Cheesman, Alexander W., Nelson, Paul N., Lim, Han She, Todd, Shannon, Kaartinen-Price, Jai, MacGregor, Colin, Datta, Bithin, Owen, Liz, and Ah-Kee, Dennis (2020) Denitrification bioreactor trial in the Russell River catchment of the Wet Tropics: final report. Report. James Cook University, Cairns, Qld, Australia.

Preview

PDF (Published report) - Published Version Download (14MB) | Preview

Abstract

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in runoff from agricultural land is considered to have a significant detrimental impact on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Losses of DIN to runoff can be reduced by good agricultural practices, but they cannot be eliminated entirely in the Wet Tropics due to the need for adequate nitrogen supply to crops, the high solubility of DIN, particularly nitrate, and high rainfall. Thus, it is inevitable that DIN concentrations are higher in runoff from agricultural land than from forested areas. Some of this DIN is removed from the water as it moves through aquifers, creeks, rivers, and wetlands on its way to the sea, through the process of microbial denitrification. Denitrification involves the conversion of nitrate and nitrite (NOx-N) to dinitrogen (N2) gas, which is lost to the atmosphere.

Denitrification requires NOx-N, organic matter, and low oxygen concentration. Wetlands provide these conditions, so DIN concentrations decline in water moving through them. Similarly, denitrifying bioreactors are designed to treat water by passing it through a porous organic material, typically woodchips. The woodchips provide organic matter for the microorganisms, which in turn lower the oxygen concentration, providing ideal conditions for denitrification.

Denitrifying bioreactors are now widely used to remove the NOx-N component of DIN from agricultural runoff water elsewhere, but they have not yet been evaluated in the Wet Tropics. The Wet Tropics pose a challenge for efficacy due to the large volumes of water moving through the landscape. The objective of this project was “to establish the effectiveness of denitrifying bioreactors as a remediation technology for excess DIN in agricultural runoff within the Babinda Swamp Drainage Area (BSDA) of the Russell catchment”. The Russell River exports a disproportionate amount of DIN to the GBR lagoon because of the high rainfall and high proportion of agriculture, mostly sugarcane, in its catchment.

Item ID:	63754
Item Type:	Report (Report)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Funders:	Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP)
Date Deposited:	04 Jun 2021 05:36
FoR Codes:	04 EARTH SCIENCES > 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience > 040608 Surfacewater Hydrology @ 20% 05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050205 Environmental Management @ 40% 07 AGRICULTURAL AND VETERINARY SCIENCES > 0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management > 070101 Agricultural Land Management @ 40%
SEO Codes:	82 PLANT PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 8203 Industrial Crops > 820304 Sugar @ 20% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9609 Land and Water Management > 960905 Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Water Management @ 20% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9611 Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water > 961103 Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water in Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments (excl. Urban and @ 60%
Downloads:	Total: 104 Last 12 Months: 6
	More Statistics