Camel Creek
Contents |
Subcatchments
Smaller Catchments within the Camel Creek Catchment include:
Topography
Vegetation
Riparian Habitat
The following information is summarized from the ACTFR report: Assessing the condition of riparian vegetation in the Burdekin catchment using satellitte imagery and field surveys by Leo Lymburner and John Dowe. 2006. This report can be accessed from the report section below.
iTRARC analysis of Riparian Habitat indicates that this subcatchment was in poor condition in the 1970s with extensive gullying and scalding along the main channel. This has increased in the last 30 years leading to a further decline in catchment condition. The field survey site showed high amounts of regeneration and no weeds at that particular site, however additional sites are required to fully characterize riparian conditions within this subcatchment. High spatial resolution satellite imagery for this catchment on Google Earth ™ shows extensive and deep gully networks and bank erosion along both the major and minor channels in this catchment.
Wetlands
The following information is summarized from the ACTFR report: Assessing the condition of Wetlands in the Burdekin catchment using existing GIS and field knowledge for CCI by Mirjam Maughan, Damien Burrows, Barry Butler, Leo Lymburner and George Lukacs. 2006. This report can be accessed from the report section below.
This sub-division consists of ephemeral creeks without major permanent waterbodies, thus providing limited aquatic habitat value. Bank erosion, including slumping, is prominent along creek-lines here. Poison Lake, an ephemeral lake perched on a plateau with its own catchment area is listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.
Camel Creek wetland condition summary...
Water
Hillslope erosion is identified as the major source of sediment and particulate nutrients affecting water quality within the Camel Creek sub-catchment (64%). Loss of sediment and associated particulate nutrients from hillslopes (supply) is considered to be relatively low (294 kg/ha/yr), but may still be an overestimation based on the relatively good ground cover (only 12% with less than 50% cover). The sediment contribution from gullies is estimated to be subtantial (28% of the total supply or 20 kt/yr). Total loss of sediment and associated particulate nutrients from all sources (supply) is at a moderate level (460 kg/ha/yr). The event mean concentration of sediment is predicted to be moderately high (491 mg/L) due to the relatively lower rainfall and mean annual flow.
For more information see the Water Quality Information Page
Landuse
Principle land uses within the Camel Creek subcatchment as a proportion of total area:
- Grazing: 90.8%
- Conservation & minimal use: 8.6%
- Water: .5%
- Mining: Limited mining activity use identified.
- Urban & semi urban activity use identified.
Grazing Land
Camel Creek is a relatively small sub-catchment where land use is dominated by grazing on natural pastures. Approximately 9% of the land area is set aside for conservation and minimal use.
Land Condition
Definition of ABCD land condition framework
Results of a Rapid Land Condition Assessment (adopted from Hassett et al. 2000) are presented below. The assessment has been devised to subjectively characterise condition while traversing the BDT region by vehicle. The data are based on a total of 4666 observations across the Burdekin region between 2004 and 2007.
The data were collected to provide independent information on land condition and provide a regional perspective. Resource assessment data are most useful when interpreted with other sources of data e.g. time-series remote sensing, modelling and water quality monitoring.
The estimated condition of the Camel Creek sub-catchment is proportioned as follows:
- A Condition: 13%
- B Condition: 35%
- C Condition: 46%
- D Condition: 6%
Data from the Camel Creek sub-catchment is based on 48 observations.
On the basis of the rapid assessment, the Camel Creek sub-catchment is estimated to have the largest proportion of land in poor (C) condition (46%), followed by fair (B) condition (35%) and good (A) condition land (13%). 6% of observed land was in very poor (D) condition.
Ground Cover
Ground Cover in the Camel Creek sub-catchment is proportioned as follows:
- ( BC) Bare Cover: 0%
- ( LC) Low Cover: 4%
- ( MC) Moderate Cover: 24%
- ( HC) High Cover: 70%
- (VHC) Very High Cover: 2%
Data from the Camel Creek sub-catchment are based on 46 observations.
On the basis of the rapid assessment (2004-2007), the Camel Creek sub-catchment is estimated to have the highest proportion of land within the high (HC) ground cover category (70%), followed by moderate (MC) cover (24%) and low (LC) cover (4%) categories. 2% of land was estimated to fall into the very high cover (VHC) category.
Resource Condition Summary
Camel Creek is a relatively small subcatchment where land use is dominated by grazing on native pastures. Approximately 9% of the land area is set aside for conservation and minimal use, while there are many abandoned and operational mines throughout the subcatchment. The condition of riparian habitat in this subcatchment has declined over the last 30 years, with increased gaps in the headwater streams and main channel, and is currently assessed as very poor (D). This subcatchment consists of ephemeral creeks without major permanent waterbodies, thus providing limited aquatic habitat value. Bank erosion, including slumping, is reported to be prominent along creek-lines. Poison Lake, an ephemeral lake perched on a plateau with its own catchment area, is listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.
Hillslope erosion is identified by models as the major source of sediment and particulate nutrients affecting water quality within the Camel Creek subcatchment. However, the contribution from gullies is also identified as subtantial. The rate of soil erosion is predicted to be moderate and just below both the basin and BWQIP region averages, while the total soil loss to waterways from the subcatchment is comparatively low due to its small area. Grazing land condition is assessed as having high proportions in poor (C) and fair (B) condition, while some good (A) and very poor (D) condition land is also apparent. This is also reflected in the rapid ground cover field assessment (2004-07). Analysis of ground cover from satellite imagery (reference) identifies areas of vulnerable 'D' condition land in the lower reaches of Camel, Perry and Hopewell Creeks. However, the mean ground cover over the entire subcatchment fluctuated relatively little between 1999 and 2006 (between 96% and 87%).
Water quality in the Camel Creek subcatchment is predicted by models to have moderately elevated sediment concentrations during wet season event flows. Water quality monitoring data, however, have recorded extremely high concentrations of sediment during wet season flows in Camel Creek. Comparisons are difficult to draw between the monitoring and modelling datasets due to the small sample size collected over only two wet seasons. Nevertheless, in light of reports of large gully networks and streambank erosion, these sources of sediment may be underestimated by the SedNet model and support continued water quality monitoring.
Draft Environmental Values
The aquatic ecosystem values of the Camel Creek subcatchment are poorly known and, while considered to be Slightly to Moderately Disturbed (SMD) as a consequence of the surrounding land use for cattle grazing, the biological communities are thought to remain in a healthy condition and ecosystem integrity is likely to be largely retained. No High Ecological Value (HEV) waters have been identified in the subcatchment. Little is known about the human use Environmental Values of the Camel Creek subcatchment, which are thought to be limited to visual recreation (Poison Lake), use for stock watering, and the cultural and spiritual values of the Kudjala and Badhun traditional owners.
Maps
Camel Creek
Camel Creek Landuse (focus on Camel Creek)
Camel Creek Wetlands
Camel Creek Geology
Please feel free to download the maps in the following formats:
- Camel Creek Map as *.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)
- Camel Creek Landuse Map as *.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)
- Camel Creek Geology Map as *.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)
- Catchment Layer as *.kmz (requires Google Earth)
Photos
- CamelCreek1.jpg
- CamelCreek2.jpg
- CamelCreek3.jpg
Reports
- Assessing the condition of Riparian Vegetation in the Burdekin catchment for CCI (2.8 Mb)
- Assessing the condition of Wetlands in the Burdekin catchment for CCI (10 Mb)
- Water Quality Issues in the Burdekin Region (3.8Mb)
- Monitoring of sediments and nutrients in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region: 2005-06 wet season (4.3 Mb)
- Event based Water Quality Monitoring in the Burdekin Dry Tropics Region: 2004/05 wet season (3.1 Mb)
- A report into the water quality condition of the Burdekin River and surrounds based on the AIMS end-of-catchment sampling program (13.2 Mb)
- Limnological assessment and benchmarking of key sentinel wetlands in the Burdekin catchment
- Improved SedNet Modelling of Grazing Land in the Burdekin Catchment(812Kb)
- Economic, Cultural and Environmental values of streams and wetlands in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region. (23.5Mb)
