Rollston River

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Contents

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 has undergone relatively little change since the 1970s and is still in good condition. However the field survey TRARC sites show one good and one poor site, and additional field surveys may pick up on the diversity of conditions beneath the canopy i.e. the areas that remote sensing cannot detect.

more...

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.

Rollston River is a largely dry seasonal river though a few permanent waterholes are present (eg, beside Harvest Home homestead). Condition is considered to be typical of sub-divisions in this area that are dominated by cattle grazing. Limited water quality data is available for the Harvest Home waterhole in Burrows (2000). Pettit and Dowe (2003) examined the age structure of the rare palm in riparian areas of creeks in this area, finding that they were threatened by fire regimes.

Rollston River wetland condition summary...

Water

SedNet Modelling of Water Quality

The following statistics are summarized from the CSIRO report: Improved SedNet Modelling of Grazing Lands in the Burdekin Catchment by Kinsey-Henderson, A., Sherman, B. and Bartley, R. 2007. This report can be accessed from the report section below.

Model results for the Rollston River subcatchment are summarized as follows:

  • Subcatchment modelled area: 1,448 sq. km.
  • Source contributions: Hillslope = 54%; Gully = 44%; Streambank = 2%
  • Area of sub-catchment with <50% ground cover: 351 sq. km or 24% of subcatchment
  • Hillslope sediment supply: 220 kg/ha/yr
  • Total suspended sediment (flow weighted) supply: 59 kt/yr
  • Total suspended sediment supply (flow weighted; normalized to area): 405 kg/ha/yr
  • Total suspended sediment end-of-subcatchment (flow weighted) yield: 53 kt/yr
  • Event Mean Concentration (EMC - flow weighted): 608 mg/L
  • Mean Annual Flow: 86,529 ML

Hillslope and gully erosion are both identified as major sources of sediment and particulate nutrients affecting water quality within the Rollston River sub-catchment (54% & 44% respectively). Hillslope erosion is predicted to contribute 220 kg/ha/yr. It is estimated that approximately 24% of the subcatchment has poor ground cover (<50%). The rate of soil loss from all sources (supply) is considered moderate to low (405 kg/ha/yr) when compared to other sub-catchments. The event mean concentration of sediment is considered moderate (608 mg/L) when compared to other subcatchments.

Water Quality Monitoring

There are no water quality monitoring data available for this catchment.

Relevant information of Water Quality Monitoring in the Cape Campaspe River Basin can be found by following these links:

Environmental Uses and Values

The following summary of environmental uses and values is based on information extracted from the following reports: Social, Economic, Cultural and Environmental Values of Streams and Wetlands in the Burdekin Dry Tropics Region by Greiner, R and Hall, N. 2006 and Burdekin Basin Draft Water Resource Plan by Queensland Dept. of Natural Resources, Mines and Water, 2006, The Greiner and Hall 2006 report may be accessed from the report section below. 


Definition of Environmental Values in the Queensland Water Quality Guidelines


Fish.jpg Aquatic Ecosystems:

The aquatic ecosystem values of the Rollston River 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.

Rollston River subcatchment draft HEV waters

Cow.jpg Stock Watering:

Water supply for production of healthy livestock.


Feet.jpg Cultural and Spirtual:

Custodial use of water by Kudjala and Birri traditional owners.

Landuse

Principle land uses within the Rollston River subcatchment as a proportion of total area:

  • Grazing: 93.5%
  • Conservation & minimal use: 6%
  • Mining: Limited mining water activity use identified.
  • Water: Limited water activity use identified.
  • Urban & semi urban: Limited urban & semi urban water activity use identified.


Grazing Land

Rollston River is a relatively small subcatchment where land use is dominated by grazing on natural pastures.


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 Rollston River sub-catchment is proportioned as follows:

  • A Condition: n/a
  • B Condition: 3%
  • C Condition: 75%
  • D Condition: 22%

Data from the Rollston River sub-catchment is based on 64 observations.

On the basis of the rapid assessment, the Rollston River sub-catchment is estimated to have the largest proportion of land in poor (C) condition (75%), followed by very poor (D) condition (22%) and fair (B) condition land (3%). Data not available for (A) condition land.

Ground Cover

Ground Cover in the Rollston River sub-catchment is proportioned as follows:

  • ( BC) Bare Cover:6%
  • ( LC) Low Cover: 80%
  • ( MC) Moderate Cover: 14%
  • ( HC) High Cover: 0%
  • (VHC) Very High Cover: 0%

Data from the Rollston River sub-catchment are based on 64 observations.

On the basis of the rapid assessment (2004-2007), the Rollston River sub-catchment is estimated to have the highest proportion of land within the low (LC) ground cover category (80%), followed by moderate (MC) cover (14%). 6% of land was estimated to fall into the bare cover (BC) category.

Resource Condition Summary

Rollston River is a relatively small subcatchment where land use is dominated by grazing on natural pastures. Approximately 6% of the land area is remnant native vegetation with minimal use. Riparian habitat in the subcatchment has undergone relatively little change in the last 30 years and is currently assessed to be in fair (B) condition. Rollston River subcatchment is a largely dry, sandy creek system with few permanent waterholes.

Hillslope and gully erosion are both identified by models as major sources of sediment and particulate nutrients affecting water quality within the Rollston River subcatchment. The rate of soil loss is predicted to be moderate, but only marginally higher the the basin average. The total soil loss from the subcatchment is comparatively low due to its small size. Land condition is assessed as having high proportions of poor (C) and very poor (D) condition land. This is also reflected in the rapid ground cover assessment (2004-07). However, analysis of ground cover from satellite imagery (reference) show that while mean ground cover over the entire subcatchment declined substantially from 1999 to 2006, the subcatchment is not particularly vulnerable to further decline.

Water quality in the Lower Cape River subcatchment is predicted by models to be moderately impacted, with elevated concentrations of suspended sediment at end-of-subcatchment. There are no water quality monitoring data with which to compare the modelled concentrations. Water quality monitoring in this subcatchment would be useful to verify model predictions.

Draft Environmental Values

The aquatic ecosystem values of the Rollston River 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 Rollston River subcatchment, which are thought to be limited to use for stock watering, and the cultural and spiritual values of the Kudjala and Birri traditional owners.

Maps

  • Rollston River

  • Rollston River Landuse (focus on Rollston River)

  • Rollston River Wetlands

  • Rollston River Geology

Please feel free to download the maps in the following formats:

Photos

  • RollstonRiver1.jpg
  • RollstonRiver2.jpg
  • RollstonRiver3.jpg

Reports

Data

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