Journal articles on the topic 'Riparian restoration – Australia'
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Higgisson, William P., Paul O. Downey, and Fiona J. Dyer. "Changes in Vegetation and Geomorphological Condition 10 Years after Riparian Restoration." Water 11, no. 6 (June 14, 2019): 1252. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w11061252.
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Riparian restoration is an important objective for landscape managers seeking to redress the widespread degradation of riparian areas and the ecosystem services they provide. This study investigated the long-term outcomes of ‘one-off’ restoration activities undertaken in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment, NSW, Australia. The objective of the restoration was to protect and enhance riparian vegetation and control erosion, and consequently reduce sediment and nutrient delivery into the Murrumbidgee River. To evaluate the outcomes 10 years after restoration, rapid riparian vegetation and geomorphological assessments were undertaken at 29 sites spanning the four different restoration methods used (at least five replicates per treatment), as well as at nine comparable untreated sites. We also trialed the use of aerial imagery to compare width of riparian canopy vegetation and projective foliage cover prior to restoration with that observed after 10 years. Aerial imagery demonstrated the width of riparian canopy vegetation and projective foliage cover increased in all restored sites, especially those with native plantings. The rapid assessment process indicated that 10 years after riparian restoration, the riparian vegetation was in a better condition at treated sites compared to untreated sites. Width of riparian canopy vegetation, native mid-storey cover, native canopy cover and seedling recruitment were significantly greater in treated sites compared to untreated sites. Geomorphological condition of treated sites was significantly better than untreated sites, demonstrating the importance of livestock exclusion to improve bank and channel condition. Our findings illustrate the value of ‘one-off’ restoration activities in achieving long-term benefits for riparian health. We have demonstrated that rapid assessments of the vegetation and geomorphological condition can be undertaken post-hoc to determine the long-term outcomes, especially when supported with analysis of historical aerial imagery.
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Ecker, S., A. Karafilis, and R. Taylor. "Challenges of the Blackwood Basin, Western Australia." Water Science and Technology 43, no. 9 (May 1, 2001): 37–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2001.0504.
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Growing concern about the declining state of the catchment and river led to the formation of the Blackwood Basin Group in 1992. Funded primarily by the Natural Heritage Trust and using the river as the focus, the group aims to provide leadership and support to achieve sustainable management of natural resources in the catchment. Through an Integrated Catchment Management approach, the Blackwood Basin Group has managed a range of projects to improve the community's understanding and management of the Blackwood River and its catchment. A number of research, education, demonstration and on-ground action activities relating to river management have been undertaken in partnership with community and local, state and federal government organisations. Activities include demonstrations and evaluations of riparian restoration, funding riparian restoration activities, protection of high conservation value remnant vegetation, a flood risk study, zone action planning and monitoring the condition of the river and its tributaries.
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Borchard, Philip, John McIlroy, and Clare McArthur. "Links between riparian characteristics and the abundance of common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) burrows in an agricultural landscape." Wildlife Research 35, no. 8 (2008): 760. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr08071.
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Agricultural riparian zones are often vulnerable to weed invasion and degradation of the physical streambank character through the trampling of livestock. Riparian zone restoration seeks to improve habitat biodiversity, minimise streambank erosion and improve water quality. In order for this to be effective land managers need to broadly understand the connections between riparian systems and adjoining agricultural ecosystems and to understand the habitat requirements of wildlife species adapted to the evolving riparian landscape. Common wombats (Vombatus ursinus) are abundant in the riparian agricultural landscapes of south-eastern Australia, but there is concern about their persistence in other landscapes. To understand the importance of riparian characteristics for wombats, we examined five physical and five vegetative characteristics associated with abundance of wombat burrows in the riparian zone of an agricultural landscape in south-eastern New South Wales, using two independent datasets. The abundance of wombat burrows increased substantially with increasing shrub cover in both datasets. There was weaker but consistent support for an association between wombat burrows and stream order and vegetation width. There were more burrows per metre by high than low order streams and burrows were most abundant at an intermediate vegetation width. In one of the two datasets, burrow abundance declined as the proportion of native shrubs in the shrub layer increased. As wombats are generally limited to riparian buffers in agricultural landscapes, these results are important as a first step toward managing and restoring the riparian zone. Restoration strategies, for example, may need to consider retaining patches of shrubs, even if they are weeds, whereas native shrubs are established in interspersed patches along larger rivers, in order to maintain suitable wombat habitat.
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Giling, Darren P., Ralph Mac Nally, and Ross M. Thompson. "How sensitive are invertebrates to riparian-zone replanting in stream ecosystems?" Marine and Freshwater Research 67, no. 10 (2016): 1500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf14360.
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Clearing native vegetation has pervasive effects on stream and river ecosystems worldwide. The stated aims of replanting riparian vegetation often are to restore water quality and to re-establish biotic assemblages. However reach-scale restoration may do little to combat catchment-scale degradation, potentially inhibiting restoration success. Whether reinstating biodiversity is a realistic goal or appropriate indicator of restoration success over intermediate timeframes (<30 years) is currently unclear. We measured the response of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages to riparian replanting in a chronosequence of replanted reaches on agricultural streams in south-eastern Australia. Sites had been replanted with native vegetation 8–22 years before the study. Indices of macroinvertebrate sensitivity did not respond to replanting over the time gradient, probably because replanting had little benefit for local water quality or in-stream habitat. The invertebrate assemblages were influenced mainly by catchment-scale effects and geomorphological characteristics, but were closer to reference condition at sites with lower total catchment agricultural land cover. Reach-scale replanting in heavily modified landscapes may not effectively return biodiversity to pre-clearance condition over decadal time-scales. Restoration goals, and the spatial and temporal scale of processes required to meet them, should be carefully considered, and monitoring methods explicitly matched to desired outcomes.
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Bain, Karlene, Adrian Francis Wayne, and Roberta Bencini. "Spatial ecology of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus) in the southern forests of Western Australia: implications for the maintenance, or restoration, of functional metapopulations." Australian Mammalogy 42, no. 1 (2020): 38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/am18036.
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We used radio-telemetry to investigate the home-range size and movement patterns of the quokka (Setonix brachyurus) in the southern forests of Western Australia to assess the ability of animals to move between increasingly segregated habitat patches and to identify implications for metapopulation function. We found that quokkas in this region have a much larger home range (71 ± 5.8 ha) and move larger distances (up to 10 km per night) than previously reported for this species in other regions. Temporal and sex variations in home-range size, overlap and movement patterns provided insights into the social structure, reproductive strategies and resource availability for the species in this part of its range. Quokkas moved up to 14 km between habitat patches, where these patches were connected by dense riparian vegetation. While riparian vegetation was used exclusively for movement between habitat patches, quokkas spent only 40% of their time in this ecotype. The current management paradigm of protecting linear riparian vegetation as habitat for quokkas is important for maintaining habitat connectivity, but is unlikely to meet broader habitat and spatial requirements. Management of preferred habitat as well as riparian corridors is necessary for the maintenance of a functional metapopulation.
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Johnson, Matthew, Paul Reich, and Ralph Mac Nally. "Bird assemblages of a fragmented agricultural landscape and the relative importance of vegetation structure and landscape pattern." Wildlife Research 34, no. 3 (2007): 185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr06103.
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Many of the world’s agricultural areas have greatly reduced levels of natural vegetation. This results in highly fragmented mosaic landscapes with multiple land-use types. We examined the importance of vegetation and landscape pattern by comparing the bird assemblages of riparian zones, non-riparian forest patches, and pasture in a fragmented agricultural landscape in south-eastern Australia. Bird surveys were conducted every four weeks at 27 sites in the Goldfields region of central Victoria for one year. The landscape context (position and shape of patches) and vegetation attributes were measured for each site. We found that bird assemblages strongly differed among these landscape elements. Mean abundance was significantly greater at forested patches, and there was a three-fold reduction in species richness at pasture sites. Bird assemblage structure was influenced substantially more by vegetation than by the landscape context of sites. Our results indicate that riparian vegetation is a key element for avian diversity, even in massively altered landscapes. The restoration of riparian vegetation and its connectivity with adjacent forest types would greatly benefit bird assemblages in agricultural areas.
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Becker, Alistair, and Belinda J. Robson. "Riverine macroinvertebrate assemblages up to 8 years after riparian restoration in a semi-rural catchment in Victoria, Australia." Marine and Freshwater Research 60, no. 12 (2009): 1309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf08350.
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Willow removal followed by riparian revegetation is a widespread river restoration practice in Australia, but the ecological response to this has rarely been evaluated. We sampled river macroinvertebrates from six sites each of three riparian vegetation types: revegetated (treatment), willow-dominated (control) and native forest (reference) in the Gellibrand River catchment during austral spring 2007 and autumn 2008, and measured temperature and light intensity. Revegetated sites varied in age from 1 to 8 years since restoration. Abundances of invertebrates were similar across vegetation types, but were higher during autumn. Macroinvertebrate assemblages at revegetated sites (regardless of age) and at willow-dominated sites showed little among-site variation compared with native forest sites, which showed high site-to-site variability. Water temperatures and light intensity were higher at revegetated sites where works had recently been completed and cooler in native forest sites and long-established revegetated sites. The reduced variability in macroinvertebrate communities among revegetated sites may result from their history as willow-dominated sites or from the disturbance created by willow removal. Either way, these results suggest that longer than 8 years is required before macroinvertebrate assemblages in restored stretches of stream show the variation that appears characteristic of natural sites.
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M. Fisher, Andrew, and David C. Goldney. "Use by birds of riparian vegetation in an extensively fragmented landscape." Pacific Conservation Biology 3, no. 3 (1997): 275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc970275.
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The bird communities of six riparian woodland sites are described and compared with those of eight terrestrial woodland sites in the Central Tablelands near Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Riparian woodland, where still present in the Central Tablelands, is dominated by either relatively narrow strips of Casuarina cunninghamiana along stream banks or the less restricted Angophora floribunda trees associated with Eucalyptus melliodora?E. blakelyi woodlands. Four of the riparian sites were located within cleared agricultural land and two were located within a relatively large nature reserve. Bird censuses along a strip transect were conducted twice per season from spring 1993 to summer 1996. The riparian woodland communities contained within the cleared landscape of the Bathurst basin were found to support a diverse avifauna, a mix of woodland-forest and species associated with agricultural landscapes. Extensive observations of individual birds at riparian sites indicate that the tree canopy is the most widely used microhabitat stratum. While native riparian woodlands are generally degraded, their connectivity and stabilizing function (actual or potential) identifies them as a critical landscape component in maintenance or restoration programmes. Hence it is suggested that riparian strips could form the basis for rehabilitation initiatives within this landscape. Fenced plantings of endemic tree species supplemented by native understorey species could be linked with existing vegetation to enhance landscape connectivity. It is crucial that landholders become aware of the importance of riparian vegetation for nature conservation and stream stabilization. Incentives should be provided to landholders to encourage these areas to be fenced from stock in order to protect them from further degradation in a significantly disturbed ecosystem.
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Sims, Alexander J., and Ian D. Rutherfurd. "Local scale interventions dominate over catchment scale controls to accelerate the recovery of a degraded stream." PLOS ONE 16, no. 6 (June 17, 2021): e0252983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252983.
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A premise of stream restoration theory and practice is that it is often futile to attempt to restore a stream at the reach scale (101–103 metres) until catchment scale problems have been addressed. This study considers reach scale restoration actions undertaken in Bryan Creek, a sand bed river in south east Australia impacted by a sediment pulse, after catchment sediment sources have been addressed. Local scale interventions, which were in-stream sand extraction, fencing to exclude stock and riparian revegetation, were evaluated by quantifying cross-section and thalweg variability, mapping in-stream and riparian vegetation and by classifying the morphology that emerged following each intervention. Following intervention channel reaches moved to one of three distinct states: simple clay bed, eroding reaches dominated by Juncus acutus, and reaches with deep pools and Phragmites australis. Boundaries between the intervention reaches were sharp, suggesting local scale interventions dominate over catchment scale processes. The magnitude and spread of variability metrics were similar between all reaches and differences in variability bore no relation to intervention type, despite the stark difference in post-intervention morphology. These findings suggest that cross-section and thalweg variability metrics are an inadequate proxy for the effectiveness of local scale interventions in accelerating the recovery of sand bed reaches from a bedload pulse. The most important implications for river managers is that local scale interventions can lead to substantial and rapid improvements in condition, and the change in condition of these reaches is almost independent of other reaches. In this case, the key to the pattern of reach scale geomorphic recovery is excluding stock from waterways so that a specific macrophyte can establish, trap sediment and develop pools.
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Reid, D. J., P. S. Lake, G. P. Quinn, and P. Reich. "Association of reduced riparian vegetation cover in agricultural landscapes with coarse detritus dynamics in lowland streams." Marine and Freshwater Research 59, no. 11 (2008): 998. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf08012.
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Studies were conducted on streams flowing through agricultural floodplains in south-eastern Australia to quantify whether reductions in riparian canopy cover were associated with alterations to the input and benthic standing stocks of coarse allochthonous detritus. Comparisons were made among three farmland reaches and three reaches within reserves with intact cover of remnant overstorey trees. Detritus inputs to these reaches were measured monthly over 2 years using litter traps. Direct inputs to streams within the reserves were relatively high (550–617 g ash free dry weight (AFDW) m–2 year–1), but were lower at farmland reaches with the lowest canopy covers (83–117 gAFDW m–2 year–1). Only a minor fraction of the total allochthonous input (<10%) entered any of the study reaches laterally. The mean amounts of benthic detritus were lowest in the most open farmland reaches. Standing stocks of benthic detritus were found to be highly patchy across a large number of agricultural streams, but were consistently very low where the streamside canopy cover was below ~35%. Canopy cover should be restored along cleared agricultural streams because allochthonous detritus is a major source of food and habitat for aquatic ecosystems. Given the absence of pristine lowland streams in south-eastern Australia, those reaches with the most intact remnant overstorey canopies should be used to guide restoration.
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Harris, Carla J., Michelle R. Leishman, Kirstie Fryirs, and Garreth Kyle. "How Does Restoration of Native Canopy Affect Understory Vegetation Composition? Evidence from Riparian Communities of the Hunter Valley Australia." Restoration Ecology 20, no. 5 (August 24, 2011): 584–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100x.2011.00823.x.
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Williams, Laura, Paul Reich, Samantha J. Capon, and Elisa Raulings. "Soil seed banks of degraded riparian zones in southeastern Australia and their potential contribution to the restoration of understorey vegetation." River Research and Applications 24, no. 7 (September 2008): 1002–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rra.1123.
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Kitchingman, Adrian, Zeb Tonkin, Renae M. Ayres, Jarod Lyon, Justin C. Stout, Ian D. Rutherfurd, and Paul Wilson. "Predicting natural instream woody-habitat loads across large river networks." Marine and Freshwater Research 67, no. 12 (2016): 1844. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf15246.
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Past waterway management practices worldwide involved extensive removal of instream woody habitat (IWH) and riparian vegetation. The importance of instream woody habitat for healthy aquatic ecosystems has now been recognised, with management approaches reversed to reintroduce instream woody habitat and replant riverbanks. Knowledge of natural or pre-disturbance IWH loads is useful to guide such restoration programs; however, such datasets are often unavailable. In this study, natural IWH loads were mapped along 105km of undisturbed rivers in south-eastern Australia. This field dataset was modelled, using boosted regression trees, against geomorphic, environmental and climatic variables to predict natural IWH loads in rivers across Victoria. Mapped natural IWH loads averaged 0.029m3m–2 (±0.005), ranging from 0.083 to 0.002m3m–2. Natural IWH volumes were predicted to range from 0 to 0.102m3m–2. Distinct IWH loading trends were noticeable over larger spatial scales. Eastern Victoria showed relatively lower natural IWH loads than did western Victoria. Because many stream restoration efforts do not have a quantifiable knowledge of natural IWH load, the results of the present study provide some guidance. The predicted IWH loadings are a useful first step in identifying broad areas for further investigation and a natural condition base for current IWH condition modelling.
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Bartolo, Renee E., Andrew J. Harford, Chris L. Humphrey, Amy K. George, and Rick A. van Dam. "Defining the importance of ecological processes for monitoring aquatic habitats for conservation and rehabilitation objectives at the Ranger uranium mine, Kakadu Region, Australia." Marine and Freshwater Research 69, no. 7 (2018): 1026. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf17256.
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Key ecological processes must be present and maintained in ecosystems to ensure the success of ecological restoration and conservation programs. The present paper identifies and defines key ecological processes operating at various spatial scales within aquatic ecosystems of the Magela Creek catchment, within Kakadu National Park, and prioritises those that may be vulnerable to potential mine-derived stressors. This assessment was required to ensure that current and future environmental monitoring programs are in place to safeguard the protection of these processes, particularly in the context of rehabilitation of Ranger uranium mine. Ecological processes within riparian habitats and biotic interactions across all habitats were at a higher risk of exposure to potential stressors. Generally, the selected assessment endpoints used for the operational phase of the mine are sufficient to measure and assess ecological processes. However, biological endpoints require additional suitable early detection indicators because marked lags exist in their response, which will be more important during the rehabilitation phase of the mine because of the longer timeframes to be assessed. The lags would otherwise allow potential impacts to underpinning processes to pass undetected. Risk identification allows monitoring programs to move beyond simple measurement variables to full evaluation of underlying ecological processes, which maintain both structure and function in ecosystems.
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C. Chessman, Bruce, and Simon A. Williams. "Biodiversity and conservation of river macroinvertebrates on an expanding urban fringe: western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology 5, no. 1 (1999): 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc990036.
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As in many growing urban areas, the prevention of environmental damage as Sydney spreads westward into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River basin is a major challenge for planners, managers and the local community, We surveyed macroinvertebrates at 45 river and stream sites in April-June 1996, and reviewed data from other sources, in order to assess the issues involved in conservation of the lotic macro invertebrate fauna, Regional richness is high with 443 recorded species and morphospecies, Cluster analysis showed community pattems related mainly to waterway size (separating the Hawkesbury-Nepean River from tributary streams), geology (tributaries on shale or sandstone), tidal intrusion and urbanization (impoverished faunas in urban streams). The ability of genus richness of mites and major insect orders to reflect overall genus richness at a site was limited, and Diptera and Trichoptera appear to have the greatest value as biodiversity predictors. Urban expansion is the major threat to lotic macro invertebrate communities in the region, but agriculture, flow regulation, sand and gravel ex1raction and introduced species have probably also impacted on the fauna, Streams with high conservation value for macroinvertebrates include those few on the Cumberland Plain and surrounding slopes that retain substantial indigenous vegetation in relatively undeveloped catchments. The Hawkesbury-Nepean River sfill harbours a rich faunal community and is also important for conservation, The development of effective strategies for conservation assessment and management is problematic for several reasons, Some species in the region are known to be vulnerable, but the status of most cannot be assessed because of a lack of taxonomic and zoogeographic information, Most "biodiversity indicator" concepts are of dubious value for aquatic macroinvertebrate conservation. A multi-faceted management approach emphasizing subcatchment reserves, riparian restoration and the control of threatening processes is required.
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Armour, J. D., L. R. Hateley, and G. L. Pitt. "Catchment modelling of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient loads with SedNet/ANNEX in the Tully - Murray basin." Marine and Freshwater Research 60, no. 11 (2009): 1091. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf08345.
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A long-term, annual-average catchment biophysical model (SedNet/ANNEX) was used to calculate sediment, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads in the Tully–Murray catchment of north-eastern Australia. A total of 119 000 t year–1 of suspended sediment, equivalent to 430 kg ha–1 year–1, was calculated to be exported to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Most of the sediment (64%) was generated from hill-slope erosion. The modelled load of dissolved inorganic N (1159 t year–1 or 4.2 kg N ha–1 year–1) was similar to that from other wet tropics catchments in Queensland with similar areas of sugarcane. Sugarcane produced 77% of this load. The annual loads of total N and total P were 2319 t and 244 t, respectively. Simulations (scenarios) were run to evaluate the impact of improved land management on pollutant loads to the GBR. A combination of improved cultivation and fertiliser management of sugarcane and bananas (99% of cropping land) and restoration of the most degraded riparian areas reduced sediment by 23 000 t year–1 (18%) and dissolved inorganic N by 286 t year–1 (25%). However, this reduction is much less than the reduction of 80% that may be needed in the catchment to meet target chlorophyll loads in the marine environment.
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Clemann, Nick, Michael P. Scroggie, Michael J. Smith, Garry N. L. Peterson, and David Hunter. "Characteristics of refugia used by the threatened Australian growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis) during a prolonged drought." Wildlife Research 40, no. 5 (2013): 385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr13058.
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Context Because they are dependent on water, drought can have a deleterious impact on aquatic-breeding amphibians. One such species, the threatened growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis) occurs in south-eastern Australia, a region that has recently emerged from a decade-long, severe drought. Aims We aimed to identify features of drought refugia that facilitate persistence of L. raniformis, so as to provide guidance to natural-resource managers attempting to conserve populations of this species during drought. Methods We conducted repeat surveys for L. raniformis at 90 water bodies at the end of the ‘millennium drought’. We recorded the following six environmental variables for each water body: origin (natural or not), type (lotic or lentic), proportion of aquatic vegetation cover, conductivity of water, riparian tree-canopy cover and distance to the nearest woodland. We used occupancy models to relate the presence of L. raniformis to these variables, while accounting for uncertain detection. Key results Water-body type (natural or artificial, lentic or lotic) had minimal influence on the probability of occupancy by L. raniformis. We found a strong negative relationship between occupancy and conductivity of water (a surrogate for salinity), and a positive relationship between occupancy and the proportion of aquatic vegetation. We found a negative relationship between detection and the extent of aquatic vegetation, and a mildly negative effect of canopy cover on occupancy. Conclusions Habitat characteristics are more important indicators of the quality of drought refugia for L. raniformis than is the type of water body per se. Consequently, we identified aquatic vegetation and salinity as important targets for management when planning the retention, creation or restoration of habitat to facilitate persistence of L. raniformis during drought. Implications Our results highlighted aquatic vegetation and water-quality parameters that are likely to facilitate the persistence of L. raniformis during drought. Assessing the effectiveness of our recommendations in an experimental framework would ensure that conservation management of this frog can be refined over time.
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Long, A. Lexine, Karin M. Kettenring, and Richard Toth. "Prioritizing Management of the Invasive Grass Common Reed (Phragmites australis) in Great Salt Lake Wetlands." Invasive Plant Science and Management 10, no. 2 (June 2017): 155–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/inp.2017.20.
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Nonnative invasive species are one of the biggest threats to biodiversity worldwide. In many cases the extent of the area invaded by an invasive species is so substantial that there are simply insufficient resources to control and manage the full extent of the invasion. Efficient use of resources and best management practices are critical for achieving invasive species management goals. Systematic regional planning is one way to quantitatively prioritize different management actions across the landscape, and is a tool that could be applied to large-scale invasive species management. Spatial prioritization has been used in several wetland restoration planning studies, in forest restoration, and in riparian and watershed restoration. Spatial prioritization has not been used as extensively in invasive species management, yet there are clear opportunities for spatial prioritization methods to inform invasive species management. Here we apply results from species distribution models to create a prioritization framework for control of the invasive wetland grass common reed, one of the most problematic invasive plants in North American wetlands.
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Prins, N., P. M. Holmes, D. M. Richardson, and C. F. Musil. "A reference framework for the restoration of riparian vegetation in the Western Cape, South Africa, degraded by invasive Australian Acacias." South African Journal of Botany 70, no. 5 (December 2004): 767–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0254-6299(15)30178-2.
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Volesky, Jerry D., Stephen L. Young, and Karla H. Jenkins. "Cattle Grazing Effects on Phragmites australis in Nebraska." Invasive Plant Science and Management 9, no. 2 (June 2016): 121–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1614/ipsm-d-15-00056.1.
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Phragmites australis (common reed) is one of the most widely distributed flowering plants in North America. The introduced lineage occurs in wetland and riparian areas covering a range of climatic types. In Nebraska, an abundance of livestock could help to reduce P. australis with proper timing and grazing intensities. In 2011, a 3-yr study was initiated to evaluate targeted cattle grazing and herbicide effects and the nutritive value of this species. Treatments included a single application of imazapyr (Habitat®, BASF Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC) herbicide applied in the first year, grazing, and a control. Grazing was applied for up to five consecutive days in June and August 2011 and 2012 and in June 2013. Stem density, height, and biomass of P. australis were determined before each grazing period and in 2014. Diet samples were collected from rumenally fistulated steers each grazing period. Imazapyr provided 100% control of P. australis; however, re-establishment began 2 yr posttreatment. Grazing significantly reduced pregrazing P. australis biomass in the second and third growing season (P < 0.05). Stem density and height in the grazed treatment was similar to the control through 2012; however, in 2013 and 2014, control stem density was 1.5 times greater and height was 1.4 times that of the grazed treatment. Crude protein content of diet samples was greater in 2011 (16.8%) compared with 2012 (14.3%, P < 0.05). In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of diet samples (45.4%) was not affected by year or month (P > 0.05). The relatively low IVDMD suggests that some form of energy supplementation would be needed to create a better nutritional balance. The cumulative effect of grazing does have the potential to reduce P. australis populations, but other methods would have to be used for greater control and site restoration.
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Zak, D., H. Reuter, J. Augustin, T. Shatwell, M. Barth, J. Gelbrecht, and R. J. McInnes. "Changes of the CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> production potential of rewetted fens in the perspective of temporal vegetation shifts." Biogeosciences 12, no. 8 (April 24, 2015): 2455–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2455-2015.
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Abstract. Rewetting of long-term drained fens often results in the formation of eutrophic shallow lakes with an average water depth of less than 1 m. This is accompanied by a fast vegetation shift from cultivated grasses via submerged hydrophytes to helophytes. As a result of rapid plant dying and decomposition, these systems are highly dynamic wetlands characterised by a high mobilisation of nutrients and elevated emissions of CO2 and CH4. However, the impact of specific plant species on these phenomena is not clear. Therefore we investigated the CO2 and CH4 production due to the subaqueous decomposition of shoot biomass of five selected plant species which represent different rewetting stages (Phalaris arundinacea, Ceratophyllum demersum, Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis and Carex riparia) during a 154 day mesocosm study. Beside continuous gas flux measurements, we performed bulk chemical analysis of plant tissue, including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and plant polymer dynamics. Plant-specific mass losses after 154 days ranged from 25% (P. australis) to 64% (C. demersum). Substantial differences were found for the CH4 production with highest values from decomposing C. demersum (0.4 g CH4 kg−1 dry mass day) that were about 70 times higher than CH4 production from C. riparia. Thus, we found a strong divergence between mass loss of the litter and methane production during decomposition. If C. demersum as a hydrophyte is included in the statistical analysis solely nutrient contents (nitrogen and phosphorus) explain varying greenhouse gas production of the different plant species while lignin and polyphenols demonstrate no significant impact at all. Taking data of annual biomass production as important carbon source for methanogens into account, high CH4 emissions can be expected to last several decades as long as inundated and nutrient-rich conditions prevail. Different restoration measures like water level control, biomass extraction and top soil removal are discussed in the context of mitigation of CH4 emissions from rewetted fens.
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Zak, D., H. Reuter, J. Augustin, T. Shatwell, M. Barth, J. Gelbrecht, and R. J. McInnes. "Changes of the CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> production potential of rewetted fens in the perspective of temporal vegetation shifts." Biogeosciences Discussions 11, no. 10 (October 10, 2014): 14453–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bgd-11-14453-2014.
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Abstract. Rewetting of long-term drained fens often results in the formation of eutrophic shallow lakes with an average water depth of less than 1 m. This is accompanied by a fast vegetation shift from cultivated grasses via submerged hydrophytes to helophytes. As a result of rapid plant dying and decomposition, these systems are highly-dynamic wetlands characterised by a high mobilisation of nutrients and elevated emissions of CO2 and CH4. However, the impact of specific plant species on these phenomena is not clear. Therefore we investigated the CO2 and CH4 production due to the subaqueous decomposition of shoot biomass of five selected plant species which represent different rewetting stages (Phalaris arundinacea, Ceratophyllum demersum, Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis, and Carex riparia) during a 154 day mesocosm study. Beside continuous gas flux measurements, we performed bulk chemical analysis of plant tissue, including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and plant polymer dynamics. Plant specific mass losses after 154 days ranged from 25 (P. australis) to 64% (C. demersum). Substantial differences were found for the CH4 production with highest values from decomposing C. demersum (0.4 g CH4 kg−1 dry mass day) that were about 70 times higher than CH4 production from C. riparia. Thus, we found a strong divergence between mass loss of the litter and methane production during decomposition. If C. demersum as a hydrophyte is included in the statistical analysis solely nutrient contents (nitrogen and phosphorus) explain varying GHG production of the different plant species while lignin and polyphenols demonstrate no significant impact at all. Taking data of annual biomass production as important carbon source for methanogens into account, high CH4 emissions can be expected to last several decades as long as inundated and nutrient-rich conditions prevail. Different restoration measures like water level control, biomass extraction and top soil removal are discussed in the context of mitigation of CH4 emissions from rewetted fens.
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Curran, Timothy J., Ellen M. Reid, and Christian Skorik. "Effects of a Severe Frost on Riparian Rainforest Restoration in the Australian Wet Tropics: Foliage Retention by Species and the Role of Forest Shelter." Restoration Ecology 18, no. 4 (March 12, 2010): 408–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100x.2010.00688.x.
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Waheed, Muhammad, Shiekh Marifatul Haq, Fahim Arshad, Rainer W. Bussmann, Muhammad Iqbal, Najat A. Bukhari, and Ashraf Atef Hatamleh. "Grasses in Semi-Arid Lowlands—Community Composition and Spatial Dynamics with Special Regard to the Influence of Edaphic Factors." Sustainability 14, no. 22 (November 12, 2022): 14964. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su142214964.
Full textAbstract:
Edaphic properties have been widely shown to influence community composition and distribution. However, the degree to which edaphic factors can affect grasses in semi-arid lowlands is still little researched. We assessed the significance of nine edaphic factors to explain the distributions of 65 grass species with various ecological traits (i.e., the ecological indicator values for their preferred habitat) in the semi-arid lowlands of Pakistan. To record information on species composition and related ecological conditions, we selected 10 random sampling locations between 2020 and 2021. For each species, we determined the important value index (IVI) and looked at the primary indicator species that were identified using the indicator species analysis approach. The major genera were Setaria, Brachiaria, and Cenchrus with 6.15% species in each followed by Aristida, Panicum, and Eragrostis with 4.61% wild grass species, Bothriochloa, Bromus, Phragmites, Polypogon, Saccharum, Poa, Echinochloa, and Dactyloctenium with 3.07% species, whereas other genera had a single species each. In total, 80% of the species were native, while only 20% were introduced species. Microphylls accounted for 49.23% of the leaf size spectra of the grass flora in the study area. The other frequent traits included macrophylls (21.53%), nanophylls (20%), and leptophylls (9.23%). The major life forms were therophytes (56.92%) followed by hemicryptophytes (38.46%) and geophytes (4.61%). The results of an ordination analysis indicated that the distribution of grasses was significantly (p ≤ 0.002) influenced by several edaphic parameters, with pH having the greatest impact on species distribution. The analyses of indicator species showed that pH and EC were the most powerful and important edaphic factors for determining the composition of plant communities and indicator species. The significant indicator species in various ecosystems were Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. rainer.bussmann@smnk.de and Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees (agroecosystem), Brachiaria reptans (L.) C.A. Gardner and C.E. Hubb, Dichanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf, and Saccharum spontaneum L. (forest ecosystem), Cenchrus biflorus Roxb., Cenchrus ciliaris L., and Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf (urban ecosystem), Arundo donax L., Echinochloa crus-galli, and Phragmites australis (wetland ecosystem), and Saccharum spontaneum and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. (riparian ecosystem). We discovered that different species groupings had different habitat preferences and that soil pH had a significant beneficial effect on plant variety. These results provide a scientific roadmap for soil and plant restoration in semi-arid lowland habitats.