Floodplain Vegetation Landscapes: An Ecotone or a Dynamic Patch Mosaic?

Abstract

Floodplains are heterogeneous landscapes. The structural and functional heterogeneity of floodplain landscapes has commonly been described as a linear gradient with predictable changes from the main river channel to distal floodplain areas. In contrast to this, recent studies portray floodplains as dynamic patch mosaics. This thesis applied a landscape ecology approach along with remote sensing technology to characterize the structural and functional heterogeneity of the Yanga floodplain landscape; a semi-arid Australian floodplain. A conceptual framework was employed for analysing floodplain landscape structural and functional heterogeneity and describing their inter-linkages. In the framework, floodplain vegetation communities are the structural component of the landscape that forms the physical template upon which ecological processes occur. Flooding is considered to be the dominant driver of the Yanga floodplain ecosystem; it is the agent that alters the physical template - the floodplain vegetation template. The character of this altered template then influences the ecosystem response of the floodplain landscape. In this thesis, patterns of biomass production of eight various vegetation communities are the ecosystem response to inundation.