Water Resources Audit Research Articles

The Study Based on Intelligent Big Data Technology for Water Resources Audit

The fast progress of science and technology has given immense ease to our lives, but it is also steadily destroying the environment in which we live. Environmental auditing was developed to safeguard the Earth we rely on for our existence, and subsequently, sustainable development was introduced to protect the planet we rely on for survival. Even though the quality of the natural environment is continuously increasing, it should not be taken for granted at this time. Therefore, in this paper, we study water resources auditing and sustainable development technologies based on AI-based big data. Specifically, we use an AI-based big data approach to construct the audit indicators of water resources and summarize the sustainable development technology of water resources. Finally, the proposed approach is used for case implementation. The experimental result shows that the BOD removal rate is about 95%, and the removal process is basically the same as removing COD.

Repairing Australia's estuaries for improved fisheries production – what benefits, at what cost?

An Australia-wide assessment of ~1000 estuaries and embayments undertaken by the National Land and Water Resources Audit of 1997–2002 indicated that ~30% were modified to some degree. The most highly degraded were in New South Wales, where ~40% were classified as ‘extensively modified’ and <10% were ‘near pristine’. Since that review, urban populations have continued to grow rapidly, and increasing pressures for industrial and agricultural development in the coastal zone have resulted in ongoing degradation of Australia's estuaries and embayments. This degradation has had serious effects on biodiversity, and commercial and recreational fishing. A business case is developed that shows that an Australia-wide investment of AU$350 million into repair will be returned in less than 5 years. This return is merely from improved productivity of commercial fisheries of a limited number of fish, shellfish and crustacean species. Estuary repair represents an outstanding return on investment, possibly far greater than most of Australia's previous environmental repair initiatives and with clearly demonstrated outcomes across the Australian food and services economies.

C:N:P stoichiometry in Australian soils with respect to vegetation and environmental factors

We estimate organic carbon (C): total nitrogen (N): total phosphorus (P) ratios in soils under Australia’s major native vegetation groups. We use digital datasets for climate, soils, and vegetation created for the National Land and Water Resources Audit in 2001. Analysis-of-variance is used to investigate differences in nutrient ratios between ecosystems. Linear discriminant analysis and logistic regression are used to investigate the relative importance of climatic variables and soil nutrients in vegetation patterns. We find that the N:P and C:P ratios have a greater range of values than the C:N ratio, although major vegetation groups tend to show similar trends across all three ratios. Some apparently homeostatic groupings emerge: those with very low, low, medium, or high N:P and C:P. Tussock grasslands have very low soil N, N:P, and C:P, probably due to frequent burning. Eucalypt woodlands have low soil N:P and C:P ratios, although their total P level varies. Rainforests and Melaleuca forests have medium soil N:P and C:P ratios, although their total P level is different. Heathlands, tall open eucalypt forests, and shrublands occur on soils with low levels of total P, and high N:P and C:P ratios that reflect foliar nutrient ratios and recalcitrant litter. Certain plant communities have typical soil nutrient stoichiometries but there is no single Redfield-like ratio. Vegetation patterns largely reflect soil moisture but for several plant communities, eucalypt communities in particular, soil N and P (or N:P) also play a significant role. Soil N:P and the presence of Proteaceae appear indicative of nutrient constraints in ecosystems.

Sediment-bound heavy metals as indicators of human influence and biological risk in coastal water bodies

AbstractBirch, G. F., and Olmos, M. A. 2008. Sediment-bound heavy metals as indicators of human influence and biological risk in coastal water bodies. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 1407–1413. Currently, many institutions are conducting or planning large, regional-scale ecosystem assessments of estuarine health. A full, integrated assessment of these environments requires a large suite of biological, physical, and chemical indicators, including sedimentary chemistry, ecotoxicology, benthic community structure, and bioaccumulation. This commitment is beyond the capacity of most organizations, and a simpler approach is required to accommodate limited financial resources. A case is made for the use of sedimentary heavy metals as an easy and inexpensive indicator. The advantages are that sediments identify the “pristine” condition and give baseline information against which future management strategies may be benchmarked, and that they differentiate solely human-induced change from natural variation. Sediment indicators in depositional environments are also less dynamic than those associated with water and biota. Our objective is to demonstrate that sediment-bound heavy metals data provide the spatial extent and magnitude of chemical change, as well as the risk of biological stress attributable to contamination in estuarine ecosystems. An assessment of this scheme involving seven New South Wales (Australia) estuaries suggests that sedimentary heavy-metal indicators used in a weight-of-evidence approach, with data collected during the recent Australian National Land and Water Resources Audit, enhances estuarine condition assessment.

A diatom species index for bioassessment of Australian rivers

The Diatom Index for Australian Rivers (DIAR), originally developed at the genus level, was reformulated at the species level with data from diatom sampling of rivers in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. The resulting Diatom Species Index for Australian Rivers (DSIAR) was significantly correlated with the ARCE (Assessment of River Condition, Environment) index developed in the Australian National Land and Water Resources Audit (NLWRA), and with nine of the ARCE’s constituent indices and sub-indices, across 395 river reaches in south-eastern Australia. These correlations were generally stronger than those shown by the biological index that was used to assess river condition in the NLWRA, the ARCB (Assessment of River Condition, Biota) index based on macroinvertebrates and the Australian River Assessment System (AUSRIVAS). At a finer spatial scale, DSIAR was strongly and significantly correlated with measures of catchment urbanisation for streams in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. DSIAR scores across south-eastern Australia bore little relationship to the latitude, longitude or altitude of sampling sites, suggesting that DSIAR is not greatly affected by macro-geographical position. In addition, DSIAR scores did not vary greatly among small-scale hydraulic environments within a site. DSIAR appears to have potential as a broad-scale indicator of human influences on Australian rivers, especially the effects of agricultural and urban land use, and also for impact studies at a local scale. Further evaluation is warranted to test the sensitivity of the index to natural variables such as catchment geology, and to assess its performance in northern, western and inland Australia.

Vegetation condition mapping at a landscape‐scale across Victoria

Vegetation condition mapping at a landscape‐scale across Victoria

Options for Victorian agriculture in a “new” climate: Pilot study linking climate change and land suitability modelling

This pilot project determines the potential for growing Cool Climate Grapes, high yield pasture and blue gum across Gippsland (Victoria, Australia), and the likely shift in that potential as projected climate change occurs in the region. It provides an indication of the information that can be generated combining Land Suitability Analysis and climate change scenarios. By considering the changing suitability of a few key agricultural enterprises in this region, the project offers an important direction for the agricultural elements of the Victorian Greenhouse Strategy. This pilot project utilises Land Suitability Analysis (LSA) developed by the former Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) under the National Land and Water Resources Audit of Australia and further enhanced with Local Government and Catchment Management Authorities across Victoria. This modelling technique allows for an assessment of impacts on a wide range of commodities beyond the historic focus of cropping and pasture models. Following a series of workshops with agronomists, soil scientists, climate scientists, strategic planners and growers, a series of maps/overlays were prepared for Gippsland showing potential suitability of blue gum plantations, Cool Climate Grapes and high yield pasture, as an initial illustration of the methodology. This potential suitability has since been adjusted/modified using a variety of climate change scenarios developed by CSIRO Climate Impacts Group, resulting in an assessment of the change in potential suitability for each enterprise at years 2020 and 2050. The resultant work can be analysed using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to consider change over time and space in the region. Combined with changes in water availability, this may act as an innovative and powerful decision support tool for policy makers in government and industry.

An assessment of catchment condition in Australia

Abstract The condition of Australia's water catchments was assessed in a 2 million km2 intensive land-use zone (ILZ) as part of a National Land and Water Resources Audit (the Audit). The assessment used existing biophysical data obtained from satellite imagery, digital elevation models, computed or derived values, surrogates and existing spatial data from state and national databases. The data were used to derive indicators and an index of relative catchment condition for 3718 sub-catchments and 197 basins. The spatial patterns for catchment condition were then mapped across the ILZ. The term indicator is used consistently to mean a single attribute (even if it is derived from several variables), whereas a sub-index or an index is an aggregation of scaled indicator values. An inventory was made of all potentially relevant biophysical measures of the water, land and biota in catchments that existed in archives. Criteria to assess data quality including a national coverage, ease of interpretation, scale, relevance to policy development and catchment management were applied to some 110 measures from which 21 indicators were ultimately selected and used for tabulation, mapping and interpretation. The data were assembled at 250 m cell resolution and aggregated to 5 km cells as the base unit for analysis. To map the indicators or indices, a five-point classification (quintiles) was used, ranging from relatively poorer to better condition. The class boundaries were based on equal intervals or equal areas under the frequency curve of each indicator or index. Indicator values for each 5 km cell ranged from 1 to 5 (1 being poorer, 5 being better). Index values were calculated by adding the scores for a set of indicators, for example, all the 21 identified and taking a mean for all the 5 km cells within each catchment. Data manipulations and analysis used a multi-component decision support system (DSS), geographic information system (GIS) called catchment condition (CatCon). Numerous maps were generated for each indicator and for indices comprising different combinations of indicators, ranging from the complete set (21), a core set (14) to relatively few (6) and for different regionalisations. Cross-comparisons between catchment condition classes and some consumptive outputs from catchments were also carried out. Only maps for the index based on 14 indicators and a single cross-comparison are presented here as illustrations. The web site www.affa.gov.au/catcon/ has more examples. The main points to emerge were: clear interpretable patterns of better to poorer condition were defined for the intensive land-use zone; visualisations of catchment condition were markedly different for classes defined by equal area or equal interval; the broad patterns of relative condition could be captured with relatively few aggregated indicators; the cross-comparisons suggested areas where land-use changes are needed to develop sustainable land-use systems. The study illustrates that relatively low quality but extensive data can be used to provide a rational basis to identify priority areas for management action and for natural resource management policy development. We suggest that the development of a higher quality national data set in Australia to assess the condition of the Nation's catchments may be best achieved through the co-ordination and collection of core data sets (indicators) at regional scales.

Modelling sources of sediment at sub-catchment scale: An example from the Burdekin catchment, North Queensland, Australia

A detailed sediment budget has been derived for the Weany Creek sub-catchment (13.5 km 2) in North Queensland, Australia, using a sediment source, transport and depositional model known as SedNet (I. Prosser, P. Rustomji, W. Young, C. Moran, A. Hughes, CSIRO Land and Water Technical Report 15/01, Constructing River Basin Sediment Budgets for the National Land and Water Resources Audit, 2001, http://www.clw.csiro.au/publications/technical2001/tr15-01.pdf.). In this study, we have applied SedNet at a much finer scale than it has been applied previously in order to determine sources and sinks of sediment at a scale suitable for grazing land management. We have been able to show that a model such as SedNet can be applied to finer scales (with scale-appropriate modifications to inputs) and in so doing provide insight into sources and sinks of sediment at sub-catchment or paddock scale. The Weany Creek model has been able to show in detail which stream sections (or their associated watersheds) contribute most to suspended sediment loads, as well as where bedload deposits are most likely to accumulate. Additional detail regarding whether erosion is derived from hillslope, or combined gully/bank erosion, or both, has provided valuable insight into the sub-catchment-scale dynamics of erosion. The Weany Creek model has been also used to determine the impact of changes in management practice on sediment erosion, transport and accumulation. A scenario with reduced stocking rates was shown to reduce the delivery of sediment to stream, and consequently led to a lower delivery of fine sediment to downstream reaches.

Integrating Natural Resource Management for Better Environmental Outcomes

Severe problems of fragmented policies and uncoordinated implementation undermine natural resource management in Australia. There have been promising signs of progress through activities such as the National Forest Policy, Council of Australian Government water reforms, National Land and Water Resources Audit, the Murray‐Darling Basin initiative and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality to integrate resource policies. There have also been some notable successes at State and local level. But fragmentation endures. This paper provides evidence of the enduring problem of fragmentation and presents a framework to analyse Australia's experience in natural resource management. The analysis reveals the multi‐dimensional character of the problems and identifies a diverse set of actions that need to be taken to improve integration in policy and implementation. Particular attention is given to the potential for regional programs to contribute to improved integration and NRM.

Monitoring rangeland biodiversity: Plants as indicators

Abstract As well as being important components of biodiversity in their own right, plants reflect the physical environment, are the primary target of many of the pressures acting on rangelands, and are relatively amenable to measurement. Hence, measurements based on plants have considerable potential to be efficient indicators of the response of rangeland biodiversity to land use. A recent report commissioned by the National Land and Water Resources Audit recommended a core set of 11 indicators, six of which relied on measurements of plants. These were trends in (i) the extent of clearing; (ii) the cover of native perennial ground‐layer vegetation; (iii) the distribution and abundance of exotic plant species; (iv) the distribution and abundance of fire‐sensitive species; (v) the distribution and abundance of grazing‐sensitive species; and (vi) the distribution and abundance of listed threatened entities. Most indicated responses of plants to pressures acting on them. Only two (clearing and exotic plants) related to pressures. We recommend that the set be expanded to include two additional pressure indicators, one for grazing and another for fire, in recognition of their extent and potential influence on rangeland biodiversity. We also recommend that benchmark sites be included in all ground‐based monitoring programmes to provide reference standards for those biotic indicators about which little is known. Assessments of the current state of knowledge about these indicators for two case‐study regions, the Gascoyne–Murchison strategy area and Cape York Peninsula, have shown that it would be possible to monitor most of them directly at regional scales, but that current monitoring programmes fall short of achieving this.

'Capacity for Change': Testing a Model for the Inclusion of Social Indicators in Australia's National Land and Water Resources Audit

The complexity of relationships between social change and natural resource management has generated interest in the identification of indicators that might provide more streamlined means for monitoring and planning. In the case of Australia's National Land and Water Resources Audit, interest has focused on the capacity of resource managers to implement more sustainable resource-use practices. This paper reports on an attempt to develop indicators of 'capacity for change' that are statistically reliable and both meaningful and useful to resource managers at a variety of scales. It will be argued, however, that social, spatial and temporal variability in change processes means that no discrete list of social indicators can achieve this task. At the same time that rigorous testing is needed to challenge common-sense assumptions about who is capable of change and where to target capacity-building programmes, data collection and interpretation must be embedded in processes of ongoing negotiation and adaptation among all those involved in, or affected by, resource management.

Organisation for Sustainability

This article addresses the organisation design of government agencies to facilitate sustainability and the statutory mechanisms needed to implement sustainability. Using sustainability as a purpose for the basis of organisation design, and considering task interdependence and differentiation, appropriate organisation structures for achieving sustainability are proposed. Types of market failure that lead to unsustainable outcomes are identified—tragedy of the commons, unpriced public assets, externalities and free riders. To correct for market failure, legislative provisions for management mechanisms to achieve sustainability are needed. Legislation in Western Australia is reviewed in terms of its ability to deliver sustainability. Achievement of sustainability also requires monitoring and evaluation on the progress towards sustainable outcomes. The role of the National Land and Water Resources Audit in contributing to sustainability in water resource management is noted. It is concluded that there is a need for a wide-ranging review of institutional arrangements with respect to organisation design, management mechanisms and legislative provisions to identify changes that are needed to achieve sustainability and subsequently the adoption and implementation of these changes.

An improved calibration curve between soil pH measured in waterand CaCl2

A new pH water to pH CaCl2 calibration curve was derived from data pooled from 2 National Land and Water Resources Audit projects. A total of 70465 observations with both pH in water and pH in CaCl2 were available for statistical analysis. An additive model for pH in CaCl2 was fitted from a smooth function of pH in water created by a smoothing spline with 6 degrees of freedom. This model appeared stable outside the range of the data and performed well (R2 = 96.2, s = 0.24). The additive model for conversion of pHw to pHCa is sigmoidal over the range of pH 2.5 to 10.5 and is similar in shape to earlier models. Using this new model, a look-up table for converting pHw to pHCa was created.

Auditing the Health of Australia's Ecosystems

ABSTRACT The Australian Government has made a commitment to a National Land and Water Resources Audit (Audit) to provide data, analysis, and appraisal of natural resource management and to facilitate improved decision making at a range of scales. One of the themes within the Audit is ecosystem health. This article describes the goals of the Audit with respect to ecosystem health and provides examples of how these goals are being realized in terms of projects. Six projects within the ecosystem health theme of the Audit are described. Benefits of the ecosystem health paradigm have been recognized by the Audit in comparison to previous natural resource assessment methods that tended to focus on single components of ecosystems through the use of environmental quality indicators and often failed to make distinctions and linkages between ecosystem types. A “catchment to estuary” concept which identifies the linkages between landscape, catchment, waterway, and estuarine condition is providing the rationale behind the process-based integration of natural resource data sets which form the basis of methods being developed by the Audit. This depends upon the identification of key ecosystem process drivers and a range of attributes by which they may be measured at appropriate scales. The Audit's aim is to develop purpose-driven multiattribute assessment frameworks that can incorporate a range of available natural resource information along with social and economic data to provide a measure of distance of ecosystems from some desired state. The contributions of other Audit theme projects to such assessments and the final integrated reporting requirements of the Audit across disciplinary themes is described. Perceived benefits of the ecosystem health approach to natural resource assessment and tests of effectiveness that may be used by the Audit are also discussed.

Inclusion of social data in the National Land and Water Resources Audit

Inclusion of social data in the National Land and Water Resources Audit

A Water Resources Audit for Small Communities

Small and intermediate‐sized municipalities frequently lack the resources to carry out effective water management programs. A detailed, “do‐it‐yourself’ audit is now available to such communities to help them identify available water resources, isolate problem areas, set goals, and develop management strategies. Stressing water conservation and reuse, the audit has five goals: to identify the potential for conservation, to reduce volumetric demand, to reduce peak demand in order to postpone the need for water system expansion, to identify potential uses for wastewater and stormwater, and to promote responsible management of water resources. The guide's self‐help format, complete with questions and instructions, enables municipalities to perform an audit without outside assistance and to repeat the procedure when necessary.