Water quality trends in river catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef: an analysis of ~40 years of data

Overview

Long-term data from seven key rivers of the Great Barrier Reef catchment area show encouraging declines in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and/or suspended sediment (SS) concentrations. While some trends appear to be associated with improved fertiliser management and catchment condition, attributing these declines solely to land use management is difficult. Incomplete data on management investments, together with mixed upstream land uses and climate and hydrological variability, make it hard to link the observed patterns to specific causes.