ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0541-3384
Current Organisation
Macquarie University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience | Geomorphology and Regolith and Landscape Evolution | Environmental Management | Geomorphology | Quaternary Environments | Environmental Management And Rehabilitation | Surface Processes | Surfacewater Hydrology | Palaeoclimatology | Sedimentology | Ecology | Archaeological Science | Environmental Impact Assessment | Terrestrial Ecology | Natural Hazards | Physical Geography | Stratigraphy (incl. Biostratigraphy and Sequence Stratigraphy) | Palaeontology (incl. Palynology) | Geology | Archaeology of Australia (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) | Marine Geoscience | Geochronology | Climate Change Processes | Palaeoecology | Freshwater Ecology | Environmental Monitoring | Inorganic Geochemistry | Ecosystem Function |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Land and water management | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Estuarine and lagoon areas | Earth sciences | Climate variability | Climate change | Global Effects of Climate Change and Variability (excl. Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the South Pacific) (excl. Social Impacts) | Rehabilitation of degraded areas | Land and water management | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Rehabilitation of degraded farmland | Physical sciences | Physical and chemical conditions | Oceanic processes (excl. climate related) | Other | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments | Climate Variability (excl. Social Impacts) | Land and water management | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Rehabilitation/reafforestation | Land and Water Management of environments not elsewhere classified | Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Soils | Rehabilitation of Degraded Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments | Natural Hazards in Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments | Land and water management | Physical and chemical conditions | Land and water management | Natural Hazards in Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Environments | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences
Related Links
Publications
Mapping valley bottom confinement at the network scale
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-05-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4615
The impact of urbanisation on community structure, gene abundance and transcription rates of microbes in upland swamps of Eastern Australia
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-03-2019
Managing legacy waste in the presence of cultural heritage at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 16-12-2015
DOI: 10.1017/S0032247413000740
Abstract: The Antarctic Treaty has been the principal governing force in Antarctica since 1961. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol) requires that all past and present work and waste-disposal sites are cleaned up unless doing so would cause greater environmental damage or the site is considered to be a monument of significant historical importance. Despite this requirement, legacy waste issues remain unresolved in parts of Antarctica. Clean-up operations in Antarctica are complicated by a combination of restricted access, extreme weather, financial limitations and logistical constraints. Further complications arise at sites such as Wilkes Station, where the requirement for clean-up coexists with the desire to preserve potentially valuable heritage items. Several buildings and artefacts with potential heritage value remain at Wilkes Station. However, Wilkes Station is not officially designated as a historic site or monument under the Antarctic Treaty, nor is it a national or world heritage place under Australian domestic legislation. Consequently the buildings and relics at Wilkes Station are afforded little protection under the existing relevant domestic and international legislative frameworks. This paper uses Wilkes Station as a case study of the complexities associated with conducting clean-up operations at contaminated sites with informal heritage value in Antarctica. The legislative and environmental considerations surrounding clean-up operations at Wilkes Station are also investigated. Furthermore, we argue the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to operations which facilitate the clean-up of legacy waste and preservation of the potential heritage values at Wilkes. Finally, we recognise that the complexities discussed in this paper have wider applicability and we investigate the relevance of these issues to other Antarctic contaminated sites with formal or informal heritage value.
Quantifying fluvial (dis)connectivity in an agricultural catchment using a geomorphic approach and sediment source tracing
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-07-2015
Single-grain OSL dating of fluvial terraces in the upper Hunter catchment, southeastern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Reading the landscape
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-06-2013
Abstract: Assertions of a ‘naughty world’ (Kennedy, 1979) point to the importance of place-based knowledge in informing landscape interpretations and management applications. Building upon conceptual and theoretical insights into the geomorphic character, behaviour and evolution of rivers, this paper outlines an approach to the practice of fluvial geomorphology: ‘reading the landscape’. This scaffolded framework of field-based interpretations explicitly recognizes the contingent nature of biophysical interactions within any given landscape. A bottom-up, constructivist approach is applied to identify landforms, assess their morphodynamics, and interpret the interaction and evolution of these features at reach and catchment scales. Reading the landscape is framed as an open-ended and generic set of questions that inform process-form interpretations of river landscapes. Rather than relying unduly on conceptual or theoretical representations of landscapes that suggest how the world ‘should’ ideally look and behave, appropriately contextualized, place-based understandings can be used to detect where local differences matter, thereby addressing concerns for the transferability of insights between locations and the representativeness of s le or reference sites. The approach provides a basis for scientifically informed management efforts that respect and work with the inherent ersity and dynamics of any given river system.
Catchment‐ and reach‐scale controls on the distribution and expectation of geomorphic channel adjustment
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 05-2016
DOI: 10.1002/2015WR017747
Vegetation over hydrologic control of sediment transport over the past 100,000 yr
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2008
Geomorphic Analysis of River Systems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-09-2012
Antecedent controls on river character and behaviour in partly confined valley settings: Upper Hunter catchment, NSW, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2010
Geomorphic controls on fluvial carbon exports and emissions from upland swamps in eastern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2017.08.133
Abstract: Temperate Highland Peat Sw s on Sandstone (THPSS) are upland wetlands, similar to fens in the Northern Hemisphere and are found at the headwaters of low-order streams on the plateaus of Eastern Australia. They are classified as endangered ecological communities under State and National legislation. Previous works have identified particular geomorphic characteristics that are important to carbon storage in these low energy sediment accumulation zones. Changes in the geomorphic structure of THPSS, such as channelisation, may have profound implications for carbon storage. To assess the effect of channelisation on carbon budgets in these ecosystems it is essential to identify and quantify differences in carbon export, emissions and stocks of carbon of intact sw s and those that have become channelised. We undertook seasonal s ling of the perched sw aquifers and surface waters of two intact sw s and two channelised fills in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, to investigate differences in carbon exports and emissions between the two sw types. We found that channelised fills' mean CO
Metal and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at Wilkes Station, East Antarctica
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 10-09-2015
DOI: 10.1017/S0954102014000443
Abstract: The management of sediment and water contamination from legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. Although several reports have noted that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, a systematic attempt to assess the spatial scale of the problem has not been made, making development of clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. A contaminated site assessment for the old Wilkes Station and surrounds is presented in this paper. The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) sediment and water quality guidelines and background concentration levels (BCL) were used to assess the extent of contamination across Clark Peninsula. Of 67 sediment sites s led, 72% were contaminated with at least one metal or metalloid, with values exceeding the ANZECC ISQG-High or 2 x BCL. Moreover, 19% were contaminated with four or more metals/metalloids. Of the 93 water s les collected, all but one was contaminated with at least one metal/metalloid concentration exceeding the guidelines, and 96% were contaminated with two or more metals/metalloids. For hydrocarbons in sediment and water, most s les were below quantitation limits. There is a complex pattern of contamination across Clark Peninsula that needs to be considered in future waste treatment, containment or removal operations, and for protection of heritage items.
Spatial variability in the timing, nature and extent of channel response to typical human disturbance along the Upper Hunter River, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.1580
Assemblages of geomorphic units: A building block approach to analysis and interpretation of river character, behaviour, condition and recovery
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-11-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5264
Abstract: A geomorphic unit is a landform that has been created and reworked by a particular set of earth surface processes. Each geomorphic unit has a particular morphology and sediment properties. Characteristic assemblages and patterns of geomorphic units reflect the use of available energy at any particular location in the landscape. In river systems the mix and balance of erosional and depositional processes creates characteristic, and sometimes distinctive, patterns of geomorphic units at the reach scale. As geomorphic units make up all parts of every valley bottom, the analysis of geomorphic units provides a universal resource with which to undertake systematic geomorphic analysis of river systems. In the first instance, this tool helps to interpret river morphodynamics. Particular process–form associations determine what type of geomorphic unit is found where, how it is formed and/or reworked, and if/how that unit is related to adjacent units in the channel and/or floodplain. From this, particular assemblages of geomorphic units can be used to identify and map reach boundaries along a river course. Each reach has a particular set of process–form relationships that determine (and/or reflect) the range of behaviour and the capacity for adjustment of that section of river. Framed in a catchment context and in relation to evolutionary trajectory, interpretation of geomorphic unit assemblages, and how they change over time, informs analysis of river condition and the potential for geomorphic recovery of each reach. A scaffolding framework to conduct such analyses and interpretations provides an important bridge between expert manual analysis and machine learning analysis using big data, allowing for the identification and interpretation of the distinctive traits of each and every river system.
Palaeohydrology of lowland rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
(Dis)Connectivity in catchment sediment cascades: a fresh look at the sediment delivery problem
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-04-2012
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.3242
Understanding the spatial distribution and physical attributes of upland swamps in the Sydney Basin as a template for their conservation and management
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 26-03-2018
The Blurred Line between Form and Process: A Comparison of Stream Channel Classification Frameworks
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 16-03-2016
Truths of the Riverscape: Moving beyond command-and-control to geomorphologically informed nature-based river management
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S40562-022-00223-0
Abstract: Truths of the Riverscape refer to the use of geomorphological principles to inform sustainable approaches to nature-based river management. Across much of the world a command-and-control philosophy continues to assert human authority over rivers. Tasked to treat rivers as stable and predictable entities, engineers have ‘fixed rivers in place’ and ‘locked them in time’. Unsustainable outcomes ensue. Legacy effects and path dependencies of silenced and strangled (zombified) rivers are difficult and increasingly expensive to address. Nature fights back, and eventually it wins, with disastrous consequences for the environment, society, culture and the economy. The failure to meet the transformative potential of nature-based applications is expressed here as a disregard for ‘Truths of the Riverscape’. The first truth emphasises the imperative to respect ersity , protecting and/or enhancing the distinctive values and attributes of each and every river. A cross-scalar (nested hierarchical) lens underpins practices that ‘know your catchment’. The second truth envisages management practices that work with processes , interpreting the behaviour of each river. This recognises that erosion and deposition are intrinsic functions of a healthy living river—in appropriate places, at appropriate rates. This premise underpins the third truth, assess river condition , highlighting the importance of what to measure and what to measure against in approaches that address the causes rather than the symptoms of unexpected river adjustment. The fourth truth interprets evolutionary trajectory to determine what is realistically achievable in the management of a given river system. Analysis of whether the river sits on a degradation or recovery pathway (i.e., condition is deteriorating or improving), alongside assessment of catchment-specific recovery potential, is used to foresight river futures. Viewed collectively, Truths of the Riverscape provide a coherent platform to develop and apply proactive and precautionary catchment management plans that address concerns for bio ersity loss and climate change adaptation.
Landscape connectivity: the geographic basis of geomorphic applications
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2006
Prioritising the placement of riparian vegetation to reduce flood risk and end-of-catchment sediment yields
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2016.12.046
Abstract: In perennial stream settings, there is abundant literature confirming that riparian vegetation affects flood hydrology by attenuating the flood wave, enhancing deposition and reducing bank erosion. In contrast, relatively little is known about the effectiveness of riparian vegetation during floods in hydrologically-variable regions. The dominant channel form in these settings is often referred to as a 'macrochannel' or compound channel-in-channel which displays multiple inundation surfaces where it is often difficult to identify the active channel bank and bank top. This study uses the inundation pattern of recent flood events in the Lockyer Valley of South East Queensland (SEQ), Australia to present a framework which specifically considers the interaction between inundation frequency and trapping potential on a range of inundation surfaces. Using hydrological modelling and a consistent definition of floodplains and within-channel features, it outlines five key priority areas for the placement of riparian vegetation to alleviate common flood problems within the catchment. The highest priority for the placement of riparian vegetation to ameliorate the effects of small-moderate floods is on within-channel benches. For out-of-macrochannel flows, riparian vegetation is most effective on genetic floodplains which occupy the largest spatial extent within the valley. In particular, it identifies the need for, and benefits of, revegetation in spill out zones (SOZ) which occur where upstream channel capacity is larger and flow is funnelled at high velocity onto the floodplain downstream. This study highlights the importance of understanding the key geomorphic processes occurring within a catchment and developing effective catchment management plans to suit these conditions.
Prospects for, and Challenges of, Research Design and Training in Cross‐Disciplinary Environmental Management Research
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-01-2015
How seed traits predict floating times: a biophysical process model for hydrochorous seed transport behaviour in fluvial systems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-09-2015
DOI: 10.1111/FWB.12672
Development of place-based catenal models for grassland ecosystems of the Upper Yellow River, Western China
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
LEARNING, DOING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – THE RIVER STYLES FRAMEWORK AS A TOOL TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF COHERENT AND STRATEGIC APPROACHES FOR LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT IN BRAZIL
Publisher: Revista Brasileira de Geomorfologia
Date: 10-2019
Abstract: Ongoing development, training and adaptive learning are fundamental to professional practice in river science and management. River Styles Framework provides a coherent, carefully structured (scaffolded) approach that synthesises geomorphic understandings of rivers as a baseline to support river management applications. As the approach is generic, principles and procedures can applied in any setting. The Framework and its applications build on fundamental research into river forms and processes. Importantly, the Framework was developed in collaboration with river management agencies in New South Wales, Australia and has been used in collaboration with practitioners elsewhere in the world. This paper documents the process used to teach the five-day River Styles professional short course in Brazil, September 2017. We report upon some pedagogical foundations of the Framework to explain the approach to teaching. We present an overview of the types of exercises taught in Brazil, showing how local fieldwork and case studies support the uptake of this geomorphic information to inform river management. We emphasise the importance of careful planning in delivering a coherent product that integrates remotely-sensed work, field interpretation skills and lecture ractical class exercises. These exercises build upon foundation research in fluvial geomorphology in the Macaé Catchment in Rio de Janeiro State.
To plug‐in or not to plug‐in? Geomorphic analysis of rivers using the River Styles Framework in an era of big data acquisition and automation
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1002/WAT2.1372
Semi-automating the calculation of catchment scale geomorphic controls on river diversity using publically available datasets
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Guiding principles for assessing geomorphic river condition: application of a framework in the Bega catchment, South Coast, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2003
Things we can do now that we could not do before: Developing and using a cross-scalar, state-wide database to support geomorphologically-informed river management
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 22-01-2021
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0244719
Abstract: A fundamental premise of river management is that practitioners understand the resource they are working with. In river management this requires that baseline information is available on the structure, function, health and trajectory of rivers. Such information provides the basis to contextualise, to plan, to be proactive, to prioritise, to set visions, to set goals and to undertake objective, pragmatic, transparent and evidence-based decision making. In this paper we present the State-wide NSW River Styles database, the largest and most comprehensive dataset of geomorphic river type, condition and recovery potential available in Australia. The database is an Open Access product covering over 216,600 km of stream length in an area of 802,000 km 2 . The availability of the database presents unprecedented opportunities to systematically consider river management issues at local, catchment, regional and state-wide scales, and appropriately contextualise applications in relation to programs at other scales (e.g. internationally)–something that cannot be achieved independent from, or without, such a database. We present summary findings from the database and demonstrate through use of ex les how the database has been used in geomorphologically-informed river management. We also provide a cautionary note on the limitations of the database and expert advice on lessons learnt during its development to aid others who are undertaking similar analyses.
Geomorphology in action: Linking policy with on-the-ground actions through applications of the River Styles framework
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2011
An approach for measuring confinement and assessing the influence of valley setting on river forms and processes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-01-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.3893
How far have management practices come in ‘working with the river’?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-11-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5279
Abstract: The philosophy of ‘working with nature’ and ‘working with the river’ is increasingly embedded in global management practice. However, what does this mean? Has real progress been made in operationalizing what is known, how scientists and practitioners work and how rivers are conceptualized as integral parts of landscapes, culture and society? The first sections of this commentary outline what this philosophy means to us (the authors) and briefly summarize the evolution of associated concepts and principles in recent decades. In the final section, we comment on what we believe needs to be done to ‘work with the river’ in practice. We are communicating to both river scientists and practitioners as a collective when we ask: Will we be brave enough to hold the course in the face of many global challenges, be ready to respond when called upon, and commit to creation of erse, inclusive and open access communities of practice in geoethical programmes that ‘work with the river’?
Can the sedimentological and morphological structure of rivers be used to predict characteristics of riparian seed banks?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2015
Developing an equitable agenda for international capacity strengthening courses: environmental pedagogies and knowledge co-production in the Philippines
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 25-07-2023
Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms
Publisher: Springer New York
Date: 2015
Trends in post‐1950 riparian vegetation recovery in coastal catchments of NSW Australia: Implications for remote sensing analysis, forecasting and river management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-04-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5605
Abstract: Extensive riparian vegetation clearance occurred in many rivers of southeastern Australia throughout the 19th and 20th century, post colonisation. With improvements in river management practices, coincident with a period of minimal flooding, vegetation recovery of riparian corridors has been occurring since the 1980s in all coastal catchments of New South Wales (NSW). However, the catchment‐by‐catchment spatial pattern and temporal trends, trajectories and rates of vegetative recovery remain unknown. We reconstruct a 70‐year time series of change in riparian vegetation coverage for all rivers in coastal catchments of NSW, utilising historical aerial imagery, Landsat and Sentinel data and a manual digitisation and machine learning method. We quantify and statistically analyse decadal trends in woody and non‐woody vegetation coverage along 19 485 km of stream length in 20 catchments. Across the region, there has been, on average, a 40% increase in vegetation coverage along riparian corridors since the 1950s, with some catchments increasing towards a current day coverage of between 60% and 80%. However, the trends vary by subregion and by catchment. An early logarithmic increase occurred up to 2004 on the North coast, and a recent and accelerated exponential increase since 1995 has occurred on the South coast. After a steep initial increase, riparian corridor vegetation coverage has fluctuated on the Central coast since about 1995. We used these linear, exponential and logarithmic regressions to undertake preliminary forecasts of possible future timeframes of riparian vegetation change, based on several climate, management and natural disaster disturbance scenarios. If the current trend continues, riparian vegetation coverage can reach 70% across the region by 2055. However, if management practices change or catastrophic disturbance events such as fire and flood occur, increases in riparian vegetation coverage could be set back by up to 30 to 40 years.
Supporting champions in river management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-05-2020
DOI: 10.1002/WAT2.1445
Abstract: River ch ions are people working for better water and river management in a range of capacities, and who are particularly influential and effective in driving progress. The ch ionship concept is not new, but tends to emphasize the bold and highly visible leader. This archetypal ch ion is at odds with the more humble and quieter forms of leadership that we frequently encounter in our work and communities. These less‐visible ch ions are in danger of being overlooked. A more inclusive characterization of ch ionship can enrich existing conceptualizations. We argue that many river ch ions lead quietly and are effective because they build and use social capital to influence others. They are well‐connected and can help to bridge scales of management. We advocate that ch ionship must be recognized and supported within and beyond institutions. This can be enacted by rewarding people for their time in ways that are meaningful and appropriate (i.e., not only financially) and by prioritizing connection between people. We offer specific ex les of how this can be done in a river management setting. By recognizing and supporting river ch ions in all their forms, we can maximize their value as a critical component of participatory water and river management systems. This article is categorized under: Water and Life Conservation, Management, and Awareness. Engineering Water Planning Water. Human Water Water Governance.
Managing sediment (dis)connectivity in fluvial systems
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2020
Dramatic reduction in size of the lowland Macquarie River in response to Late Quaternary climate-driven hydrologic change
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.1017/QUA.2018.48
Abstract: Palaeochannels of lowland rivers provide a means of investigating the sensitivity of river response to climate-driven hydrologic change. About 80 palaeochannels of the lower Macquarie River of southeastern Australia record the evolution of this distributive fluvial system. Six Macquarie palaeochannels were dated by single-grain optically stimulated luminescence. The largest of the palaeochannels (Quombothoo, median age 54 ka) was on average 284 m wide, 12 times wider than the modern river (24 m) and with 21 times greater meander wavelength. Palaeo-discharge then declined, resulting in a younger, narrower, group of palaeochannels, Bibbijibbery (125 m wide, 34 ka), Billybingbone (92 m, 20 ka), Milmiland (112 m, 22 ka), and Mundadoo (86 m, 5.6 ka). Yet these channels were still much larger than the modern river and were continuous downstream to the confluence with the Barwon-Darling River. At 5.5 ka, a further decrease in river discharge led to the formation of the narrow modern river, the ecologically important Macquarie Marshes, and Marra Creek palaeochannel (31 m, 2.1 ka) and diminished sediment delivery to the Barwon-Darling River as palaeo-discharge fell further. The hydrologic changes suggest precipitation was a driving forcing on catchment discharge in addition to a temperature-driven runoff response.
Progress, problems and prospects in Australian river repair
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1071/MF12355
Abstract: Effective river restoration requires an integrative approach among researchers, managers and stakeholders, grounded in sound science. Using Australia as a case study, we examined contemporary responses to the following three global challenges for river management: first, to base management practice on ‘best available science’ (BAS) second, to integrate erse, discipline-bound knowledge within cross-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary approaches and third, to achieve adaptive management based on monitoring and evaluation. Analysis of 562 papers from the six Australian national stream-management conferences held since 1996 provided insight into the rapidly growing area of management, and the degree to which these three challenges are being met. The review showed that discipline-bound abiotic or biotic science was the focus of 46% of papers. Cross-disciplinary science, defined as the integration of biophysical sciences, was presented in 36% of papers, and trans-disciplinary science, defined as the merging of biophysical science with social and economic perspectives, in 17%. Monitoring and evaluation results were presented in only 12% of papers, whereas applications of adaptive management were reported in a mere 2%. Although river management has been transformed in recent decades, much remains to be done to create a holistic foundation for river restoration that links biophysical science to social science and economics.
How Does Restoration of Native Canopy Affect Understory Vegetation Composition? Evidence from Riparian Communities of the Hunter Valley Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-08-2011
The Relationship between Geomorphic River Structure and Coarse Particulate Organic Matter (CPOM) Storage along the Kangaroo River, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-2006
The dark art of interpretation in geomorphology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2021
Sediment tracing in the upper Hunter catchment using elemental and mineralogical compositions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2013
The Holocene evolution and geomorphology of a chain of ponds, southeast Australia: Establishing a physical template for river management
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2017
Peatlands in eastern Australia? Sedimentology and age structure of Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone (THPSS) in the Southern Highlands and Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 21-08-2014
Abstract: Temperate Highland Peat Sw s on Sandstone (THPSS) are a form of topogenous mire found on the plateau areas of eastern Australia. They are well recognised for their ecological value, but our understanding of their geomorphic structure, function and evolution remains limited. Across 19 sites, the valley fills of THPSS comprise sequences of mineral-rich sand and loam deposits. Basal sand and gravel sediments have low organic content and low carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratios (a measure of peat formation) and are dated between 15.3 and 9 kyr cal. BP, with outliers back to 44 kyr cal. BP. These units reflect mineral-sediment trapping and accumulation on the valley floor. The transition to ‘sw ’ conditions through paludification occurred between 15.2 and 10.3 kyr cal. BP in some systems, and between 7.6 and 1.4 kyr cal. BP in other, adjacent valleys. These ‘sw ’ sediments comprise a package of units, progressing upward from fine cohesive sands, through assemblages of alternating organic sands to surface organic fines. These beds vary in texture from loams to sands and have a range of organic matter content (from 7.6% to 79.9%) and C:N ratios (from 15 to 58). The surface organic fines at 0 and 100 cm depth range in age from 13.1 to 0.7 kyr cal. BP. The composition and age structure of the valley fill suggest a mix of allogenic and autogenic controls are responsible for the formation of these sw s, but a regional model of THPSS evolution is emerging. Given these ‘peatlands’ have formed under a climate that experiences significant inter-annual variability in rainfall, conditions for peat formation are localised and not directly equivalent to those documented internationally.
What are we monitoring and why? Using geomorphic principles to frame eco-hydrological assessments of river condition
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2010.01.038
Abstract: Monitoring and assessment are integral components in adaptive management programmes that strive to improve the condition of river systems. Unfortunately, these procedures are generally applied with an emphasis upon biotic attributes and water quality, with limited regard for the geomorphic structure, function and evolutionary trajectory of a river system. Geomorphic principles convey an understanding of the landscape context within which ecohydrologic processes interact. Collectively, geo-eco-hydrologic understanding presents a coherent biophysical template that can be used to frame spatially and temporally rigorous approaches to monitoring that respect the inherent ersity, variability and complexity of any given river system. This understanding aids the development of management programmes that 'work with nature.' Unless an integrative perspective is used to monitor river condition, conservation and rehabilitation plans are unlikely to reach their true potential.
Water Sources of Upland Swamps in Eastern Australia: Implications for System Integrity with Aquifer Interference and a Changing Climate
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 09-01-2019
DOI: 10.3390/W11010102
Abstract: Temperate Highland Peat Sw s on Sandstone (THPSS) in Eastern Australia are Groundwater Dependent Terrestrial Ecosystems that occur in the headwaters of streams on low relief plateaus. Like upland sw s and peatlands globally, they provide base flow to downstream catchments. However, these sw s are subject to aquifer interference from mining and groundwater extraction and are threatened by urbanization and climate change. We collected winter and summer water s les from sw s in two highland regions of Eastern Australia. Water from the sw s was analyzed for hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopes and compared with rainwater, surface water and groundwater s les from the surrounding bedrock aquifers to identify likely sw water sources. Radon (222Rn) was used as an environmental tracer to determine whether the sw s were predominantly groundwater or rainwater fed. Four out of five sw s s led in the Blue Mountains had greater than 30% of water derived from the surrounding bedrock aquifer, whereas sw s in the Southern Highlands received less than 15% of water from the surrounding aquifer. The water sources for sw s in both regions are controlled by catchment morphology, e.g., valley shape. Understanding water sources of these systems is critical for the determination of likely impacts on THPSS from aquifer interference activities and a changing climate.
THE USE OF THE RIVER STYLES FRAMEWORK AS A TOOL TO ‘WORK WITH NATURE’ IN MANAGING RIVERS IN BRAZIL: EXAMPLES FROM THE MACAÉ CATCHMENT
Publisher: Revista Brasileira de Geomorfologia
Date: 10-2019
Abstract: Integrative approaches to land and water management apply scientifically informed policies that build upon a landscape template. The River Styles Framework supports the development and application of proactive, strategic and cost-effective management plans. This paper outlines eight key principles that build upon the River Styles Framework: (1) use a landscape template as an integrative platform (2) respect the inherent ersity of river forms and processes (3) work with variability, adjustment and change (4) know your catchment, understanding patterns of river types and tributary-trunk stream relationships (5) compare like with like in assessing geomorphic river condition (6) forecast prospective river futures to set moving targets for management (7) apply a conservation-first and recovery enhancement ethos in the development of visionary yet realistically achievable management plans that have a clear evidence base for prioritization of actions and (8) monitor and learn effectively using adaptive management principles. The application of each of these principles is demonstrated using a case study from the Macaé Catchment in Rio de Janeiro State.
Interactive effects of waterlogging and atmospheric CO2 concentration on gas exchange, growth and functional traits of Australian riparian tree seedlings
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-12-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ECO.1803
The hydrological function of a large chain-of-ponds: a wetland system with intermittent surface flows
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-06-2020
A nested hierarchical perspective to enhance interpretations and communication in fluvial geomorphology for use in water resources management: Lessons from the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-04-2018
DOI: 10.1111/GEOJ.12250
Relationships, social networks and the emergence of recovery-based river management: implications for practice and policy
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1071/MF20065
Abstract: Sustainable, science-based freshwater-ecosystem management requires strong and integrated systems and policies for governance and knowledge management. Often the focus is on availability of technical information, whereas deeper knowledge development, sharing and implementation also require social networks that cross disciplinary and organisational boundaries. This research investigated emergence and development of river-rehabilitation practices based on principles of geomorphic river recovery through periods of institutional, political and policy change. Document analysis and oral testimony indicated that informal or emergent social networks, forming communities of practice, have been critical for developing, sharing and implementing river-recovery principles through these phases of change. However, social networks and the tacit knowledge held by networks and in iduals are insecure and may be vulnerable to loss if investments are not made in relationships and the ‘relational resources’ that provide resilience during periods of change. We see social relationships as critical to realisation of integrative, science-based freshwater-ecosystem management and governance in the long term and across local, state, national and international scales. This must be supported by policy that recognises the value of cross-organisational connection and provides institutional stability, while offering sufficient flexibility and openness for collaborative and adaptive governance in management of freshwater ecosystems.
Remediation of metal-contaminated soil in polar environments
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2014
The geomorphic character and hydrological function of an upland swamp, Budderoo plateau, southern highlands, NSW, Australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2014
Different depths, different fauna: habitat influences on the distribution of groundwater invertebrates
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-03-2017
Forgotten peatlands of eastern Australia: An unaccounted carbon capture and storage system
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2020
Author Correction: Identifying threshold responses of Australian dryland rivers to future hydroclimatic change
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-07-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-020-69597-5
Abstract: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
River sensitivity: a lost foundation concept in fluvial geomorphology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-04-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.3940
Soil carbon dynamics and aquatic metabolism of a wet–dry tropics wetland system
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-01-2021
Has river rehabilitation begun? Social perspectives from the Upper Hunter catchment, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2010
Rivers up in smoke: impacts of Australia’s 2019–2020 megafires on riparian systems
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 16-06-2022
DOI: 10.1071/WF22046
Abstract: Background Increasing occurrence of megafires and wildfires is threatening the integrity of many natural systems and sustainability of the ecosystem services they provide. For ex le, the 2019–2020 Australian fires were one of the costliest natural disasters in the country’s recorded history. Aims This study aims to analyse the extent and severity of the fires on riparian systems across coastal catchments of New South Wales. We open a discussion about whether megafires and wildfires are creating novel riparian ecosystems and if prescribed and cultural burns should be used as a riparian vegetation management technique. Key results Of the 81 304 km of stream analysed, ~29% (23 266 km) were impacted by extreme or high-severity burning, with vegetation canopy completely consumed, or completely scorched and partially consumed. A further 21% (17 138 km) experienced moderate to low-severity burning, with partial canopy scorching or understorey burning. Such widespread, synchronous burning of riparian systems is unprecedented. Conclusion and implications Riparian management strategies must evolve to mitigate against future catastrophic fires that are becoming more frequent and severe under climate change. Research needs to establish the extent to which Australian riparian ecosystems are adapted to fire, the regimes and customs of cultural burning in these zones, and how to use such burning in riparian management.
Microbial communities of upland peat swamps were no different 1 year after a hazard reduction burn
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1071/WF20023
Abstract: Fire in wetlands is poorly understood, yet hazard reduction burns are a common management practice and bushfires are becoming increasingly prevalent because of climate change. Fire may have long-lasting implications for the microbial component of these wetland ecosystems that regulate carbon and nutrient cycling. The extremely fire-prone Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in south-eastern Australia contains hundreds of endangered peat-forming upland sw s that regularly experience both bushfires and hazard reduction burns. In a before–after control–impact study, we surveyed the sediment microbial community of these sw s to test the impact of a low-intensity hazard reduction burn. Along with sediment pH, moisture and organic content, we measured gene abundances including those relating to carbon cycling (quantitative PCR (qPCR) of pmoA, mcrA, bacterial 16S rRNA and archaeal 16S rRNA), and bacteria community fingerprint (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP)). One year after the hazard reduction burn, there were no significant differences in the gene abundances or microbial community fingerprint that could be attributed to the fire, suggesting that the hazard reduction burn did not have a long-term impact on these microbial communities.
Quantifying Sediment (Dis)Connectivity in the Modeling of River Systems
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2022
Assessing the geomorphic recovery potential of rivers: forecasting future trajectories of adjustment for use in management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-05-2016
DOI: 10.1002/WAT2.1158
Identifying key sedimentary indicators of geomorphic structure and function of upland swamps in the Blue Mountains for use in condition assessment and monitoring
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2016
The importance of relational values in river management: understanding enablers and barriers for effective participation
Publisher: Resilience Alliance, Inc.
Date: 2020
Post-European changes to the fluvial geomorphology of Bega catchment, Australia: implications for river ecology
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-1999
Identifying threshold responses of Australian dryland rivers to future hydroclimatic change
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-04-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-020-63622-3
Abstract: Rivers provide crucial ecosystem services in water-stressed drylands. Australian dryland rivers are geomorphologically erse, ranging from through-going, single channels to discontinuous, multi-channelled systems, yet we have limited understanding of their sensitivity to future hydroclimatic changes. Here, we characterise for the first time the geomorphology of 29 dryland rivers with catchments across a humid to arid gradient covering ,800,000 km 2 of continental eastern and central Australia. Statistical separation of five specific dominantly alluvial river types and quantification of their present-day catchment hydroclimates enables identification of potential thresholds of change. Projected aridity increases across eastern Australia by 2070 (RCP4.5) will result in ~80% of the dryland rivers crossing a threshold from one type to another, manifesting in major geomorphological changes. Dramatic cases will see currently through-going rivers (e.g. Murrumbidgee, Macintyre) experience step changes towards greater discontinuity, characterised by pronounced downstream declines in channel size and local termination. Expanding our approach to include other river styles (e.g. mixed bedrock-alluvial) would allow similar analyses of dryland rivers globally where hydroclimate is an important driver of change. Early identification of dryland river responses to future hydroclimatic change has far-reaching implications for the ~2 billion people that live in drylands and rely on riverine ecosystem services.
Evolution of a river management industry in Australia reveals meandering pathway to 2030 UN goals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-03-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S43247-023-00748-Y
Abstract: Globally, river management is a multi-billion-dollar industry. The United Nations (UN) Decade of Ecosystem Restoration calls for accelerated action towards integrated, participatory, and adaptive water resources management. Here we test whether the required shifts are occurring in the Australian stream management industry, an environmental management industry in a developed western nation. We undertook structured review and topic modelling of 958 peer-reviewed papers presented at the national stream management conference from 1996-2021. We investigated trends in collaboration, transdisciplinary knowledge, ersity of input and perspectives, adaptive management, interaction with policy, and responses to natural events. We found that the industry has matured over the past 25 years, with increasing collaboration, ersity and interdisciplinarity. However, there was no measurable increase in on-ground community participation or use of adaptive management. The findings highlight opportunities for the industry to mature further to achieve UN 2030 goals for integrated water resource management and ecosystem restoration.
Geomorphic characterization of a seasonal river network in semi-arid western India using the River Styles Framework
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Author Correction: Engaging with research impact assessment for an environmental science case study
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-11-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-13141-1
Abstract: An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Inherited age of floating charcoal fragments in a sand-bed stream, Macdonald River, NSW, Australia: Implications for radiocarbon dating of sediments
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 30-05-2023
DOI: 10.1177/09596836231176502
Abstract: Radiocarbon dates on multiple in idual charcoal fragments floating together down the Macdonald River, New South Wales, Australia, have calibrated ages spanning years. Partial explanations of this range of inherited ages can be attributed to the inbuilt age of living biomass, charcoalisation conditions, hillslope transport and storage and/or valley floor (fluvial) transport and storage, but the contribution of each of these components can be constrained only rarely. These results caution against using radiocarbon dating of charcoal as the sole dating technique to interpret Late-Holocene sedimentary histories. These findings also show that it is unlikely that deposit age has a dependable relationship to charcoal age.
Contextualising the trajectory of geomorphic river recovery with environmental history to support river management
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
Bacterial communities in peat swamps reflect changes associated with catchment urbanisation
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-05-2202
DOI: 10.1007/S11252-022-01238-3
Abstract: Like many peat wetlands around the world, Temperate Highland Peat Sw s on Sandstone (THPSS), located in the Sydney Basin, Australia, have been impacted by urban development. In this paper, we used Illumina 16S rRNA DNA licon sequencing to characterise and compare the bacterial communities of surface (top 0–2 cm) and deep (50 cm) sediments in peat sw s that occur in both urbanised and non-urbanised catchments. Proteobacteria (32.2% of reads), Acidobacteria (23.6%) and Chloroflexi (10.7%) were the most common phyla of the dataset. There were significant differences in the bacterial community structure between catchment types and depths apparent at the phyla level. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia made up a greater proportion of the reads in the surface sediments than the deeper sediments, while Chloroflexi and Nitrospirae were relatively more common in the deeper than the surface sediment. By catchment type, Acidobacteria were more common in sw s occurring in non-urbanised catchments, while Nitrospirae, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were more common in those in urbanised catchments. Microbial community structure was significantly correlated with sediment pH, as was the relative abundance of several phyla, including Acidobacteria (negative correlation) and Bacteroidetes (positive correlation) . As an indicator of trophic shift from oligotrophic to copiotrophic conditions associated with urbanised catchment, we found significant differences ratios of β-Proteobacteria to Acidobacteria and Bacteriodetes to Acidobacteria between the catchment types. Based on SIMPER results we suggest the relative abundance of Nitrosomonadaceae family as a potential indicator of urban degradation. As the first study to analyse the bacterial community structure of THPSS using sequencing of 16S rDNA, we reveal the utility of such analyses and show that urbanisation in the Blue Mountains is impacting the microbial ecology of these important peatland ecosystems.
The hydrological function of upland swamps in eastern Australia: The role of geomorphic condition in regulating water storage and discharge
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2018
Using a fluvial archive to place extreme flood sediment (dis)connectivity dynamics in context of a longer-term record
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2022
Detection of decadal time‐series changes in flow hydrology in eastern Australia: Considerations for river recovery and flood management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-09-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5694
Identifying corridors of river recovery in coastal NSW Australia, for use in river management decision support and prioritisation systems
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-06-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0270285
Abstract: By connecting corridors of river recovery, resilience can be built into river systems to mitigate against future floods and droughts driven by anthropogenic disturbance or climate extremes. However, identifying where these corridors can be built is still lacking in river management practice. The Open Access NSW River Styles database contains comprehensive information on geomorphic river condition and recovery potential. The database can be used to systematically analyse where corridors of river recovery could be created via conservation or rehabilitation. Analysis was undertaken in ArcGIS using the recovery potential layer along 84,342 km of freshwater stream length, across 20 catchments of coastal NSW. We identified 4,905 km of reach connections, defined as an upstream to downstream section of river that is connected end-to-end, and 17,429 km of loci connections defined as more isolated sections of river from which recovery can be seeded and extended into adjacent reaches. There was significant spatial variability in the types and lengths of connections made across the catchments. Some catchments have significant potential to build corridors of recovery along large sections of river, whereas other catchments are more fragmented. These results provide practitioners with a user-friendly distillation of where river conservation and rehabilitation activities could be focussed when working with river recovery in practice. Combined with local on-ground knowledge, this information forms an important input to evidence-based prioritisation and decision making in river management.
Seed banks as a source of vegetation regeneration to support the recovery of degraded rivers: A comparison of river reaches of varying condition
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2015.10.118
Abstract: Anthropogenic disturbance has contributed to widespread geomorphic adjustment and the degradation of many rivers. This research compares for river reaches of varying condition, the potential for seed banks to support geomorphic river recovery through vegetation regeneration. Seven river reaches in the lower Hunter catchment of south-eastern Australia were assessed as being in poor, moderate, or good condition, based on geomorphic and ecological indicators. Seed bank composition within the channel and floodplain (determined in a seedling emergence study) was compared to standing vegetation. Seed bank potential for supporting geomorphic recovery was assessed by measuring native species richness, and the abundance of different plant growth forms, with consideration of the roles played by different growth forms in geomorphic adjustment. The exotic seed bank was considered a limiting factor for achieving ecological restoration goals, and similarly analysed. Seed bank native species richness was comparable between the reaches, and regardless of condition, early successional and pioneer herbs, sedges, grasses and rushes dominated the seed bank. The capacity for these growth forms to colonise and stabilise non-cohesive sediments and initiate biogeomorphic succession, indicates high potential for the seed banks of even highly degraded reaches to contribute to geomorphic river recovery. However, exotic propagules increasingly dominated the seed banks of moderate and poor condition reaches and reflected increasing encroachment by terrestrial exotic vegetation associated with riparian degradation. As the degree of riparian degradation increases, the resources required to control the regeneration of exotic species will similarly increase, if seed bank-based regeneration is to contribute to both geomorphic and ecological restoration goals.
Channel–floodplain connectivity during an extreme flood event: implications for sediment erosion, deposition, and delivery
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-05-2013
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.3430
Buffers, barriers and blankets: The (dis)connectivity of catchment-scale sediment cascades
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2007
Post‐European settlement response gradients of river sensitivity and recovery across the upper Hunter catchment, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-04-2009
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.1771
Modelling sediment (dis)connectivity across a river network to understand locational‐transmission‐filter sensitivity for identifying hotspots of potential geomorphic adjustment
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-08-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5213
Abstract: Rivers act as ‘jerky conveyor belts’ that transmit fluxes of flow and sediment downstream. This transmission of fluxes can be highly variable within a drainage basin resulting in either abrupt or gradational sediment (dis)connectivity patterns and processes. This study assesses sediment (dis)connectivity across a basin as a means to understand the locational, transmission and filter sensitivity properties of a fluvial system. Drawing upon the case study of Richmond River Catchment, New South Wales, Australia we use the concepts of effective catchment area and buffers, along with graph theory and an empirical sediment transport model CASCADE (Catchment Sediment Connectivity and Delivery), to assess (1) the degree to which modelled sediment cascades along the river network are connected or disconnected (2) how the position, pattern and configuration of (dis)connection facilitates or restricts geomorphic adjustment in different parts of a catchment, and (3) use the findings as a basis to explain the locational‐transmission‐filter sensitivity of the catchment. We use this analysis to segregate supply limited and transport limited reaches and identify various controls on sediment dynamics: in‐stream sediment storage units, junctions between different geomorphic river types, tributary confluences and sediment storage units within partly confined floodplain units. Such analysis lays the foundation for network scale identification of potential hotspots of geomorphic adjustment.
A Dynamic, Network Scale Sediment (Dis)Connectivity Model to Reconstruct Historical Sediment Transfer and River Reach Sediment Budgets
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 02-2022
DOI: 10.1029/2021WR030784
Abstract: Modeling network‐scale sediment (dis)connectivity and its response to anthropic pressures provides a baseline understanding of river processes and sediment dynamics that can be used to forecast future hydro‐morphological changes in river basins. However, this requires a solid understanding of how a system is currently operating, and how it operated in the past. We present the basin‐scale, dynamic sediment connectivity model D‐CASCADE, which combines concepts of network modeling with empirical sediment transport formulas to quantify spatiotemporal sediment (dis)connectivity in river networks. D‐CASCADE accounts for multiple factors affecting sediment transport, such as spatiotemporal variations in hydrological regime, different sediment grain sizes, sediment entrainment and deposition. Add‐ons are included in D‐CASCADE to model local changes in river geomorphology driven by sediment‐induced variations in features such as channel width. We apply D‐CASCADE to the well‐documented Bega River catchment, NSW, Australia, where significant geomorphic changes to rivers have occurred post European colonization (after 1850s), including widespread channel erosion and sediment mobilization. The Bega catchment provides a useful case study to test D‐CASCADE, as original source data on the historical sediment budget are available. By introducing historic drivers of change in the correct chronological sequence, the D‐CASCADE model successfully reproduced the timing and magnitude of major phases of sediment transport and associated channel adjustments over the last two centuries. With this confidence, we then ran the model to test how well it performs at estimating future trajectories of basin‐scale sediment transport and sediment budgets at the river reach scale.
Knowing Your Place: an Australasian perspective on catchment-framed approaches to river repair
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-2006
River Styles, a Geomorphic Approach to Catchment Characterization: Implications for River Rehabilitation in Bega Catchment, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-05-2000
Abstract: / Geomorphologically derived river styles provide an integrative framework for examining the interactions of biophysical processes in rivers throughout a drainage basin. Nine styles of river character and behavior are identified in Bega catchment, on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Headwater streams above the escarpment drain into gorges in the escarpment zone. In different subcatchments at the base of the escarpment, there are three different river styles, namely cut-and-fill, vertically accreted floodplains, and fans. Downstream of these river styles, in the rounded foothills of the catchment, throughput and transfer river styles convey sediments to the lowland plain. In one mid-catchment setting, a floodout traps sediment. Finally, along the lowland plain of Bega River, there is a floodplain accumulation river style. Downstream patterns of river styles in differing subcatchments of the Bega River basin are differentiated into three types, reflecting river adjustments to valley width, slope, and responses to human disturbance. Analysis of the character and condition of each river style in Bega catchment, and their downstream patterns, are used to provide a biophysical basis to prioritorize river management strategies. These reach-scale strategies are prioritorized within an integrative catchment framework. Conserving near-intact sections of the catchment is the first priority. Second, those parts of the catchment that have natural recovery potential are targeted. Finally, rehabilitation priorities are considered for highly degraded reaches. At these sites, erosion and sedimentation problems may reflect irreversible changes to river structure.
River Styles and stream power analysis reveal the diversity of fluvial morphology in a Philippine tropical catchment
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-02-2022
DOI: 10.1186/S40562-022-00211-4
Abstract: Characterisation of hydromorphological attributes is crucial for effective river management. Such information is often overlooked in tropical regions such as the Philippines where river management strategies mainly focus on issues around water quality and quantity. We address this knowledge gap using the River Styles Framework as a template to identify the ersity of river morphodynamics. We identify eight distinct River Styles (river types) in the Bislak catchment (586 km 2 ) in the Philippines, showing considerable geomorphic ersity within a relatively small catchment area. Three River Styles in a Confined valley setting occupy 57% of the catchment area, another three in a partly confined valley setting occupy 37%, and two in the remaining 6% are found in a laterally unconfined valley setting. Five characteristic downstream patterns of River Styles were identified across the catchment. We observe that variation in channel slope for a given catchment area (i.e., total stream power) is insufficient to differentiate between river types. Hence, topographic analyses should be complemented with broader framed, catchment-specific approaches to river characterisation. The outputs and understandings from the geomorphic analysis of rivers undertaken in this study can support river management applications by explicitly incorporating understandings of river ersity and dynamics. This has the potential to reshape how river management is undertaken, to shift from reactive, engineering-based approaches that dominate in the Philippines, to more sustainable, ecosystem-based approaches to management.
On-site teaching with XRF and XRD
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 20-10-2014
DOI: 10.1017/S0885715614000876
Abstract: There is a growing need for environmental scientists, geoscientists, and analysts skilled in the use of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and X-ray diffractometry. The challenge for educators is how to inspire, teach, and make the next generation of professional X-ray users and analysts ready for employment. In this paper, we present vignettes from teaching applications of X-ray analytical techniques at three scaffolded levels, from senior high school students, undergraduate science students, to postgraduate researchers. At each of these levels the pedagogical complexity increases, from simple data use at high school, to observing how data are generated and being able to constrain analytical uncertainty at the undergraduate level, to generating high-quality data at the postgraduate level. In all cases, transportable equipment is used in on-site analytical programs to inform the experimental design, level of s ling required, and research outcomes.
Where do floodplains begin? The role of total stream power and longitudinal profile form on floodplain initiation processes
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1130/B26092.1
Practicing Sociogeomorphology: Relationships and Dialog in River Research and Management
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 16-11-2017
Geochemical insights to the formation of sedimentary buffers
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2014
Geomorphic controls on the diversity and patterns of fluvial forms along longitudinal profiles
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2021
Heterogeneous flows foster heterogeneous assemblages: Relationships between functional diversity and hydrological heterogeneity in riparian plant communities
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-07-2015
DOI: 10.1111/FWB.12649
Developing and using geomorphic condition assessments for river rehabilitation planning, implementation and monitoring
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-07-2015
DOI: 10.1002/WAT2.1100
Abstract: Frameworks for assessing geomorphic river condition constitute a core part of the river management process, providing a critical platform for environmental decision‐making and associated actions. The evolution of approaches for assessing the geomorphic (also called physical, morphological, or hydromorphological) condition of rivers has shifted from a design and development phase in the late‐1990s and early 2000s to application and use of approaches for assessment, monitoring, and rehabilitation decision making. In this paper I review the core geomorphic principles that are embedded in more sophisticated, process‐based frameworks, and demonstrate how the information generated through use of these frameworks can be used to guide management choices, change management activities or opt‐out of management activities as part of precautionary river management practice. I propose that a key challenge now faced by geomorphologists and managers is to move beyond the development of more new frameworks, and consolidate efforts to use, test, and adapt existing approaches and datasets to achieve river management visions and objectives framed around improving river condition. WIREs Water 2015, 2:649–667. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1100 This article is categorized under: Water and Life Conservation, Management, and Awareness Engineering Water Planning Water
Digging deep for diversity: riparian seed bank abundance and species richness in relation to burial depth
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2013
DOI: 10.1111/FWB.12249
An approach for assessing geomorphic river sensitivity across a catchment based on analysis of historical capacity for adjustment
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2020
The Disconnected Sediment Conveyor Belt: Patterns of Longitudinal and Lateral Erosion and Deposition During a Catastrophic Flood in the Lockyer Valley, South East Queensland, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-03-2016
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.2897
The Use of Evolutionary Trajectories to Guide ‘Moving Targets’ in the Management of River Futures
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-08-2015
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.2930
A geomorphic assessment to inform strategic stream restoration planning in the Middle Fork John Day Watershed, Oregon, USA
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 20-04-2017
A GIS workflow for the identification of corridors of geomorphic river recovery across landscapes
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-12-2022
DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0278831
Abstract: The provision of a simplified GIS workflow to analyse the Open Access NSW River Styles database provides non-technical GIS users in river management with the ability to quickly and efficiently obtain information to assist them in catchment-scale rehabilitation prioritisation. Publicly available proprietary GIS software, standard GIS tools, and a packaged digital elevation model are used to demonstrate the ease of analysis for those with some GIS skills, to establish where corridors of geomorphic river recovery occur or could be built at-scale. Rather than a ‘single use’ report, this novel application of GIS methods is designed to be used by those responsible for river management, replicated across landscapes and adjusted according to preferences. Decision making becomes more cost effective, and adaptive to local circumstances and changing river management priorities. The method could also be adjusted and applied to other river monitoring and condition datasets where polyline data layers are available.
How long do seeds float? The potential role of hydrochory in passive revegetation management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-05-2022
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.3989
Abstract: Despite research into the dynamics of seed transport in fluvial systems, few consider how far seeds will travel, and how far from local or upstream seed sources passive regeneration can occur. We experimentally test the seed floating time of 60 plant species (50 native and 10 exotic) commonly found in riparian corridors of southeastern Australia. Around 50% of species had seeds that floated for 2 days or less, and for most species' (90%) all seeds had sunk within one week. Seeds of native species tended to sink more quickly than exotic, with 64% of native species' seeds floating for less than 2 days. In contrast, most exotic species (80%) floated for longer than 2 days, and 40% had seeds still floating after one week. This suggests that exotic species are good floaters and likely to travel long distances, making them excellent hydrochores. Finally, we applied the findings to a real case study, Wollombi Brook, NSW, Australia. We combined the findings from the seed floating experiment with low flow hydrology calculations to map the potential travel distance of seeds from known extant vegetation sources. We show that maximum seed travel distance per day could be up to 21 km. Thus, species that float for a week could potentially travel almost 150 km downstream before sinking or being deposited. We discuss how local versus upstream seed sources, and hydrochory, could be utilised in passive revegetation and weed management of riparian corridors.
Can the Regeneration of Vegetation from Riparian Seed Banks Support Biogeomorphic Succession and the Geomorphic Recovery of Degraded River Channels?
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-06-2014
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.2778
Tributary–trunk stream relations in a cut-and-fill landscape: a case study from Wolumla catchment, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-1999
River sensitivity and sediment connectivity as tools for assessing future geomorphic channel behavior
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-10-2019
Sedimentologically significant tributaries: catchment‐scale controls on sediment (dis)connectivity in the Lockyer Valley, SEQ, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-03-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4130
Geomorphic effectiveness: a linear concept in a non-linear world
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-01-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4096
Extent and effect of the 2019-20 Australian bushfires on upland peat swamps in the Blue Mountains, NSW
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1071/WF20081
Abstract: The devastating bushfires of the 2019–20 summer are arguably the most costly natural disaster in Australian recorded history. What is little known is that these fires severely affected the temperate highland peat sw s on sandstone (THPSS), a form of upland wetland that occurs in the water supply catchments of Sydney in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and National Park. During the fires, 59% of THPSS was burnt and 72% of those by a high severity burn. Upland sw s at Newnes were the most affected, with 96% of sw s burnt and 84% of these experiencing a very high burn severity. We present an analysis of the spatial extent and severity of the bushfire on the THPSS and discuss some of the likely consequences on their geomorphological, hydrological and ecological structure, function and recovery potential.
‘Out with the Old?’ Why coarse spatial datasets are still useful for catchment‐scale investigations of sediment (dis)connectivity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-03-2017
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4131
Catchment-scale (dis)connectivity in sediment flux in the upper Hunter catchment, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2007
Defining the floodplain in hydrologically-variable settings
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-09-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4014
Application of globally available, coarse‐resolution digital elevation models for delineating valley bottom segments of varying length across a catchment
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-07-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4930
Did humid-temperate rivers in the Old and New Worlds respond differently to clearance of riparian vegetation and removal of woody debris?
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2005
DOI: 10.1191/0309133305PP433RA
Abstract: Clearance of riparian vegetation and removal of woody debris are perhaps the most pervasive of all forms of human disturbance to river courses. Geomorphic consequences of these impacts have varied markedly from river system to river system, a result of variations in catchment setting, climate, geology, sediment supply and evolutionary history. In this paper, geomorphic responses of rivers to rapid, systematic clearance of riparian vegetation in New World (colonial) societies are contrasted with changes associated with gradual, piecemeal, yet progressive clearance of riparian forests in northern Europe (the Old World). It is postulated that the dramatic nature of river metamorphosis experienced in landscapes such as southeastern Australia records the breaching of fundamental geomorphic thresholds in a different manner to that experienced in Old World landscapes.
Geomorphic mapping and taxonomy of fluvial landforms
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2015
The Geographic Basis of Geomorphic Enquiry
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2011
Don’t Fight the Site: Three Geomorphic Considerations in Catchment-Scale River Rehabilitation Planning
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-03-2009
DOI: 10.1007/S00267-008-9266-4
Abstract: Three geomorphic considerations that underpin the design and implementation of realistic and strategic river conservation and rehabilitation programs that work with the nature are outlined. First, the importance of appreciating the inherent ersity of river forms and processes is discussed. Second, river dynamics are appraised, framing the contemporary behavioral regime of a reach in relation to system evolution to explain changes to river character and behavior over time. Third, the trajectory of a reach is framed in relation to downstream patterns of river types, analyzing landscape connectivity at the catchment scale to interpret geomorphic river recovery potential. The application of these principles is demonstrated using extensive catchment-scale analyses of geomorphic river responses to human disturbance in the Bega and Upper Hunter catchments in southeastern Australia. Differing implications for reach- and catchment-scale rehabilitation planning prompt the imperative that management practices work with nature rather than strive to 'fight the site.'
Groundwater depth and topography correlate with vegetation structure of an upland peat swamp, Budderoo Plateau, NSW, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-01-2014
DOI: 10.1002/ECO.1465
The type and spatial distribution of past waste at the abandoned Wilkes Station, East Antarctica
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 07-02-2013
DOI: 10.1017/S0032247412000721
Abstract: Legacy waste is a significant problem in Antarctica. This is particularly the case where waste generated on stations prior to the 1980s was incinerated, placed in landfill sites or disposed of at sea. Although several Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) reports from the 1980s recognise that there are contaminated sites at the abandoned Wilkes Station, there has been no systematic attempt to classify the waste or define the spatial scale of the problem, making development of strategic and systematic clean-up or preservation programmes difficult. This article reports on a project to classify the waste remaining on Clark Peninsula using categories listed in Annex III, Article 2 of the Madrid Protocol (1991). 536 sites with one or more waste items have been identified in nine categories that are based on the degree of waste hazard, recyclability, heritage value and waste management potential. Fuel drums, petroleum hydrocarbons waste and contaminated sediment occur at 38% of the sites. This waste includes around 1020 partially full fuel drums. Heritage items that illustrate expedition life at Wilkes occur at about 10% of the sites. Solid, non-combustible waste, including scrap metal, copper wire and pipe, and steel mechanical parts, occurs at 25% of the sites. Potentially hazardous or harmful waste including electrical batteries, plastics including fuel bladders, food remains, treated timber and containers containing persistent compounds occur at 28% of sites. Although hazardous substances, such as caustic soda, explosives and asbestos, occur at only 9% of the sites, these items represent significant contamination and heath issues for the sites and for visiting explorers. Any future clean-up operations will require more than just the physical removal of waste. Preservation, removal and treatment of various types of waste from Wilkes will be required as part of a multi-year, multi-strategy approach.
A geomorphological framework for river characterization and habitat assessment
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2001
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.467
A channel evolution model for subtropical macrochannel systems
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Geomorphic and vegetative river recovery in a small coastal catchment of New South Wales, Australia: Implications for flow hydrology and river management
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2022
The character and age structure of valley fills in upper Wolumla Creek catchment, south coast, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-1998
DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199803)23:3<271::AID-ESP867>3.0.CO;2-5
Use of ergodic reasoning to reconstruct the historical range of variability and evolutionary trajectory of rivers
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-02-2012
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.3210
Reading the Landscape in Field-Based Fluvial Geomorphology
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2014
What’s in a name? A naming convention for geomorphic river types using the River Styles Framework
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 19-09-2018
Application of the River Styles framework as a basis for river management in New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2002
Engaging with research impact assessment for an environmental science case study
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-10-2019
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-019-12020-Z
Abstract: Impact assessment is embedded in many national and international research rating systems. Most applications use the Research Impact Pathway to track inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes of an invention or initiative to assess impact beyond scholarly contributions to an academic research field (i.e., benefits to environment, society, economy and culture). Existing approaches emphasise easy to attribute ‘hard’ impacts, and fail to include a range of ‘soft’ impacts that are less easy to attribute, yet are often a dominant part of the impact mix. Here, we develop an inclusive 3-part impact mapping approach. We demonstrate its application using an environmental initiative.
Proceedings of the 4th Biennial Conference of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) 2017: implementation mechanisms: what makes implementation work and why? part 2
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-2018
Comparative assessment of three approaches for deriving stream power plots along long profiles in the upper Hunter River catchment, New South Wales, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2006
Tracking geomorphic recovery in process-based river management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-05-2018
DOI: 10.1002/LDR.2984
Rehabilitating upland swamps using environmental histories: a case study of the blue mountains peat swamps, eastern australia
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/GEOA.12068
Geomorphology and River Management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-12-2004
Intrinsic and extrinsic controls on the geomorphic condition of upland swamps in Eastern NSW
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
Climatic and vegetation control on sediment dynamics during the last glacial cycle
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Date: 05-2010
DOI: 10.1130/G30708.1
A pedagogy of fluvial geomorphology: Incorporating scaffolding and active learning into tertiary education courses
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-04-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5368
Abstract: This commentary focusses on the pedagogy of a fluvial geomorphologist. It outlines some education psychology and pedagogy theories that can be used to inform the design and delivery of a third year undergraduate fluvial geomorphology and river management course and two professional development units for industry. A worked ex le is used to demonstrate how scaffolded learning (including Piaget's stages of cognitive development and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory), and active learning techniques can be integrated and applied in practice. The author then provides some personal reflections and recommendations that others (both geomorphologists and non‐geomorphologists) may find useful in developing their own pedagogy in tertiary education, irrespective of career stage.
Spatial and Temporal Variation in Macrophyte Litter Decomposition in a Rare Chain-of-ponds, an Intermittent Stream and Wetland System
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S13157-022-01550-W
Abstract: Ponds and wetlands around the world face anthropogenic pressures that threaten key ecosystem processes such as nutrient and organic matter cycling. Wetlands in arid and semi-arid regions are particularly at risk from uncertainty of water availability and competing pressures for use. Such threats are most acute for non-perennial systems that rely on occasional surface water flows to maintain important ecological functions. This study investigates the decomposition of an endemic macrophyte Cycnogeton procerum (R.Br.) Buchenau as a key ecosystem process in a chain-of-ponds wetland system, located in the intermittently flowing Mulwaree River, New South Wales, Australia. The aims of this study were to identify spatial and temporal patterns and the relative importance of microbial activity in macrophyte decomposition to improve our understanding of ecological processes in these intermittent systems. Exponential decomposition rates (proportional mass loss (g)) were highest during spring and summer (0.07-0.10 kd -1 ) and slower during autumn and winter (0.03-0.04 kd -1 ), reflecting seasonal drivers. Decomposition was significantly different in 9 mm and 150 μm mesh bags only during spring, suggesting decomposition was mostly performed by microbes, with invertebrate herbivores possibly only a factor during spring lotic conditions. Mesotrophic conditions, regulated by flow and internal macrophyte and algal dynamics appear to maintain a highly productive, macrophyte-dominated aquatic wetland system. Temperature was a major factor in decomposition rates and expected increases due to climate change will accentuate pressure on the resilience of the macrophyte community. Alterations caused by changing climate and anthropogenic land use place the ponds at high risk.
Morphological and historical resilience to catastrophic flooding: The case of Lockyer Creek, SE Queensland, Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2015
Connectivity as an emergent property of geomorphic systems
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-07-2018
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4434
Degradation and recovery of alpine meadow catenas in the source zone of the Yellow River, Western China
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 09-2022
Natural flood management: Lessons and opportunities from the catastrophic 2021–2022 floods in eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.5647
Abstract: Natural flood management (NFM), a nature‐based solution to flood mitigation where hydrological and biophysical processes are harnessed to reduce flow velocity, erosive energy and flood risk, is an emerging global theme of water and river management. The catastrophic 2021 and 2022 floods in eastern Australia are used to assess the hydrological properties of discrete events and to start an investigation of whether widespread changes in flood hydrology are occurring. We find that most coastal rivers in New South Wales (NSW) had a noticeable decrease in flood wave celerity (increase in flood travel time) when the 2021 and 2022 floods are contrasted with equivalent floods since the 1970s and that several also exhibit increases in flood peak attenuation. For some rivers, there is a coincident trend between these changing flood properties, riparian vegetation regrowth (regreening) and geomorphic recovery over the last +30 years. These may be the first signals that passive riparian management is counteracting some of the more severe hydrological effects of floods on these rivers and that some degree of NFM is possible. Lessons from this work are that there is an immediate opportunity to implement large‐scale NFM in coastal catchments of NSW, but this will only occur if we re‐examine current flood mitigation and adaption strategies and recognise and prioritise nature‐based solutions that include space‐to‐flood and corridors of river recovery, as essential parts of the modern flood mitigation toolkit.
Market segmentation and travel choice prediction in Spa hotels through TripAdvisor’s online reviews
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
Slope–channel decoupling in Wolumla catchment, New South Wales, Australia: the changing nature of sediment sources following European settlement
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-1999
16 Sediment organisation along the upper Hunter River, Australia: a multivariate statistical approach
Publisher: Elsevier
Date: 2007
A GEOMORPHIC APPROACH TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF RIVER RECOVERY POTENTIAL
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-2000
The relationship between geomorphic river adjustment and management actions over the last 50 years in the Upper Hunter Catchment, NSW, Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2009
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.1197
Simulating the effect of environmental flow duration on seedling emergence from riparian seed banks of the Upper Hunter River, New South Wales
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-10-2018
DOI: 10.1002/RRA.3376
Linking geomorphic character, behaviour and condition to fluvial biodiversity: implications for river management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1002/AQC.724
Variability in sediment delivery and storage along river courses in Bega catchment, NSW, Australia: implications for geomorphic river recovery
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2001
The re-greening of east coast Australian rivers: An unprecedented riparian transformation
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2021.151309
Abstract: Eastern Australia has a climate characterised by extreme variability and the occurrence of multiple years of drought conditions. Arguably one of the severest droughts on record - the Big Dry ended in many areas with the La Niña of 2009/2010. A succession of subsequent dry years brought a return to drought conditions across much of eastern Australia in 2018 and 2019, ending with the catastrophic fires of 2019/2020. An analysis of river gauges in eastern Australia demonstrates that unregulated rivers have been subject to reduced monthly and total annual flow for far longer than the recent multi-year droughts. A breakpoint regression model on the annual streamflow data shows statistically significant declines in total annual flow (by up to a factor of three) since 1992/93 on the far South coast of New South Wales (NSW). In the monthly data, fifteen of the nineteen gauges analysed exhibit modelled breakpoints, but with statistically significant differences in monthly mean discharge between consecutive periods only occurring in three of these gauges (occurring between 1972 and 1993 in both the North and South coast). The trend toward reduced flow over the last few decades has, for many rivers, coincided with land use and river management changes resulting in increases in woody riparian vegetation. To show this we use a remote sensing technique and estimate the magnitude of vegetation change along all major rivers and their tributaries on the eastern seaboard of NSW (28 catchments with total river length assessed of 19,750 km) using a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) analysis of woody vs non-woody riparian vegetation extent. Predicted vegetation change between 1987 and 2020 is spatially variable across catchments but the mean increase in woody riparian vegetation across all catchments is 9-51% (0.2 and 0.1 NDVI increases). Such increases are perhaps the largest biogeomorphic change the SE Australian drainage network has experienced since the initial clearance of vegetation associated with European colonisation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Hydrological conditions explain variation in wood density in riparian plants of south-eastern Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-04-2015
Tracking post-colonisation geomorphic river sensitivity: A framework for identifying hotspots of river adjustment across a catchment
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 23-03-2020
DOI: 10.5194/EGUSPHERE-EGU2020-374
Abstract: & & Contemporary geomorphic river behaviour can only be understood with a sound knowledge of the historical range of river adjustment. This is particularly the case for rivers that have experienced anthropogenic alterations. Using a case study of Richmond River, New South Wales, Australia, we track the history of geomorphic river adjustment from the time of European colonisation in the late 18& sup& th& /sup& Century. We use this study to develop a novel framework, called the & em& & #8216 Behavioural sensitivity logical tree& #8217 & /em& which can be applied to any catchment for assessing and quantifying reach scale behavioural sensitivity, defined as the ease with which geomorphic units and associated water, sediment, vegetation interactions adjust within the expected behavioural regime of a river. We use this framework to develop a behavioural sensitivity index and categorise rivers as & em& Fragile, Active sensitive, Passive sensitive, Insensitive and Resilient& /em& . When applied across a catchment, such analyses highlights hotspots of river adjustment and sensitivity.& & & & Fragile rivers have a behavioural sensitivity index & 0.85 and have the propensity to undergo wholesale river change such that a new river type and behavioural regime is created. For ex le, change from discontinuous or absent channels (e.g. sw s) to continuous channelised fills. Active sensitive rivers have a behavioural sensitivity index of 0.50-0.85 and have the ability to re-configure within their contemporary behavioural regime. For ex le, by reducing sinuosity via abrupt chute cut-off or progressive channel straightening. The behavioural sensitivity index of Passive sensitive rivers is between 0.20-0.50. These rivers have the ability to maintain their behavioural regime and withstand adjustment. Insensitive rivers have a behavioural sensitivity index of 0.05-0.20. They do not readily adjust and may contain significant resistance elements such as fine-grained sediments that limit geomorphic adjustment.& Resilient rivers have a behavioural sensitivity index & 0.05 and tend to be confined reaches where the capacity for adjustment is controlled by bedrock or other antecedent controls, such that the river cannot readily adjust.& & & & We further demonstrate the evolutionary nature of behavioural sensitivity itself. The behavioural sensitivity of a river is not set in space and time, rather, rivers can dynamically evolve and shift to a different sensitivity category over time and in response to different forms of direct and indirect disturbance. Analysing a rivers& #8217 behaviour sensitivity and identifying hotspots of geomorphic adjustment, can help inform process-based river management practice.& &
The morphology and geomorphic evolution of a large chain‐of‐ponds river system
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-03-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ESP.4842
Abstract: Rivers with discontinuous watercourses are part of the spectrum of river ersity. Chain‐of‐ponds types contain irregularly spaced, steep‐sided ponds that are separated by preferential flow paths on sw y valley fill. They often contain endangered ecological communities and are receiving greater attention for conservation and restoration. Very little is known about how these river types form, how they have evolved and how they function. Here we present the Late‐Quaternary evolution of one of the last remaining large‐scale chain‐of‐ponds systems in Australia, the Mulwaree Ponds. The chain‐of‐ponds was fully formed by 4.5 ka, with the position and alignment of the ponds being related to the position of pools of a palaeo‐river that is up to 100 ka old. Contemporary hydrogeomorphic processes are insufficient to create the ponds, but sufficient to maintain and keep them open. The phases of evolution for this chain‐of‐ponds system are synchronous with Late‐Quaternary changes in fluvial activity documented for other rivers in southeastern Australia. The ponds at Mulwaree have significant preservation potential over thousands of years. In the current landscape they are rare forms, providing significant grounds for conservation and protection of their distinctive geo ersity. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Post-rehabilitation environmental hazard of Cu, Zn, As and Pb at the derelict Conrad Mine, eastern Australia
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2007
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2006.12.016
Abstract: A post-rehabilitation audit of the derelict Conrad base metal mine, eastern Australia, indicates ongoing environmental hazard regarding acid mine drainage and concentrations of arsenic and lead to 3 wt% in the soil and sediment. In order to rehabilitate remote contaminated sites effectively, on-site analyses should be carried out to ensure that the materials used to rehabilitate the site are not contaminant-bearing. Understanding the geomorphic setting of the rehabilitated areas is also important in understanding where, and for what period, contaminated materials might be stored in fluvial systems downstream of mine workings. Chemical and geomorphic audits should form a fundamental part of all rehabilitation works to ensure favourable environmental outcomes.
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