Grazing is the biggest land use in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area occupying 31.1 million hectares of land (73% of the catchment). Grazing lands can be vulnerable to soil erosion and are estimated to contribute 60% of the total load of fine sediment exports to the Great Barrier Reef. […]

Sugarcane is the second largest agricultural export in Queensland and covers 400,000 ha in the Great Barrier Reef catchment. Sugarcane growing contributes 42% of the total dissolved inorganic nitrogen load and is the dominant source of pesticides delivered to the Great Barrier Reef. Several land management practices in sugarcane areas

Broadacre crops in Queensland other than sugarcane include grains such as wheat, barley, sorghum, maize, chickpea, and faba bean, and other crops including cotton, and cover 2.8% of the Great Barrier Reef catchment. Irrigated and dryland cropping contributes 4% of the total fine sediment load to the Great Barrier Reef.

Banana growing and horticulture cover 0.2% of the Great Barrier Reef catchment, and contribute around 1% of the total fine sediment load, 1% of total exports of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and large amounts of pesticides to the Great Barrier Reef. Much less is known about the effectiveness of management practices

Urban areas cover 0.7% of the Great Barrier Reef catchment area and contribute 2% of the fine sediment load and 7% of dissolved inorganic nitrogen exports. A range of both structural measures (engineered; such as sediment control and upgrades to sewage treatment plants) and non-structural measures (such as policy, planning,