Vegetation: |
The different floodplain management options trialled at each site is summarised below. - Site A Flood low-level river red gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and monitor soil and groundwater salinity, tree health and ground cover response. - Site B
Monitor the pre-SIS freshwater lens adjacent the river, and changes in the freshwater lens under both SIS and Living Murray pumping. Monitoring of soil, groundwater salinity changes, and health change in the overlying mix of river red gums, black box (E. lariflorens) and river cooba (Acacia stenophylla) will take place. - Site D Flood red gums and black box at higher elevations in part of Site B, and monitor changes in root zone salinity and tree health response. - Site E Inject freshwater into shallow salinised groundwater and monitor the development and spread of the freshwater lens, the changes in root zone salinity and tree health response. Methods Floristic Surveys * Note: The Bookpurnong Pilot Project does not involve research on invertebrates. The following summary outlines the floristic surveys taking place at each site. Site A Plant surveys will be conducted using quadrants and transects across the flood plain to identify red gum tree health and groundcover response to a flooding scenario. 170 trees along 6 transects have been selected for regular visual tree health assessments. These surveys will provide a 5-year dataset on changes in Red Gum health, changes in the groundcover community and provide a species inventory for groundcover plants. Site B Plant surveys will be conductedas above in Site A but will be in a mixed Red Gum, Blackbox and River Cooba community. 241 trees have been selected along four transects for regular visual tree health assessments. In conjunction with this Living Murray project, CSIRO will be doing a more detailed tree physiological study for an CNRM project where 83 trees of the 241 selected will be sampled for stable isotopes and water potential. - See Site A for monitoring of Red Gum, Blackbox and Cooba tree health. - See Site A for monitoring of groundcover species. - Stable isotope sampling involves taking a twig sample from a subset of these 83 trees. This method does not involve taking more than 5% of foliage from the selected trees. - Sampling for water potential involves each of the 83 trees having a leaf sample taken at pre-dawn and midday during a sampling period of 3-4 days five times a year. Again this sampling method does not involve having more than 5% of the foliage removed from the individual trees. Site s D & E These two sites will all be regularly assessed for tree health using the standard visual method used at the above-mentioned sites. No groundcover vegetation will monitored at these sites and tree physiology will only be assessed at Site D which is part of Site B (therefore no additional tree s will be monitored). |