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Plant Establishment from the Seed Bank of a Degraded Floodplain Wetland: A Comparison of Two Alternative Management Scenarios

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Abstract

There has been little research examining the soil seed banks of degraded floodplain wetlands and their contribution to wetland rehabilitation in Australia. Our aim was to assess the establishment of plants from the seed bank that may occur following the delivery of an environmental water allocation to Kanyapella Basin, a 2950 ha wetland located on the floodplain of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in northern Victoria, Australia. Two hypothetical water regimes were investigated (flooded and dry) in a glasshouse experiment, where plants were left to establish from the seed bank over a period of 124 days. Differences in the establishment of plants from the seed bank indicated that the return of a flooding regime is likely to have a significant effect on the composition of the wetland vegetation. Mapping of the distribution of plant species indicated that propagules were highly dispersed across the wetland for the majority of taxa, in contrast to the localised distribution of many of the plant species represented in the extant vegetation. Inundation favoured the establishment of native wetland and floodplain plants, although many areas of Kanyapella Basin that are currently ‘weed-free’ have the potential to become colonised and potentially dominated by introduced plants if the wetland is not managed appropriately. Overall, results supported the aim of management to reestablish a wetting and drying regime through use of an environmental water allocation. This study presents a significant example of the application of seed bank investigations in wetland ecology and management.

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Acknowledgments

Constructive reviews of earlier drafts of the manuscript were received from Keely Ough, Dr James Fitzsimons and Brooke Turner. Thanks also to Keely Ough for assistance with plant identification and advice on seed bank experiment methodology, Tricia Paradise for help harvesting plants, and Dr Sabine Schreiber for advice on experimental design. Deakin University, Field and Game Australia, Australian Research Council, Goulburn–Murray Water, Parks Victoria, Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, Goulburn-Broken Catchment Management Authority and the River Basin Management Society provided financial and/or in-kind support for this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

    Hugh A. Robertson & Kimberley R. James

  2. Riverland Local Action Planning Committees, PO BOX 427, Berri, SA, 5343, Australia

    Hugh A. Robertson

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  1. Hugh A. Robertson
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  2. Kimberley R. James
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Correspondence to Hugh A. Robertson.

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Robertson, H.A., James, K.R. Plant Establishment from the Seed Bank of a Degraded Floodplain Wetland: A Comparison of Two Alternative Management Scenarios. Plant Ecol 188, 145–164 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9153-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9153-0

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