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Landscape - carbon, nutrients, water and productivity - Victoria

Specify a region: -- select region -- Avoca River Barwon River Broken River Bunyip River Campaspe River East Gippsland Glenelg River Goulburn River Hopkins River Kiewa River Lake Corangamite Latrobe River Loddon River Mallee Maribyrnong River Millicent Coast Mitchell River Moorabool River Murray-Riverina Otway Coast Ovens River Portland Coast Snowy River South Gippsland Tambo River Thomson River Upper Murray River Werribee River Wimmera - Avon Rivers Yarra River

Victoria

Landscape material balances

The availability of light, water and nutrients determines the capacity of land to produce natural vegetation and agricultural yield. In Australia, long-term availability of resources and the consequent potential for generating yield, can be assessed by examining the mass balances of the key resources: water and nutrients (in this case nitrogen and phosphorus). Mass balance gives a quantitative picture of:

• resource inflows or sources;
• resource outflows (including both production outputs and unproductive losses or leakages);
• the resource stock (the amount available for use); and
• the way that the stock changes with time in response to the various inflows and outflows.The mass balances of water and nutrients are linked by carbon (or biomass) since plant biomass is approximately 50% carbon. Balances and cycles of water, nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon interact and constrain each other.
• The rate of plant biomass production determines how much resource is available for harvest and for maintaining natural and farmed animal populations.
• Production of plant biomass is closely linked to plant water use, and is usually a dominant outflow in the landscape water balance.
• Production of plant biomass is linked with uptake of nutrients from soil into plants, after which the nutrients are locally recycled through litter or removed in plant or animal harvest.

The net rate that plants build up carbon from the atmosphere by photosynthesis is known as 'net primary productivity' and is most important carbon flow.

Landscape budget assessment

Two models were developed for determining landscape balances of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus and estimate of change in net primary productivity:

• an evolving or time-dependent model (BiosEvolve); and
• an equilibrium or statistically steady state model (BiosEquil).

Predictions of these models are designed to determine large-scale patterns rather than the behaviour of individual farms or paddocks, and should never be interpreted at single-cell (5 km) scale. Uncertainties even at a large region scale (100 km by 100 km or greater) for the models are:

• Net primary productivity: 30%
• Organic stores of C, N and P: 50%
• Mineral stores of C, N and P 100%
• Current/pre-agricultural ratios: 50%
• Leaching and drainage fluxes: large uncertainty

Landscape budgets in Victoria

River basin name	Net Primary Productivity (t Carbon/ha/y)	Total Carbon(plant+ soil+ litter ) tC/ha)	Total Phosphorus(kg P/ha)	Total Nitrogen (kg N/ha)
Avoca River	2	154	988	7,504
Barwon River	4	329	1,850	13,620
Broken River	4	298	1,763	13,530
Bunyip River	5	422	2,550	18,620
Campaspe River	3	305	1,750	13,860
East Gippsland	8	646	3,912	27,500
Glenelg River	4	331	2,009	14,360
Goulburn River	5	474	2,651	20,480
Hopkins River	4	324	1,894	13,840
Kiewa River	6	654	3,454	27,790
Lake Corangamite	4	305	1,850	13,020
Latrobe River	7	647	3,929	28,820
Loddon River	3	249	1,540	12,050
Mallee	2	107	691	5,239
Maribyrnong River	4	415	2,390	19,470
Millicent Coast	3	218	1,433	9,954
Mitchell River	7	844	4,541	35,440
Moorabool River	4	353	1,944	15,160
Murray-Riverina	3	206	1,347	10,410
Otway Coast	6	463	2,583	17,750
Ovens River	5	522	2,861	22,210
Portland Coast	4	328	1,932	13,380
Snowy River	6	716	3,833	31,380
South Gippsland	6	491	3,095	20,230
Tambo River	7	686	3,747	29,040
Thomson River	7	727	4,027	30,540
Upper Murray River	6	749	3,975	31,000
Werribee River	4	413	2,327	18,180
Wimmera - Avon Rivers	2	189	1,273	9,607
Yarra River	6	578	3,326	25,370

Click on the river basin name or map below to view a report on the nutrient - sediment - landscape budget terms.

Further information

• Australian Agriculture Assessment 2001 report
• Landscape balances chapter of the Australian Agriculture Assessment 2001 (theme) report
• Report prepared by CSIRO Land and Water in the development of this work on the coupled balances of water, nutrients and carbon in Australian landscapes (PDF - 3.5 MB)
• Report prepared by CSIRO Land and Water in the development of this work on the coupled balances of water, nutrients and carbon in Australian landscapes (PDF - 1300 KB)
• Link to the Map Maker to make a map using this information.
• Data Library