Principal Investigators: M. Thoms and R. Norris
Research Officers: M. Parsons and G. Ransom
Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology
Monitoring River Health Initiative Technical Report Number 23
Environment Australia, 2002
ISSN 1447 1280
ISBN 0 642 54889 7
The physical assessment protocol is a 'ready to use' method for collection of the information necessary to construct physical predictive models. Essentially, the protocol is equivalent to the River Bioassessment Manual (Peter Davies, 1994) that was used to direct sampling for the Monitoring River Health Initiative. Full implementation of the protocol will require further steps that progress in the same manner as the development of AusRivAS. Further steps for implementation of the physical assessment protocol are as follows:
It is recommended that these steps are trialed in one State or region before being implemented on a National basis. Physical predictive models have been constructed successfully in the ACT using a limited set of AusRivAS physical data (Davies et al., 2001). However, the ACT is a relatively small area with a limited range of functional process zone types and it would be useful to trial the method on a scale that sits 'in between' the local ACT area and the whole nation. In addition, new analytical techniques for model building have recently emerged (e.g. E-ball) and it would be useful to investigate the ability of these techniques to enhance the robustness and outputs of physical predictive models.
Once fully implemented the physical predictive models will allow ongoing assessment of the physical condition of any test site and will confer the same advantages as the AusRivAS biological predictive models. That is, the models can be used for a wide variety of purposes including State and national reporting and monitoring programs, community monitoring, research and teaching in Universities and commercial consulting. However, even though the physical assessment protocol is similar in philosophy to AusRivAS and complements biological assessments of river health, it should not be seen purely as an 'attachment'; to biological methods. Rather, physical assessment warrants treatment as a separate discipline within river health. This is because physical character and geomorphological process exist independently of biological response and will indicate different aspects of river condition. Assessment of river condition using physical parameters will provide quantitative information on the physical health of rivers, and can be used to set targets for restoration efforts. Combination of the physical and biological assessment of stream condition can be easily achieved via the use of predictive models with the same types of outputs, and represents a potentially powerful tool for scientists and stream managers.
There will be costs associated with implementation of the physical assessment protocol. In particular it will be necessary to visit reference sites to collect physical information. However, the costs of sampling for the physical assessment protocol are reduced relative to AusRivAS, because each reference sites only needs to be visited once, and there is minimal laboratory based processing of field data. There is an office data collection component, and although much of this information can be collected from maps, the costs of maps and GIS access must be incorporated. Additionally, there are costs associated with the construction of predictive models, but it is expected that the existing AusRivAS algorithms could be used to develop and display the models. However, as mentioned above, several new predictive techniques have recently emerged and these should be tested to ensure production of robust physical models. It is expected that in the best case scenario, each State or regional physical predictive model would be available within 6-8 months of the completion of data collection.
The physical variables used in the protocol include many items that are not commonly used in biological assessment protocols (see Part 5 of the protocol document). Given experiences on training and quality control generated from the National River Health Program, it will be necessary to conduct a training program prior to commencement of any sampling program, where sampling teams standardise the collection of local scale data. This training exercise will be critical to the overall quality and success of predictive models, because the collection of local physical information is analogous to the collection of macroinvertebrate samples. In addition, it will also be necessary to provide training in the delineation of functional process zones, because this procedure requires the input of geomorphological expertise. However, many rivers in the Murray Darling Basin have already been characterised into Functional Process Zones. Further recommendations on training are provided in Appendix 1 of the protocol document.
The States and Territories will be able to use the AusRivAS physical and chemical reporting software to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of a test site in relation to corresponding reference sites. The AusRivAS physical and chemical reporting software does not provide a quantitative measurement of physical and chemical condition. Rather, the software allows the user to flag test sites where the measured value of a physical or chemical variable sits outside the range of values measured at corresponding reference sites. These physical and chemical variables can then be used alongside the outputs from the AusRivAS biological models to indicate factors that may be contributing to biological degradation at a test site.
The physical and chemical reporting software currently operates using reference data supplied by each State and Territory. However, as discussed in Section 2.2, individual States and Territories may wish to update the variables included in the reference site data, and reference data sets will need to be updated when there is a change in an AusRivAS predictive model. Updating of reference site data and the accompanying reference variable information sheet will require individual States and Territories to set up new data sets, or to make modifications to the existing data sets. Detailed instructions for updating a reference data set or reference variables information sheet are provided in the User Manual. The updated reference data sets will then need to be forwarded to the software administrator, for insertion into the program.
As detailed in Section 1.2, the software is accessed via the existing AusRivAS website. The user manual that accompanies the software is also available via the same website. Once assigned a password, users will be able to begin using the software to examine the physical and chemical character of test sites. However, there are several aspects that need to be considered for ongoing use and maintenance of the software. These are:
Thus, there will be a requirement for some ongoing funding associated with the implementation, administration and maintenance of the software.