Journal article
Facilitating the restoration of aquatic plant communities in a Ramsar wetland
S Jellinek, T Te, SL Gehrig, H Stewart, JM Nicol
Restoration Ecology | WILEY | Published : 2016
DOI: 10.1111/rec.12355
Abstract
Human activities such as land clearing and intensive land use around water bodies, particularly wetlands, have a detrimental impact on water quality and quantity, aquatic plant communities, and associated wetland fauna. Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert are internationally significant Ramsar wetlands located at the terminus of the Murray River, Australia's longest river system. Agriculture, water regulation, and extraction and droughts have had a detrimental impact on native plant communities in the lakes. We studied the influence of young (<1–3 years) and old (8–11 years) plantings of a native sedge (bulrush), Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, to facilitate the establishment of aquatic plant c..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the Vegetation Program as a part of the Murray Futures funding from the Australian and South Australian Governments. We would like to thank the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority and the Ngarrindjeri people for assisting in this project and allowing us to access their land, and also to landowners who allowed us access to their properties. Regina Durbridge from the Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association assisted in undertaking many of these surveys, as did staff from SARDI Aquatic Sciences. K. Strother was an invaluable source of knowledge about the history of S. tabernaemontani plantings and previous planting techniques. Finally, we would like to thank staff from the Vegetation Program (DEWNR), particularly E. Eichler and J. Thiessen, who played an important role in planning and implementing many of the plantings around the Lower Lakes.