Quantifying water requirements of riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia - implications for the management of environmental flows

Ecohydrology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1471-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya M. Doody ◽  
Matthew J. Colloff ◽  
Micah Davies ◽  
Vijay Koul ◽  
Richard G. Benyon ◽  
...  

<em>Abstract</em> .—The collection and use of data to manage the freshwater fisheries of Australia’s Murray–Darling basin (MDB) has a poor history of success. While there was limited assessment data for early subsistence and commercial fisheries, even after more robust data became available during the 1950s its quality varied across jurisdictions and was often poorly collated, assessments were not completed, and the data were underutilized by management. The fishery for Murray Cod <em>Maccullochella peelii </em> is given as an example, where the fishery declined to the point of closure and then the decline continued to the extent that Murray Cod was listed as a threatened species and all harvest now only occurs through the recreational fishery. Lessons from such poor population assessments have not been fully learned, however, as there remains a paucity of harvest data for this recreational fishery. Without a proper assessment, a true economic valuation of this fishery has not been made. As the MDB is Australia’s food bowl, there are competing demands for water use by agriculture, and without a proper assessment of the worth of the fishery, it is difficult for Murray Cod to be truly considered in either economic or sociopolitical discussions. The poor state of MDB rivers and their fish populations (including Murray Cod) has, however, resulted in political pressure for the development of the sustainable rivers audit, a common assessment method for riverine environmental condition monitoring. This audit undertakes standardized sampling for fish and a range of other variables at a number of fixed and randomly selected sites on a 3-year rotating basis. While the sustainable rivers audit has provided a range of data indicating that the condition of rivers is generally very poor, these data have yet to be fully utilized to determine the potential state of the fisheries (such as Murray Cod) or to set targets for rehabilitation, such as for environmental flows. While, to date, data analyses have been somewhat restricted by fiscal constraints, more comprehensive use of data, together with full fishery valuations, should be seen as the way forward for improved management.


Computers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajad Sabzi ◽  
Razieh Pourdarbani ◽  
Juan Ignacio Arribas

A computer vision system for automatic recognition and classification of five varieties of plant leaves under controlled laboratory imaging conditions, comprising: 1–Cydonia oblonga (quince), 2–Eucalyptus camaldulensis dehn (river red gum), 3–Malus pumila (apple), 4–Pistacia atlantica (mt. Atlas mastic tree) and 5–Prunus armeniaca (apricot), is proposed. 516 tree leaves images were taken and 285 features computed from each object including shape features, color features, texture features based on the gray level co-occurrence matrix, texture descriptors based on histogram and moment invariants. Seven discriminant features were selected and input for classification purposes using three classifiers: hybrid artificial neural network–ant bee colony (ANN–ABC), hybrid artificial neural network–biogeography based optimization (ANN–BBO) and Fisher linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Mean correct classification rates (CCR), resulted in 94.04%, 89.23%, and 93.99%, for hybrid ANN–ABC; hybrid ANN–BBO; and LDA classifiers, respectively. Best classifier mean area under curve (AUC), mean sensitivity, and mean specificity, were computed for the five tree varieties under study, resulting in: 1–Cydonia oblonga (quince) 0.991 (ANN–ABC), 95.89% (ANN–ABC), 95.91% (ANN–ABC); 2–Eucalyptus camaldulensis dehn (river red gum) 1.00 (LDA), 100% (LDA), 100% (LDA); 3–Malus pumila (apple) 0.996 (LDA), 96.63% (LDA), 94.99% (LDA); 4–Pistacia atlantica (mt. Atlas mastic tree) 0.979 (LDA), 91.71% (LDA), 82.57% (LDA); and 5–Prunus armeniaca (apricot) 0.994 (LDA), 88.67% (LDA), 94.65% (LDA), respectively.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Tennant ◽  
J. Sheed

Historically within most catchments, resource management programs have been planned and implemented in isolation of one another. This was once the case in the Goulburn Broken Catchment, a major catchment of the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. Although only 2% of the Murray Darling Basin's land area, the catchment generates 11% of the basin's water resources. Learning from the past, a cooperative and collaborative approach to natural resource programs has developed. This approach is the envy of many other catchment communities and agencies. Through a combination of “Partnership Programs”, “Operational Initiatives” and community involvement, significant programs have been implemented within the catchment, which will benefit not only the local community but communities further afield. The outcomes of the waterway health program highlight the benefits provided through the establishment of cooperative and partnership resource improvement programs. These programs were founded on the ability of the community to recognise the need for integration, base management decisions on best available science and an ability to work together. Their effective delivery has been provided through the resources provided, to the local community, by the Natural Heritage Trust with matching and State and local allocations. While programs have shown success, challenges still face the community. These challenges include verification and implementation of environmental flows, storage of the catchment's vital water resources, and maintaining community involvement and participation in on-going works programs. The Goulburn Broken Catchment community, with the support of Federal, State and Local Governments, is looking at opportunities for continued improvements in waterway health.


1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 307 ◽  
Author(s):  
SV Briggs ◽  
MT Maher

Litter fall and leaf decomposition rates were measured in Murrumbidgil Swamp, a river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) swamp near Booligal, New South Wales. Total litter fall, excluding large branches, was about the same as in other eucalypt and overseas hardwood forests (369-580 g m-2 year-1), but the proportion of leaf fall (21-29%) was lower. Litter fall was greater after the swamp dried out following a prolonged period of flooding than during the flood period. Ionic concentrations in the leaf litter were higher than in other eucalypts, but accessions were similar because leaf fall was lower in the red gum forest. The order of nutrient input was Ca > N > Mg ≈ Na ≈ K > S > P > Fe. Decomposition of red gum leaves submerged in the swamp was rapid at first (up to 19.2% loss in weight in 24 h) and then slowed down. The half life of the leaves decomposing over 4 months was 80 days. It is suggested that E. camaldulensis litter may provide an important food source for detritivorous invertebrates and hence for waterfowl in red gum swamps.


1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kandia Akilan ◽  
John K. Marshall ◽  
Anne L. Morgan ◽  
Richard C. C. Farrell ◽  
David T. Bell

2017 ◽  
Vol 03 (03) ◽  
pp. 1650037 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha J. Capon ◽  
Timothy R. Capon

The concept of environmental water requirements (EWRs) is central to Australia’s present approach to water reform. Current decision-making regarding environmental water relies strongly on the notion that EWRs necessary to meet targets associated with ecological objectives for asset sites can be scientifically defined, thus enabling the ecological outcomes of alternative water management scenarios to be evaluated in a relatively straightforward fashion in relation to these flow thresholds or targets. We argue, however, that the ecological objectives and targets currently underpinning the development of EWRs in the Murray-Darling Basin are insufficient to permit the identification of exact water requirements or flow thresholds. Because of the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of the Murray-Darling Basin and the myriad ways in which it is valued by people, we also assert that it is unlikely that adequate ecological objectives and targets from which to determine EWRs could ever be formulated. We suggest that the current emphasis on the concept of EWRs in environmental water planning conflates science and values, perpetuating a “how much is enough?” myth whereby the significance of the social, cultural and political dimension in environmental decision-making is diminished. We support an alternative paradigm in which the contribution of ecological science to water policy and management decisions focuses on understanding ecological responses of water-dependent ecosystems and their biota to alternative management scenarios and linking these responses to the ecosystem services and human values which they support.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document