NESP TWQ Project 5.11: On-Farm Nitrogen Management for Water Quality, 2019-2020

This project evaluates strategies to reduce nitrogen fertilizer runoff from sugarcane farms into the Great Barrier Reef. It tests production zone yield potential and enhanced efficiency fertilizers at identified nitrogen loss 'hot spots' to measure water quality, productivity, and economic impacts. The dataset is associated with the Australian Ocean Data Network and was last updated in July 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling dissolved inorganic nitrogen runoff to the Great Barrier Reef based on fertilizer application rates mentioned in the description
• Comparing the environmental impact of enhanced efficiency fertilizers versus standard fertilizers as tested in farm trials
• Assessing the economic and productivity trade-offs of reducing 'surplus nitrogen' in sugarcane farming
• Identifying geographic 'hot spots' for nitrogen loss to prioritize remediation efforts

Strengths

• Focuses on a major environmental issue: 55,000+ tons of nitrogen fertilizer applied annually in Reef catchments.
• Data is derived from existing farm trials at identified nitrogen loss 'hot spots', suggesting real-world validation.
• Evaluates multiple indicators: water quality, productivity, and economic factors.

Limitations

• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing on Great Barrier Reef catchments.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Utilized existing farm trials at identified nitrogen loss 'hot spots'.

Time Range

2019-2020

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 15:09:02.063570; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef catchments, Australia