Ecological consequences of altered hydrological regimes in fragmented ecosystems in southern Australia: Impacts and possible management responses

Austral Ecology

Volumn 27, Issue 5, 2002, Pages 546-564

  Cramer, Viki A ^a   Hobbs, Richard J ^a  

^a MURDOCH UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Biodiversity; Ecosystem health; Priority setting; Remnant vegetation; Restoration; Salinity; Shallow saline water; Tablewaterlogging

Indexed keywords

AGRICULTURAL LAND; BIODIVERSITY; ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT; SALINIZATION; VEGETATION; WATER TABLE;

AUSTRALASIA; AUSTRALIA; EASTERN HEMISPHERE; WORLD;

EID: 0009591474     PISSN: 14429985     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01215.x     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Álvarez Rogel J., Alcaraz Ariza F. & Ortiz Silla R. (2000) Soil salinity and moisture gradients and plant zonation in Mediterranean salt marshes of southeast Spain. Wetlands 20, 357-72.
2. Álvarez-Rogel J., Hernández J., Ortiz Silla R. & Alcaraz F. (1997) Patterns of spatial and temporal variations in soil salinity: Example of a salt marsh in a semi-arid climate. Arid Soil Res. Rehab. 11, 315-29.
3. Álvarez-Rogel J., Ortiz Silla R. & Alcaraz Ariza F. (2001) Edaphic characterization and soil ionic composition influencing plant zonation in a semiarid Mediterranean salt marsh. Geoderma 99, 81-98.
4. Barrett-Lennard E. G. (1986) Effects of waterlogging on the growth and NaCl uptake by vascular plants under saline conditions. Reclam. Reveg. Res. 5, 245-61.
5. Beard J. S. (1983) Ecological control of the vegetation of southwestern Australia: Moisture versus nutrients. In: Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. The Role of Nutrients (eds F. J Kruger, D. T. Mitchell & J. U. M. Jarvis) pp. 66-73. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
6. Beard J. S. (1990) Plant Life of Western Australia. Kangaroo Press, Kenthurst, NSW.
7. Bell D. T. (1999) Australian trees for the rehabilitation of waterlogged and salinity-damaged landscapes. Aust. J. Bot. 47, 697-716.
8. Brooker R. W. & Callaghan T. V. (1998) The balance between positive and negative plant interactions and its relationship to environmental gradients: A model. Oikos 81, 196-207.
9. Brown S. & Lugo A. E. (1994) Rehabilitation of tropical lands: A key to sustaining development. Restor. Ecol. 2, 97-111.
10. Bunnell F. L. & Huggard D. J. (1999) Biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales: Problems and opportunities. For. Ecol. Manage. 115, 113-26.
11. Callaway R. M. (1994) Facilitative and interfering effects of Arthrocnemum subterminale on winter annuals. Ecology 75, 681-6.
12. Callaway R. M., Jones S., Ferren W. R. Jr & Anuja P. (1990) Ecology of a mediterranean-climate estuarine wetland at Carpinteria, California: Plant distributions and soil salinity in the upper marsh. Can J. Bot. 68, 1139-46.
13. Callaway R M. & Pennings S. C. (2000) Facilitation may buffer competitive effects: Indirect and diffuse interactions among salt marsh plants Am. Nat. 156, 416-24.
14. Catterall C., Piper S. D., Bunn S. E. & Arthur J. M. (2001) Flora and fauna assemblages vary with local topography in a subtropical eucalypt forest. Austral Ecol. 26, 56-69.
15. Clarke P J (1985) Nitrogen pools and soil characteristics of a temperate estuarine wetland in eastern Australia. Aquat. Bot. 23, 275-90.
16. Coates D. J. (2000) Defining conservation units in a rich and fragmented flora: Implications for the management of genetic resources and evolutionary processes in south-west Australian plants. Aust. J. Bot. 48, 329-39.
17. Eastham J., Gregory P. J. & Williamson D. R. (2000) A spatial analysis of lateral and vertical fluxes of water associated with a perched watertable in a duplex soil. Aust. J. Soil Res. 38, 879-90.
18. Farrington P., Salama R. B., Watson G. D. & Bartle G. A. (1992) Water use of agricultural and native plants in a Western Australian wheatbelt catchment. Agr. Water Manage. 22, 357-67
19. Flowers T. J., Troke P. F. & Yeo A. R. (1977) The mechanism of salt tolerance in halophytes. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 28, 89-121
20. Flowers T. J. & Yeo A. R. (1986) Ion relations of plants under drought and salinity. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 13, 75-91.
21. George R. J. (1992) Estimating and modifying the effects of agricultural development on the groundwater balance of large wheatbelt catchments. J. Appl. Hydrogeol. 1, 41-54.
22. George R. J., Clarke C J & Hatton T. J (2002) Computer modelled groundwater response to recharge management for dryland salinity control in Western Australia. Advances in Environmental Monitoring and Modelling 1. Special issue: Land Degradation in Drylands: Current Science and Future Prospects. Available from URL: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/advances
23. George R. & Coleman M. (2001) Hidden menace or opportunity: Groundwater hydrology, playas and commercial options for salinity in wheatbelt valleys. Wheatbelt Valley Floors Conference, Merredin, 30 July to 1 August 2001 (online). Available from URL: http.//www.avonicm.org.au/avonicm/wbeltvalleys/
24. George R. J. & Conacher A. J. (1993) The hydrology of shallow and deep aquifers in relation to secondary soil salinisation in southwestern Australia. Geogr. Fis. Dinam. Quat. 16, 47-64.
25. George R. J., McFarlane D. J. & Lewis M. F. (1991) A review of recharge and implications for management in saline agricultural catchments, Western Australia. Challenges for Sustainable Development: International Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Perth 2-4 October 1991. Institution of Engineers, Canberra.
26. George R. J., McFarlane D. J. & Speed R. J. (1995) The consequences of a changing hydrologic environment for native vegetation in southwestern Australia. In: Nature Conservation 4: The Role of Networks (eds D. A. Saunders, J. L. Craig & E. M. Mattiske) pp. 9-22. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.
27. Greenway H. & Munns R. (1980) Mechanisms of salt tolerance in nonhalophytes. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 31, 149-90.
28. Greiner La Peyre M. K., Grace J. B., Hahn E. & Mendelssohn I. A. (2001) The importance of competition in regulating plant species abundance along a salinity gradient. Ecology 82, 62-9
29. Grigg A., Pate J. S. & Unkovich M. J. (2000) Responses of native woody taxa in Banksia woodland to incursion of groundwater and nutrients from bordering agricultural land. Aust. J. Bot. 48, 777-92.
30. Grime J. P. (1979) Plant Strategies and Vegetation Processes. Wiley, New York.
31. Groves R. H. & Hobbs R. J (1992) Patterns of plant functional responses and landscape heterogeneity. In: Biodiversity in Mediterranean Ecosystems in Australia (ed. R. J. Hobbs) pp. 47-60. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.
32. Hatton T. J., Bartle G. A. & Silberstein R. P. et al. (2002) Predicting and controlling waterlogging and groundwater flow in sloping duplex soils in Western Australia. Agr. Water Manage. 53, 57-81.
33. Hatton T. & George R (2001) The role of afforestation in managing dryland salinity. Plantations, Farm Forestry and Water: Workshop Proceedings Publication No. 01/20. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Melbourne.
34. Hatton T. J. & Nulsen R. A. (1999) Towards achieving functional mimicry with respect to water cycling in southern Australian agriculture. Agroforest Syst. 45, 203-14.
35. Hatton T. J. & Ruprecht J. (2001) Watching the rivers flow: Hydrology of the wheatbelt. Wheatbelt Valley Floors Conference, Merredin, 30 July to 1 August 2001 (online). Available from URL: http://www.avonicm.org.au/avonicm/ wbeltvalleys/
36. Hobbs R. J. (1993) Effects of landscape fragmentation on ecosystem processes in the Western Australian wheatbelt Biol. Conserv. 64, 193-201
37. Hobbs R. J. (1998) Impacts of land use on biodiversity in southwestern Australia. In: Landscape Disturbance and Biodiversity in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems (eds P. W Rundel, G Montenegro & F. M. Jaksic) pp. 81-106 Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
38. Hobbs R. J. & Atkins L. (1991) Interactions between annuals and woody perennials in a Western Australian nature reserve. J. Veg. Sci. 2, 643-54.
39. Hobbs R. J., Groves R. H. & Hopper S. D. et al. (1995) Function of biodiversity in the Mediterranean-type ecosystems of southwestern Australia. In: Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. The Function of Biodiversity (eds G. W. Davis & D. M. Richardson) pp. 233-84. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
40. Hobbs R. J. & Harris J. A. (2001) Restoration ecology: Repairing the Earth's ecosystems in the new millenium. Restor. Ecol. 9, 239-46.
41. Hobbs R. J. & Hopkins A. J. M. (1990) From frontier to fragments: European impact on Australia's vegetation. In: Australian Ecosystems: 200 Years of Utilization, Degradation and Reconstruction (eds D. A. Saunders, A. J. M. Hopkins & R. A. How). Proceedings Of the Ecological Society of Australia 16, 93-114.
42. Hobbs R. J & Kristjanson L. J. (2003) Triage: How do we prioritize health care for landscapes? Ecol. Manage. Restor. in press.
43. Hobbs R J. & Norton D. A. (1996) Towards a conceptual framework for restoration ecology Restor. Ecol. 4, 93-110.
44. Hobbs R. J., Saunders D. A. & Main A R. (1993) Conservation management in fragmented systems. In: Reintegrating Fragmented Landscapes: Towards Sustainable Production and Nature Conservation (eds R. J. Hobbs & D. A. Saunders) pp. 299-309. Springer Verlag, New York.
45. Hopper S. D. (1979) Biogeographical aspects of speciation in the southwest Australian flora. Ann. Rev. Ecol. System. 10, 399-422.
46. Hopper S. D. (1992) Patterns of plant diversity at the population and species levels in south-west Australian mediterranean ecosystems. In: Biodiversity in Mediterranean Ecosystems in Australia (ed. R. J. Hobbs) pp. 27-46. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.
47. Hughes C. E., Binning P. & Willgoose G. R. (1998) Characterisation of the hydrology of an estuarine wetland. J. Hydrol. 211, 34-49.
48. Johnston C. D. (1987) Distribution of environmental chloride in relation to subsurface hydrology. J. Hydrol. 94, 67-88.
49. Jolly I. D., Walker G R. & Hollingsworth I. D. et al. (1996) The causes of decline in eucalypt communities and possible ameliorative approaches. In: Salt and Water Movement in the Chowilla Floodplain (eds G. R. Walker, I. D. Jolly & S. D. Jarwal) pp. 119-50. CSIRO Division of Water Resources, Canberra
50. Jolly I. D., Walker G. R. & Thorburn P. J. (1993) Salt accumulation in semi-arid floodplain soils with implications for forest health. J. Hydrol. 150, 589-614.
51. Kalaji M. H. & Pietkiewicz S. (1993) Salinity effects on plant growth and other physiological processes. Acta Physiol. Plant 15, 89-124.
52. Keighery G., Halse S. & McKenzie N. (2001) Why wheatbelt valleys are valuable and vulnerable: The ecology of wheatbelt valleys and threats to their survival Wheatbelt Valley Floors Conference, Merredin, 30 July to 1 August 2001 (online). Available from URL: http://www.avonicm.org.au/avonicm/wbeltvalleys/
53. McFarlane D J. & George R. J. (1992) Factors affecting dryland salinity in two wheatbelt catchments in Western Australia. Aust. J. Soil Res. 30, 85-100
54. McFarlane D. J., George R. J. & Farrington P (1993) Changes in the hydrologic cycle. In: Reintegrating Fragmented Landscapes: Towards Sustainable Production and Nature Conservation (eds R. J. Hobbs & D A. Saunders) pp. 146-89. Springer-Verlag, New York
55. Mensforth L. J, Thorburn P. J., Tyerman S. D. & Walker G R. (1994) Sources of water used by riparian Eucalyptus camaldulensis overlying highly saline groundwater. Oecologia 100, 21-8.
56. Mensforth L. J & Walker G. R. (1996) Root dynamics of Melaleuca hulmaturorum in response to fluctuating saline groundwater. Plant Soil 184, 75-84.
57. Mulcahy M. J. (1973) Landforms and soils of southwestern Australia. J. Roy. Soc. West. Aust. 56, 16-22
58. Munns R. & Termaat A (1986) Whole plant responses to salinity. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 13, 143-60.
59. Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council (1999) The Salinity Audit of the Murray-Darling Basin. Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Canberra.
60. National Land and Water Resources Audit (2001) Australian Dryland Salinity Assessment 2000. Extent, Impacts, Processes, Monitoring and Management Options. Land and Water Australia, Canberra.
61. Niknam S. R. & McComb J. (2000) Salt tolerance screening of selected Australian woody species: A review. For. Ecol. Manage. 139, 1-19.
62. Nulsen R. A., Bligh K. J., Baxter I. N., Solin E. J. & Imrie D. H. (1986) The fate of rainfall in a mallee and heath vegetated catchment in southern Western Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 11, 361-71.
63. Pannell D. J. (1999) Social and economic challenges in the development of complex farming systems. Agroforest Syst. 45, 393-409.
64. Peck A. J. & Williamson D. R., eds. (1987) Hydrology and salinity in the Collie River Basin, Western Australia. J. Hydrol., Special Edn 94, 1-198.
65. Pennings S. C. & Callaway R. M. (1992) Salt marsh plant zonation: The relative importance of competition and physical factors. Ecology 73, 681-90.
66. Roy V, Bernier P.-Y., Plamondon A. P. & Ruel J.-C. (1999) Effect of drainage and microtopography in forested wetlands on the microenvironment and growth of planted black spruce seedlings. Can. J. Forest Res. 29, 563-74.
67. Ruprecht J. K. & Schofield N. J. (1989) Analysis of streamflow generation following deforestation in southwest Western Australia. J. Hydrol. 105, 1-17.
68. Salama R. B., Bartle G., Farrington P. & Wilson V. (1994) Basin geomorphological controls on the mechanism of recharge and discharge and its effect on salt storage and mobilization: Comparative study using geophysical surveys. J. Hydrol. 155, 1-26.
69. Scougall S. A., Majer J. D. & Hobbs R J. (1993) Edge effects in grazed and ungrazed Western Australian wheatbelt remnants in relation to ecosystem reconstruction. In: Nature Conservation 3: Reconstruction of Fragmented Ecosystems (eds D. A. Saunders, R J. Hobbs & P. R. Ehrlich) pp. 163-78. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW
70. Sinclair Knight Merz (2000) Extent and Impact of Dryland Salinity in Victoria. Final Report to The National Land and Water Resources Audit, Canberra.
71. Streever W J. & Genders A. J. (1997) Effect of improved tidal flushing and competitive interactions at the boundary between salt marsh and pasture. Estuaries 20, 807-18.
72. Thorburn P. J. & Walker G. R. (1994) Variations in stream water uptake by Eucalyptus camaldulensis with differing access to stream water. Oecologia 100, 293-301.
73. Thorburn P. J., Walker G. R. & Jolly I. D. (1995) Uptake of saline groundwater by plants: An analytical model for semi-arid and arid areas. Plant Soil 175, 1-11.
74. Ungar I. A. (1998) Are biotic factors significant in influencing the distribution of halophytes in saline habitats? Bot. Rev. 64, 176-200.
75. van der Moezel P G., Watson L. E., Pearce-Pinto G. V. N. & Bell D. T. (1988) The response of six Eucalyptus species and Casuarina obesa to the combined effects of salinity and waterlogging. Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 15, 465-74.
76. Walker G. R., Jolly I. D. & Jarwal S. D., eds. (1996) Salt and Water Movement in the Chowilla Floodplain. CSIRO Water Resources Series, no. 15, CSIRO, Canberra.
77. Whisenant S. G. (1999) Repairing Damaged Wildlands. A Process-Oriented, Landscape-Scale Approach. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
78. White M. E. (2000) Running Down: Water in a Changing Land. Kangaroo Press, East Roseville, NSW
79. Williamson D. R., Stokes R. A. & Ruprecht J. K. (1987) Response of input and output of water and chloride to clearing for agriculture. J. Hydrol. 94, 1-28.
80. Yates C. J. & Hobbs R. J. (1997a) Woodland restoration in the Western Australian wheatbelt: A conceptual framework using a state and transition model. Restor. Ecol. 5, 28-35.
81. Yates C. J. & Hobbs R. J. (1997b) Temperate eucalypt woodlands: A review of their status, processes threatening their persistence and techniques for restoration. Aust. J. Bot. 45, 949-73.
82. Yates C. J., Hobbs R. J. & True D. T. (2000a) The distribution and status of eucalypt woodlands in Western Australia. In: Temperate Eucalypt Woodlands in Australia. Biology, Conservation, Management and Restoration (eds R. J. Hobbs & C. J. Yates) pp. 86-106. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW.
83. Yates C. J., Norton D. A. & Hobbs R. J. (2000b) Grazing effects on plant cover, soil and microclimate in fragmented woodlands in south-western Australia: Implications for restoration. Austral Ecol. 25, 36-47.
84. Yeo A. R. (1983) Salinity resistance: Physiologies and prices. Physiol. Plant. 58, 214-22.
85. Zedler J. B., Callaway J. C. & Desmond J. S. et al (1999) Californian salt-marsh vegetation: An improved model of spatial pattern. Ecosystems 2, 19-35.