The influence of flood frequency, geomorphic setting and grazing on plant communities and plant biomass on a large dryland floodplain

Abstract

Plant communities on semi-arid floodplains are ecologically important and support a diverse local and regional fauna and often pastoral economies. Water resource development may affect these communities and economies by decreasing water supply; determining the nature of these relationships is not straightforward because of the complex nature of plant responses to wetting and possible interactions with other drivers. We investigate the effects of reduced wetting on vegetation by examining spatial patterns in plant communities and above-ground herbaceous plant biomass across a flood frequency gradient, geomorphic settings and grazing exclosures. Community and biomass changes were also examined over time in relation to wetting events. The results demonstrate the importance of wetting on plant communities across timescales. At longer timescales, flood frequency influences community composition; at shorter timescales, wetting increase plant biomass and has a secondary influence on community composition. Plant biomass is also influenced in the short-term by grazing, but there is little influence of grazing on community composition. Soil nutrients do not vary systematically across the floodplain and have little influence on species distributions. We conclude that reduced water availability due to water resource development will result in reduced productivity in the short-term and community composition changes in the long-term.