Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7964
Title: Evidence for catastrophic shifts in the trophic structure of flood-plain lakes associated with soil erosion
Contributor(s): Reid, Michael  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2008
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/7964
Abstract: The introduction of European agricultural practices to southeastern Australia during the 1800s was associated with a period of extensive erosion in upland areas. The effects of this erosion on aquatic systems were substantial. Deep gullies replaced natural "chain of ponds" systems in headwaters, and the resultant "sand slugs" reduced substrate complexity and stability in middle reaches. The impact of this period of intensive erosion in lowland reaches is less obvious. This study presents the results of palaeoecological reconstructions from several flood-plain lakes on the Murray River that cover the period prior to the introduction of agriculture to the present. These records show a consistent pattern whereby benthic algae are replaced by planktonic algae concomitant with peaks in indicators of high sediment input. This pattern supports studies which have utilised different indicators at other sites in the region and is interpreted as resulting from light attenuation due to high suspended-sediment loads during a phase of intensive sediment erosion and transport during the mid to late 1800s. The maintenance of this macrophyte-free state in the absence of continued high sediment loads up to the present day is thought to reflect the existence of "alternative stable states" in these systems.
Publication Type: Conference Publication
Conference Details: ICCE 2008: 2008 Symposium of the International Commission on Continental Erosion, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1st - 5th December, 2008
Source of Publication: Sediment Dynamics in Changing Environments, p. 584-590
Publisher: IAHS Press
Place of Publication: Wallingford, United Kingdom
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 040601 Geomorphology and Regolith and Landscape Evolution
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960506 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: E1 Refereed Scholarly Conference Publication
Publisher/associated links: http://www.iahs.info/redbooks/325.htm
http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/35015096
Series Name: IAHS Publication
Series Number : 325
Appears in Collections:Conference Publication

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