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  • Nutrients

• Landscape
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Landscape - carbon, nutrients, water and productivity - Western Australia

Specify a region: -- select region -- Albany Coast Ashburton River Avon River Blackwood River Busselton Coast Cape Leveque Coast Collie River De Grey River Denmark River Donnelly River Drysdale River Esperance Coast Fitzroy River (WA) Fortescue River Frankland River Gascoyne River Greenough River Harvey River Isdell River Keep River Kent River King Edward River Lennard River Lyndon-Minilya Rivers Mackay Moore-Hill Rivers Murchison River Murray River (WA) Ninghan Nullarbor Onslow Coast Ord River Pentecost River Port Hedland Coast Preston River Prince Regent River Salt Lake Sandy Desert Shannon River Swan Coast Warburton Warren River Wooramel River Yarra Yarra Lakes

Western Australia

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 Western Australia

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)
Albany Coast	3	165	1,116	7,035
Ashburton River	0	17	155	909
Avon River	2	92	660	4,413
Blackwood River	3	200	1,256	8,957
Busselton Coast	3	157	1,074	6,629
Cape Leveque Coast	1	32	256	1,277
Collie River	4	194	1,206	7,605
De Grey River	0	13	126	668
Denmark River	4	252	1,598	9,579
Donnelly River	6	332	1,978	13,470
Drysdale River	1	35	249	1,406
Esperance Coast	2	143	946	6,343
Fitzroy River (WA)	1	21	173	961
Fortescue River	0	22	195	1,184
Frankland River	3	230	1,413	9,938
Gascoyne River	0	12	120	650
Greenough River	2	71	555	3,330
Harvey River	3	157	1,112	6,492
Isdell River	1	45	314	2,045
Keep River	1	33	245	1,431
Kent River	4	261	1,641	10,040
King Edward River	2	55	363	2,537
Lennard River	1	35	266	1,601
Lyndon-Minilya Rivers	0	15	131	792
Mackay	0	15	143	706
Moore-Hill Rivers	2	92	693	4,040
Murchison River	0	18	171	920
Murray River (WA)	3	175	1,095	7,426
Ninghan	1	44	334	2,080
Nullarbor	0	26	207	1,363
Onslow Coast	0	19	158	969
Ord River	1	25	201	1,158
Pentecost River	1	20	164	807
Port Hedland Coast	0	15	138	828
Preston River	4	215	1,396	8,873
Prince Regent River	2	54	348	2,431
Salt Lake	1	36	273	1,748
Sandy Desert	0	10	104	438
Shannon River	6	317	1,877	12,300
Swan Coast	3	123	788	4,922
Warburton	0	18	160	856
Warren River	4	271	1,606	11,320
Wooramel River	1	25	200	1,196
Yarra Yarra Lakes	1	38	310	1,871

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