Assess the health of your riparian zones (areas adjoining temporary or permanent water courses) by answering True or False to the questions in the Riparian Zone. This assessment form can be used for either permanent water courses or for floodplains/major drainage lines, eg, if site 1 is along a permanent water course, then don’t fill in the Ts and Fs for the flood plain/drainage line statements, and if site 2 is a gully or drainage line, don’t fill in the Ts and Fs for permanent watercourses. Use additional forms to assess more than four sites.

Download the Riparian Zone Assessment Form (PDF 67KB).

Determining the rating

Determine the riparian zone health rating that corresponds to the number of ‘true’ scores recorded for each site you assessed. Indicate the rating at the bottom of the Riparian Zone Assessment Form.

14–17 ‘true’ observations = green

This riparian zone is in excellent condition and should remain stable under most circumstances. The vegetation is all or mostly native, with a mix of mature trees and understorey. The trees are regenerating and there is little or no weed invasion or weeds are being effectively controlled. The banks are in good condition and there is no evidence of erosion. Some possible suggestions for this section of riparian zone include:

• Celebrate your success! Take the family there for a picnic, and/or invite your local landcare group to use this riparian zone as an example of good management.
• The primary response is to keep doing most of what you have been doing because the riparian zone is in good to excellent condition.
• Look at any ‘false’ scores and see what can be done to turn them into ‘true’, eg, if there are feral predators present, control activity might be warranted (see tool 5.11 ).

8–13 ‘true’ observations = orange

This riparian zone is showing some signs of decline and instability and some of the important elements of a healthy riparian zone are likely to be missing. Because the overall condition of the site is still pretty good, any attempts to implement a rehabilitation program should be effective in both the short and longer term. The most appropriate response will depend on the ‘false’ scores and on the priority of this site compared to others on the farm, but some general suggestions include:

• Try the zero dollar option first — give the riparian zone a spell from grazing for a year or two and then assess it again before contemplating more significant intervention.
• Look at the ‘false’ scores and see what can be done to turn them into ‘true’, eg, if the site has active erosion, then some control strategy will be needed (see procedure 5.3 ).
• Particularly examine the grazing management of this site and the frequency of stock access because overgrazing is a key process in degrading native vegetation generally, but riparian zones particularly as they often include watering points and sheep camps.
• Regeneration with native plants and weed control is usually part of any program to improve riparian zones.

0–7 ‘true’ observations = red

This is a highly disturbed riparian zone that has been (or is) in serious decline and that is not sustainable under current management practices. It is most likely that the majority of the native species (especially the understorey) have been grazed out and replaced with exotic pasture species or weeds. At the lower scores, overgrazing for a long period of time is the most likely history of the site. The site requires an immediate rehabilitation program to halt the decline, and then improve the site’s production and environmental values. If some mature native trees still exist, they can form the basis of a revegetation program, providing nesting sites not offered by trees with a diameter of less than 70cm. Some suggestions include:

• Fence the riparian zone to allow more control over grazing time and pressure and to eliminate sheep camping.
• If the area is at the higher end of this range of scores, try the zero dollar option first — give the riparian zone a spell from grazing for a year or two and then assess it again before planning other interventions, if required.
• If there are other riparian zones on the farm with higher assessment scores, some effort into improving them will yield quicker results and perhaps valuable lessons to apply to this, more seriously degraded area.
• Revegetate with young trees and understorey species, either through natural regeneration or targeted plantings.
• Leave fallen trees and branches in place and suspend firewood collection.
• Control rabbits or other pests (see tools 5.10 and 5.11 ) to allow effective regeneration. A compromise with leaving fallen trees and branches in place may be needed.
• Active erosion in streams or gullies may require engineering solutions, eg, water diversion at the head of the gully, to stabilise the riparian zone (see procedure 5.3 ).

Are My Waterways in Good Condition? A checklist for assessing river, stream or creek health on farms. The Rivers and Water Quality sub-program of Land, Water & Wool, Rivers and Water Quality produced this quick and easy checklist to help sheep producers assess the health of rivers, creeks and streams running through their property. Download your free copy from the Land, Water & Wool product directory at: www.landwaterwool.gov.au