Development of a wetland plant indicator list to inform the delineation of wetlands in New South Wales
J. E. Ling
A E , M. T. Casanova B C , I. Shannon A and M. Powell A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Office of Environment and Heritage, PO Box A290 Sydney South, NSW 1232, Australia.
B Charophyte Services, PO Box 80, Lake Bolac, Vic. 3351, Australia
C Federation University Australia, University Drive, Mount Helen, Vic. 3350, Australia.
D Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: joanne.ling@environment.nsw.gov.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(3) 322-344 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18114
Submitted: 22 March 2018 Accepted: 15 August 2018 Published: 11 October 2018
Abstract
Wetlands experience fluctuating water levels, so their extent varies spatially and temporally. This characteristic is widespread and likely to increase as global temperatures and evaporation rates increase. The temporary nature of wetlands can confound where a wetland begins and ends, resulting in unreliable mapping and determination of wetland areas for inventory, planning or monitoring purposes. The occurrence of plants that rely on the presence of water for part or all of their life history can be a reliable way to determine the extent of water-affected ecosystems. A wetland plant indicator list (WPIL) could enable more accurate mapping and provide a tool for on-ground validation of wetland boundaries. However, this introduces the problem of the definition of ‘wetland plant’, especially with species that can tolerate, or require, water level fluctuation, and that respond to flooding or drought by adjusting their morphology or phenology (i.e. ‘amphibious’ plants and those that grow only during drawdown). In this study we developed a WPIL through a process of expert elicitation. The expert decisions were compared and standardised for each species. It is envisaged that this work will lead to a comprehensive listing of wetland plants for Australia for the purposes of planning, mapping and management.
References
Adam, P. (1995). Reversing the trend. Wetlands Australia 14, 1–5.Adamus, P., and Gonyaw, A. (2000). National database of wetland plant tolerances. Prepared for the US Environment Protection Agency. Available at http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/bawwg/publicat.html [Verified November 2001].
Aquatic Ecosystems Task Group (2012). Aquatic ecosystems toolkit. Module 2. Interim Australian national aquatic ecosystem classification framework. (Department of the Environment and Energy: Canberra, ACT, Australia.) Available at http://www.environment.gov.au/resource/aquatic-ecosystems-toolkit-module-2-interim-australian-national-aquatic-ecosystem-anae [Verified 4 September 2014].
Arthington, A. H., Bunn, S. E., Poff, N. L., and Naiman, R. J. (2006). The challenge of providing environmental flow rules to sustain river ecosystems. Ecological Applications 16, 1311–1318.
| The challenge of providing environmental flow rules to sustain river ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Boulton, A., Brock, M., Robson, B., Ryder, D., Chambers, J., and Davis, J. (2014). ‘Australian Freshwater Ecology: Processes and Management.’ (Wiley.)
Brock, M. A. (2011). Persistence of seed banks in Australian temporary wetlands. Freshwater Biology 56, 1312–1327.
| Persistence of seed banks in Australian temporary wetlands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brock, M. A., and Casanova, M. T. (1997). Plant life at the edges of wetlands; ecological responses to wetting and drying patterns. In ‘Frontiers in Ecology; Building the Links’. (Eds N. Klomp and I. Lunt.) pp. 181–192. (Elsevier Science.)
Brock, M. A., Nielsen, D. L., Shiel, R. J., Green, J. D., and Langley, J. D. (2003). Drought and aquatic community resilience: the role of eggs and seeds in sediments of temporary wetlands. Freshwater Biology 48, 1207–1218.
| Drought and aquatic community resilience: the role of eggs and seeds in sediments of temporary wetlands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brooks, S., Cottingham, P., Butcher, R., and Hale, J. (2014). Murray–Darling Basin aquatic ecosystem classification: stage 2 report. Peter Cottingham and Associates report to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office and Murray–Darling Basin Authority, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Capon, S. J., and Reid, M. A. (2016). Vegetation resilience to mega‐drought along a typical floodplain gradient of the southern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Journal of Vegetation Science 27, 926–937.
| Vegetation resilience to mega‐drought along a typical floodplain gradient of the southern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Casanova, M. T. (2011). Using water plant functional groups to investigate environmental water requirements. Freshwater Biology 56, 2637–2652.
| Using water plant functional groups to investigate environmental water requirements.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Casanova, M. T., and Brock, M. A. (1990). Charophyte germination and establishment from the seed bank of an Australian temporary lake. Aquatic Botany 36, 247–254.
| Charophyte germination and establishment from the seed bank of an Australian temporary lake.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Casanova, M. T., and Brock, M. A. (2000). How do depth, duration and frequency of flooding influence the establishment of wetland plant communities? Plant Ecology 147, 237–250.
| How do depth, duration and frequency of flooding influence the establishment of wetland plant communities?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Claus, S., Imgraben, S., Brennan, K., Carthey, A., Daly, B., Blakey, R., Turak, E., and Saintilan, N. (2011). Assessing the extent and condition of wetlands in NSW. Supporting report A – conceptual framework. (Office of Environment and Heritage: Sydney, NSW, Australia.) Available at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/research-and-publications/publications-search/assessing-the-extent-and-condition-of-wetlands-in-nsw-supporting-report-a-conceptual-framework [Verified 30 June 2017].
Colloff, M. J., Ward, K. A., and Roberts, J. (2014). Ecology and conservation of grassy wetlands dominated by spiny mud grass Pseudoraphis spinescens in the southern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Aquatic Conservation 24, 238–255.
| Ecology and conservation of grassy wetlands dominated by spiny mud grass Pseudoraphis spinescens in the southern Murray–Darling Basin, Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (2016). Benchmarks for wetland ecological vegetation classes in Victoria. Report for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, East Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Doody, T. M., Holland, K. L., Benyon, R. G., and Jolly, I. D. (2009). Effect of groundwater freshening on riparian vegetation water balance. Hydrological Processes 23, 3485–3499.
| Effect of groundwater freshening on riparian vegetation water balance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ellenberg, H. (1974). ‘Indicator Values of Vascular Plants in Central Europe. Volume 9 of Scripta Geobotanica.’ (Goltze.)
Environment Australia (2001) ‘A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.’ 3rd edn. (Environment Australia: Canberra, ACT, Australia.) Available at http://www.environment.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/directory-important-wetlands-australia-third-edition [Verified 3 September 2018].
Ertsen, A. C. D., Alkemade, J. R. M., and Wassen, M. J. (1998). Calibrating Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, acidity, nutrient availability and salinity in the Netherlands. Plant Ecology 135, 113–124.
| Calibrating Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, acidity, nutrient availability and salinity in the Netherlands.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fazey, I., Proust, K., Newell, B., Johnson, B., and Fazey, J. A. (2006a). Eliciting the implicit knowledge and perceptions of on-ground conservation managers of the Macquarie Marshes. Ecology and Society 11, art25.
| Eliciting the implicit knowledge and perceptions of on-ground conservation managers of the Macquarie Marshes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fazey, I., Fazey, J. A., Salisbury, J. G., Lindenmayer, D. B., and Dovers, S. (2006b). The nature and role of experiential knowledge for environmental conservation. Environmental Conservation 33, 1–10.
| The nature and role of experiential knowledge for environmental conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Georgiou, S., and Turner, R. K. (2012). ‘Valuing Ecosystem Services: the Case of Multi-functional Wetlands.’ (Routledge.)
Gibbs, J. P. (2000). Wetland loss and biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology 14, 314–317.
| Wetland loss and biodiversity conservation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Johns, C. V., Brownstein, G., Fletcher, A., Blick, R. A. J., and Erskine, P. D. (2015). Detecting the effects of water regime on wetland plant communities: which plant indicator groups perform best? Aquatic Botany 123, 54–63.
| Detecting the effects of water regime on wetland plant communities: which plant indicator groups perform best?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Keeney, R. L., and Von Winterfeldt, D. (1989). On the uses of expert judgment on complex technical problems. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 36, 83–86.
| On the uses of expert judgment on complex technical problems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Krecek, J., Novakova, J., and Horicka, Z. (2010). Ellenberg’s indicator in water resources control: the Jizera Mountains, Czech Republic. Ecological Engineering 36, 1112–1117.
| Ellenberg’s indicator in water resources control: the Jizera Mountains, Czech Republic.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Leck, M. A., and Brock, M. A. (2000). Ecological and evolutionary trends in wetlands: evidence from seeds and seed banks in New South Wales, Australia and New Jersey, USA. Plant Species Biology 15, 97–112.
| Ecological and evolutionary trends in wetlands: evidence from seeds and seed banks in New South Wales, Australia and New Jersey, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lichvar, R. W. (2012). ‘The National Wetland Plant List.’ (US Army Corps of Engineers, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory: Hanover, NH, USA.)
Lichvar, R. W., Butterwick, M. A. R. Y., Melvin, N. C., and Kirchner, W. N. (2014). The national wetland plant list: 2014 update of wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 41, 1–42.
Lichvar, R. W., Banks, D. L., Kirchner, W. N., and Melvin, N. C. (2016). The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 30, 1–17.
Likert, R. (1931). ‘A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes. Archives of Psychology.’ (Columbia University Press: New York, NY, USA.)
Ling, J., Powell, M., Hodgins, G., Tierney, D., and Hughes, M. (2017). ‘Where are the wetlands in NSW?’ A new semi-automated method for mapping wetlands. In ‘Wetlands Australia’. pp. 20–21. (Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, ACT, Australia.) Available at http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d736a715-40b0-4801-b39f-39b440577a00/files/wa29-full.pdf [Verified 1 December 2017].
Liu, C., Frazier, P., Kumar, L., Macgregor, C., and Blake, N. (2006). Catchment-wide wetland assessment and prioritization using the multi-criteria decision-making method TOPSIS. Environmental Management 38, 316–326.
| Catchment-wide wetland assessment and prioritization using the multi-criteria decision-making method TOPSIS.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mitsch, W. J., and Gosselink, J. G. (2000). The value of wetlands: importance of scale and landscape setting. Ecological Economics 35, 25–33.
| The value of wetlands: importance of scale and landscape setting.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mitsch, W. J., and Gosselink, J. G. (2007). ‘Wetlands.’ (Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA.)
Nicol, S., Ward, K., Stratford, D., Joehnk, K. D., and Chadès, I. (2018). Making the best use of experts’ estimates to prioritise monitoring and management actions: a freshwater case study. Journal of Environmental Management 215, 294–304.
| Making the best use of experts’ estimates to prioritise monitoring and management actions: a freshwater case study.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (2017). State vegetation type map. Available at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/vegetation/state-vegetation-type-map.htm [Verified June 2016].
Porter, J. L., Kingsford, R. T., and Brock, M. A. (2007). Seed banks in arid wetlands with contrasting flooding, salinity and turbidity regimes. Plant Ecology 188, 215–234.
| Seed banks in arid wetlands with contrasting flooding, salinity and turbidity regimes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2013). Queensland wetland program. Flora wetland indicator species list. (WetlandInfo, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection: Brisbane, Qld, Australia.) Available at https://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/wetlands/ecology/components/flora/flora-indicator-species-list.html [Verified June 2017].
Reed, P. B. (1988). National list of plant species that occur in wetlands: Hawaii (Region H). US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Research and Development, Washington, DC, USA.
Rogers, K., and Ralph, T. J. (Eds) (2010). ‘Floodplain Wetland Biota in the Murray–Darling Basin: Water and Habitat Requirements.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Vic., Australia.)
Sainty, G. R., and Jacobs, S. W. L. (2003). ‘Waterplants in Australia: A Field Guide’, 4th edn. (Sainty and Associates: Sydney, NSW, Australia.)
Stewardson, M. J., and Webb, J. A. (2010). Modelling ecological responses to flow alteration: making the most of existing data and knowledge. In ‘Ecosystem Response Modelling in the Murray–Darling Basin’. (Eds N. Saintilan and I. Overton.) pp. 37–49. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Vic., Australia.)
ter Braak, C., and Gremmen, N. (1987). Ecological amplitudes of plant species and the internal consistency of Ellenberg’s indicator values for moisture. Vegetatio 69, 79–87.
| Ecological amplitudes of plant species and the internal consistency of Ellenberg’s indicator values for moisture.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Thomas, R., Bowen, S., Simpson, S., Cox, S., Sims, N., Hunter, S., and Lu, Y. (2010). Inundation response of vegetation communities of the Macquarie Marshes in semi-arid Australia. In ‘Ecosystem Response Modelling in the Murray–Darling Basin’. (Eds N. Saintilan and I. Overton.) pp. 137–150. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Vic., Australia.)
Tiner, R. W. (1999). ‘Wetland Indicators: a Guide to Wetland Identification, Delineation, Classification, and Mapping.’ (CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA.)
Warming, E. (1909). ‘Oecology of Plants. An Introduction to the Study of Plant-Communities.’ (University Press: London, UK).
Webb, J. A., Little, S. C., Miller, K. A., Stewardson, M. J., Rutherfurd, I. D., Sharpe, A. K., Patulny, L., and Poff, N. L. (2015). A general approach to predicting ecological responses to environmental flows: making best use of the literature, expert knowledge, and monitoring data. River Research and Applications 31, 505–514.
| A general approach to predicting ecological responses to environmental flows: making best use of the literature, expert knowledge, and monitoring data.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wen, L., Ling, J., Saintilan, N., and Rogers, K. (2009). An investigation of the hydrological requirements of river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forest, using classification and regression tree modelling. Ecohydrology 2, 143–155.
| An investigation of the hydrological requirements of river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forest, using classification and regression tree modelling.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Winning, G., and Duncan, S. (2001). Defining wetlands and implementation of a wetlands local environmental plan in Wyong, NSW. Wetlands Australia 19, 87–102.
