Response of three arid zone floodplain plant species to inundation

Nicol, Jason; Ganf, George G.; Walker, Keith F.; Gawne, Ben

doi:10.1007/s11258-017-0777-z

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…These four species are not considered riparian specialists; rather, they are terrestrial species that occur widely, but are also often recorded in riparian zones along waterways in south-eastern Australia. As such, their tolerance to submergence is likely to be lower than riparian and wetland specialists, many of which can tolerate submergence durations ranging from weeks to months, including at various times of the year (Mommer et al 2006;Vivian et al 2014;Nicol et al 2018). However, based on the reported tolerances of the study species in other experiments, which range from days to multiple weeks (Banach et al 2009; Striker and Ploschuk 2018; Kitanovic 2019), we expected a higher degree of survival of the study species in the 2-week pulse treatment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We chose a 2-week flow period for our minimum period of submergence, as the reported tolerances of a broad range of riparian and wetland species, and terrestrial grasses found in riparian zones, is generally in the order of weeks to months (e.g. Lowe et al 2010;Nicol et al 2018;Kitanovic 2019). However, for four of the five species examined, this duration still resulted in high plant mortality.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of grasses to experimental submergence in summer: implications for the management of unseasonal flows in regulated rivers

2020

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River regulation has altered the seasonal timing of flows in many rivers worldwide, impacting the survival and growth of riparian plants. In south-eastern Australia, demand for irrigation water in summer often results in high river flows during a season that would naturally experience low flows. Although unseasonal high summer flows are thought to significantly impact waterways, their effects on vegetation are poorly quantified. We investigated the responses of five grass species commonly occurring in riparian zones to different durations of submergence in summer. We experimentally tested the response of three exotic and two native grasses to four submergence treatments (4 weeks, 8 weeks, 2-week pulses and no submergence), and two levels of shading (no shading and 80% light reduction), over 8 weeks in summer and early autumn. All submergence treatments, including the 2-week pulse, resulted in the death of all plants of three species (Bromus catharticus, Dactylis glomerata and Rytidosperma caespitosum). Lolium perenne exhibited moderate survival rates in the shorter-duration unshaded submergence treatments, while Poa labillardierei largely survived all treatments. Similar responses across species were observed for plant height and biomass, although height generally increased while biomass growth was reduced by shading. These results show that even 2-week periods of summer submergence can reduce growth and cause the death of some riparian grasses. Although some species may survive longer submergence durations, impacts on other aspects of fitness, and ongoing effects of repeated unseasonal submergence, remain uncertain. Our study highlights that the impacts of unseasonal flows require further investigation and careful management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of grasses to experimental submergence in summer: implications for the management of unseasonal flows in regulated rivers

2020

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“…A further area of research would be to examine how environmental flow releases may assist or damage vegetation, not just seeds, that are established or establishing on bench units within degraded systems such as the Hunter River. For example, Nicol, Ganf, Walker, and Gawne () identified differing responses to inundation among three arid zone floodplain species from the Menindee Lakes in the lower Darling River in western NSW. Siebentritt, Ganf, and Walker () found that an enhanced flood led to an increase in flood‐dependent species of vegetation and a reduction in flood‐intolerant species, also noting that small floods may be useful in the maintenance of vegetation communities rather than as a trigger for germination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulating the effect of environmental flow duration on seedling emergence from riparian seed banks of the Upper Hunter River, New South Wales

Stone

Fryirs

Leishman

2018

River Research & Apps

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Passive riparian revegetation techniques are important tools in river rehabilitation.However, the utility of the sediment seed bank as a passive riparian regeneration option is poorly understood. After modelling a range of flows for field-surveyed cross sections, a glasshouse seedling emergence experiment was undertaken to compare the effects of simulated flow duration on seedling emergence of desirable riparian species that occur on benches of the gravel-bedded Hunter River near Muswellbrook, New South Wales. The duration of inundation did have an effect (although not always significant) on seed germination for most species. The most successful simulated flood conditions differed among species, with the control treatment (no inundation) resulting in the most germination for only two of the 10 species examined. These findings suggest that although environmental flows for the sole purpose of stimulating the riparian seed bank in order to facilitate regeneration of desirable riparian species would be largely ineffective and complicated by differing inundation responses among species, seed bank stimulation using environmental flows could be a value-added benefit from flows allocated for other purposes. As such, consideration of flow duration is worthy of inclusion in environmental flow allocation planning.

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Interaction between depth and duration matters: flooding tolerance of 12 floodplain meadow species

et al. 2018

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Response of three arid zone floodplain plant species to inundation

Cited by 3 publications

References 31 publications

Responses of grasses to experimental submergence in summer: implications for the management of unseasonal flows in regulated rivers

Responses of grasses to experimental submergence in summer: implications for the management of unseasonal flows in regulated rivers

Simulating the effect of environmental flow duration on seedling emergence from riparian seed banks of the Upper Hunter River, New South Wales

Interaction between depth and duration matters: flooding tolerance of 12 floodplain meadow species

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