The Ecological Process Calculator: a tool for prioritising ecological processes important to the Great Barrier Reef

In 2009, the Outlook for the Great Barrier Reef identified water quality and coastal development as two of the three main threats to the Great Barrier Reef. The publication Informing the Outlook for Great Barrier Reef Coastal... [ view full abstract ]

In 2009, the Outlook for the Great Barrier Reef identified water quality and coastal development as two of the three main threats to the Great Barrier Reef. The publication Informing the Outlook for Great Barrier Reef Coastal Ecosystems (published in 2012) showed that widespread modifications have occurred in much of the Great Barrier Reef catchment. What is not known is what, if any, impact these changes are having on the Reef and what are the levels of acceptable change?
Ecological processes provided by catchment coastal ecosystems are critical for the long term health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef. Ecological processes include biological, biogeochemical and physical processes. For example coastal ecosystems such as wetlands trap water allowing biofilms and aquatic algae to grow and assimilate heavy metals, they allow sediments to settle and nutrients to be cycled. Wetlands also slow overland flows allowing greater groundwater recharge and more residual time for ecological processes to occur. They are also important habitats and refugia with species connected to the Reef.
The Ecological Processes Calculator is a general tool for assessing the changes to ecological processes provided by catchment ecosystems that support the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef. The calculator compares the capacity of pre-European (pre-clear) coastal ecosystem ecological processes to those of a present day (2009) catchment made up of natural and modified ecosystems. The calculator can also be used to determine the impacts of improved practices (current best practice) on the ecological processes provided at a general scale and, when used with ‘blue maps’ as a tool for functional restoration planning.