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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/19540
Title: | Vegetation resilience to mega-drought along a typical floodplain gradient of the southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australia | Contributor(s): | Capon, Samantha (author); Reid, Michael (author) | Publication Date: | 2016 | DOI: | 10.1111/jvs.12426 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/19540 | Abstract: | 'Questions': How diverse and resilient is vegetation following a decade of extreme drought along a typical floodplain gradient of semi-arid south-eastern Australia? How do mechanisms of resilience (i.e. persistence and soil seed banks) vary between major plant groups and spatially with respect to habitat type and position along a flood frequency gradient? 'Location': Southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. 'Methods': We surveyed understorey vegetation and conducted germination trials to examine responses to re-wetting from soil seed banks of seven major habitat types along a typical floodplain gradient of the southern Murray-Darling Basin. We assessed abundance, species richness, functional diversity and composition, including exotic species, within and between extant and germinating assemblages. 'Results': Understorey vegetation was surprisingly diverse, although low in cover, following a decade of extreme drought, with considerable numbers of plant species (61) and functional plant groups represented. Historically drier habitats, towards floodplain margins, had higher species richness and cover overall and for exotic species. Plant assemblages exhibited high heterogeneity between habitats. Soil seed banks were very dissimilar from extant vegetation, comprising mainly amphibious and damp taxa as well as some terrestrial herbs, mostly annuals. Seed banks were most abundant and diverse in intermediate floodplain habitats, and their composition was very distinct between habitat types. 'Conclusions': Semi-arid floodplain vegetation is likely to be highly resilient to prolonged drought. Plants persisting under dry conditions do not appear to rely on local soil seed banks for regeneration and may either tolerate drying in situ or arrive from neighbouring ecosystems. Soil seed banks allow understorey vegetation to respond to re-wetting, especially in intermediate floodplain habitats. Lake bed assemblages and aquatic/amphibious species lacking soil seed banks appear most vulnerable to drought. Vegetation resilience is promoted by landscape heterogeneity. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(5), p. 926-937 | Publisher: | John Wiley & Sons Ltd | Place of Publication: | United Kingdom | ISSN: | 1654-1103 1100-9233 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 050104 Landscape Ecology 060202 Community Ecology (excl. Invasive Species Ecology) |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 410206 Landscape ecology 310302 Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 960505 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments 960506 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 180301 Assessment and management of freshwater ecosystems 180501 Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems 180502 Assessment and management of pelagic marine ecosystems |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
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