We have identified the need for development of appropriate water quality biomonitoring tools that recognise natural variability in Australia’s rivers and are capable of linking water quality and quantity with land-use practices.

After the release of the Australian Water Quality Guidelines, the biological assessment of water quality entered a stage of increased development that led to the refinement of several biotic indices including SIGNAL and, more recently, the multi-indicator DIBM3 (Design and Implementation of Baseline Monitoring) approach; a system designed for south-east Queensland.

However, the appropriateness of these indices to the specific circumstances of Western Australian and comparable rivers elsewhere is uncertain. This situation is inadequate because land degradation, particularly through salinisation and nutrient enrichment, is probably the greatest threat to river health in these regions.

It is imperative, therefore, that new or modified existing ‘tools’ are developed for this region. These tools would combine ecological patterns and processes, and would have to respond to environmental impacts caused by land degradation and be applicable to similar degraded (often salinised) systems in other parts of Australia.

Project aims

The main aim of this project is to develop appropriate biomonitoring tools, or multiple-indicators, that will allow the continuing evaluation of the impact of land degradation (particularly salinisation and nutrient enrichment) on surface waters. From this assessment, the derivation of threshold values and guidelines could be included in management practices.