from each river . These priorities are shown in the colouration in Figure 3.3 , and highlight that the Haughton Basin is considered a Very High priority basin for DIN management , and the Burdekin Basin is a Moderate priority . These priorities were identified as a result of biophysical assessment only , and it is recognised that to determine priorities within catchments , human dimensions factors need to be considered . For pesticides , the Haughton is considered a High priority basin .
Figure 3.2 . Map of the boundaries used for setting basin specific targets in the Reef Plan 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan . Source : https :// www . reefplan . qld . gov . au / about / assets / catchment-targets-burdekinhaughton . pdf
A set of ‘ ecologically relevant targets ( ERTs )’ were also defined as part of the Burdekin WQIP 2016 ( NQ Dry Tropics , 2016 , supported by Brodie et al ., 2016 ). These are essentially superseded by the Reef 2050 WQIP targets . However , as noted above , the contribution of anthropogenic DIN from grazing lands in the broader Burdekin Basin requires further investigation to inform revision for the next iteration of the targets ( to be updated in 2021-2022 ). As the Haughton Basin , containing a majority of the sugarcane area in the Lower Burdekin , is not significantly influenced by the outcome of these investigations , the point remains that management actions in the Lower Burdekin sugarcane area must be designed to achieve significant reductions in DIN and PSII herbicide losses over the next 7 years .
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