Rehabilitation of Swamp Paperbark (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Melaleuca ericifolia</Emphasis>) wetlands in south-eastern Australia: effects of hydrology,microtopography, plant age and planting technique on the success of community-based revegetation trials |
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Authors: | Elisa J Raulings Paul I Boon Paul C Bailey Michael C Roache Kay Morris Randall Robinson |
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Institution: | (1) School of Biological Sciences and Australian Centre for Biodiversity: Analysis, Policy and Management, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, Australia;(2) Institute for Sustainability and Innovation, Victoria University, St. Albans, 8001, Australia |
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Abstract: | Wetlands dominated by Swamp Paperbarks (Melaleuca spp., Myrtaceae) are common in coastal regions across Australia. Many of these wetlands have been filled in for coastal development
or otherwise degraded as a consequence of altered water regimes and increased salinity. Substantial resources, often involving
community groups, are now being allocated to revegetating the remaining wetland sites, yet only rarely is the effectiveness
of the rehabilitation strategies or on-ground procedures robustly assessed. As part of a larger project investigating the
condition and rehabilitation of brackish-water wetlands of the Gippsland Lakes, we overlaid a scientifically informed experimental
design on a set of community-based planting trials to test the effects of water depth, microtopography, plant age and planting
method on the survival and growth of seedlings of Melaleuca ericifolia Sm. in Dowd Morass, a degraded, Ramsar-listed wetland in south-eastern Australia. Although previous laboratory and greenhouse
studies have shown M. ericifolia seedlings to be salt tolerant, the strongly interactive effects of waterlogging and salinity resulted in high seedling mortality
(>90%) in the field-based revegetation trials. Seedlings survived best if planted on naturally raised hummocks vegetated with
Paspalum distichum L. (Gramineae), but their height was reduced compared with seedlings planted in shallowly flooded environments. Age of plants
and depth of water were important factors in the survival and growth of M. ericifolia seedlings, whereas planting method seemed to have little effect on survival. Improved testing of revegetation methods and
reporting of success or otherwise of revegetation trials will improve the effectiveness and accountability of projects aiming
to rehabilitate degraded coastal wetlands. |
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Keywords: | Gippsland Lakes Hummock Microtopography Water regime |
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