ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF LAND DEGRADATION IN COASTAL DRAINAGE BASINS OF NORTH QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA - INFLUENCE OF FARMING PRACTICES

Views expressed by sugar cane farmers in the Johnstone Rivers system, north Queensland, are consistent with the broader community concern about the potentially adverse ecological effects of point source discharges to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. The main link between agricultural land use and the deterioration of surface and groundwater quality in the region is perceived by the farmers to be a consequence of the influence exerted by new farm management strategies and economic constraints on local environmental variables, particularly soils. The effectiveness of the land use practices in relation to land capability and productivity thresholds is considered by farmers to be essential for developing new farm management strategies and for improving water quality in the north Queensland coastal regions. As a result of increasing inhomogeneity of land use practices involving the application of chemicals, catchment based investigation, including systematic interviews with the land users, is needed for the development of reliable databases on problems related to the discharge of agricultural chemicals to coastal waters.