There are several ongoing activities in the LDC Project that will assist in optimising the water quality outcomes of the investment and targeting effort . These are summarised below for reference . Further information is available in the project reports which can be accessed through NQ Dry Tropics if they where not linked below .
One of the primary objectives of the Landscape Remediation Activity Area was to ‘ Develop guidance for strategic investment in landscape remediation in the BBB that provides the greatest sediment and particulate nutrient reduction benefits for the least cost , in the shortest timeframes ’.
This was implemented in a staged approach :
Stage 1 involved the mapping of sediment generation ‘ hotspots ’ in the BBB . It involved a rapid assessment to identify several new sites that can form the focus for remediation efforts for the LDC Project .
Stage 2 involved detailed mapping and characterisation of the major sediment sources within the BBB catchment . This is based on interpretation of LiDAR data initially at Mt Wickham , and then the new LiDAR data collected as part of the Reef Trust Bowen / Bowen LiDAR capture project .
Stage 3 developed the final prioritisation built on the spatial mapping of sediment sources and incorporated a cost-effectiveness analysis based on the minimum cost to reduce a tonne of sediment in the shortest possible time . Detailed gully rehabilitation concept plans formed the basis for the cost-effectiveness analysis .
The work was led by Griffith University with involvement from Verterra , Alluvium and JCU . 5.1.1
The following information has been directly extracted from the report prepared by Andrew Brooks and John Spencer from Griffith University ( Brooks and Spencer , 2018 ). The full report is available by contacting NQ Dry Tropics .
The key objective of this first stage of the project was to identify at least 5 new sites ( or clusters of sites ) that have potential to form the focus of rehabilitation efforts for Phase 2 and 3 of the LDC Landscape Remediation Activity Area . Due to the very short timeframe available for identifying these sites , this initial prioritisation is necessarily based on existing data along with expert and local knowledge .
In completing this task , the project team drew on the following resources :
• Existing Griffith University Google Earth gully mapping from NESP Project 1.7 ( Brooks et al ., 2016 );
• Aerial imagery ( contemporary and historical );
• Landholder local knowledge ;
• Extension Officer local knowledge ; and
• The collation of knowledge through the ‘ Walking the landscape ’ process for the BBB .
For the purposes of this initial prioritisation , the areas of bare ground actively gullying within the Bowen and Bogie catchments , as well as the alluvial country along the right bank of the Burdekin River between Blue Valley and the Bogie River confluence , were hand digitised within Google Earth . The mapping was intended to represent the most active portions ( in local relative terms ) of gullying within each area and is by no means intended to be a comprehensive map of all gullies in the BBB . Rather , it is intended to highlight the major aggregations of the most active gullying in the focal area . In addition , only some of the mapping has been “ ground truthed ” so more detailed investigation would be required .
A broad range of gully types have been mapped , although time constraints have not allowed the delineation of gully types in this initial prioritisation effort . The lack of any detail about gully type , or additional field and
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