assess sediment loss over the four year period. Combined with an analysis of stream power and the use of hydraulic modelling, Reef Catchments identified and prioritised on-ground actions to reduce the supply of sediment and nutrients.

Mr Dench said Reef Catchments had been working with landholders and undertaking works along the O’Connell River to prevent future channel change.

“One particular site lost 9,000m3 of river bank between 2009 – 2013 and is expected to lose considerably more over the coming years ahead. Because of this loss, it has been listed as a high priority site.

“A range of potential options were identified to stabilise the eroding bank which ranged from low cost with a high risk of failure, to high cost with a low risk of failure.

“We worked with the landholder to identify potential resources, and the selected option was a 2m rock toe which ranked as having a high likelihood of success.”

The design included the rock toe placement followed by revegetation of the bank with native species. Woody debris was also placed in the river bed to create refuge for aquatic species.

This project is a Reef Catchments initiative, through funding from the Australian Government Reef Programme.

With thanks to:

  • Landholder Tom O’Donnell
  • Alluvium Consulting Australia
  • GM Grader Hire
  • Whitsunday Catchment Landcare