{"id":8326,"date":"2023-08-21T00:19:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T00:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/streambank-erosion-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-08-23T00:00:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T00:00:58","slug":"monitoring-constructed-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/monitoring-constructed-wetlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Constructed wetlands"},"content":{"rendered":"[mk_page_section bg_image=”https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/aerialreef4.jpg” bg_position=”center center” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_stretch=”true” enable_3d=”true” min_height=”500″ js_vertical_centered=”true” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” section_id=”donate” el_class=”donate-1″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”70px”][mk_fancy_title font_family=”none” align=”center”]WATER QUALITY – CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider size=”67″][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section section_id=”great-1″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1563789112768{padding-right: 36px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”great_header_left”][mk_padding_divider size=”100″ visibility=”hidden-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”15″ visibility=”visible-sm”][mk_padding_divider visibility=”visible-tl”][mk_fancy_title size=”28″ letter_spacing=”4″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none” el_class=”terrain-title-2″]NEW FUNDING TO MONITOR CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider size=”60″ visibility=”hidden-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”20″ visibility=”visible-nb”][vc_column_text el_class=”sub-head” css=”.vc_custom_1692577385835{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]21 AUGUST 2023[\/vc_column_text][mk_padding_divider size=”5″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1692577779522{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Two constructed wetlands on farmland in the Cassowary Coast region are under the spotlight, with new funding announced to monitor how they can improve water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is funding a project led by Terrain NRM at the wetland sites in Mourilyan and Tully, which were created almost four years ago as potential water treatment systems to reduce nitrogen runoff from sugarcane farms.<\/p>\n

Terrain NRM water quality monitoring leader Alicia Buckle said monitoring over several years as part of the now completed Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project had shown the wetlands\u2019 potential for removing dissolved inorganic nitrogen.<\/p>\n

Removing nitrogen from the water<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have evidence that the wetlands are removing nitrogen from the water cycle but we still have a lot to learn about how dissolved inorganic nitrogen travels through wetlands like these, and under what conditions these sites are most effective at removing nitrogen,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

With the new funding, Terrain NRM will be working with James Cook University, Griffith University and scientists from the Queensland Government\u2019s departments of Environment and Science and Agriculture and Fisheries to regularly monitor the wetlands, including during large rainfall events.<\/p>\n

Terrain NRM water quality project manager Karen Lindee said results would help to determine the wider scale potential of constructed wetlands on low-lying farmland.<\/p>\n

The one-year project is now part of the three-year Tully Johnstone Water Quality Program, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government\u2019s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. This program is reducing the amount of dissolved inorganic nitrogen entering the Great Barrier Reef\u2019s waters through a range of projects including working with farmers to improve yield and nutrient management, and building a better understanding of water quality issues using local-scale water quality monitoring.<\/p>\n

Tully and Johnstone: Priority catchments for runoff reduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tully and Johnstone River basins, on the Cassowary Coast, are priority catchments for nutrient runoff reduction. This is an area with significant sugarcane and banana land, where farmers have been working for a number of years on changing to farming practices which improve water quality.<\/p>\n

The Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project, which included both the construction and the previous monitoring of the two wetlands, was funded by the Queensland Government\u2019s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. This project also focused on reducing nutrient, sediment and pesticide run-off into waterways.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1563789122720{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 34px !important;}” el_class=”great_header_right”][mk_padding_divider size=”206″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_padding_divider size=”50″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_padding_divider size=”50″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_padding_divider size=”5″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1692577758241{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\"\"<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tully wetland
\n<\/strong>Tully Sugar Limited has set aside eight hectares of land to help trial ways of reducing nutrient and sediment run-off. A wetland was formed on low-lying grazing land with a design that encouraged shallow flooding and allowed natural wetland vegetation to grow back. Data has shown it is a high performing site. As vegetation has become more established, the wetland\u2019s nitrogen removal capacity has consistently improved. It is estimated to remove over 1000kg of nitrogen a year.<\/p>\n

Mourilyan wetland<\/strong>
\nA wet piece of marginally productive land on a cane farm was converted into a 1.2-hectare wetland, indicating that, with some remediation and construction, low-lying areas can effectively remove dissolved inorganic nitrogen from the water. Vegetation establishment has been a key factor, with a thriving ecosystem of plant life forming in a short timeframe and enabling the denitrification process to occur.<\/p>\n

ABOUT WETLANDS<\/strong><\/p>\n