Understanding Carbon In The Northern Territory: An Analysis Of Future Land Use Scenarios Using The National Carbon Accounting Tool

Final report 14 December 2009

Report to the Tropical Savanna Management Cooperative Research Centre

Rob Law and Stephen T. Garret
School for Environmental Research
Charles Darwin University

This project asses the utility and performance of the National Carbon Accounting Toolbox (NCAT), particulary its Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM), for estimating carbon stocks and fluxes throughout the Northern Territory. The NCAT has been developed by the Australian Greenhouse Office as an integral component of the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS). The report is presaged by caveats because the NCAT has not been fully parameterised for troical savannas in Australia.

This report is available

Fibre crops program environmental issues that relate to a pulp mill: Water management studies in the Daly River Basin

Dept of Primary Industry and Fisheries, 1990?
Assessment of water supply and wastewater disposal options were examined for a possible paper pulp mill operation in the Douglas/Daly area.

Copy available in NRETAS Library

Tidal estuary width convergence: Theory and form in North Australian estuaries

Gareth Davies, Colin D. Woodroffe, 2010.
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms v.35

In order to better understand the relations between tidal estuary shape and geomorphic processes, the width profiles of 79 tidal channels from within 30 estuaries in northern Australia have been extracted from LANDSAT 5 imagery using GIS. Statistics describing the shape and width convergence of individual channels and entire estuaries (which can contain several channels) are analysed along with proxies for the tidal range and fluvial inputs of the estuaries in question. ...
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123269217/abstract
DOI 10.1002/esp.1864

A Compendium of Ecological Information on Australia's Northern Tropical Rivers

Lukacs, G.P. and Finlayson, C.M. (eds) 2008. A Compendium of Ecological Information on Australia's Northern Tropical Rivers. Sub project 1 of Australia's Tropical Rivers - an integrated data assessment and analysis (DET18). A report to Land & Water Australia. Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, National Centre for Tropical Wetland Reseacrh, Townsville, Queensland.
9 reports cover the following topics: geomorphology, estuaries, hydrology, riparian vegetation, water quality, aquatic macroinvertebrates, freshwater fish, aquatic reptiles and waterbirds
http://www.environment.gov.au/ssd/tropical-rivers/triap-sp1.html

Printed copy available at NRETAS and DPI Library

An assessment of the conservation values of the wetlands of the lower and middle reaches of the Daly River, Northern Territory ...

French, Veronica, 2007, An assessment of the conservation values of the wetlands of the lower and middle reaches of the Daly River, Northern Territory, against criteria for national heritage and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. MSc in World Heritage Management, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin. 188 p.

This thesis provides a summary of the natural, historical and cultural values of the wetlands in the Daly River region and evaluates them against criteria for National Heritage and Ramsar listing.

Daly River Vegetation mapping project: updated final report

1:100,000 scale map of the native vegetation in the Nothern territory, Project report to NT NRMB, Luke Peel, 2009. Technical Report 08/2009D.

This project was successful in researching and developing a suitable method by which native vegetation can be mapped at a refined scale in a more rapid and cost effective way than previous methods allowed. An intermediate map product of the Daly Catchment was produced at 1:100,000 scale depicting broad structural vegetation community types.

Copy available at NRETAS and DPI Library

Daly Basin Vegetation Mapping trial methodology completed by CDU eCognition group

Charles Darwin University, Tropical Spatial Sciences Group (2007?)
This trial was to ascertain the capabilities of eCognition to classify remotely sensed data and other products to identify land types and classify them into groups based on vegetation, lithology and location in the landscape.
http://ecognitiondalyriver.wikispaces.com/

copy available at NRETAS and DPI library

Daly basin draft vegetation mapping

Report to Dept. of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, Northern Territory and Greening Australia, Northern Territory by Bernard Fitzpatrick, Spatial 31 Pty Ltd, 25 Sept. 2006.

Spatial 3i Pty Ltd was engaged to produce a draft map of the vegetation communities of the Daly Catcahment based on LANDSAT TM imagery provided by the Northern territory Dept. of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts.

Copy available at NRETAS and DPI Library

Seasonal tidal and freshwater chemistry of the south Alligator and Daly rivers

Chappell, John and Ward, Peter. 1985 in Coasts and Tidal Wetlands of the Australian Monsoon Region, eds K.N. Bardsley, J.D.S Davie and C.D. Woodroffe, Australian National University North Australia Research Unit Mangrove Monograph no.1, Darwin.
Describes major changes in inorganic chemical properties of two large tidal rivers, the Daly and the South Alligator, through the wet-dry season cycle. Wet season water quality is determined largely by flood runofffrom the catchment. Dry season chemistry is affected by turbulent diffusion of seawater upstream.

Copy in NRETAS and DPI Library

Hydrology of the lower Daly River, Northern Territory

Chappell, John and Bardsley, Kristin. 1985. Australian National University, North Australia Research Unit, Darwin.
This survey describes statistical behaviour of the freshwater discharge of the Daly River just upstream of the tidal limit, and inundation of the floodplains below the tidal limit. Objectives of this report include description of the statistical behaviour of discharge throughout the wet season.

Copy available at NRETAS and DPI Library

A statistical analysis of flood hydrology and bankfull discharge for the Daly River catchment, Northern Territory, Australia.

Paul Rustomji, 2009
CSIRO: Water for a healthy country flagship report series, 09/2009
This report presents a flood frequency analysis for ten gauging stations within the Daly River catchment.

Landscape design for maintaining ecosystem services in tropical agricultural landscapes:

The response of fauna and flora to landscape mosaics and implications for land clearing policy.
Report to Land and Water Australia. Dept. of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport, Darwin. Griffiths, A.D. et al., 2009
Project TRC07 - Managed through Tropical Savanna CRC

"To investigate the relationship between fragmentation, habitat loss and terrestrial biodiversity we conducted extensive surveys in the Douglas Daly region of the Top End of the Northern Territory in 2007 and 2008. This study shows that the impacts of land clearing on biodiversity are substantial at the scale of individual properties (represented as “landscapes” in this study), even if they retain some areas of native vegetation."

Copy available : NRETAS and DPI Library.

A model to predict the response of the benthic macroalga Spirogyra to reduced base flow in the tropical Australia

S. A. Townsend and A. V. Padovan 2009
River Research and Applications v. 25(9) p. 1193-1203

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/122208520/ABSTRACT
A model was developed to predict the impact of reduced dry season base flow, due to groundwater and river extraction, on the standing crop of Spirogyra along an 18 km reach of the Daly River, located in the Australian wet/dry tropics.

Visions of Tropical River Futures for Northern Australia

N. Collier, Coast 2 Coast Conference, Darwin 2008
Potential scenarios for the Daly River region are explored using a systems modelling approach engaging multiple stakeholders.
http://www.track.gov.au/publications/registry/144

TRaCK Project: 1.1: Scenarios for tropical rivers and coasts: integrating the TRaCK research program

The future of tropical rivers: which vision is the most sustainable?

Garnett, S and Collier N. 2008
RiPRaP (River and Riparian Lands Management Newsletter) n. 33 pp.41-42.
http://lwa.gov.au/products/pn20694
TRaCK Project 1.1: Scenarios for tropical rivers and coasts: integrating the TRaCK research program

Exploring scenarios for a tropical river catchment using systems dynamics modelling

River Symposium Conference, Brisbane 2008.
Potential scenarios for the Daly River region are explored using a systems modelling approach engaging multiple stakeholders.
http://www.track.gov.au/publications/registry/158
see TRaCK project 1.1 Scenarios for tropical rivers and coasts: integrating the TRaCK research program

Sediment sources and channel dynamics, Daly River, Northern Australia

R.J. Wasson, L. Furlonger, D. Parry, T. Pietsch, E. Valentine and D. Williams, 2009.
Geomorphology doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.06.022
The Daly River occupies a mainly undisturbed large catchment in the Australian wet-dry tropics. Concerns about possible increased sediment input to the River from clearing and cropping has motivated this study of fine sediment sources.

Available through Science Direct

Aspects of Modelling the Daly River

Valentine, Eric M.
In: Proceedings of Water Down Under 2008; pages: 875-884. Lambert, Martin (Editor); Daniell, Trevor M (Editor); Leonard, Michael (Editor). Modbury, SA: Engineers Australia ; Causal Productions, 2008.
"Observations suggest that there has been considerable siltation in the estuary since 1880, and there are indications that there are instabilities in the channel plan form. The question as to whether these instabilities are driven by hydrological or anthropogenic influences from previous limited agricultural development is crucial to the decision on future development and how it should be managed. A numerical model of the hydrodynamics and morphology of the Daly River is being constructed to help determine the transport and fate of sediments on the floodplain and in the channel. This paper presents an overview of some model approaches being applied to the Daly River."

Available through Informit Engineering Collection or through the National Library.

River floodplain - foodweb subsidies

Stuart Bunn
This project will describe how seasonal flooding of rivers over their floodplains contributes to changes in the foodweb as feeding grounds for aquatic fauna expand and contract and determine how some current land management practices are affecting the floodplain food webs of northern rivers. The primary focus for the project will be the Mitchell River floodplain in Queensland. Some components of the project will also take place in the Daly River floodplain in the Northern Territory.
http://www.track.gov.au/research-projects/503

Gamba Grass Management in the Lower Daly

Wangamaty Landcare Co-ordinator - Joye Maddison
The Wangamaty Landcare Group and the MalakMalak rangers find and spray Gamba grass annually in the wet season and also identify & treat other grassy weeds. At the same time they to support and encourage other landholders to control and monitor their Gamba sites. The management strategy is to identify & treat ‘outliers’, follow-up at previously treated sites, survey and then tackle larger sites. Crucial to the Gamba management strategy is collecting and recording data for every site and every single outlier plant treated. This information is then passed on to DNRETAS Weed Management branch.