Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes: Biology, Ecology and Management

Abstract

Our appreciation of the vegetation of riverine landscapes starts from 40000 years of indigenous knowledge passed on aurally and in pictures. Written records began less than 250 years ago with the 1804 diary of botanist Robert Brown, which alludes to the spatial and temporal dynamism of rivers and vegetation in the Hunter system through descriptions of floodplains, dry lagoons, river blockages and flood debris stranded 35 feet above the river level. Human changes, both intentional and unintentional, to catchments, basins and channels altered riparian landscapes and vegetation long before patterns and processes were described and understood. Over the past 50 years our scientific understanding of the structure and functioning of plant communities in our water landscapes has increased exponentially, building from individual studies on selected plants, rivers and catchments to a comprehensive coverage of the diversity of plant groups and riverine landscapes across the continent. In 2016 we at last see a volume that synthesises our knowledge and management of riparian landscapes from the perspective of the vegetation. The functional importance and intrinsic values of these plants and ecosystems are captured by the three editors who have drawn together the perspectives of their 39 authors in 21 chapters to set the scene for research and management into the future.