The historic flowering behaviour of River Red-gum and Black Box in a flooding forest

Abstract

River Red-gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and Black Box (E. largiflorens) are the dominant tree species of Barmah forest, Victoria; part of a floodplain ecosystem which has been identified as being under threat due to the reduced frequency and duration and altered timing of flooding associated with river regulation, water extraction and drought. The flooding regime plays a significant role in the phenology in both these species. Hence, establishing past flowering behaviour using long-term records (1934 to 1973) provides a historical baseline against which current and future flowering behaviour can be judged. Black Box was more consistent in its flowering, with an annual failure recurrence int..