AOBPreview originally published online on August 10, 2005
Annals of Botany 2005 96(4):541-555; doi:10.1093/aob/mci209
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
INVITED REVIEW |
Plant Ecology of Australia's Tropical Floodplain Wetlands: A Review
Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist, GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia
* For correspondence. Present address: IWMI, PO Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka. E-mail m.finlayson{at}cgiar.org
Received: 20 December 2004 Returned for revision: 8 March 2005 Accepted: 4 May 2005 Published electronically: 10 August 2005
• Aims Despite the biodiversity values of the freshwater floodplains of northern Australia being widely recognized, there has not been a concomitant investment in developing the extent of knowledge of the basic functions and ecological processes that underpin the ecological character of these habitats. This review addresses the extent of our knowledge on the plant ecology of these wetlands and covers: the relationships between the climate and the hydrological regime on the floodplain; the vegetation patterns, succession and adaptation; and primary production.
• Scope Information is available on the seasonal, but less regularly on the inter-annual, dynamics of the macrophytic vegetation and its evident inter-relationship with the extent, depth and duration of inundation by seasonal flooding. The available scientifically collected information on plant distribution and relationship with the water regime could be complemented by more attention to traditional knowledge. The productivity of the vegetation is high—the dominant wetland grass species have an annual dry weight production of 0·5–2·1 kg m–2 and the surrounding riparian (Melaleuca) trees contribute litterfall of 0·7–1·5 kg (dry weight) m–2 year–1, 
70 % due to leaf-fall. The availability of dissolved oxygen in the water is known to vary diurnally and seasonally, at least in some habitats. The importance of seasonal differences in the availability of dissolved oxygen for the growth of micro- and macrophytic vegetation has not been investigated. The seasonal distribution and growth of plant species on a few floodplains have been investigated, and maps at scales of 1 : 10 000 to 1 : 100 000 are available for these. However, only on a few occasions have longer term analyses been conducted and long-term changes in the vegetation measured and assessed. Species lists and categorization of growth strategies and forms are available and provide a basis for further ecological investigation.
• Conclusions Despite the large investment in managing the many pressures that have degraded the ecological character of these highly valued wetlands, the fundamental ecological processes that underpin the biodiversity values have not received the same level of attention. Further information on plant growth and the environmental factors that drive seasonal and annual changes in vegetation distribution and productivity is required to assist managers in attending to changes due to increasing invasive species and changes in fire regimes.
Key words: Aquatic plants, plant biomass, productivity, succession
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  C. E. Hinchliff and E. H. Roalson Stem architecture in Eleocharis subgenus Limnochloa (Cyperaceae): Evidence of dynamic morphological evolution in a group of pantropical sedges Am. J. Botany, August 1, 2009; 96(8): 1487 - 1499. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. B. JACKSON and T. D. COLMER Response and Adaptation by Plants to Flooding Stress Ann. Bot., September 1, 2005; 96(4): 501 - 505. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|