To protect and improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef, the Queensland Government's Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan targets that 90% of sugarcane, horticulture, cropping and grazing lands in priority areas be managed using best management practices for sediment, nutrient and pesticides by 2025. Progress towards this target is insufficient and variable across catchments and industries. The motivation to adopt improvements in management practices is heavily influenced by social, economic, cultural and institutional dimensions. In this paper we synthesise the literature on how these human dimensions influence decision making for land management practice and highlight where future investment could be focussed. We highlight that focussing on —1) investigating systems to support landholder decision making under climate uncertainty (risk); 2) generating a better understanding of the extent and drivers of landholder transaction cost; 3) understanding if there are competing ‘right’ ways to farm; and 4) improving understanding of the social processes, trust and power dynamics within GBR industries and what these means for practice change— could improve practice change uptake in the future.

The use of natural flood management (NFM) measures to address severe flooding received considerable public attention during December 2015–January 2016 storms. Within the Warwickshire-Avon Catchment, UK, high arable and improved grassland land cover with small, isolated communities at risk, lead to the exploration of novel techniques that use farmland high up in flood-prone catchments to hold water and reduce outflow discharge. This paper will discuss the methodology used to identify areas in the Warwickshire-Avon, which could be used to install NFM measures to attenuate the storm peak and provide wider ecosystem services, principally addressing total phosphate and sediment entering the receiving watercourse. This involved constructing a GIS database of catchment geomorphological characteristics whilst simultaneously engaging with those significant stakeholders of farmers and landowners to capture local input and produce a model for applied NFM for future projects looking to explore the role of working with natural processes (WwNP) for flood risk reduction within the agricultural environment. The advantages, disadvantages and key lessons learnt are also presented in this paper, to recognise the benefits and limitations of communities and catchments exploring such methods for flood risk management (FRM).

Forested riparian buffers isolate streams from the influence of harvesting operations that can lead to water temperature increases. Only forest cover between the sun and stream limits stream warming, but that cover also reduces in-stream photosynthesis, aquatic insect production, and fish productivity. Water temperature increases that occur as streams flow through canopy openings decrease rapidly downstream, in as little as 150 m. Limiting management options in riparian forests restricts maintenance and optimization of various buffer contributions to beneficial uses, including forest products, fish, and their food supply. Some riparian disturbance, especially along cold streams, appears to benefit fish productivity. Options for enhancing environmental investments in buffers should include flexibility in application of water quality standards to address the general biological needs of fish and temporary nature of clearing induced warming. Local prescriptions for optimizing riparian buffers and practices that address long-term habitat needs deserve attention. Options and incentives are needed to entice landowners to actively manage for desirable riparian forest conditions.