An inter-catchment comparison of groundwater biota in the cotton-growing region of north-western New South Wales
K. L. Korbel A B D , R. P. Lim A B and G. C. Hose A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Cotton Catchment Communities CRC.
B School of the Environment, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
C Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: kkorbel@optusnet.com.au
Crop and Pasture Science 64(12) 1195-1208 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP13176
Submitted: 16 May 2013 Accepted: 13 September 2013 Published: 4 December 2013
Journal Compilation © CSIRO Publishing 2013 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Groundwater is essential to crop production in many parts of the world, and the provision of clean groundwater is dependent on healthy groundwater ecosystems. To understand better the functioning of groundwater ecosystems, it is necessary to understand how the biota responds to environmental factors, and so distinguish natural variation from human induced changes. This study compares the groundwater biota of the adjacent Gwydir and Namoi River alluvial aquifers, both in the heartland of Australia’s cotton industry, and investigates the relative importance of environmental, anthropogenic, geological, and evolutionary processes on biotic distribution.
Distinct differences in biotic assemblages were recorded between catchments at a community level. However, at a functional level (e.g. microbial activity, stygofauna abundances and richness) both ecosystems were similar. The distribution of biota in both catchments was influenced by similar environmental variables (e.g. geology, carbon availability, season, and land use). Broad trends in biotic distribution were evident: stygofauna responded most strongly to geological variables (reflecting habitat) and microbes to water quality and flow. Agricultural activities influenced biota in both catchments. Although possessing different taxa, the groundwater ecosystems of the two aquifers were functionally similar and responded to similar environmental conditions.
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