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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 45(7)

The Brigalow Catchment Study: II*. Clearing brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) for cropping or pasture increases runoff

C. M. Thornton A E , B. A. Cowie B , D. M. Freebairn C and C. L. Playford D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Natural Resources and Water, LMB 1, Biloela, Queensland 4715, Australia.

B PO Box 1762, Rockhampton, Qld 4700, Australia.

C Natural Resources and Water, PO Box 318, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.

D Queensland Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 6014, Rockhampton Mail Centre, Qld 4702, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: Craig.Thornton@nrw.qld.gov.au

Australian Journal of Soil Research 45(7) 496-511 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR07064
Submitted: 22 May 2007  Accepted: 8 October 2007   Published: 12 November 2007

Abstract

The Brigalow Catchment Study (BCS) was established to determine the impact on hydrology when brigalow land is cleared for cropping and grazing. The paired catchment study was commenced in 1965 using catchments of approximately 15 ha, with natural vegetation dominated by brigalow scrub (Acacia harpophylla). Three contiguous catchments were selected near Theodore in central Queensland to represent the extensive brigalow bioregion of central and southern Queensland and northern New South Wales (~40 Mha). The hydrology of the 3 catchments was characterised during a 17-year calibration period (1965–81). The catchments were considered hydrologically similar, with sufficient data available for an empirical comparison between catchments. In 1982, two of the catchments were cleared, with one developed for cropping and the other sown to improved pasture. The third catchment was used as an uncleared control. Hydrologic characteristics were then compared for the following 21 years. In their virgin state, the catchments behaved similarly, with average annual runoff being 5% of annual rainfall. Once cleared, total runoff from the cropping catchment increased to 11% of annual rainfall and total runoff from the pasture catchment increased to 9% of annual rainfall; however, timing of the individual runoff events varied between land uses. In order to confirm that changes in hydrology were a function of land use and not just seasonal variability or sampling error, several analytic techniques were used: a simple comparison of runoff totals, comparison of events, comparison of probability of exceedance for daily runoff, and comparison of predicted and observed runoff using a water balance modelling approach.

Additional keywords: land development, hydrological change, catchment, runoff, brigalow.


Acknowledgments

Numerous staff have contributed to the Brigalow Catchment Study since its commencement in 1965 and an extensive list of you has been compiled in Cowie et al. (2007, this series). Your efforts have made this publication possible.


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*Parts I and III, Aust. J. Soil Res. 45(7), 479–495; 512–523.