ORCID Profile
0000-0003-3783-3826
Current Organisation
New South Wales Environment Energy and Science Group
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Water Resources Engineering | Civil Engineering | Environmental Management | Environmental Engineering Modelling
Land and Water Management of environments not elsewhere classified | Water Allocation and Quantification | Rehabilitation of Degraded Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments |
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2022.118487
Abstract: During the Millennium Drought in southeast Australia (2001-2009), dryland wetlands experienced widespread ecological deterioration, which highlighted their vulnerability to natural climate variability and the potential effects of drying climate change. Here we use 30-year observed streamflow data (1991-2020) and numerical models to assess the impacts of climate variability and climate change on the Macquarie Marshes (the Marshes), a large floodplain wetland complex in the semi-arid region of New South Wales, Australia. A fast ecohydrologic emulator based on network linear programming with side constraints was developed to simulate the spatial and temporal responses of different wetland vegetation types to water regime. The emulator represents the wetland by a series of inter-connected level-pool reservoirs with the volume-discharge relationship obtained from a calibrated quasi-2d hydrodynamic model. The emulator reproduces daily flows and volume with good accuracy (Nash-Sutcliffe statistic ranging from 0.61 to 0.96) with 1/26,000 of the computational effort. We use the emulator to simulate the potential effects of climatic variability on vegetation by running the model over 30 years of observed data and 1000 statistically representative 30-year streamflow time series, which were generated using a stochastic model calibrated to the gauged flows. The collection of results for all 1000 contemporary simulations indicates the Marshes experience severe conditions 43% (± 18%) of the time in a 30-year period. We then ran an additional 6000 simulations to assess the combined impacts of climate variability and future climate change at the end of the century. For the driest future climates (-60% and -30% reduction in runoff), the Marshes remain in severe condition 89% (± 6%) and 63% (± 16%) of the time, respectively, while no major differences with respect to the contemporary conditions were found for the wetter future. Our results highlight the importance of quantifying the extent and uncertainty in the degradation of these ecosystems due to climate variability and change for informing management decisions.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 04-2022
Abstract: Human activities both aggravate and alleviate streamflow drought. Here we show that aggravation is dominant in contrasting cases around the world analysed with a consistent methodology. Our 28 cases included different combinations of human-water interactions. We found that water abstraction aggravated all drought characteristics, with increases of 20%–305% in total time in drought found across the case studies, and increases in total deficit of up to almost 3000%. Water transfers reduced drought time and deficit by up to 97%. In cases with both abstraction and water transfers into the catchment or augmenting streamflow from groundwater, the water inputs could not compensate for the aggravation of droughts due to abstraction and only shift the effects in space or time. Reservoir releases for downstream water use alleviated droughts in the dry season, but also led to deficits in the wet season by changing flow seasonality. This led to minor changes in average drought duration (−26 to +38%) and moderate changes in average drought deficit (−86 to +369%). Land use showed a smaller impact on streamflow drought, also with both increases and decreases observed (−48 to +98%). Sewage return flows and pipe leakage possibly counteracted the effects of increased imperviousness in urban areas however, untangling the effects of land use change on streamflow drought is challenging. This synthesis of erse global cases highlights the complexity of the human influence on streamflow drought and the added value of empirical comparative studies. Results indicate both intended and unintended consequences of water management and infrastructure on downstream society and ecosystems.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.7200
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-08-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.5540
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-09-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ECO.2027
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-03-2019
DOI: 10.3390/RS11060609
Abstract: Detailed vegetation maps are needed for wetland conservation and restoration as different vegetation communities have distinct water requirements. It is a continuous challenge to map the distribution of different wetland types on a regional scale, and a trade-off between the categorical details and availability of resources to ensure broad applications is often necessary for operational mapping. Here, we evaluated the capacity and performance of statistical learning in discriminating wetland types using Landsat time series and geomorphological variables computed from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM). Our study showed that there was a discrimination limit of statistical learning in wetland mapping. The approach was clearly inadequate in distinguishing certain wetland types. In semiarid Australia, our results suggested that the appropriate level for floodplain wetland mapping included four classes: tree-dominated woodlands, shrublands, vegetated sw s, and non-flood-dependent terrestrial communities. Our results also demonstrated that the geomorphological metrics significantly improved the accuracy of wetland classification. Furthermore, geomorphological metrics derived from the freely available coarser resolution SRTM DEM were as beneficial for wetland mapping as those extracted from finer scale commercially-based LiDAR DEM. The finding enables the widespread applications of our approach, as both data sources are freely available globally.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 16-09-2022
Abstract: Long-phase (interannual) tidal cycles have been shown to influence coastal flooding and sedimentation, but their role in shaping the extent and condition of tidal wetlands has received little attention. Here, we show that the 18.61-year lunar nodal cycle, popularly termed the “lunar wobble,” is a dominant control over the expansion and contraction of mangrove canopy cover over much of the Australian continent. Furthermore, the contrasting phasing of the 18.61-year lunar nodal cycle between diurnal and semidiurnal tidal settings has mediated the severity of drought impacts in northern bioregions. Long-phase tidal cycles regulate maximum tide heights, are an important control over mangrove canopy cover, and may influence mangrove ecosystem services including forest productivity and carbon sequestration at regional scales.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 25-05-2020
DOI: 10.3390/RS12101683
Abstract: Coastal wetlands are a critical component of the coastal landscape that are increasingly threatened by sea level rise and other human disturbance. Periodically mapping wetland distribution is crucial to coastal ecosystem management. Ensemble algorithms (EL), such as random forest (RF) and gradient boosting machine (GBM) algorithms, are now commonly applied in the field of remote sensing. However, the performance and potential of other EL methods, such as extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and bagged trees, are rarely compared and tested for coastal wetland mapping. In this study, we applied the three most widely used EL techniques (i.e., bagging, boosting and stacking) to map wetland distribution in a highly modified coastal catchment, the Manning River Estuary, Australia. Our results demonstrated the advantages of using ensemble classifiers to accurately map wetland types in a coastal landscape. Enhanced bagging decision trees, i.e., classifiers with additional methods to increasing ensemble ersity such as RF and weighted subspace random forest, had comparably high predictive power. For the stacking method evaluated in this study, our results are inconclusive, and further comprehensive quantitative study is encouraged. Our findings also suggested that the ensemble methods were less effective at discriminating minority classes in comparison with more common classes. Finally, the variable importance results indicated that hydro-geomorphic factors, such as tidal depth and distance to water edge, were among the most influential variables across the top classifiers. However, vegetation indices derived from longer time series of remote sensing data that arrest the full features of land phenology are likely to improve wetland type separation in coastal areas.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 17-05-2023
DOI: 10.3390/RS15102614
Abstract: Floodplain wetlands are among the most dynamic ecosystems on Earth, featuring high bio ersity and productivity. They are also sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances and are globally threatened. Understanding how flow regime drives the spatiotemporal dynamics of wetland habitats is fundamental to effective conservation practices. In this study, using Landsat imagery and the random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm, we mapped the winter distribution of four wetland habitats (i.e., Carex meadow, reedbed, mudflat, and shallow water) in East Dongting Lake, a Ramsar wetland in the middle to lower Yangtze Basin of China, for 34 years (1988–2021). The dynamics of wetland habitats were explored through pixel-by-pixel comparisons. Further, the response of wetland habitats to flow regime variations was investigated using generalized additive mixed models (GAMM). Our results demonstrated the constant expansion of reedbeds and shrinkage of mudflats, and that there were three processes contributing to the reduction in mudflat: (1) permanent replacement by reedbed (2) irreversible loss to water and (3) transitional swapping with Carex meadow. These changes in the relative extent of wetland habitats may degrade the conservation function of the Ramsar wetland. Moreover, the duration of the dry season and the date of water level withdrawal were identified as the key flow regime parameters shaping the size of wetland habitats. However, different wetland vegetation showed distinct responses to variations in flow regime: while Carex meadow increased with earlier water withdrawal and a longer dry season, reedbed continuously expanded independent of the flow regime corresponding to the increase in winter rainfall. Our findings suggested that flow regime acts in concert with other factors, such as climate change and sand mining in river channels, driving wetland habitat transition in a floodplain landscape. Therefore, effective conservation can only be achieved through erse restoration strategies addressing all drivers.
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 05-2019
DOI: 10.1029/2018JG004925
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-09-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6763
Abstract: Geographical gradients in species ersity have long fascinated biogeographers and ecologists. However, the extent and generality of the effects of the important factors governing functional ersity (FD) patterns are still debated, especially for the freshwater domain. We examined the relationship between lake productivity and functional ersity of waterbirds s led from 35 lakes and reservoirs in northern China with a geographic coverage of over 5 million km 2 . We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the causal relationships between geographic position, climate, lake productivity, and waterbird FD. We found unambiguous altitudinal and longitudinal gradients in lake productivity and waterbird FD, which were strongly mediated by local environmental factors. Specifically, we found (a) lake productivity increased northeast and decreased with altitude. The observed geographic and altitudinal gradients were driven by climatic conditions and nutrient availability, which collectively explained 93% of the variations in lake productivity (b) waterbird FD showed similar geographic and altitudinal gradients the environmental factors which had direct and/or indirect effects on these gradients included climate and lake area, which collectively explained more than 39% of the variation in waterbird FD and 3) a significant ( p = .029) causality between lake productivity and waterbird FD was confirmed. Nevertheless, the causality link was relatively weak in comparison with climate and lake area (the standardized path coefficient was 0.55, 0.23, and 0.03 for climate, lake area, and productivity, respectively). Our study demonstrates how the application of multivariate technique (e.g., SEM) enables the illustration of complex causal paths in ecosystems, enhancing mechanistic explanations that underlie the observed broadscale bio ersity gradients.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 14-04-2022
DOI: 10.3390/RS14081888
Abstract: Many coastal wetlands are under pressure due to climate change and the associated sea level rise (SLR). Many previous studies suggest that upslope lateral migration is the key adaptive mechanism for saline wetlands, such as mangroves and saltmarshes. However, few studies have explored the long-term fate of other wetland types, such as brackish sw s and freshwater forests. Using the current wetland map of a micro-tidal estuary, the Manning River in New South Wales, Australia, this study built a machine learning model based on the hydro-geomorphological settings of four broad wetland types. The model was then used to predict the future wetland distribution under three sea level rise scenarios. The predictions were compared to compute the persistence, net, swap, and total changes in the wetlands to investigate the loss and gain potential of different wetland classes. Our results for the study area show extensive gains by mangroves under low (0.5 m), moderate (1.0 m), and high (1.5 m) sea level rise scenarios, whereas the other wetland classes could suffer substantial losses. Our findings suggest that the accommodation spaces might only be beneficial to mangroves, and their availability to saltmarshes might be limited by coastal squeeze at saline–freshwater ecotones. Furthermore, the accommodation spaces for freshwater wetlands were also restrained by coastal squeeze at the wetland-upland ecotones. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands other than mangroves could be lost due to barriers at the transitional ecotones. In our study, these are largely manifested by slope impacts on hydrology at a higher sea level. Our approach provides a framework to systematically assess the vulnerability of all coastal wetland types.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-09-2020
DOI: 10.3390/RS12182995
Abstract: Large river floodplain systems (LRFS) are among the most erse and dynamic ecosystems. Accurately monitoring the dynamics of LRFS over long time series is fundamental and essential for their sustainable development. However, challenges remain because the spatial distribution of LRFS is never static due to inter- and intra-annual changes in environmental conditions. In this study, we developed and tested a methodological framework to re-construct the long-term wetland dynamics in Dongting Lake, China, utilizing an unsupervised machine-learning algorithm (UMLA) on the basis of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) time series. Our results showed that the UMLA achieved comparable performance to the time-consuming satellite image segmentation method with a Kappa coefficient of agreement greater than 0.75 and an overall accuracy over 85%. With the re-constructed annual wetland distribution maps, we found that 31.35% of wet meadows, one of most important ecological assets in the region, disappeared at an average rate of c.a. 1660 ha year−1 during the past two decades, which suggests that the Dongting Lake is losing its ecological function of providing wintering ground for migratory water birds, and remediation management actions are urgently required. We concluded that UMLA offers a fast and cost-efficient alternative to monitor ecological responses in a rapidly changing environment.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2002
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-03-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.7310
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-01-2022
DOI: 10.3390/RS14030514
Abstract: Estimates of migratory waterbirds population provide the essential scientific basis to guide the conservation of coastal wetlands, which are heavily modified and threatened by economic development. New equipment and technology have been increasingly introduced in protected areas to expand the monitoring efforts, among which video surveillance and other unmanned devices are widely used in coastal wetlands. However, the massive amount of video records brings the dual challenge of storage and analysis. Manual analysis methods are time-consuming and error-prone, representing a significant bottleneck to rapid data processing and dissemination and application of results. Recently, video processing with deep learning has emerged as a solution, but its ability to accurately identify and count waterbirds across habitat types (e.g., mudflat, saltmarsh, and open water) is untested in coastal environments. In this study, we developed a two-step automatic waterbird monitoring framework. The first step involves automatic video segmentation, selection, processing, and mosaicking video footages into panorama images covering the entire monitoring area, which are subjected to the second step of counting and density estimation using a depth density estimation network (DDE). We tested the effectiveness and performance of the framework in Tiaozini, Jiangsu Province, China, which is a restored wetland, providing key high-tide roosting ground for migratory waterbirds in the East Asian–Australasian flyway. The results showed that our approach achieved an accuracy of 85.59%, outperforming many other popular deep learning algorithms. Furthermore, the standard error of our model was very small (se = 0.0004), suggesting the high stability of the method. The framework is computing effective—it takes about one minute to process a theme covering the entire site using a high-performance desktop computer. These results demonstrate that our framework can extract ecologically meaningful data and information from video surveillance footages accurately to assist bio ersity monitoring, fulfilling the gap in the efficient use of existing monitoring equipment deployed in protected areas.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-05-2021
DOI: 10.3390/SU13116044
Abstract: Migratory waterbirds concentrated in freshwater ecosystems in mosaic environments rely on quality habitats for overwintering. At West Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve (WDLNNR), China, land-use change and hydrology alternation are compounding factors that have affected important wintering areas for migratory waterbirds. Presently, changes in the hydrology and landscape have reshaped natural wintering habitats and their availability, though the impact of hydrological management on habitat selection of wintering waterbirds is largely unknown. In this study, we classified differentially managed habitats and calculated their area using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to evaluate suitable habitat availability over the study period (2016–2017 and 2017–2018 wintering periods). We then used social behavioral association network (SBAN) model to compare habitat quality through species-species social interactions and species-habitat associations in lakes with different hydrological management. The results indicated that social interactions between and within species structured wintering waterbirds communities, which could be dominated by one or more species, while dominant species control the activities of other co-existing species. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests indicated significant differences in SBAN metrics between lakes (p = 0.0237) and habitat (p 0.0001) levels. Specifically, lakes with managed hydrology were preferred by more species. The managed lakes had better habitat quality in terms of significantly higher habitat areas (p 0.0001) and lower habitat transitions (p = 0.0113). Collectively, our findings suggest that proper hydrological management can provide continuous availability of quality habitats, especially mudflats and shallow waters, for a stable SBAN to ensure a wintering waterbirds community with more sympatric species in a dynamic environment.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2015
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-11-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECO.2378
Abstract: Monitoring floodplain vegetation response to water availability is essential for sustainable water resource management. However, the interpretation of these responses through space and time has been challenging due to the limitation of satellite‐derived inundation extent, which is restricted by the return period of imagery and prevalence of clouds affected images during high flow events. We address this issue by utilising a predictive inundation model capable of reporting inundation at daily temporal resolution. Spatio‐temporal patterns in vegetation greenness of four floodplain vegetation communities ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis , Eucalyptus largiflorens , Eucalyptus coolabah and Duma florulenta ) were quantified using Landsat‐derived vegetation index and a combination of time series of floodplain inundation pattern, rainfall and soil moisture for the years 1989–2016. The results show that vegetation dynamics were highly variable between years and are closely associated with irregular rainfall patterns and overbank flooding. Linear mixed‐effect models explained between 38% and 67% of the variability in vegetation productivity, with all involved variables being significant predictors ( p 0.05). The effects of rainfall, soil moisture and inundation were erse and depended on vegetation type. Higher inundation frequency and low interflood period often corresponded to lower vegetation responses, which may relate to a mixed surface water and vegetation signal, or a short‐term inhibitive effect of surface water on growth. These results highlight the importance of groundwater and lagged effects of rainfall and flow in explaining patterns of vegetation condition in semi‐arid floodplains and should be considered in the design of environmental water monitoring programmes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-07-2021
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.13376
Abstract: Exotic species invasion often leads to declines in local and regional bio ersity, particularly in freshwater ecosystems. This bio ersity loss is generally facilitated by human activities such as land cover change and hydrological alternation. Recent advances in stable isotope analysis (SIA) have been highlighted in many studies addressing fundamental issues in invasion ecology, especially in quantifying competition for resources between native and exotic species. However, how anthropogenic disturbance influences trophic relationships among invasive and native species remains poorly understood. Middle‐lower Yangtze River Region, China. To investigate the effects of human disturbance on interspecific trophic interactions, this study compared isotopic niche space and overlap of the introduced red sw crayfish ( Procambarus clarkii ) and the native oriental river shrimp ( Macrobrachium nipponense ) and freshwater snail ( Bellamya aeruginosa ) in natural and modified wetlands. Based on carbon and nitrogen SIA, we found ubiquitous niche shifts in macroinvertebrates with increased competition, which might lead to significant niche contraction in modified habitats at both community and population scales. Moreover, the isotopic niche width of the exotic crayfish was twice as larger as that of natives at both habitats, suggesting that the exotic P . clarkii had great competitive superiority over the native species. However, the effects of habitat modification on niche overlap were inconsistent. While the niche overlap between crayfish and shrimp was significantly higher in modified habitats than in natural open waters, niche overlap between crayfish and the snail was significantly reduced. Collectively, our findings highlight that the competitive outcomes of interspecific trophic interactions can be dependent on the prey availability and ersity, which embraces both the classic optimal foraging theory and competition theory to understand how environmental change, such as habitat alternation, affects the biological invasion processes.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 30-03-2019
Abstract: Most migratory birds depend on stopover sites, which are essential for refueling during migration and affect their population dynamics. In the East Asian–Australasian Flyway (EAAF), however, the stopover ecology of migratory waterfowl is severely under-studied. The knowledge gaps regarding the timing, intensity and duration of stopover site usages prevent the development of effective and full annual cycle conservation strategies for migratory waterfowl in EAAF. In this study, we obtained a total of 33,493 relocations and visualized 33 completed spring migratory paths of five geese species using satellite tracking devices. We delineated 2,192,823 ha as the key stopover sites along the migration routes and found that croplands were the largest land use type within the stopover sites, followed by wetlands and natural grasslands (62.94%, 17.86% and 15.48% respectively). We further identified the conservation gaps by overlapping the stopover sites with the World Database on Protected Areas (PA). The results showed that only 15.63% (or 342,757 ha) of the stopover sites are covered by the current PA network. Our findings fulfil some key knowledge gaps for the conservation of the migratory waterbirds along the EAAF, thus enabling an integrative conservation strategy for migratory water birds in the flyway.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-07-2021
DOI: 10.3390/RS13152984
Abstract: In the last 15 years, the west population of white-naped crane (Antigone vipio) decreased dramatically despite the enhanced conservation actions in both breeding and wintering areas. Recent studies highlighted the importance of protecting the integrity of movement connectivity for migratory birds. Widespread and rapid landcover changes may exceed the adaptive capacity of migrants, leading to the collapse of migratory networks. In this study, using satellite tracking data, we modeled and characterized the migration routes of the white-naped crane at three spatial levels (core area, migratory corridor, and migratory path) based on the utilization distribution for two eras (1990s and 2010s) spanning 20 years. Our analysis demonstrated that the white-naped crane shifted its migratory route, which is supported by other lines of evidences. The widespread loss of wetlands, especially within the stopover sites, might have caused this behavioral adaptation. Moreover, our analysis indicated that the long-term sustainability of the new route is untested and likely to be questionable. Therefore, directing conservation effects to the new route might be insufficient for the long-term wellbeing of this threatened crane and large-scale wetland restorations in Bohai Bay, a critical stopover site in the East Asian-Australasian flyway, are of the utmost importance to the conservation of this species.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2016.08.147
Abstract: An alteration in the hydrological connectivity reduces the synergistic processes and interactions between rivers and their floodplains, and changes the distribution of waterbirds that rely on floodplains as foraging grounds. Recent river and wetland conservation and restoration efforts have been partially focused on reinstating the natural river-floodplain connectivity to ameliorate the ecological effects of regulation in river systems. However, in regions where human well-being is tightly linked with the cultivation of the floodplain (such as fisheries), management options are constrained and trade-offs among competing social, economic and ecological goals may be necessary for the wise use of wetlands. Poyang Lake in east central China includes numerous sub-lakes with different types of hydrological regulation therefore, this lake may provide a useful context for exploring the likelihood of such trade-offs. In this study, we used multiyear simultaneous waterbird survey data together with habitat maps derived from satellite imagery for Poyang Lake to examine the variations in waterbird community structure and abundance within sub-lakes with different types of hydrological regulation. Using a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo approach, we built generalized linear mixed models to explore the differences in wetland composition and waterbird abundance/ ersity among three lake types (i.e. isolated, freely connected, and controlled) at community, guild and species levels. The results showed hydrological connectivity alteration clearly affects wintering waterbirds in addition, the ecological benefits of a natural flow regime were most unambiguous at the community level. Nevertheless, little evidence exists to indicate that the lakes' ecological values as waterbird foraging grounds were compromised by partial regulation. That is, species richness and population size were comparable in naturally connected and controlled lakes. Our results suggest that, with carefully designed management plans, a delicate balance between waterbird conservation and development can be accomplished in large river floodplains.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2015.05.027
Abstract: To maintain and restore the ecological integrity of floodplains, allocating water for environmental benefits (i.e. environmental water) is widely practised globally. To efficiently manage the always limited environmental water, there is pressing need to advance our understanding of the ecological response to long-term climate cycles as evidence grows of intensification of extreme climatic events such as severe drought and heat waves. In this study, we assessed the alleviating effects of artificial flooding on drought impact using the canopy condition of the iconic river red gum forests in Australia's Murray Darling Basin (MDB). To achieve this, we jointly analysed spatial-temporal patterns of NDVI response and drought conditions for the period of 2000-2013, during which the MDB experienced an extreme dry-wet cycle. Our results indicated that while NDVI-derived canopy condition was better at the sites receiving environmental water during the dry phases, both watered and unwatered sites displayed great similarity in seasonality and trends. Furthermore, we did not find any significant difference in NDVI response of the canopy between the sites to suggest significant differences in ecosystem stability and resilience, with watered and unwatered sites showing similar responses to the extreme wet conditions as the drought broke. The highly significant relationship between long-term drought index and NDVI anomaly suggest that climate phase is the main forcing driving canopy condition in semi-arid floodplain forests.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-02-2020
DOI: 10.3390/SU12041442
Abstract: The degradation of wetland ecosystems is currently recognized as one of the main threats to global bio ersity. As a means of compensation, constructed wetlands (CWs), which are built to treat agricultural runoff and municipal wastewater, have become important for maintaining bio ersity. Here, we review studies on the relationships between CWs and their associated bio ersity published over the past three decades. In doing so, we provide an overview of how wildlife utilizes CWs, and the effects of bio ersity on pollutant transformation and removal. Beyond their primary aim (to purify various kinds of wastewater), CWs provide sub-optimal habitat for many species and, in turn, their purification function can be strongly influenced by the bio ersity that they support. However, there are some difficulties when using CWs to conserve bio ersity because some key characteristics of these engineered ecosystems vary from natural wetlands, including some fundamental ecological processes. Without proper management intervention, these features of CWs can promote biological invasion, as well as form an ‘ecological trap’ for native species. Management options, such as basin-wide integrative management and building in more natural wetland components, can partially offset these adverse impacts. Overall, the awareness of managers and the public regarding the potential value of CWs in bio ersity conservation remains superficial. More in-depth research, especially on how to balance different stakeholder values between wastewater managers and conservationists, is now required.
Location: Australia
Start Date: 06-2019
End Date: 12-2023
Amount: $505,000.00
Summary: Optimal trade-offs for managing environmental water in inland wetlands. This project aims to optimise long-term water trade-offs in inland wetlands on managed catchments, without compromising their environmental value. These managed wetlands compete for water allocations with irrigation and other uses. Realistic predictions of wetland status will be achieved through the development and integration of an ecohydrological model and a water management decisions model. Application of the tools will i .... Optimal trade-offs for managing environmental water in inland wetlands. This project aims to optimise long-term water trade-offs in inland wetlands on managed catchments, without compromising their environmental value. These managed wetlands compete for water allocations with irrigation and other uses. Realistic predictions of wetland status will be achieved through the development and integration of an ecohydrological model and a water management decisions model. Application of the tools will improve existing decision support models to help analyse the effects of individual local management decisions on the long-term evolution of the system and the effects of changes in operation policies and climate over the long term. The project will provide critical new information for the improved prediction of wetlands evolution and as a consequence better management. Read more Read less
Funder: Australian Research Council
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