The marked flooding tolerance of seedlings of a threatened swamp gum: Implications for the restoration of critical wetland forests

Abstract

Wetland forests home to the last remaining wild populations of the helmeted honeyeater and lowland Leadbeater's possum are under threat from tree dieback and a lack of natural regeneration, putatively the result of an altered hydrological regime. To restore these critical wetland forests, a better understanding of the flooding tolerance of the seedlings of the dominant tree species, Eucalyptus camphora subsp. humeana L.A.S.Johnson & K.D.Hill, is essential. I tested the effect of flooding on the establishment and growth of E. camphora seedlings in three nursery-based experiments. These experiments involved E. camphora seedlings of different ages (1, 3, and 8 months old) being subjected to dif..