Effects of soil water potential on germination of co-dominant Brigalow species: Implications for rehabilitation of water-limited ecosystems in the Brigalow Belt bioregion

Arnold, Sven; Kailichova, Yolana; Knauer, Jürgen; Ruthsatz, Alexander D.; Baumgartl, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.04.015

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Rapid water release and drying of soils in a semi‐arid climate has implications for tree establishment and growth where mechanized direct sowing is a common rehabilitation procedure (Chambers et al ; Koch ; Arnold et al ). Most Australian coal mines are located in sub‐humid climatic zones where rainfall is erratic and intermittent (Bell ) and irrigation is rarely used (Arnold et al ). Consequently, successful germination and establishment of different tree species where temperatures and light are not limiting relies greatly on the moisture retention properties of novel soil profiles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture dynamics and restoration of self‐sustaining native vegetation ecosystem on an open‐cut coal mine

Ngugi

Neldner

Doley

et al. 2015

Restoration Ecology

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Post-mining landscape reconstruction on open-cut coal mines aims to support restoration of self-sustaining native vegetation ecosystems that in perpetuity require no extra inputs relative to unmined analogs. Little is known about the soil moisture retention capacity of the limited layer of topsoil replaced (often <30 cm deep), impacts of deep ripping of the profile, and the combined impacts of these on plant available water during the mine restoration process. We examined changes in soil moisture parameters (soil water potential, , and soil water content, ) daily using automated soil sensors installed at 30 and 45-65 cm depths on mine restoration sites aged between 3 and 22 years and on adjacent remnant vegetation sites following heavy rainfall events at Meandu mine, southeast Queensland, Australia. Consistent patterns in soil moisture attributes were observed among rehabilitated sites with generally marked differences from remnant sites. Remnant site soil profiles had generally higher after drying than rehabilitated sites and maintained high for extended periods after rain events. There was a relatively rapid decline of on reconstructed soil profiles compared with remnant sites although the times of decline onset varied. This response indicated that vegetation restoration sites released soil moisture more rapidly than remnant sites but the rate of drying decreased with increasing rehabilitation age and increased with increasing tree stem density. The rapid drying of mine rehabilitated sites may threaten the survival of some remnant forest species, limit tree growth, and delay restoration of self-sustaining native ecosystem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture dynamics and restoration of self‐sustaining native vegetation ecosystem on an open‐cut coal mine

Ngugi

Neldner

Doley

et al. 2015

Restoration Ecology

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“…Design droughts allow for drought severity, duration and frequency to be considered in order to determine the risk of failure of current mining operations (Mason et al, 2013;Burton et al, 2012), and to design robust ecosystem components in the face of the local climate variability . Unlike degraded land (in the sense of gradual loss of ecosystem productivity) in post-mining landscapes, most ecosystem components are impacted by mining activities; particularly landform, hydrology, and ecosystem structure (Arnold et al, 2014b). Therefore, successful rehabilitation of post-mining land requires the sensible selection of plant species, as well as planting/seeding regime, soil characteristics, irrigation method, and landform characteristics (Table 3).…”

Section: Implications For Ecosystem Rehabilitation Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At locations with frequently recurring long-term (12-monthly timescale) droughts of high severity and durations (LS, LP in Table 3), e.g. in Mount Isa and Quilpie, seeding of species with physical/chemical dormancy may increase the probability of germination during favourable periods (Hilhorst, 1995;Arnold et al, 2014b). Additionally, a southern aspect may require drought tolerant species to increase survival of plant communities (Sternberg and Shoshany, 2001).…”

Section: Application Of Design Droughts To Rehabilitation Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drought severity–duration–frequency curves: a foundation for risk assessment and planning tool for ecosystem establishment in post-mining landscapes

Halwatura

Lechner

Arnold

2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Eastern Australia has considerable mineral and energy resources, with areas of high biodiversity value co-occurring over a broad range of agro-climatic environments. Lack of water is the primary abiotic stressor for (agro)ecosystems in many parts of eastern Australia. In the context of mined land rehabilitation quantifying the severityduration-frequency (SDF) of droughts is crucial for successful ecosystem rehabilitation to overcome challenges of early vegetation establishment and long-term ecosystem resilience.The objective of this study was to quantify the SDF of short-term and long-term drought events of 11 selected locations across a broad range of agro-climatic environments in eastern Australia by using three drought indices at different timescales: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI), and the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Based on the indices we derived bivariate distribution functions of drought severity and duration, and estimated the recurrence intervals of drought events at different timescales. The correlation between the simple SPI and the more complex SPEI or RDI was stronger for the tropical and temperate locations than for the arid locations, indicating that SPEI or RDI can be replaced by SPI if evaporation plays a minor role for plant available water (tropics). Both short-term and long-term droughts were most severe and prolonged, and recurred most frequently in arid regions, but were relatively rare in tropical and temperate regions.Our approach is similar to intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) analyses of rainfall, which are crucial for the design of hydraulic infrastructure. In this regard, we propose to apply SDF analyses of droughts to design ecosystem components in post-mining landscapes. Together with design rainfalls, design droughts should be used to assess rehabilitation strategies and ecological management using drought recurrence intervals, thereby minimising the risk of failure of initial ecosystem establishment due to ignorance of fundamental abiotic and site-specific environmental barriers, such as flood and drought events.

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“…3), when S. variegata seeds finally have chance to touch soil surface, it is probable that the viability of the seeds have already dropped to a very low level or even to zero. In addition, many studies have well demonstrated that seed germination needs sufficient and stable water supply434445464748. In Three Gorges reservoir area, rainfall occurs mainly in rainy season from April to August, October to December in this area has low rainfall in a year and usually no rainfall occurs for many successive days (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Seed sojourn and fast viability loss constrain seedling production of a prominent riparian protection plant Salix variegata Franch

Ayi

Zeng

Liu

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Salix variegata Franch, a prominent plant applied in riparian shelter vegetation in Three Gorges reservoir region of China, produces many seeds every year but generates only a few or no seedlings. Whether the low seedling production of S. variegata is caused by seed sterility or by rapid loss of seed viability remains unknown. We investigated the sojourn time of mature seeds in capsules produced in early, mid, and late reproductive season and the germinability of mature seeds fresh or stored after different period of time. The sojourn time of seeds in capsules was 2.89, 3.95, and 4.72 days in early, mid, and late reproductive season, respectively. The maximal germination percentage of non-stored fresh seeds produced in early, mid, and late reproductive season was 93.33%, 78.67%, and 40%, respectively, which indicates mature seeds were not sterile. The longest viability-retaining time of seeds produced in early, mid, and late reproductive season was only 8, 16, 16 days, respectively, indicating that mature seeds of S. variegata lost viability very rapidly. Mature seeds possessed good viability, but their rapid viability loss caused the low seedling production and hampered the population growth of S. variegata in the riparian area of Three Gorges reservoir region.

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Effects of soil water potential on germination of co-dominant Brigalow species: Implications for rehabilitation of water-limited ecosystems in the Brigalow Belt bioregion

Cited by 25 publications

References 49 publications

Soil moisture dynamics and restoration of self‐sustaining native vegetation ecosystem on an open‐cut coal mine

Soil moisture dynamics and restoration of self‐sustaining native vegetation ecosystem on an open‐cut coal mine

Drought severity–duration–frequency curves: a foundation for risk assessment and planning tool for ecosystem establishment in post-mining landscapes

Seed sojourn and fast viability loss constrain seedling production of a prominent riparian protection plant Salix variegata Franch

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