Landscape - carbon, nutrients, water and productivity - South Australia

South 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 South 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)
Broughton River	3	175	1,111	8,520
Coopers Creek	1	25	217	1,388
Diamantina River	0	9	100	522
Eyre Peninsula	3	167	1,062	7,705
Finke River	0	18	147	895
Fleurieu Peninsula	4	260	1,619	11,510
Gairdner	1	38	264	1,897
Gawler River	3	198	1,227	9,197
Georgina River	0	13	125	695
Glenelg River	4	331	2,009	14,360
Hay River	0	11	90	497
Kangaroo Island	4	233	1,442	9,934
Lake Frome	0	12	106	665
Lake Torrens	0	22	163	1,184
Lower Murray River	1	84	542	4,243
Mackay	0	15	143	706
Mallee	2	107	691	5,239
Mambray Coast	1	77	488	3,834
Millicent Coast	3	218	1,433	9,954
Myponga River	3	244	1,478	10,640
Nullarbor	0	26	207	1,363
Onkaparinga River	3	228	1,313	9,912
Spencer Gulf	1	88	602	4,366
Torrens River	3	196	1,098	8,525
Wakefield River	3	191	1,222	9,217
Warburton	0	18	160	856
Willochra Creek	2	113	714	5,696

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

Map of SA's river basins

Further information

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