Research at the Australian National University could help save the ailing Gwydir Wetlands, one of the most significant wetland ecosystems in Australia.

Scientists at the ANU's Fenner School of Environment and Society are developing an eco-hydrological model to improve water management over 200 square kilometres of wetland habitats, including critical breeding grounds for waterbirds.

The wetlands, near Moree in inland NSW, were listed under the international Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1999 in recognition of their importance as breeding and feeding grounds for colonial waterbird species.

In good years, half a million birds flock to the area to breed. But the site is now under threat as water is extracted from the Gwydir River for agriculture, including irrigated cotton. Farm dams in the region, which also produces beef and wool, intercept large volumes of water in the catchment. Floods are now less potent and frequent, and sometimes the wetland bird breeding season fails. Global warming is expected to exacerbate the problem.

The Fenner School's multidisciplinary team of scientists is working on an eco-hydrological model for the Gwydir River floodplain to predict minimum environmental flows needed to keep the wetlands viable.

Developed by ecologist Sue Powell during her PhD program at the school, the model is being developed further with an integrated team of academics and students from the Fenner School of Environment and Society in conjunction with the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and the University of New England. The model aims to put more rigour into water management and to strike a balance between the environment and agriculture.

Mathematician Will Francis is validating the model, which calculates the water depth at points across the catchment from equations relating parameters including inflow, outflow, rainfall, evaporation and the water holding capacity of the soil.

"There are many competing demands on the water," says Francis, a candidate for the Fenner School's Graduate Diploma in Environment.

"It's important to get the environmental flow measurements right. The model will make it easier to deliver the needs of the environment. It helps in arguing for needs of the environment if you can say more precisely what those needs are."

The prototype model is expected to be tested by water and environmental managers later this year before development of a full scale eco-hydrological model is commissioned. It will be adaptable to other wetlands in Australia and around the world.