Information
Nutrient losses under simulated rainfall from pasture plots in the Great Lakes District, New South Wales
Level 1 General description
Purpose:
To determine the processes by which nutrients and solids enter waterways from pastures in the Great Lakes district in New South Wales.
Methods (brief)
Rainfall simulations, using a 100-year return storm event, were conducted to determine nutrient and suspended solid concentrations in the runoff of 8 pasture sites in 3 of the catchments in the district.
Key findings (brief)
- On 5 of the 8 sites, considerable concentrations of N or P were mobilised during the simulated rainfall event, but average nutrient concentrations and total loads across all sites were relatively low and similar to other studies of nutrient runoff from pastures.
- Rainfall runoff responses at the sites were similar in the 3 catchments.
- Pastures generated peak nutrient concentrations soon after the commencement of runoff and declined by the end of the rainfall event.
- Due to high to very high infiltration, runoff is not found to be a major pathway for nutrients in the area.
Location
Wallamba catchment
Related studies
The same experiment was carried out on sites in the Myall and Wang Wauk catchments.