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The transfer of sediments through the landscape (sediment connectivity) depends on hydrological conditions. This study aimed at assessing changes in sediment sources engendered under extreme drought. A sediment budget model that considered hillslope sediment connectivity was applied to the Latrobe River catchment (South-east Australia) in a relatively normal period (1990–1996) followed by part of the ‘Millennium Drought’ (1997–2005). Bayesian inference was applied to optimize monthly streamflow and calibrate sediment parameters against mean annual specific sediment yields at ten monitoring stations. In 1990–1996, assessed sediment yield at the outlet was 68 kt/y; 60% of sediments originated from net hillslope erosion and 40% from streambank erosion. In 1997–2005, sediment yield decreased to 13 kt/y, 27% from net hillslope erosion against 65% from streambank erosion. During the drought, both hillslope gross erosion and hillslope sediment connectivity decreased dramatically. Streambank protection is of the utmost importance under all hydrologic conditions and especially during drought periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The tropics of northern Australia have received relatively little attention with regard to the impact of soil erosion on the many large river systems that are an important part of Australia''s water resource, especially given the high potential for erosion when long dry seasons are followed by intense wet season rain. Here we use 137Cs concentrations to determine the erosion processes supplying sediment to two major northern Australian Rivers; the Daly River (Northern Territory), and the Mitchell River (Queensland). We also present data from five sediment samples collected from a 100km reach of the Cloncurry River, a major tributary of the Flinders River (Queensland). Concentrations of 137Cs in the surface soil and subsurface (channel banks and gully) samples were used to derive ‘best fit’ probability density functions describing their distributions. These modelled distributions are then used to estimate the relative contribution of these two components to the river sediments. Our results are consistent with channel and gully erosion being the dominant source of sediment, with more than 90% of sediment transported along the main stem of these rivers originating from subsoil. We summarize the findings of similar studies on tropical Australian rivers and conclude that the primary source of sediment delivered to these systems is gully and channel bank erosion. Previously, as a result of catchment scale modelling, sheet-wash and rill erosion was considered to be the major sediment source in these rivers. Identifying the relative importance of sediment sources, as shown in this paper, will provide valuable information for land management planning in the region. This study also reinforces the importance of testing model predictions before they are used to target investment in remedial action. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Analysis of the changes in rates of catchment sediment storage can provide material evidence of the impact of landscape disturbance on catchment sediment flux. A number of studies have suggested increased sediment yields from the rivers draining to the Great Barrier Reef since European settlement in the mid-nineteenth century. Many of these predictions, which indicate increases between four to ten times the pre-disturbance estimates, are based on large-scale catchment modelling that make some critical assumptions about pre-disturbance erosion rates and/or sediment delivery ratios. In addition, the majority have not been validated by empirical data. This study uses single-grain OSL dating and 137Cs depth profiles to determine pre- and post-floodplain accretion rates in Theresa Creek, a subcatchment of the dry-tropical Fitzroy River basin. We demonstrate that floodplain accretion rates have increased by three to four times since European settlement (ca. A.D. 1850). Decreased rates of floodplain accretion since the mid-twentieth century at sites contributed to by gullied terrain suggest a decrease in the supply of sediment derived from gully networks. In contrast, floodplain accretion rates from areas dominated by cultivation remain high. Widespread in-channel benches deposited since European settlement are stable and appear to be important stores of large volumes of sediment. Low magnitude increases in post-disturbance floodplain sedimentation rates (3 to 4 times), in comparison to those reported from mainly temperate climates (10 to 100 times), are attributed to the naturally high sediment loads typical of dry-tropical catchments. Consequently, previous predictions of large post-disturbance increases in sediment yields from large dry-tropical catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef are likely to be overestimates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Identifying the erosion processes contributing to increased basin fine sediment yield is important for reducing downstream impacts on aquatic ecosystems. However, erosion rates are spatially variable, and much eroded sediment is stored within river basins and not delivered downstream. A spatially distributed sediment budget model is described that assesses the primary sources (hillslope soil erosion, gully and riverbank erosion) and sinks (floodplain and reservoir deposition) of fine sediment for each link in a river network. The model performance is evaluated in a 17,000-km2 basin in south-east Australia using measured suspended sediment yields from eight catchments within the basin, each 100–700km2 in area. Spatial variations within the basin in yield and area-specific yield were reliably predicted. Observed yields and area-specific yields varied by 17-fold and 15-fold respectively between the catchments, while predictions were generally within a factor of 2 of observations. Model efficiency at predicting variations in area-specific yield was good outside forested areas (0.58), and performance was weakly sensitive to parameter values. Yields from forested areas were under-predicted, and reducing the predicted influence of riparian vegetation on bank erosion improved model performance in those areas. The model provided more accurate and higher resolution predictions than catchment area interpolation of measured yields from neighbouring river basins. The model is suitable for guiding the targeting of remediation measures within river basins to reduce downstream sediment yields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rivers draining to the Great Barrier Reef are receiving increased attention with the realisation that European land use changes over the last ∼150 years may have increased river sediment yields, and that these may have adversely affected the reef environment. Mitigation of the effects associated with such changes is only possible if information on the spatial provenance and dominant types of erosion is known. To date, very few field-based studies have attempted to provide this information. This study uses fallout radionuclide (137Cs and 210Pbex) and geochemical tracing of river bed and floodplain sediments to examine sources over the last ∼250 years for Theresa Creek, a subcatchment of the Fitzroy River basin, central Queensland, Australia. A Monte Carlo style mixing model is used to predict the relative contribution of both the spatial (geological) sources and erosion types. The results indicate that sheetwash and rill erosion from cultivated basaltic land and channel erosion from non-basaltic parts of the catchment are currently contributing most sediment to the river system. Evidence indicates that the dominant form of channel erosion is gully headcut and sidewall erosion. Sheetwash and rill erosion from uncultivated land (i.e., grazed pasture/woodland) is a comparatively minor contributor of sediment to the river network. Analysis of the spatial provenance of floodplain core sediments, in conjunction with optical dating and 137Cs depth profile data, suggests that a phase of channel erosion was initiated in the late nineteenth century. With the development of land underlain by basalt in the mid-twentieth century the dominant source of erosion shifted to cultivated land, although improvements in land management practices have probably resulted in a decrease in sediment yield from cultivated areas in the later half of the twentieth century. On a basin-wide scale, because of the limited spatial extent of cultivation, channel sources are likely to be the largest contributor of sediment to the Fitzroy River. Accordingly, catchment management measures focused on reducing sediment delivery to the Great Barrier Reef should focus primarily on decreasing erosion from channel sources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]