An Australian government study on Tuesday showed that farmers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area had adopted practices to protect the quality of water run-off in the region.

In recent times, Queensland's farmers are under pressure to change land management practices to protect creeks and rivers flowing out to the reef.

The survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that 73 percent of farmers in the region use practices to directly manage surface water run-off.

Almost all (97 percent) undertook at least one management practice - such as soil testing -- to decide how much fertilizer to apply to their crops, the ABS Environment team found.

It also found that there was a high rate of non-chemical weed and pest controls.

However, the survey also established major differences across the region in the take-up of land management practices.

"This can reflect physical conditions such as rainfall patterns, the shape of the land and river locations, as well as reflecting social and economic factors," the ABS Environment team' s Michael Vardon said.

"These areas may need a different approach to controlling run- off from areas that receive chemical fertilizers," Vardon said.