Journal article
Mortality of developing floodplain forests subjected to a drying climate and water extraction
GJ Horner, PJ Baker, R Mac Nally, SC Cunningham, JR Thomson, F Hamilton
Global Change Biology | WILEY | Published : 2009
Abstract
River regulation and water extraction have altered the hydrology of rivers resulting in substantial changes to forest structure and the dieback of floodplain forests globally. Forest mortality, due to water extraction, is likely to be exacerbated by climate change-induced droughts. In 1965, a plantation trial was established within a natural floodplain forest to examine the effect of planting density on timber production. We used data from this trial to investigate the effect of initial stand density on the structure and dynamics of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Dehnh.) forests. Highest density stands (8000 treesha-1) were dominated by many slender trees, mostly < 10 cm in diameter, whereas the ..
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Awarded by ARC
Funding Acknowledgements
This research was funded by an ARC linkage grant (LP0560518), which was partially funded by the DSE and four Catchment Management Authorities (Mallee CMA, North Central CMA, Goulburn-Broken CMA, North East CMA). GJH also acknowledges the financial support of the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. We thank the staff of DSEs Forest Resource Analysis & Modelling unit for providing the data. The State of Victoria does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of information in this publication and any person using or relying upon such information does so on the basis that the State of Victoria shall bear no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any errors, faults, defects or omissions in the information. This is publication No. 166 from the Australian Centre for Biodiversity.