Reefonomics

Plan, prioritise and report on the most cost-effective of sub-catchment and basin-level on-ground investment planning and application for water quality improvement (Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) and fine sediments) in agricultural activities and streambank and gully management in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

Reefonomics is a web-based application for creating and modelling potential investment options to support the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan. Reefonomics operates at a sub-catchment scale, with a focus on end of catchment water quality improvements (i.e. fine sediment and DIN). The application uses modelled catchment fine sediment and DIN loads (McCloskey et al. 2021a,b), and a water quality risk framework based on agricultural sector management practice adoption levels (i.e. ABCD) to determine a portfolio of on-ground investment actions. It considers confidence in the prediction of water quality improvement outcomes and variable response timeframes for these outcomes (i.e. immediate vs longer-term).
Reefonomics uses curated libraries of on-ground investment 'actions', related to agricultural practice and point source improvements and streambank and gully management. Co-benefits of actions are also reported. Co-benefits include Biodiversity, Economic, Social, First Nations and Climate Change.

Reefonomics uses a modified marginal cost abatement approach (cost of reducing environmental negatives) to prioritise the most cost-effective actions to improve water quality at the end of the catchment (DIN and sediment loads).
For a scenario run, Reefonomics applies ‘actions’ of land management change (the water quality effectiveness is mostly derived from the paddock modelling activities of the Paddock to Reef program) to modify the base data and areas of actions applied, to ultimately predict a water quality improvement from a provided scenario.

(not documented)

Data required is managed by Truii. It includes:

• Fine sediment (FS) and Dissolved Inorganic Nutrient (DIN) basin loads from the Paddock to Reef catchment modelling program (eWater Source).
• River system Delivery Ratio (RSDR, eWater Source).
• Industry by area (for 11 base industries, eWater Source).
• Industry and streambank management practice from the Reef program ABC framework.
• Stream bank length, size and load, riparian length (eWateSource).
• Gully length, size and load (eWater Source).

• A computational approach that has been built for non-modellers.
• User knowledge of the catchment, land uses and management practice costings are required to populate user defined functions.

Reefonomics hosted on the Truii website. GIS software, spatial datasets, expert and stakeholder information and engagement.

An interactive output page allows users to explore results page for each Scenario, on the program’s web interface that includes:

• Scenario DIN and fine sediment reductions, shown against the Reef 2050 water quality targets.
• A prioritised list of actions based on water quality effectiveness per dollar.
• Spatial exploration of results by regioor subcatchment.
• A breakdown of cost inforgraphic.
• Co-benefit breakdown.

• On-ground investment prioritisation for water quality (DIN and fine sediment) outcomes at the end of catchment.
• Input to planning processes, interfaces and investment programs.

Reefonomics can be used by planners and large-scale Natural Resource Management investors. The results could be useful for local, regional, State and Federal Governments, and natural resource management groups.

• On-ground action libraries built and maintained by Truii.
• User weights relative importance of DIN and/or fine sediment (or co-benefits).
• Temporal response to water quality improvement is considered.
• Considers likelihood of adoption of actions (using ADOPT method).
• Provides a confidence rating in predicted water quality improvement.
• Data versioning control allows the application to be updated with new data, whilst maintaining historical scenarios.
• Scenarios can be run in real time.

• Proprietary software accessed through Truii website enquiry.
• Initially steep learning curve for non-modellers to use.
• Only considers improvements in water quality at the end-of-basin export scale.

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment, Science and Innovation, Queensland (2024) Reefonomics, WetlandInfo website, accessed 25 June 2024. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/resources/tools/assessment-search-tool/reefonomics/