Monitoring and assessment of vegetation in Australian Riverine landscapes

Abstract

Australia's general aridity and its variable and unpredictable rainfall mean that rivers are critical ecological and economic resources. Dramatic modification of Australia's riverine landscapes began soon after Europeans settled and expanded across the continent. Since then a range of forces have contributed to the degradation of Australia's riverine systems including: catchment deterioration and erosion, point and non-point pollution, salinisation, reductions in riparian vegetation, flow reduction, river impoundment and the introduction of exotic biota (Lake 2006). The impact of humans on riverine systems alone justifies monitoring and assessment of riverine vegetation. However, this need is made even greater by the ecological importance of these biological communities. Riverine vegetation exists in the ecotone between terrestrial and aquatic systems and plays an important role in regulating and contributing to fluxes of energy and materials between these systems. As a result, riparian systems are diverse, productive and important providers of ecosystem goods and services.